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Mrs. Helmandollar teaches fourth grade at Hidden Hollow Elementary School in Eagle Mountain, Utah. She is one amazing lady!! The day that my son was selected to be in her class will be a day that we look back at for the rest of his life. The first time we met Mrs. Helmandollar was Back to School night at the elementary. I knew that night that she was a special person, who had a love for life, teaching and art.
Some teachers take the summer break to unwind and spend time doing personal things. Not Mrs. Helmandollar, she explained to my son and I she had spent six weeks that summer in Southern Utah. The time she spent there was solely for learning hands on things that she planned to teach the entire class that year. She was so excited about the things she had learned and couldn't wait to teach the students about the rocks she had studied. She even brought the students some of these rocks to keep. My son still has these rocks and probably always will. My son has a learning disability. He has a difficult time with reading and writing since the middle part of second grade. Some students since that time have used this learning disability as a way to tease him and make him feel bad about himself. It was divine intervention that got my son is Mrs. Helmandollar's class.
Her style of teaching is awesome! She has a love for art and finds a way to bring art into the classroom for teaching various subjects like math and science. Yet another reason my son loves her so much as he loves art too. The techniques she used to teach different subjects have stuck with my son since.
My son is now in the sixth grade. He talks about Mrs. Hellmandollar like she is his current teacher. For the past two years when I ask my son what he would like to give his current teacher for Christmas or Teacher Appreciation week he ALWAYS says "I want to give Mrs. Helamandollar ."!! I ask him about his current teacher and says "yeah, we can get them something too after we get Mrs. Helmandollars gift".
I could write for hours about how amazing Mrs. Helmandollar is and tell different accounts and stories. Another amazing thing about her is she is not prideful. She is passionate about what she does and everyone around her can feel that passion, especially her students. If anyone deserves this award it would be Mrs. Helmandollar.
--Jenifer Aaron
