Noxon teacher honored for excellence

Mrs. Teri Burt has been given the Distinguished Service Award from the Society of Health and Physical Educators of Montana (SHAPEMT). Noxon teacher Mrs. Teri Wilkinson nominated Burt for the award. Burt was surprised and not used to the attention.

“I am very honored to be recognized by an organization that I am not a member,” Burt stated about receiving the recognition.

“I informed her to help get the paperwork together and I would submit it,” Wilkinson stated.

The qualifications for the award are doing things that encourage Montana students to live a healthy lifestyle. Burt has been teaching science at Noxon for the last 24 years. She has been very active with improving the science curriculum and having extracurricular activities for the students, which was not part of the program when she first started at Noxon.

“There was no consistency or extracurricular activities for the kids. One year we cleaned out the slough here that had 11 car bodies and trash in it. The students raised the money and bought topsoil. Lawyers Nursery donated the trees to plant around the slough.” Burt commented about the students and staff currently at the school, “We have really great kids and staff here. I have 13 students in my Future Health Professionals class it was known as HOSA, Health Occupational Students of America. Some of the students seem to be very interested in going into the health care fields.”

Burt has taken students to the Envirothon, the Science Olympiad, and the KROC Center in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Many of her students have been doing job shadowing at the Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains, the Thompson Falls Veterinary Clinic, and the Lynch Creek Veterinary office in Plains. Burt has been on the Wellness Committee since 2012 and has been actively involved with the Safety Committee since 2007. She has been the Science Club advisor for the last 21 years. “I had the students in the Science Club put the N on the hill here many years ago.”

She is active on the Noxon Ambulance and she teaches the seniors students how to be an EMT. “They can take a test and be an EMT and some of them have been on the Noxon Ambulance runs.” Burt and Wilkinson have been teaching the Hands Only CPR to many of the students. “We have a goal of going to the senior centers and teaching them Hands Only CPR.”

Mrs. Burt is retiring this year in July and she had several thoughts, feelings, and comments about it, “It is bittersweet, as I have been involved in so many things over the years. All of the things I have done, this is me.”

Reporter Douglas Wilks can be reached at dwilks@vp-mi.com or 406-826-3402.