Eanes ES EANESpiration Winners, 2019

Eanes ES EANESpiration Winners, 2019

Educational Impact 

Those who display leadership and commitment to the district by making a positive, noticeable and significant impact.

Ms. Erin Hannigan & Ms. Elizabeth Holstien, Kinder Spanish Immersion Teachers
Ms. Hannigan and Ms. Holstien are incredibly compassionate, skilled, creative, experienced and talented master teachers. Together they have created an unstoppable, hero-worthy dynamic duo who have developed a dual language program from scratch. Their dogged determination, enormous abilities to think outside the box, endless patience and flexibility has brought the gift of learning in English and Spanish to more than 40 five-and-six-year-olds. They have created a year their students will remember forever and have raised the bar for innovative programs at Eanes Elementary and in Eanes ISD. 
Together they embraced challenges unique to language immersion classes and worked as a solid team to make the program successful. Their focus the entire year was to put students first and by doing so they have made an educational impact that will last forever. 

Ms. Rene Maldonado, Teaching Assistant
Ms. Maldonado has done an outstanding job as a teaching assistant for the last three years. She goes above and beyond to help every teacher, all the time. She comes in early or stays late to help whenever she is needed. She is a team player and can jump in to complete any job that needs to be done and with a smile on her face! She is always so positive and caring and the students adore her. She is an incredible asset to our school and we are truly lucky and grateful for the impact she has made in all of our lives at Eanes Elementary.

Ms. Stephanie Spencer, Teaching Assistant 
Ms. Spencer is a phenomenal teaching assistant and a key contributor to the success of many students. She is always cheerful and a joy for students and staff to work with. She has natural teaching ability and seamlessly flows into the classroom to support a student with the lessons planned for them. When provided instructional targets and lessons, she knows how to work with students at their academic levels and help them to put forth their best effort. She is eager to support staff as well, often jumping in to lend a hand whenever she recognizes a need. Ms. Spencer has great organizational skills and is extremely reliable in providing student data to teachers. She is kind, compassionate, and an amazing teacher in every sense of the word!  She is an asset to our district and we are fortunate to have her!

 

Good Samaritan 

One who displays compassion, selflessness, or courage by taking initiative. 

Ms. Jamie McCornack, Parent Volunteer
Ms. McCornack has been part of the EE family for many years. She is always willing to help and does so with a full heart. Some of her contributions are serving on many committees including EEF, CLT, and PTO, keeping our community updated with the marquee, working with classroom teachers as a room mom/party volunteer, and helping organize the many fun events we have on our campus. Her latest efforts have helped us find a way to honor our wonderful Ms. Lopez. She helped the committee by researching a special memorial to be put on our campus. Jamie is a mom, volunteer, and friend. Her compassion, and her constant and consistent support and help have made Eanes Elementary the special place that it is!

Heroes 

Those who perform an outstanding achievement that brings prestige to Eanes ISD, or do something that goes above and beyond the call of duty.

Ms. Whitney Braden, Parent Volunteer
Ms. Braden spends countless hours organizing and ensuring the excellence of on-campus events all year long.  She is a present and positive force on our campus with children’s and teacher’s needs in mind and is willing to lend a helping hand.

Ms. Rachel Cantu, 5th-Grade Teacher
Ms. Cantu joined our school at the beginning of the year as our permanent sub. She continuously went above and beyond to help our school in any way we needed her. Teachers, no matter which grade level, knew that she would be there to help with a smile on her face, manage students in a caring and positive manner and complete lesson plans without a hitch. With her can-do attitude, there was no task too small or too big for her. When we needed a teacher to move into a 5th-grade position mid-year, Ms. Cantu was asked to help out. She showed compassion for students, her teammates, and parents that went above and beyond what was expected. Her hard work, determination, eagerness to learn and late afternoons getting to know the 5th-grade curriculum has made an incredible impact on our students and staff. 

Mr. Eric Watts, Parent Volunteer
Mr. Watts is a dedicated parent volunteer who has organized workroom volunteers for teachers, was instrumental in getting a vending machine in the staff area for teachers (and keeps it stocked), and has worked with staff in order to design and price a chicken yard extension for our chickens next year. He also plans to build the chicken yard with volunteer help. He works endless hours making copies, laminating, cutting, etc., and will happily take any request.  He definitely goes the extra mile to make teachers' lives easier and does so with a wonderfully quirky sense of humor that we all appreciate. He works so hard for all of us teachers!!   He always has the best attitude and great humor. He knows how to make a teacher laugh and brighten their day!

Ms. Dana Wilkes, Parent Volunteer
Ms. Wilkes works with students on our yearbook. She has been in charge of the yearbook for the past several years and provides an incredible leadership opportunity for our students. Students apply for a position and work during their recess and lunch on Fridays to take photos and design the school yearbook. She does all of this in addition to her day job, her role as mom and room mom. This is Ms. Wilkes' last year with Eanes Elementary as her youngest is a current 5th grader. We don't know how she does what she does, but we are so grateful for her!