By Robert JENSEN
The Desert Independent

February 12, 2012

BLYTHE, Calif – During the past meeting of the Palo Verde USD Board of Trustees, Principal Jeremy James of Felix J. Appleby Elementary School introduced a 6th Grade student, Clayton Teater, as the Student of the Month for February.

In his presentation, Principal James stated:

Clayton Teater is an outstanding sixth grade student at Felix J Appleby. His homeroom class teacher is Mrs. Laura Mathews. He is the son of Deana and James Teater. He has had the honor of attending Appleby since Third grade.

Clayton’s road to student of the month was a rocky one.

When he first came to Appleby in 3rd grade, he accumulated several behavior referrals. During one bad year Clayton amassed over 20 behavior referrals. My personal favorite was when he shut down the water to a good portion of the campus.

As he has gotten more mature he has also learned to control his behavior. I am proud to announce that he has not been sent to the office once this year for any behavior referral and has been described by his teacher Mrs. Warren as “working hard to replace his unwanted behaviors with positive, more mature ones and over the past three years become a joy to work within the learning center, coming into class each day with a willing attitude to work”.

Clayton has a love of science above all other subjects he excels in this area. In both school and his personal life he has participated in 4 - H since he was nine years old; raising several goats, chickens and turkey projects. He often brings eggs in the morning to share with the staff of Appleby. He is an avid video gamer. He is not much of reader but instead prefers math.

Mrs. Mathews has know Clayton since he was a born and has enjoyed watching him grow into a “polite young man who exemplifies good manners”. Clayton loves to share personal stories, and often interacts with the 6th grade teachers during recess and is always greeting the staff with a hearty “Good Morning”! He also frequently contributes during the science portion of the day.

In summation Clayton strives to follow the school and classroom rules, and takes to heart Appleby’s motto: “Never settle for less than your very best.” For all that I have mentioned and more I am proud to recognize Clayton Teater as the Elementary Student of the Month.

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