Finalists will be announced in the New Year
Thank you for the support you have shown our teachers. We received a number of heartfelt nominations. The finalists for the 21-22 school year will be announced in the New Year.
Nominations are now open for the 21-22 Lewis Award for Excellence in Teaching
Accepting nominations from Sept. 1-30
This year, even kids want to go back to school. That says something about how important the school experience is to everyone, and teachers are the people who create that experience for our children. So now is the time to let teachers know how valuable they are in our lives.
For example, consider the teacher who encouraged your child to try something new, or the teacher who saw and nurtured a talent in your child. How about the teacher your child talks about constantly? Even the teacher that your child thought was mean but later realized that was the teacher who wouldn’t just settle for less than this child could do. It is often that teacher that shows a child that they are more capable than they believed.
The form is open, waiting; It only takes a little thought and a few minutes to nominate a teacher for this recognition.
Remember just a nomination is very affirming for a teacher and this is a year that teachers really need that affirmation.
Accepting Nominations Sept. 1-30th
Currently, there is a growing teacher shortage country-wide. Many teachers are taking early retirement or finding other jobs. Without a dedicated teaching staff, Catholic schools will not survive.
One way to ensure that teachers know that they are valued is to nominate a teacher for the annual Lewis Award for Excellence in Teaching. For more than 25 years, this award has recognized teachers throughout the Diocese of Raleigh.
Nominating a teacher raises the morale of the school. The publicity around this award informs the community of the excellence of our Catholic Schools.
Consider nominating a teacher who has made an impact on you or your child. The nomination form will be posted on this page at the beginning of September.
Long-Awaited Mass Celebrating the 2019–2020 Lewis Award Recipient, Tina Isenbarger
Congratulations to Tina Isenbarger, the 2019-2020 Recipient of the Monsignor Gerald Lewis Award for Excellence in Teaching. Ms. Isenbarger teaches at St. Ann Catholic School, Fayetteville. She was notified of her selection on March 13, 2020, the Friday before schools were closed due to the pandemic. The long-awaited mass to honor Ms. Isenbarger was finally celebrated at St. Ann’s Church on April 21.
You can read more about this beautiful event, covered by Mandy Howard, writer for the NC Catholic, on the Diocese of Raleigh website:
https://dioceseofraleigh.org/news/after-year-delay-lewis-award-mass-honors-tina-isenbarger (Linked with permission from NC Catholic editor Kate Watson.)
Keith Brown, Chair of the Lewis Award Committee
Monsignor Lewis and Tina Isenbarger
Anne Stahel, Founder of the Award, Monsignor Lewis and Tina Isenbarger
Tina Isenbarger, Recipient, and Rene Corders, Principal of St. Ann Catholic School
Special Recognition from the Lewis Award Committee
Expressing Our Gratitude
The purpose of the annual Monsignor Gerald Lawrence Lewis Award for Excellence in Teaching is to recognize, promote and encourage teaching excellence in the Diocese of Raleigh Catholic Schools. Considering the uncertainties of the pandemic, the Award Process was paused for this year.
The Lewis Award Committee, however, recognizes the unprecedented challenges faced by the faculty in all schools. During this pandemic year, every teacher should be recognized for demonstrating a selfless commitment, both professional and personal, to excellence in Catholic education.
The Committee chose to honor and express our gratitude to the teachers with a special prayer, composed and blessed by Monsignor Lewis. The week before Christmas, the principals were presented a plaque with the prayer and logos of each elementary and high school as a reminder of the sacrifices the teachers have made and continue to make in the 2020–2021 school year. Please take the time to listen to the video from Keith Brown, Chair of the Committee, followed by a gallery of photos from presentations across the Diocese. May the Lord bless you and your families abundantly throughout this Christmas season and the coming year.
Sincerely,
The Lewis Award Committee:
- Keith Brown, Chair
- Lesley Ferguson
- Susan Goethals
- Cynthia Hanks
- Rosalie Innacelli
- Michelle Silva
Ex-Officio:
- Father John Forbes
- Monsignor Lewis
- Superintendent Lytia Reese
- John Ruocchio
- Anne Stahel
Video of presentation by Keith Brown, Committee Chair to Joyce Price, Principal of St. Mary’s in Wilmington.
Monsignor Lewis blessing the plaques and cards to be presented to each school.
The plaque with the prayer composed by Monsignor Lewis.
Bless Our Catholic School Teachers
Dear Lord, this has been a trying time for the dedicated teachers in our Catholic Schools caused by a virus that has infected our whole world. Loving Father, our teachers have continued to teach our children of your love and presence as well as the sciences of life amid great hardship. We beg your blessings on these dedicated teachers and upon those whom they teach. Let them know that your rainbow of love is over them and that their efforts will be rewarded by your protective love. We ask this through our Lord, Jesus Christ, the Great Teacher, in Union with the Holy Spirit. Amen.
2020/2021
Msgr. Gerald Lewis
Gallery
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