Whitley East educators recently awarded ‘Above and Beyond’ awards

Photo by MARK WHITE Whitley County Board of Education members joined three Whitley East Elementary educators, as they received “Above and Beyond” awards. Pictured from left to right are Delmar Mahan, J.E. Jones, Jessica Wilder, Cindy Hamblin, Vanessa Sizemore, Brenda Hill, Malorie Cooper and Larry Lambdin.

Cindy Hamblin, Vanessa Sizemore and Jessica Wilder are three energetic and committed educators who were recently recognized by the Whitley County Board of Education and awarded the “Above and Beyond” Award for their dedication and service. They went above and beyond on their own time to create a beautiful environment for the students, staff and community at their school.

Whitley East Elementary School recently updated the booths and tables in the cafeteria of the ten-year-old school with bright colored table tops and rectangular seating.

“…if these teachers were
a part of speech, they would definitely be verbs, because they are all about action!”

Mike Partin,Principal Whitley East Elementary School

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Mike Partin, principal of the school, said the change was much needed as the cafeteria is one of the main focal points at the school.

In addition to the children eating there twice, and sometimes three times, a day, the cafeteria often serves as a meeting room, impromptu classroom and for community members, the cafeteria serves as a party room – for birthday parties, baby and wedding showers, reunions, etc.

The update to the “Mustang Cafe” instigated much talk at the school about how nice it would be to have bright colored wall murals painted for the students, staff and visitors to look at while utilizing the room.

It didn’t take long for Mrs. Hamblin, Mrs. Sizemore, and Mrs. Wilder to take action to see the ideas and dreams become a reality.

The three educators started by calling Sherwin Williams, a paint store in Corbin, that donated to the project – 20 gallons of custom mixed paint to match the tables.

Then they not only painted new murals, but they also updated the old murals that were there from before.

Partin said, “The ladies did all of this on their time, taking hours upon hours over Spring Break, so the students would see it when school resumed the following Monday.  As a result, our cafeteria is a very beautiful place to enjoy a meal, have a meeting, or community event, and it will remain so for many years to come.”

“I am very proud to be the principal of such a dedicated, committed faculty and staff,” Partin continued. “Everything we do is about our students, and if these teachers were a part of speech, they would definitely be verbs, because they are all about action!”

The students love using their fun “new” cafeteria at the school.

Partin, who nominated the three for the award, said he feels the effort of these three individuals is just one example of the level of teamwork and dedication to students and commitment to excellence that makes Whitley East Elementary School such a great place to work and learn.

Encouraging words written on the walls of the cafeteria at Whitley East

Bright colors offer an energetic atmosphere.

Beautiful colors on the wall to match the tables in the cafeteria at Whitley East.

Fun murals on the cafeteria walls create excitement.

Beautiful colors create a fun atmosphere.

All cafeteria photos are by Mike Partin, Principal at Whitley East Elementary School.