Mullica Township School District presents teacher, support awards

 From the Press of Atlantic City, 6/09/2010-Michelle Lee, Staff Writer

A middle school music teacher, a elementary school special education teacher and a longtime paraprofessional won the teacher and support staff member of the year awards in the Mullica Township School District. All of the winners said they were surprised to receive the honor and the school principals described the winners as being dedicated and caring. The award winners are:.

Cathy Bridge, the instrumental music teacher at Mullica Township Middle School, has been in the district for 11 years. The Port Republic resident works part-time, and she leads the jazz, junior, senior and pep bands. Bridge also teaches music in the Stone Harbor and Green Bank school districts in Cape May and Burlington counties, respectively.

Bridge said she got her musical start when she was 10 years old after her brother told her it was "too hard" for a girl to play trombone. Bridge, who grew up in New York City, took up that dare, earned a performance degree from the Manhattan School of Music and became a professional musician. Other local groups Bridge plays with include the Ocean City Pops Orchestra, the Bay Atlantic Symphony Orchestra, the Bob Ferris Swingtimers and the Lighthouse, a retro 60s, 70s and 80s music band.

Bridge said she got interested in teaching after working in the New York City school system, and she enjoys working with the Mullica middle-schoolers because she finds they "really care about music." Bridge said she tried to teach them on an individual basis so they can learn at their own speed.

"I love middle schoolers because they're up one second, down the next," Bridge said. "They're kind of crazy, and I'm kind of crazy and I fit right in with them."

Bridge said she appreciates the award and she thinks the middle school classroom teachers should be honored the most.

Mullica Middle School Principal Brenda Harring-Marro called Bridge very creative, kind and warm toward the students. Harring-Marro said she has been impressed at how far the students progress from September, when they are just learning the basics, to the winter and spring concerts.

Harring-Marro added that she has always been impressed by the concert programs, which include a variety of music, from classical pieces to the works of rock band Queen. "It's always upbeat, funky and fun." she said. "It makes you want to tap your foot."

Nellie Rivera-Aponte, a first- to fourth-grade special education teacher at Mullica Township Elementary School, has been in the district for nine years. The 44-year-old Mullica resident said she became interested in helping people with special needs as a child growing up in Trenton because her youngest brother had Down syndrome. Rivera-Aponte spent several years working as a manager of group homes in Linwood and Bound Brook, Somerset County, when she decided to switch careers in 1996 and enrolled in the special education program at Rowan University.

Rivera-Aponte said she enjoys helping her students feel comfortable in school and to ask questions. "The way I tell them, it's not going to hurt them if you try. Learning is making mistakes. If you don't make mistakes, there's no learning."

At the same time, Rivera-Aponte participates in an after-school academic and homework help program, and she manages the elementary school's internal post office, which is operated by students.

Rivera-Aponte said she was surprised to get the teacher of the year award for her school, and she said the award really represents the work of all the teachers in the school. "It's not just one of us working with a child. It takes a whole group," she said.

The support staff of the year honor went to Ginger Werner, an elementary school paraprofessional who has been in the district for 29 years.

Werner, a Mullica resident, said she got her start when her daughter attended the school. Werner said her daughter had asthma, and Werner thought it would be good to work in the school. Werner's daughter, Lori Dooner, is now a fifth-grade teacher in the Linwood school district.

Werner said she enjoys working with the first-to-fourth-graders, and she said the best part of her job is helping them meet their challenges. She has provided after-school homework help for students in the latch key program for seven years as well.

"I just enjoy being here every day," Werner said. "I work with wonderful people, and it's like a family."

Elementary school Principal Kevin Dugan praised Rivera-Aponte and Werner for their dedication.
Dugan said Rivera-Aponte "makes every kid feel important" and she helps out the students who are bilingual in Spanish or are recent arrivals to the United States. "She finds something good in every child, and that's where she builds them," Dugan said.

Dugan called Werner "very dependable," and he noted that she's always in the school every day and never calls in sick. "She's great with the kids, loving and firm."