Congratulations to Our Teacher Appreciation Contest Winners!

Patch has been very happy to take this opportunity to recognize and reward excellent teachers in our local community with our recent "Teacher Appreciation Contest."

Thank you to everyone who nominated your favorite teachers, took time out to tell us why they are so extraordinary, and voted for them in the comments.

We're very excited to announce our local winners - here they are!

Redwood City-Woodside Patch's local winning teacher is Wendi Brown of Fair Oaks Elementary! Wendi teaches special education for grades three through five.

Here are just a few of the comments that readers wrote in about Wendi:

"My son had her for only a year, but within that year she helped him build confidence and give himself a voice. She has high expectations for her students, believes in them, and treats them all with respect. She goes above and beyond to advocate for her students. By far, the best teacher my son has had!" - VG

"She is amazing!" - NEB

"She helped my daughter get over her fear of school and actually like school again! She helped us so much!" - JG

"I worked with Wendi a few years ago at Kennedy Middle School. She is an inspiration as she goes above and beyond to support the students and families in her own classroom as well she supports students in other classes and her colleagues." - JFK

"She is a dedicated, inspiring teacher whose students make progress against their great challenges to learning because of Ms. Brown's high expectations and innovative methods." - S.A. Reid

Brown has won two volunteer hours by a Patch editor, be it helping out in her classroom or anything else she needs to help make her life easier, as she has always done for her students.

And, our grand prize winner out of the 13 winning teachers from our 13 Peninsula Patch sites is Sean Kuiper, first-grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary in Burlingame. Congratulations to Mr. Kuiper, who has won a $50 gift card to his favorite school supply store, in addition to winning two hours of volunteer time from a Patch editor.

Here are the teachers across the Peninsula who won our contest on their respective hometown Patch sites:

Menlo Park-Atherton Patch - Katie Williams, Willow Oaks Elementary

Palo Alto Patch - Flora Yang, 2nd grade teacher, Brentwood Academy in East Palo Alto

South San Francisco Patch - Mrs. Kristi Yee, kindergarten teacher, Skyline School

Pacifica Patch - Jennifer McEnany, 11th/12th grade journalism teacher, Oceana High School

Half Moon Bay Patch - Mrs. Linda Herbert, kindergarten/1st grade teacher, Farallone View Elementary

Burlingame-Hillsborough Patch - Sean Kuiper, 1st grade teacher, Roosevelt Elementary

Millbrae Patch - Coryne Wong, 6th/7th grade science, Taylor Middle School

San Carlos Patch - Marilynn Vandor, 4th grade teacher, Arundel Elementary

Foster City/San Mateo Patch - Mrs. Thompson, 1st grade teacher, Brewer Island Elementary

Belmont Patch - Kristin Pfeifer, choral director, Notre Dame High School

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