QUITMAN — Not even a devastating bout with breast cancer can take the smile off Chrissy Kelly’s face when it comes to teaching her students Latin.

    Kelly is the March winner of the Golden Apple Award. She is a 19-year teaching veteran and for the past nine years has taught Latin to first and second graders at Quitman Lower Elementary and to students in the gifted sixth grade class at Quitman Junior High.

    Kelly said enjoys teaching students in different age groups.  

    “I get them when they are young and want to hug and hold your hand and then I watch them grow. Now all those sixth graders are taller than me,” Kelly said.

    As the March Teacher of the Month, Kelly was awarded $1,000 in school supplies by the Golden Apple Partners in Education, a $500 tuition voucher, and $300 in cash. Martin will also be in the running for the teacher of the year award which will be announced on May 28. The winner will receive a $2,500 prize and a $2,500 scholarship for a graduating senior of the winning teacher’s choice.

    Kelly said her joy for teaching comes from a love of learning and being able to challenge her students. The fact that she is going through the trauma of breast cancer has made the challenge extremely hard but the love and support from her students and her fellow teachers has given her a strong ally in her fight against cancer.

    In August 2014, Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer on the first day of school.

    “We had the surgery and I was ready to come back but then they found more cancer than they originally thought,” Kelly said. “I went through sixteen rounds of chemotherapy, which ended January 29. I was so excited. My students were so excited that I had finished. They threw me a ‘No more chemo party.'”

    The party meant the world to Kelly.

    “They cheered, and I’ve never felt so loved,” Kelly said. “It was unreal.”

    Kelly’s cancer is in remission but she has three more weeks of radiation and a final surgery.

    Kelly is a native of Quitman. She is a graduate of Quitman High School and the University of West Alabama. She received her Masters degree from William Carey College along with a gifted teaching certificate. She is married to Mitchell Kelly and has two sons, Logan and Hunter.

    Quitman Lower Elementary Principal James Bounds said Kelly is a great teacher.

    “Her willingness to explore new ideas away from the traditional and her creativity to challenge each of her students to excel to a higher level makers her a special teacher,” Bounds said.

    Another teacher wrote in a nomination letter for the Golden Apple Award that Kelly’s battle with cancer has inspired her fellow teachers.

    “Having had cancer myself, I knew what all that entailed,” the unnamed teacher wrote. “Of course there would be bad days, sick days, and just plain yuck days, however, with Miss K, you couldn’t tell the bad from the good. Her smile never faded.”

    When it comes to Latin, Kelly said her joy of teaching the language comes from its roots in helping create the English language.

    “Eighty percent of English comes from Latin,” Kelly said. “It is the forefront of so many other languages like Italian, French and Spanish. It is used so much in science. So many fields trace their beginnings back to Latin.”

    “I’ve been teaching for 19 years and I think people can see the passion for what I do,” Kelly said. “To see these children grow up when you get them in the first grade and then become young adults, you get that feeling, ‘I hope I made a difference.'”

    Second grade student Jordan Bozeman had high praise for Kelly and said he is excited to be in her class.

    “She’s sweet,” Bozeman said. “We do a lot of fun activities.”

    Making learning fun is what teaching is all about, Kelly said.

    “Children love learning something new and they love being able to learn and share something their parents don’t even know, because most parents, these days, have not taken Latin,” Kelly said. “I’ve found Latin helps build a child’s vocabulary faster than any other thing I’ve seen, because you are dealing with the roots of various words.”

    Kelly’s success in teaching Latin also helps her outlook on her career and her battle with cancer.

    “Always do your best,” she said. “Make a difference in people’s lives. Because I am dealing with breast cancer, I can now help other women who are going through it. Together we can make a difference. We are all fighters.”

    This month’s sponsor was Mississippi State University/Meridian campus and Avery Products. The Golden Apple Award is open to any educator, graders kindergarten through 12th grade who works in the following: Lauderdale, Neshoba, Kemper, Clarke, and Newton counties in Mississippi, or Choctaw and Sumter counties in Alabama.

    More details and an entry form are available online at www.meridianstar.com and wgbctv.com Those interested in nominating a teacher should go to either of the websites, and click on the Golden Apple logo.

Golden Apple sponsors

       Presenting sponsors are The Meridian Star and The Meridian Family of Stations, which includes NBC 30, CBS 24, and Fox 30.

    Key sponsors are: East Mississippi Electric Power Association (EMEPA); Law Offices of Richard Schwartz; MUNA Federal Credit Union; Mississippi Power Company; LA Z Boy – Newton; Mississippi State University – Meridian; Avery Products; Meridian Community College; and Woodstock Furniture.

    Participating sponsors are Newell Paper Company, Hilton Garden Inn, Meridian; Southern Pipe & Supply Co., Meridian Coca-Cola Bottling Company; John O’Neil Johnson Toyota-Hyundai, and the University of West Alabama.