The Cherokee County School District celebrated outstanding educators with an elegant dinner, tributes and gifts at the Cherokee County 2013 Teacher of the Year Banquet thanks to the support of community partners.

The annual dinner for the Cherokee County Teacher of the Year and all CCSD school-level Teachers of the Year was co-hosted by Northside Hospital-Cherokee and Credit Union of Georgia on Dec. 13, 2012 at the Northside Hospital-Cherokee Conference Center in Canton.

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Frank R. Petruzielo and the School Board congratulated Cherokee County 2013 Teacher of the Year Sandy Giudice of Macedonia ES, as well as all school-level winners during the event, which also was attended by all CCSD Principals and the Superintendent’s Cabinet.

“There is some magic in the classroom that can’t be captured on paper,” Dr. Petruzielo said in his introduction of the county’s Teacher of the Year, who then gave her own speech to the audience.  “Sandy Giudice makes that kind of magic in her third-grade classroom at Macedonia Elementary School.  She sings and dances.  She yells like Tarzan and screeches like a monkey.  She teaches her students – and teaches them well – by connecting with them and making learning something they want to do.”

Dr. Petruzielo and the School Board presented gifts to all of the winners including: a $100 Visa Gift Card (funded by donations from Pearson Digital Learning, Cherokee Bank and Fforg) gifts from BJ’s Wholesale Club, Lifetouch Portrait Studio and TrippLite and engraved plaques. 

The county Teacher of the Year was presented with additional gifts including: an Apple iPad 16 GB with Wifi from Alcatel, a $500 gift card and $100 gift basket from Kroger, a Sony Digital Video Camera from Southern Computer Warehouse, a Kindle Fire HD from CommScope, a $50 Target gift card from Panduit and a BJ’s Wholesale Club gift card.

To further recognize CCSD’s Teachers of the Year, the School District has established a Teacher of the Year page on its website at http://portal.cherokee.k12.ga.us/departments/pr/Pages/toty.aspx that contains articles and photos of the winners, which will be expanded each year with additional honorees.