Albemarle County Public Schools announced the winners for this year’s Golden Apple Awards, including Angela Weymouth of Scottsville Elementary School and Marissa Spurlock of Walton Middle School.
Sponsored by Better Living Building Supply and Cabinetry, the Golden Apple Awards are presented to faculty members from public and private schools in Albemarle County and Charlottesville City. This year, the committee selected one winner from each school out of 1,420 nominations.
“It has always been of the utmost importance to me to recognize our teachers for the hard work they do in supporting and instructing our future generations of leaders,” former president of Better Living Richard Nunley said in a press release from ACPS. “As a community, we have tasked our teachers with instilling a love of lifelong learning and creativity within our children. It is now our turn to thank them for taking on that task.”
In addition to receiving a Golden Apple, every recipient earns a $500 grant which can be used for classroom materials. A ceremony will be held on May 8 in Lane Auditorium at the County Office building, beginning with a reception for the winners at 5pm. Steve Koleszar, chair of the Golden Apple Selection Committee, will lead the ceremony for the second year in a row starting at 5:30pm.
Angela Weymouth is originally from North Carolina where she attended Appalachian State University. She has been teaching for 13 years, though this is her first year at Scottsville. “I am proud to be a Tiger!” she said of her Golden Apple Award. She is pictured with her husband and dog, Denali.
Marissa Spurlock has taught math at Walton Middle School for five years. “We are honored to have Marissa representing WMS for the Golden Apple,” said Principal Josh Walton, adding that comments from her nomination included, “Her true talent lies in making all of her students feel seen, heard and loved. Math can be an intimidating subject to students. But not in Marissa’s classroom. Students thrive because of her innovative, eclectic methods of keeping them engaged, all while maintaining rigor.”