Congratulations to our 2022-23 Award Winners and Nominees! 

The Outstanding Educator Award

This award is established by National PTA and awarded by Bell PTSA to an individual who has made significant contributions in their community to enhance the educational outcomes of all children or youth. An educator is not limited to a teacher and may be defined as a teacher, assistant, specialist, support staff, administrator, or community member.

Golden Acorn Award

This award is established by National PTA and awarded by Bell PTSA to an individual who has provided exemplary volunteer service to children and youth in our community. The Golden Acorn is given for continued and dedicated service. Nominees for this award include volunteers that dedicate their time to advocating for children and supporting the mission of our PTA: To create and foster opportunities that enrich and support our children, teachers, and community. 

Outstanding Educator Award Winners

Amy Dennehy
Amy is a dedicated teacher to not only her students in her class, but willing to support all students at Bell. She is the top staff member that gets picked to eat lunch with students in the "I Got Caught" drawings. She offers to eat lunch with previous students during her prep time to help them through tough days. She works hard to create a classroom that is inclusive and compassionate to all learners. She frequently volunteers to implement new initiatives at Bell.

I nominate her for being the best teacher. She is so wonderful with my child and all her students. We just love her so much! Her kindness patience and love for her students is admirable and beautiful!

Sachi Nickels
Ms. Nickels is an incredible teacher. This year, her class is technically over capacity, but I have witnessed her have control over her class with masterful skill. All the while, she is still providing her students with individual care and great life lessons. Ms. Nickels is also extremely responsive to parent questions and fields emails in a timely manner. Honestly, I don't know how she does all of this while still maintaining a highly positive and professional attitude towards her students as well as with parents. Ms. Nickels is a superhero!!

I don't know how Sachi does it. She teaches a very large and spirited group of students, leading them with high expectations for their behavior and academics while also always showing empathy, care, and love. She guides these 31 brains, bodies, and hearts every day, and we are so thankful to her for everything she does.

Outstanding Educator Nominees

Alex Magnani
She is patient, she loves her students, she has a good discipline system, she is innovative.

John Marino

John is one of the most well-rounded educators I have met in my lifetime. He is thoughtful, understanding, energetic, involved and extremely aware of the needs of staff and students. Whenever I talk with him about planning a lesson, or he's teaching the staff a new trick for helping students, or even bouncing the start of an idea towards him, he is always thinking of how to most efficiently and seamlessly captivate the widest audience.

Julie Barker
Julie is a great asset to Bell's teaching team! She is communicative with parents, treats her students with respect, and makes learning fun. She goes above and beyond for her students and goes out of her way to support their endeavors both in and out of the classroom. She makes sure that her students know that she cares about them. Our daughter absolutely loves being in her class and says that Mrs. Barker deserves to win a Presidential Award :).  

Kay Flowers
Ms. Flowers is a kind and dedicated teacher. She's helpful to kids who need a bit of extra support and is a positive influence.

Kristin Coberly
Ms. Coberly cares so much about her students. You can tell in the effort she puts into her teaching, preparation, and reflection. Bell will miss her dearly next year.

Rebekah Lazoritz
It's been wonderful to watch the growth and progression of the Kindergarteners in your class this year who got to benefit from your teaching approach. But in our eyes, what truly sets you apart is your day-to-day focus on the kids in your class as humans. Amidst a group of enthusiastic and inquisitive Kindergarteners, you exude a calming, kind, and guiding presence that they eagerly look forward to each day. Your deliberate approach to every interaction with our kiddos, providing them with the time, space, and attention to confidently speak is remarkable. You empower them to think through their ideas and express themselves and it truly does not go unnoticed. We feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to know you, and we are immensely grateful that our child's first full year of school was spent in your classroom.

Yurika Bang
We are so thankful that Yurika joined Bell this year. She is a phenomenal teacher and does a wonderful job balancing learning and making it fun, while also ensuring she creates a calm learning environment. She is also great about communicating with parents and being flexible in her learning style with each student to ensure all students have the support they need to thrive. THANK YOU, Mrs. Bang!

Golden Acorn Award Winners

Keri Morgan
Keri Morgan has served as PTSA President this year and has committed countless hours to serving our community. Taking on the presidency role is a significant commitment and requires a lot of skills (e.g., leadership, project management, business acumen, communication skills, and frankly just juggling a lot of things at one time). Running a 501(c)(3) is not a small undertaking. Keri has managed the role with grace, even during high stress times. Her work in leading the PTSA directly impacts the students and our community through educational enrichment programs (e.g., the school play, Girls on the Run, all before and after school programs), community building events, advocacy work, and serving families in our community who need additional support with food and other resources.

