2006 Winterline Awards

The end of year staff banquet at Woodstock School is always a bittersweet occasion: we have reached the end of another year, with its usual mixture of triumphs and traumas, staff have a well-earned break to look forward to - but there are so many farewells and there is such sadness at seeing colleagues move on. One of the sweet moments in the banquet, though, is the annual opportunity to applaud and recognize some of the contributions made to Woodstock by means of the Winterline Awards for Excellence in International Education, for which the nominations come from staff colleagues.

Winterline Foundation funds Awards For Excellence in International Education at Woodstock School to reward and encourage excellence in classroom teaching or staff-directed activity that is helping produce individuals equipped to be citizens of the world. Up to two teachers or other school staff members who demonstrate innovative curriculum development or outstanding instructional technique, who organize or conduct exemplary extracurricular activity, or who otherwise motivate high student achievement or interest related to the purposes of the Foundation are honored annually. The monetary Awards total $500 each and are granted outright, with no restriction on how they are spent. (from the Winterline Foundation website).

This year's awards went to two staff who were leaving Woodstock. Shannon Deyhle, with her husband Vaughn, had worked as a residence supervisor for Grade 9 students for two years. Her award was in recognition of a continuing initiative called "Woodstock Values", through which each month a different value is emphasised on a school-wide basis. Poster displays, assembly themes, "thought for the day" on the intranet home page, residence devotions, all are brought together with a unified message to reinforce the theme. This initiative continues under the leadership of Monica Roberts and Polly Petersen.

The second award was to Sharon Seto, who was leaving as Director of Development to take up a new post in the USA after ten years at Woodstock. It would be impossible to list Sharon' s achievements during that time as teacher, dorm parent, hike leader and administrator. In particular, the award citation mentioned her commitment to environmental education, including the tremendous work put into envisioning what became the Hanifl Center, and her leadership of Woodstock's fundraising and alumni development activities, which culminated in the outstanding year of celebrations for the school's 150th anniversary, and the raising of over $6 million towards the school's campus and programmes. Sharon has moved on to head the outdoor activities and service learning curriculum at an international school in New Mexico. They will benefit as we did from her vision, compassion and energy.

Sincere congratulations to these two award recipients, and to the many other staff, not recognized in this way, who made significant contributions to the life and work of Woodstock School over the last year. Our thanks go to the Winterline Foundation for establishing this award, and for all their other support for Woodstock School.