The DeKalb County High School has announced their Parent, Student, and Teacher of the Month Awards for the month of February.
The Teacher of the Month Award was presented to Mrs. Morgan Oyster.
“Mrs. Oyster is our AG teacher for us this school year at DeKalb County High School,” said Assistant DCHS Principal Thomas Cagle. “She was voted on by our administration to be our Staff Member of the Month.”
“Mrs. Oyster has done a great job bringing a lot of new excitement to the Ag program and FFA,” Cagle continued. “She’s doing a fantastic job really across the board, whether it’s teaching inside the classroom, being inside the greenhouse, or keeping up with the beautification process around the school grounds here. The kids are excited to be in there and be a part of FFA, and we are very fortunate to have her as part of our school family this year.”
When asked about the award, Mrs. Oyster said she was surprised. “I’m very appreciative. It’s something that I never thought I would get, because I’m a newbie here at DeKalb County High School.”
“This is my home school, so it was always a dream to come back here,” Oyster explained. “Being Teacher of the Month really says a lot, because I’m coming in first year and trying to build a program back up. It’s been a challenge, but it really pays off whenever you get something like this.”
Mrs. Oyster graduated from DCHS in 2016 and attended Motlow for a years. She then attended MTSU where she graduated in 2019. Afterwards she taught at Smith County High School, before moving over to DCHS. She is married to husband Coleman, with a two-year-old son, Sawyer Cordell Oyster.
The Student of the Month award was presented to Yoselyn Garcia.
“Yoselyn is a freshman this year,” said Assistant Principal Cagle. “We have her older sister who is a senior and Yoselyn takes after her in a lot of ways, but is also an individual in a lot of ways. I’ve been talking to her since she was an eighth grader and she is a great all around student. Another representation of the amazing students we have in our school. Her willingness to help those around her is a reason she was nominated and voted on by the teachers at DCHS.”
Garcia, a freshman, said she was honored by being voted on. “I feel really awesome. It’s great. It’s a really big thing to be Student of the Month here at DCHS. It’s a really good school. I want to put a really positive attitude out here, and not have negativity.”
When asked what her favorited subject was, Garcia said she liked to be challenged. “I really like math and like to challenge myself in a lot of ways. That is a way to excel yourself.”
She said that she really wants to be a mechanic and plans on pursuing that career after high school. “I want to maybe someday have my own business or my own shop.”
Garcia’s older sister, Cassandra, is a senior at DCHS and her parents are Arturo Munoz and Vicky Garcia.
The Parent of the Month Award went to Mrs. Jennifer King, based on an essay written by her son, Daniel Stiffler.
“Daniel wrote an essay on his mother, talking about the wonderful things that she has been able to do in his life to help him be successful, not only at school, but outside of school,” Cagle said. “That was really the purpose of these essays, to give us more insight into them and their families are doing or going through that help support them and make them a stronger individual. Daniel’s essay was a great testament to what his mother has been doing to raise him and the struggles they have been going through.”
When asked about the reason for his essay, Stiffler, a junior at DCHS, said his mother fights through her pain to be there for her kids. “Recently, my mom has been struggling emotionally and I want her to feel like she’s a good mom, because she is. She’s a great mother and I don’t want her to feel like she is letting us down. She’s the reason I’m happy. Without her, I have no one to talk to or that supports us. She’s our rock. She struggles through a lot of physical pain, but no matter what she is always there for us.”
Mrs. King said it feels good that her son recognizes what she goes through. “It feels great knowing that kids don’t think about that every day.”
King explained that she recently had a tumor removed and is disabled with chronic pain. “He sees me persevere through my pain. I’m very proud of Daniel.”
