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Barbersville teacher and Cabell County Schools finalist highlights crochet, ski clubs and community outreach
Summary
A Barbersville Middle School teacher recounted starting a student-run crochet club in 2002 that donates to local care facilities, a ski club that boosts students' confidence, and said she was named one of five district finalists while sitting with her father in hospice.
Mrs. Smith, a teacher at Barbersville Middle School in the Cabell County Schools district, described how a family tradition of teaching led her into the classroom and into running extracurricular clubs that reach beyond the school building.
"I love that I can make the kids smile most days," Mrs. Smith said, explaining that small activities and clubs help students build relationships and find purpose. She told the room that her students have learned hands-on skills such as crochet and have joined a ski club that takes about five trips a year.
Mrs. Smith said the crochet club began in 2002 after two students approached her and asked to start the group. "They came to me and said, hey, missus Smith...we wanna start a crochet club," she recalled. The students first made items for Hoops Children's Hospital to support a peer who had been a cancer survivor.
The teacher also said students have made items for Lily's Place and delivered projects to assisted-living facilities including Wingate and the Village at Riverview. "We've taken things to them to just try to brighten the day of the people that live there," she said.
On the ski club, Mrs. Smith said the activity was not limited to athletes: some participants had never played a sport and joined to try something new. She said the trips require students to be independent and responsible, and that the experience has boosted self-esteem for pupils who previously lacked other extracurricular opportunities.
Mrs. Smith said she was named a finalist from Barbersville Middle School and one of five finalists from Cabell County Schools. She recounted that she learned of the recognition while sitting with her father in hospice; "He passed away that evening. And I was just like, me?" she said, describing mixed emotions about the honor amid personal loss.
She closed by praising her colleagues and expressing her affection for middle-school students. "They are still innocent, but they're also mature enough that you can joke around with them and have a good time with them," she said.
The remarks offered a snapshot of how one teacher combines classroom instruction with student-led clubs and community service; no formal district action or vote was recorded in this transcript.
