At the end of February WMS students chose Ms. McHale, Ms. Fraga, and Mrs. Liastro to receive the honor of Teacher of the Month, a special award for the schools’ teachers.

The 6th graders chose Ms. McHale as their Teacher of the Month. This is Ms. McHale’s 11th year teaching in Woodbridge Township, and she felt “shocked” yet “pleased” when she was given the award. She said she didn’t hear her name on the announcements due to her “talkative” homeroom, but her 6th graders told her the news.

Ms. McHale enjoyed “playing school” as a child, inspired to become a teacher. She feels supported by her parents, colleagues, principals, and Delta Kappa Gamma, a society for women educators. Her favorite part of teaching is the students. “They make up the school,” Ms. McHale added about her students. Aside from teaching, Ms. McHale enjoys concerts, traveling, reading, and spending time with her family.

Ms. Fraga won over the 7th graders for Teacher of the Month. This year is her third year teaching in WMS, after teaching at Avenel 4 & 5 and other middle schools in the district. Ms. Fraga felt “surprised” and “excited” when they announced she had won, especially since their are “so many teachers” and it was “an award given by the students.”

When asked about who supported her the most, she couldn’t decide on one person. “I can not point to just one person. I was blessed to have a lot of good people,” Ms. Fraga commented on the topic.  Throughout her day, she enjoys hellos from everyone and being with her 8th graders, since she believes their “improvement” is “unbelievable’’. Outside of school she enjoys driving her two children around and playing UNO with her family.

The 8th graders chose Mrs. Liastro, who has been a teacher in Woodbridge Township for 7 years. She felt “suprised” when she won the award, saying it “made her weak”. She started teaching because of her mother, who too was a teacher. “I wanted to make a difference,” Mrs. Liastro added to her feelings on her career.

Mrs. Liastro enjoys “interacting “ with the students and watching them “learn a lot”. She feels supported by her husband and her son, and she likes spending time with her family and friends. She also likes working out reading books, and going to the beach during the summer.

These three teachers are remarkable and completely deserve the honor of Teacher of the Month. Congratulations!