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Mar. 17--Balloons already were floating above Sandra Noel's Oak Park classroom Thursday when a crush of well-wishers surprised her with the announcement that she was a 2006 Golden Apple award winner.
The creative physical education teacher was using the colorful props to help Hatch Elementary School pupils perfect their volleyball skills. It's one of the fun ways that she gets children engaged in fitness and nutrition.
Noel also helped implement "Smoothie Fridays," when kids can buy the fruity snacks during lunch. She also organizes a salad bar twice a month that gets kids enthusiastic about vegetables.
"We've jumped for joy, we're very excited about this," Noel said to a gymnasium full of family, colleagues and students. "I want to thank you all for inspiring me."
Noel, the first Hatch teacher ever to receive the honor, was one of 10 Chicago-area educators recognized this week as the state's outstanding teachers of 2006.
Also honored Thursday were Kristie Charles of Hunting Ridge Elementary in Palatine; Dianne Hamelly of Fremont Elementary in Mundelein; and Karen Wylie of Meyer School in Skokie.
Five Chicago teachers and a Wilmette educator were told they won the award Wednesday.
Noel's creative thinking often extends beyond school grounds. She regularly works with local restaurants to bring exotic entrees into the school.
"[Pupils] try things and they enjoy things that adults would never believe they would eat, and then they ask for the recipes," said Noel, who has taught at Hatch for 17 years.
Noel helps children tour the continents through their palates, sampling cuisine from Italian white-bean bruschetta, to Thai cucumber salad with red peppers, to North African stew and couscous. "She's really helping them appreciate different foods," said Principal Sheila Carter.
And through another Noel-inspired program, parents can order baskets of organic fruits and vegetables through the school each week. In fact, it was a parent who nominated Noel for the award.
She is the seventh Golden Apple winner in Oak Park Elementary District 97, school officials said. Honorees receive a tuition-free sabbatical at Northwestern University, a computer and $3,000.
gaduroja@tribune.com
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