A Garrett Junior High School teacher’s passion for her students was recently recognized when she was named the Nevada Association of School Councils’ Middle School Advisor of the Year.
Christa May teaches sixth grade science at Garrett as well as serves as the student council adviser. She said she is passionate about getting as many students involved as possible, and to be honored for that has been a great experience.
“Kids need to work and go to school,” she said. “It’s their job, but they need to have fun, too.”
Since coming back to in-person learning from the pandemic, May said she has worked to create fun, low-risk activities for the students to be involved in. Some recent ones were a Vans day where students and teachers all wore their Vans shoes and apparel. Another was a day where everyone wore Croc style sandals and she handed out different charms that they could display on them.
“Christa is a very dedicated and creative teacher, who truly does what she does because she wants the kids to have the best experience,” said Garrett Principal Melanie Teemant. “She loves the Boulder City community and is committed to service and sharing her gifts and talents. She is always willing to go the extra mile to make it extra special and we appreciate her willingness to put kids first.”
As the student council adviser, May organizes activities for the school and helps train the students to do the same. She said it’s a lot of work in addition to her teaching duties but it’s fun and she loves it because of the impact she sees it have on the students.
“I like to plan events, and I like to teach the children how to plan them, too,” she said. “It gives them experience with different things they may be able to use later in life.
“I really enjoy this age, too, because they get my sense of humor,” she added.
May has been teaching for more than 20 years and has spent the past eight years at Garrett.
The Nevada Association of Student Councils is an organization dedicated to unifying the state through effective communication and assisting all Nevada student councils in achieving their goals.
The adviser of the year is chosen from nominations from the schools and based on the criteria of activities on campus, council service projects, local and state service projects, recognition and awards, and national student council involvement.
Contact reporter Celia Shortt Goodyear at cgoodyear@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow her on Twitter @csgoodyear.