District surprises teachers

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- Some yelled “Yeehaw” and others “Aloha.”

At Victoria Elementary School teachers donned cowboy hats, while down

on the peninsula they were given straw hats to wear.

But in both places it was all about offering thanks to teachers

Wednesday for Day of the Teacher.

“Oh my gosh,” exclaimed Heather Manchester, a fourth-grade teacher at

Newport Elementary School as she saw what was in store for her and her

colleagues.

As soon as the last student was on the bus or passed off to his or her

parents, 27 curious teachers were led to a dock wrapped in crepe-paper

streamers, where a tiki party boat was just pulling up.

“I think it’s fantastic,” said Monica Mathers, a first-grade teacher.

“I think we’re so fortunate to have such a wonderful PTA.”

Teachers had been told that they were going to have a special meeting.

And while they all expected some sort of surprise for Day of the Teacher,

they didn’t expect a two-hour harbor cruise, with food and cake, a bar

and a deejay.

“I’ve been a teacher for a while, and we’ve never had anything so

great,” said Gary Schniepp, who teaches fifth grade. “They just keep

topping themselves.”

And so, with Jimmy Buffett singing about sharks, the teacher-filled

tiki boat set sail.

Throughout the district, teachers had loads of surprises in store for

them.

At Victoria, that shock was accompanied by a bunch of reeling teachers

who reveled in a hoedown.

Each year, Principal Judy Laakso said, she tries to do something

special for teachers that everyone can be a part of.

This year she invited Jim Scott as a special guest. Scott is a

well-known community member, but few know of his talent as a western

dance specialist.

He had teachers doing a little dance he called “the chicken neck,” in

which they made a pecking motion with their heads and bobbed around like,

well, chickens.

Whether it was the dance moves or their suburb teaching, the event had

students cheering wildly.

“She’s the best teacher in the whole school, because I like her and I

like the surprises she gives us,” said Danielle Ridge, 6, about her

kindergarten teacher at Victoria, Christine Burke.