NWE is proud to honor 4th grade teacher, Sydney LaManque.
A little about Mrs. LaManque...
I truly cannot imagine teaching anywhere else! I love NWE so dearly and feel so honored to be nominated amongst such incredible, accomplished, and compassionate teachers.
Teaching has been my dream for my entire life. I have such distinct memories of lining up my stuffed animals (and my brother) after school to teach them math (write on my bedroom whiteboard) and read them Junie B. Jones. I can attribute so much of my love and passion for teaching to the amazing educators I had in my own life and the experiences I had within their classrooms.
This is my 5th year of teaching! I graduated from The University of Oklahoma in 2020 with my bachelor's degree in Elementary Education and completed my master's degree in Supervision, Curriculum, and Administration this past May (also from OU). I have taught 4th grade for all 5 years and have been so lucky to have gotten to spend them all at NWE. We serve such a special group of students and families here and I can't imagine having experienced anything greater!
I believe that all students have the capacity to learn and grow. Learning looks different for every child, so you can often find us in "vertical learning," doing math lessons on the carpet or outside, and engaged in different kinds of centers and activities each week. One of the greatest joys of teaching is seeing a student accomplish a new goal, have a "lightbulb" moment, and achieve something that they have been working so hard on, and my focus will always be finding one of those moments for every child in my room. I try to make it my mission each and every day that the students in my classroom feel safe, loved, encouraged. Fostering a classroom community that is uplifting, encouraging, and offers a friend for everyone will always be my number one goal and outside the classroom, I love attending football games, dance recitals, musicals, and other extracurricular activities for both my current and former students. I feel so lucky to be their champion both in and out of the classroom.
When I am not teaching, you can find me reading or going to barre/Pilates, traveling and cooking with my husband Marc, and going on walks with my pup, Boston!
What her colleagues say...
“Sydney LaManque goes above and beyond for her students, team and school. She is a leader for her grade level, tech team and helps her students become leaders. She cares deeply for her students success and mentors new teachers on her team to be their best. She is extremely organized and innovative in her thinking and approach to helping her students and colleagues.”