Teachers

KBAY Teacher of the Month

Nominate teacher for KBAY’s Teacher of the Month

Click here to see who was named KBAY’s Teacher of the Month in prior months

The KBAY Teacher of the Month for June is Margarida Oliveira, who is a 1st grade teacher at Rod Kelley Elementary School in the Gilroy Unified School District. This is Margarida’s ninth year at Rod Kelley after a four years of teaching in the Sacramento City Unified and Monterey Peninsula Unified School Districts. Margarida has a Bachelors degree from Sacramento State University and a Masters degree in Educational Leadership from San Jose State University. Margarida will receive a Teacher Innovation Grant for her classes from the Silicon Valley Education Foundation.

Margarida says of her school and program, "Rod Kelley has a very diverse population. We are a K-5 school. I am one of six teachers on our first grade team. I am very fortunate to work collaboratively with five other outstanding teachers. They are: Tina Fabela, Eric Martin, Courtney Wenzel, Carolyn Hamilton, and Laura Leon. These five educators are a source of inexhaustible knowledge and enthusiasm for the field of education. We meet weekly to plan our curriculum. Additionally, we provide each other with the support needed to address the diversity in learning styles, student abilities, and the students’ languages."

When asked what she liked most about being a teacher, Margarida replied, "The most rewarding part of being a teacher is watching a struggling student "get it" for the first time. The way their little face lights up is so exciting and motivates me to keep going!"

Margarida used her SVEF grant to fund a major science project that she and her team developed. "This grant will help fund one of our most exciting science units. We raise steelhead salmon in the classroom and later release them into a stream in Felton. The cost for this unit and the culminating field trip adds up quickly. The salmon’s ability to "imprint" the smell of the stream in which they were spawned is something that baffles scientists and students alike. The SVEF Innovation Grant will provide the funding for our team to take our first grade students to the site in which the salmon eggs were originally spawned. Students will also get to make and keep a t-shirt to commemorate the salmon unit. Due to the fact that we are continuously trying to improve our test scores, academics are emphasized; so any opportunity to do more engaging, hands-on activities is always exciting for the students."

Margarida says that the biggest challenge he faces in teaching is dealing with the "students that come from broken unstable home environments or that don’t have the support at home that is needed to be successful in school. I try to provide them with stability and continuity at school. I try to convey that no matter what I will be there to help them and I am in their corner always. I make myself available to work with kids before and after school in order to be another support for students who struggle or need the extra help."

Congratulations to Margarida Oliveira, KBAY’s Teacher of the Month for June.