6A | WEDNESDAY, JUNE 10, 2020 | SIUSLAW NEWS
AWARDS from page 1A
to (her) community, includ-
ing community projects,
charity work and advocacy.”
McNeill is a member of
Siuslaw Elementary’s Kind-
ness Club, originally found-
ed by a student, which
welcomes new students
and their families on their
first day at school. McNeill
stepped forward to create
a gift bag filled with local
information and coupons,
and some of her own fa-
vorite things to do around
town.
“Claire’s ingenuity and
thoughtfulness
through
her Welcome Bag project
is what made her stand out
for this award,” said FCP-
TA Treasurer Diane Mc-
Calmont. “She took the seed
of compassion from being a
member of Kindness Club,
and came up with the idea
of making new students feel
welcome on their first day
of school. As the new stu-
dent arrives, Claire not only
provides them a tour of the
school, but gives them a bag
full of coupons to be used at
local business and informa-
tion about what there is to
do around Florence.”
In the nomination packet
for the award, one student
wrote, “Moving to a new
school can be scary, but
Claire made me feel wel-
come. … Claire is a great
role model for all students.”
FCPTA presented Mc-
Neill her award at a small
ceremony at Siuslaw Ele-
mentary in May.
Yesterday, June 9, the
PTA again gathered at the
elementary school, this
time to honor “one of Or-
egon’s best and brightest,”
according to Oregon PTA.
Surrounded by a 25-per-
son crowd consisting of her
colleagues, school admin-
istration, friends and her
family, Sarles received the
certificate for being named
Oregon PTA Teacher of
the Year. Additional people
waited outside to congratu-
late her.
In a video posted to Face-
book, Oregon PTA Presi-
dent Kristi Dille said, “We
are honored to award an
amazing teacher who has
focused on raising leaders,
followers and musicians in
her students. … Making a
true difference with chil-
dren and within the com-
munity is inspiring and de-
serves recognition.”
Sarles, originally from
Nashville, Tenn., has been
a music teacher at Siuslaw
for two school years. Before
moving here, she did volun-
teer work in the local and
global communities and
coordinated music festi-
vals, directed musicians and
conducted concerts. She
has taught internationally
in Kabul, Afghanistan, and
Kampala, Uganda.
Dille went on to say that
Sarles has consistent contact
with all 600 students at Siu-
slaw Elementary, something
that was echoed by FCPTA
members on Tuesday.
According
to
Mc-
Calmont, “Amanda bring
a contagious energy to all
aspects of her position. She
has brought a fresh and pos-
itive approach to her mu-
sic classes, as well as to her
team commitments. She is
loved by her students and
respected by her colleagues.
It’s evident that she genuine-
ly cares about every one of
the nearly 600 students that
she teaches each week.”
Fourth-grade
teacher
Angela DeSarro read from
a letter she submitted, “Mrs.
Sarles’ investment in our
students is evident when
walking with her down
school hallways or running
with her at Miller Park. She
has reached celebrity sta-
tus with our students who
are overjoyed when they
see her. … She doesn’t just
know the name of each stu-
dent, she knows about each
student. She has invested
her time and heart to learn
their individual stories. She
knows and praises their
strengths while also rec-
ognizing their needs, and
challenges them to be their
best self.”
It’s a big job for a teacher
who has only been at Siu-
slaw since the fall of 2018.
Siuslaw Elementary Prin-
cipal Mike Harklerode said
Sarles was “the dream can-
didate” for the music teach-
er position.
“Every now and again
over my 10 years as princi-
pal I have met a real ‘game
changer’ when interview-
ing prospective teachers.
Amanda was one such can-
didate,” he said.
In his letter in support
of Sarles’ nomination, he
wrote, “Prior to meeting
Amanda, I presumed a mu-
sic teacher’s primary role
was to inspire an apprecia-
tion and basic understand-
ing of music. I now see how
much bigger the role can be.
Amanda views it her calling
to lay the initial foundation
of skills and musical fluen-
cy. She has shown her col-
leagues, her students and
me how music can enhance
all aspects of life.”
Fifth-grader
Emma
Meier provided testimony
about Sarles, saying, “She
makes sure that no matter
what level of learning you’re
on, you get what you need
to learn. … She makes me
look forward every day to
go to music. Our school is a
better place with her here.”
At school, Sarles is a
member of the Positive
Behavior Support Team, a
teacher-leader and part of
the Character Education
We Are Open For Dine-in
CHANTELLE MEYER/SIUSLAW NEWS
Oregon PTA Teacher of the Year Amanda Sarles,
her husband Gary and their son Connor
program. She plans field
trips to Florence Events
Center and Eugene’s Hult
Center, working with local
music festivals and pro-
grams to expand knowledge
of music beyond the school
building.
