Quincy teacher receives Golden Apple

QUINCY (WGEM) - Quincy’s Lincoln-Douglas Elementary School teacher Amanda Dice was awarded the May WGEM Golden Apple Award.

Dice grew up in Quincy and has spent her entire seven-year teaching career teaching elementary students in the Quincy Public School system.She said she knew from a young age she wanted to be a teacher.

“When I was little I had a lot of nieces and nephews and would always make them play school during the summer, which they did not enjoy, but I always got to be the teacher so that was always fun for me,” Dice said.

Many of Dice’s students said she has passed her love of reading onto them.

“She always takes great time to pick great books to read aloud to us,” said third grader Elaine Easterling.

“I really love seeing when kids get excited about books,” Dice said. “I do a lot of read a louds, and when they really get into it, and don’t want me to stop reading, is fun to see.”

Student, Elaina Easterling, enjoys Dice’s class so much, that she decided to create a book of her own that’s filled with nomination letters explaining why her teacher deserves a WGEM Golden Apple.

“I asked my classmates if they wanted to help me out and write some reasons I could put in the book,” Easterling said.

Those reasons include Dice’s knack for making just about any learning activity fun.

“Instead of doing boring work every day, she tries to make it fun. An example is at the end of the year, we are doing scavenger hunts with math problems,” third grade student, Allie Cheney, said.

“I always try to find some way to make it engaging, something they are going to want to get the most out of it,” Dice said.

In the midst of all the fun and games, a former fellow third grade teacher said Dice still commands and gets respect from her students.

“Even at recess time she could get her kids lined up so quickly,” Douglas Willimann said.

“Whereas mine were kind of wiggling and jumping around, hers were always lined up and ready to go. In the building they would come nice and quiet and they would go right to work.”

Easterling said over the school year, Dice has helped some of her fellow classmates love learning.

“I love school and some of my classmates didn’t really like doing it as much as I did, but she helped us love it more than we used to,” Easterling said.