Pictures from A Day Made Better

Monaco Teacher Wins Award

Monaco Elementary Kindergarten Teacher is “A Day Made Better” Winner

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (October 8, 2009) – Andrew Giles typically spends his classroom budget before the school year even begins. His story is similar to that of thousands of teachers across the country who often rely on personal funds to create high-quality learning experiences for their students throughout the school year.

Giles, a kindergarten teacher at Monaco Elementary School in Adams 14, is the recipient of an “A Day Made Better” award, an annual award program sponsored by OfficeMax and Adopt-A-Classroom that recognizes not only outstanding instructors but also provides them with educational resources to assist in students’ learning experiences.

Each year, more than 1,100 teachers receive $1,000 in school supplies. The project mission, according to www.adaymadebetter.com, is “Working to Erase Teacher Funded Classrooms”.

Monaco Teacher Drew Giles Wins AwardOn the morning of Tuesday, October 6, several OfficeMax employees visited Giles and his students in his kindergarten classroom with Monaco Principal Jennifer Ikenouye, and presented him with a box of classroom supplies including a digital camera, a printer and other learning resources. As students flocked around the unopened box and unexpected newcomers, OfficeMax District Sales Manager Herb Brown presented Giles with an award certificate to recognize his contributions to elementary education.

“The students kept asking if it was my birthday,” laughs Giles. “I told them it was a gift reflecting the great job the students and teachers do at Monaco Elementary. I used the box as the basis for a vocabulary lesson and asked the children to make predictions about what was inside. This is an amazing school. If you look around Monaco, it’s evident that the leadership, students, parents and volunteers have made this a positive and engaging place to learn.”

Photo caption: Monaco Elementary School teacher Andrew Giles (second from left) and school principal, Jennifer Ikenouye (right), with OfficeMax team members during “A Day Made Better” award presentation.