The school’s newest Teacher of the Year is none other than Advanced Placement (AP) US History and Economics teacher Mark Girard.  Hailing from New York, this is his third year at the school.  And to all those he encounters, he is more than just a teacher to both his colleagues and his students.

Sponsoring clubs such as Noble Teens, the school store, and co-sponsoring the Falcon Credit Union with Financial Management and Government teacher Travis Elliott keeps Girard busy.  Thus he can often be found in the upstairs hallways every morning, running the school store and greeting his students with a smile.

“When Mr. Girard is asked about the Credit Union, he says you must walk before you can run,” said Junior Mac Pugliese, who works with Girard regarding the Credit Union.

In the classroom, Girard does everything he can to make history fun.  Providing the students with what he calls a “brain break” in the middle of class quickly becomes a friendly competition of history trivia questions.  Making history interesting is important to him because of a teacher he had in elementary school.

“I was inspired to be a history teacher, truck driver, or state police officer.  I come from a long line of teachers, but I just love cars and trucks so much.  One of the deciding factors was my elementary school history teacher.  A nun, who really knew her stuff and was excited to teach her students everything she knew,” Girard said.

He went on to teach high school in New York and after several years, relocated to Virginia Beach where he began teaching at Lynnhaven Middle School.  While at Lynnhaven, he won teacher of the year in 2002.  He enjoyed the school, but when offered a job in the high school level he could not refuse.

“The high school curriculum is more appealing to me and I enjoy teaching it more.  If I enjoy what I’m teaching, the students will enjoy it as well,” Girard said.

When Girard found out he was Teacher of the Year, he was totally surprised.  He knew he had to turn in the paperwork by November, but once he did that, he forgot about the whole thing.

“Mr. Girard is an excellent choice because he’s someone that can teach new people coming into the field how to care for every little detail and how much of a difference it can make.  Caring about details is one of his strongest assets,” Elliott said.

Although Girard has been in the “business” of education for the past 34 years, his career is far from over.

“I’m not competing against other people, I’m competing against myself.  I always ask myself, how can I make today better than yesterday,” Girard said.