“Her irrepressible en-
ergy and love for kids has
become contagious in our
school,” Harklerode said.
“Her colleagues have been
inspired to give more them-
selves and to expect more
from their students. Our
kids have been inspired to
rise to any challenge, know-
ing that they will be sup-
ported.”
Beyond teaching, the Or-
egon PTA Teacher of the
Year also has to make a dif-
ference in the community.
Part of that is partnering
with the local PTA.
“Mrs. Sarles is a leader
amongst team programs at
SES and through her vol-
unteer works outside of our
school community,” said
McCalmont. “She is a strong
supporter of our local PTA
and has coordinated the
PTA Brave Kids Talent
Show the past two years.”
She has also worked with
Osburn on the PTA’s annual
Color-A-Thon fun run and
on other programs.
On Tuesday, Sarles stood
in the middle of a loose
semi-circle of her colleagues
as FCPTA read speeches
and presented her with her
certificate from Oregon
PTA.
“I have so much to say,
and I just want to say thank
you,” she said.
She went on to thank the
administrators for their
encouragement, her col-
leagues who support and
serve her with their stu-
dents and all those who
helped make the award pos-
sible. One of those was Dr.
Melissa Brunkan, one of her
instructors at University of
Oregon who was able to at-
tend the ceremony.
“Awards like this don’t
happen in a vacuum,” Sarles
said. “This is not just an
award that I’m getting —
this is representative of our
community here and how
we hold one another up as
we teach our kids so they
can have successful futures
no matter where they end
up.”
She talked about the im-
portance of music and the
joy of helping kids learn —
not just music, but how to
problem solve.
“I take great responsibili-
ty in my role here,” she said.
“I get the privilege of seeing
kids grow, learn and flour-
ish year after year, month
after month. It’s an honor,
and it’s a privilege, to see
them overcome challeng-
es. They look at me saying,
‘I can’t do this and I never
will,’ to a few months later
to them going, ‘I can play
this piece of music.’”
Sarles also works with
adults, this time through
the choir at Florence United
Methodist Church.
“I have watched her work
with our choir, a group of
singers ranging from pre-
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were working hard to cre-
ate new ways of teaching
and connecting with stu-
dents during the pandemic,
FCPTA felt it was important
to recognize their efforts,”
McCalmont said. “We gave
away free gifts, wrote and
mailed thank you cards
to each one, provided do-
nuts and coffee to the bus
drivers, and created appre-
ciation signs around the
schools.”
During that week, Sarles
was instrumental in orga-
nizing the “Home Teacher
Appreciation” video made
by school staff and shared
on social media.
“We are very fortunate to
have such a strong commu-
nity of supporters with our
FCPTA,” she said.
This spring, FCPTA also
continued its support of
local high school seniors
by reviewing applications
and awarding four $500
scholarships to Nina Aaron,
Layla Blakely, Jonah Jarman
and Chloe Madden.
At the end of the awards
presentation at Siuslaw El-
ementary, Osburn said,
“Along with our middle and
high school, we have a great
community and an amazing
district. … PTA is happy to
be a part of it.”
For more information
about FCPTA, visit www.
facebook.com/Florence-
CommunityPta/.
To all the winners of
the Oregon PTA’s annual
awards, the group said, “We
value the work you are do-
ing in your communities
and the impact you have
on those around you. Our
sincerest thanks! We love to
show appreciation for what
you all do every day. Con-
gratulations to all our win-
ners and thank you for your
continued work.”
For information on
Oregon PTA, visit www.
oregonpta.org.
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said Rev. Dr. Karen Love
Baisinger, pastor. “From all
I hear and see about her
outreach and deep heart
involvement with her stu-
dents at the local elementa-
ry school, she is a genuine
and authentic example of
unconditional love, unstint-
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self that inspires all who
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For Sarles, “It’s an over-
whelming responsibility at
times, because I know that
skill of learning and accom-
plishing skills and knowl-
edge will translate into
every aspect of their life.
… The job is never done.
There is always an opportu-
nity to teach, an opportuni-
ty to improve, another kid
who needs a new way and
a new approach to accom-
plish their best selves.”
Sarles thanked more
people on her social media
after the award was first
announced. She concluded,
“This award is dedicated to
my students who have con-
tinued to trust me when I
invite them into a creative
space for musical expres-
sion. The music they create
is far more inspirational
than the music I present.
Their love of music drives
me to facilitate the best op-
portunities for their music
learning.”
FCPTA also earned oth-
er recognition from Or-
egon PTA this year. The
group won the Membership
Bright Idea Award and the
100% School Board Mem-
ber Award for getting all of
the Siuslaw School District
Board of Directors join
PTA.
During the school shut-
down this spring, FCPTA
continued to support teach-
ers and staff during Teach-
er and Staff Appreciation
Week in May.
“As teachers and staff
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