HARLINGEN – For Rebecca Montemayor, Treasure Hills Elementary has been her second home for the past 35 years. And during her time as a physical education instructor, Montemayor has exceeded expectations and gained many memorable experiences.
“My number one goal has been to teach students a lifetime of regular exercise routines and to develop a healthier, more productive lifestyle,” Montemayor said. “I believe our P.E. program has been successful because it allows the students to engage in different activities and try new things.”
Montemayor does her best to appeal to the different learning styles that each student possesses and incorporates skills that serve the students outside of her class.
“I feel it’s best to provide a visual for the students by demonstrating the activities and providing hands-on lessons, especially for the younger ones,” she said. “Everyday during warm-ups, we use math skills along with spelling words so the kids can succeed in the classroom, too.”
Another way Montemayor reaches out to her students is through the jump rope lesson where she brings out a skeleton and heart model for the kids to learn about the body. She learned the beauty of this teaching method when a student overcame his fear of participating in the activity.
“A while back, we had a student transfer from another school and he didn’t know how to jump rope,” she said. “By the end of the lesson, he was able to jump rope and did it with a smile. That’s what teaching is all about – helping students accomplish their goals and seeing their emotions when they do it.”
Over the years, Montemayor has also raised a significant amount of money with the Box Tops for Education fundraising program, where students are encouraged to bring in box tops found on various household products. With the money, she has purchased equipment and prizes for the students, and even used some of the funds to help repair certain areas of the school that are used for physical education.
“I’ve been blessed to be a part of such a great school district and have the full support of the administration,” she said. “Each day I have been honored to help shape the lives of all our students through physical education.”