The impact of Bell PTSA is substantial. We are lucky to have such a great PTSA and Keri is a big part of the PTSA's success and impact in our community. THANK YOU for all you give!

Keri is an absolutely incredible human being. She stepped into an extremely challenging role as PTSA president this year, and she goes above and beyond every day to make Bell an even better place for students, staff, and families. She works tirelessly (though I know she's tired) because she truly cares about helping our students. Her follow-through and work ethic are incomparable, and we are lucky to have her leading the PTSA. We love you, Keri!

Keri has done a great job leading the PTSA. Taking on Girls on the Run, PTSA meetings, and some many tasks …too many to list! Its been hard work and she has done so well!

Keri has gone above and beyond in her role as PTSA President. She has dedicated herself to the Bell community and strives to make a difference for each and every student and staff member. In her first year as PTSA President, Keri has done an amazing job of carrying out the PTSA's mission. We are lucky to have her!

Leslie Victor
Her tireless work on behalf of the pantry pack program, the holiday gift drive, the book fair and her consistent help to any teachers who need help with extra projects throughout the year.

I don't think a day goes by where I don't see Leslie in the hallways of Bell - she is always putting up posters, decorating the staff lounge, delivering meals, popping popcorn, etc. She is such a huge help in each classroom her children are in, but she makes no hesitation to help out wherever else is needed.

For many years, Leslie has worked tirelessly for the Bell Community. From Pantry Packs, to Popcorn Fridays, to the Holiday Gift Drive & everything in between, Leslie goes above and beyond to support the entire Bell Community. Her dedication and care for others is unmatched!

Leslie’s big heart shows in all she does. She volunteers for some of the most impactful programs at Bell and spends so many hours doing so: pantry packs, the holiday gift drive, popcorn Fridays, supporting Bell families in need. She’s also the first to jump at the chance to volunteer in the classrooms and on field trips. Thanks for all you do, Leslie! You continue to make such an impact at our school. 

Golden Acorn Nominees

Angelica Flores
Wonderful classroom volunteer, event volunteer, and popcorn Friday helper! Very caring about every student, staff member, and other volunteer.

Brena Gattuccio
I’m so grateful for Brena’s continued support this year. She may not be on the board this year but she has continued to offer help in so many ways. From making herself available to answer countless questions, to taking on nominating committee duties, yearbook, advocacy, managing the website and just generally stepping in whenever volunteer help is needed. Brena cares SO much about this community and is always willing to lend a helping hand. Thanks for all you do, Brena!

David Morgan
Oh, Dave. We are so lucky to have Dave behind the scenes of the PTSA board. From the unglamorous job of donning the Alex the Bulldog costume, to the equally unglamorous but slightly less sweaty job of reviewing our taxes, he has helped us in countless ways this year. Literally, I cannot count them. We are so thankful for Dave's calm and steady demeanor and sense of humor keeping us grounded and legally compliant.

Dawn Matsui Liu
Dawn is one of the sweetest, most caring people you’ll ever meet. She is the queen of behind the scenes. From managing the PTSA finances to meticulously perfecting EVERY detail of the yearbook. All while also being a Bell staff member in the SNAPS preschool program. Thank you for all you do for our school community! 

Frances Chen
Frances’ family joined Bell this year and she immediately reached out wanting to volunteer. She took on one of the most involved roles on the PTSA board and brought so many fun enrichment opportunities to Bell this year. Thank you for all of your hard work this year and all of the laughs. We will miss you so much next year! 

Jane Helbig
Jane took on fundraising for the second year in a row and knocked it out of the park. Her late night point tallying and cute play by play emails really paid off. We ended up exceeding our fundraising goal and were able to fund so many fun programs for Bell this year. Jane ALSO took on the role of producer of the school play and did a phenomenal job coordinating volunteers and working with studio east to bring back the first in-person school play in several years!

Meribeth Haeck
I think, at this point, Meribeth is everyone’s grandma. :)  She’s the sweetest. She has dedicated so many hours to volunteering at Bell: Popcorn Fridays, the holiday gift drive, pantry packs, being the designated otter pop freezer! Thanks for all you do, Meribeth! We’re so lucky to have you.