PORTLAND, Maine — In honor of #LoveTeaching week, students were able to take part in a writing contest to talk about teachers who've made a difference in their lives.
The Maine County and State Teachers of the Year Association and the Maine Council for English Language Arts launched a Student Writing Contest. The students were broken up into grade sections where their essays were then judged.
NEWS CENTER Maine spoke with three of the students with winning essays: Ashytn Bryant, a second-grader at Elm Street School, Peyton Rose, an eighth-grader at Bruce Whittier Middle School, and Jo Ellis, a sophomore at Casco Bay High School.
All three of them love their teachers, enough to write a winning essay about their appreciation for one of them.
Ashtyn Bryant wrote about one of her second-grade teachers, Mrs. Stone.
Ashtyn told us Mrs. Stone is her "best friend." In her essay, she wrote, "Mrs. Stone is amazing, I love that she likes avocados, she is great."
"I knew we had something special together when I saw she had an avocado shirt on and I had an avocado shirt and I was like, 'Oh my gosh, this is my girl,'" Sophia Stone, Ashtyn's teacher, said.
Mrs. Harvey, another second-grade teacher at Elm Street School, was the subject of Peyton's essay.
"She's always there even though I'm not in her class anymore and what I want to do when I grow up is based on what she taught me in second grade," Peyton said.
Jo wrote about her freshman-year teacher, Mr. Bernstein.
"He was really the first teacher that made me feel seen and appreciated. I was like, 'I have to do it for him, there's no other person that I want to say thank you to as much,'" Jo said.
Matthew Bernstein was also feeling that appreciation in California this week after winning Maine's Teacher of the Year Award.
While these teachers don't do what they do for recognition, it certainly means a lot.
"Having a student say you made an impact on my life is powerful," Stone said.
"A reminder to me what a difference teachers can make in the lives of kids, I just felt really proud and happy," Jessica Harvey said.
Grade section winners won a $100 gift card.