When students return to Nederland Elementary School (NES) in a few days they will miss two teachers who are not returning after being at NES for many years.
Mary Waddell and Rebecca Vosteen have retired. They have taught hundreds of children through the years and each decided it was time to start a new journey.
It may surprise you that Miss Mary, the quintessential kindergarten and first grade teacher, did not start her career teaching. When she began her studies at college she took education courses, but her love of the outdoors grew. She earned degrees in botany and biological aspects of conservation.
Miss Mary said, “I went on to be an educational specialist and director at a nature center in Racine, Wisconsin.” When she and her husband moved to Colorado, Miss Mary worked in tech support at a software company. When their daughters were young she stayed home with them.
As their children entered elementary school Miss Mary decided to take on a paraprofessional position at Nederland Elementary School (NES). While working there she saw a flyer from the BUENO Center indicating that CU had a program that helped people just like her obtain their teaching degrees. She applied, was accepted, and in two years had her teaching license and Master’s degree. Miss Mary excitedly said, “I had finally finished the teaching degree that I started many, many years before as an undergraduate!”
Miss Mary taught for 19 years. For six years she was at Lafayette Elementary School teaching kindergarten, English language development, and first grade. Miss Mary taught at NES for 13 years. There she taught first grade, kindergarten, English language development, and literacy. She was also the teacher librarian.
Miss Mary had always felt fortunate that the Boulder Valley School District valued the art of teaching and she feels that gave her room to be creative with her teaching lessons. “For me, that creativity was what made teaching fun. I found my passion in teaching reading after participating in an intensive reading intervention program BVSD offered. Watching young readers not only learn the fundamentals of literacy but also help them build a true love of reading kept things exciting.”
She said that some of her favorite moments in the classroom were when she would look around and see every child reading or discussing a book with a classmate. It also warmed her heart when a student would accidentally call her “mom.” That would let her know that her students felt that their classroom was a safe and comfortable place.
Miss Mary says that she will miss laughing with the kids. “A day didn’t go by when there wasn’t something to laugh at!”
Retirement will give Miss Mary more time to spend with friends and family, be outside, reading during the day, and drinking chai on her deck.
As someone who worked closely with Miss Mary as another teacher in her classroom for a few years, I can say that she was a joy to work with. She will be missed.
Teaching has been Rebecca Vosteen’s career. Her entire teaching career of 28 years has been in Boulder Valley School District. Miss Rebecca taught four years at Flatiron Elementary and 24 years at NES. All of those years have been in third grade, fourth grade and multi-age third/fourth classrooms.
Miss Rebecca says that teaching feels natural. This is not surprising when you hear that her mother was a teacher, too. She has loved teaching all these years. Miss Rebecca says, “My clients were the best part, those 9 to 10 year olds. Every year was different. It keeps it new and exciting.”
It was clear from Miss Rebecca’s teaching that she was in tune to her students’ strengths and their challenges. She could work with a student and see where they needed some extra assistance, and she knew how to help. Her years of teaching experience was invaluable.
She also taught with a passion for project-based learning. She worked with students making mystery math packets, colorful detailed Colorado maps, and Colorado government board games. During the unit on Colorado government, she led field trips to the Colorado capitol building in Denver.
Her fourth grade students made roller coasters while learning basic aspects of physics, such as gravity and friction. This project also included problem-solving skills, critical thinking skills, and teamwork.
Then, there was the very popular bird box project. I will admit, as a parent of two of Miss Rebecca’s students, this project, along with the Colorado government unit, was my and my kids’ favorite activity. Each student chose from a list of Colorado birds to research. The students learned to research with great detail with Miss Rebecca’s guidance. They made the bird’s wingspan, the bird’s nest with eggs, a book of their research, and the replica of the bird with Model Magic. They then had to present their projects to other classes. It was a project that kids will remember about their elementary years.
Miss Rebecca has also been an ardent supporter of outdoor education with programs like NED SHRED (ski and bike), and taking her class each year to Cal-Wood Education Center.
She also brought in a special storyteller, Granny Janny, into her classroom every month for years. The art of storytelling and connecting the generations was important to Miss Rebecca.
When looking back on her teaching career she will always smile when she remembers the times she made a positive difference in a student’s life. She will miss the students, the families, the NES staff, and most of all, making a difference with students.
In retirement Miss Rebecca looks forward to less multi-tasking, and slowing down the daily pace. She does plan to keep riding her bike, skiing, camping, traveling, and seeing friends and family more often. She has also taken on a parttime job.
Miss Rebecca’s years of experience and knowledge of teaching will be missed. She could really see her students as she prepared them well for their next level of education.
It is always with sadness to say good-bye to staff members who have had such a huge impact over the years on a school and on so many students and families. We thank Miss Mary and Miss Rebecca for all their years of dedication to the students and families at Nederland Elementary. We wish them well and hope they have many wonderful years ahead.
