Bonny Doon Elementary School kindergarten teacher Judy Kele was surprised with a box full of electronics and school supplies this week during an assembly at the school, thanks to a nationwide contest.
“We told her it was an evacuation drill,” first-year principal Stephanie Siddens said. “She came in with her emergency backpack on, and she apologized for being late and that she forgot the evacuation drill.”
Kele received about $1,200 worth of classroom supplies, including a new printer, an office chair and a digital camera. She was the only teacher in the county to receive the surprise visit from OfficeMax on Tuesday, Oct. 6, as part of a nationwide event called “A Day Made Better.”
OfficeMax teamed up with Adopt-A-Classroom for the giveaways.
Siddens, who nominated Kele during the summer, kept the award a secret until the assembly, even though she knew the teacher had won months ago.
The principal praised Kele’s unceasing dedication to the school after 21 years in Bonny Doon.
“(During the summer), her car was here every day early on,” Siddens said. “I talked with my administrative assistant and some parents. All of them told me about how wonderful a teacher and how wonderful a person she is. She’s still the first car here and the last one to leave, even after me, sometimes. She’s just an amazing woman and an amazing teacher.”
