Senior Vikes Honor Teachers for Third Straight Year

Jon-Rex Cain smiled broadly as his 3rd grade teacher read the letter he’d written to her. 

“Dear Miss Byrd, I have so many good memories from your class. You always made class so much fun. Third grade was by far my favorite year of elementary school. That year I learened all of my multiplication factors and I will never forget them because of how good of a job you did on teaching them to me. You always joked around with me and you made me happy to be at school. I will never forget one morning I walked into class and you told me that my hair smelled good and it made me so happy because I had just gotten new conditioner. This should be your first letter that you get from a senior football player and I hope that it is special because you were a special part of school as I was growing up. Thank you for making such a wonderful impact on my life.” 

 Though it’s been nine years since Cain sat in a desk in Miss Chelsea Byrd’s classroom at T.R. Simmons School, the impact she made on him was remarkable. 

“She’s really caring, really loving,” Cain said. 

Cain, who plays safety for the Vikings, was in Byrd’s first teaching class and is now set to graduate next spring. 

This week, he is one of 17 senior players on the Jasper Viking football team who are honoring an educator as part of Teacher Appreciation Week. Each player wrote a letter to the teacher/educator of his choice and delivered it to them personally, and Friday night the teachers will be honored with a presentation at Ki-Ro Gambrell Field when Jasper High meets Bessemer City in the final football game of the season. 

 The following is a list of players and those whom they honored: 

Aubrey Jones- In memory of Ms. Jennifer Hyche 

Jon-Rex Cain – Miss Chelsea Byrd 

Blake Wilson- Mrs. Dionne Nelson 

Hayden Yerby- Mrs. Caroline Kamplain

Jonah Walker- Mrs. Katie Oliver 

Zach Nalls- Mrs. Leigh Evans 

Lucas Higginbothom- Coach Patrick Darwin

Curtis Cavett- Mrs. Crystal Williams 

Malik Cook- Mrs. Amber Wright 

Brodie Vinson- Ms. Katie Gallas 

Mayson Slaughter- Mrs. Teresa Kitchens 

Connor Whitley- Coach Greg Tinker 

Stone Phillips- Mrs. Andrea Phillips 

Andre Neal- Mrs. Teresa Kitchens 

Brodie Woods- Mrs. Cindy Walton 

Rocco Woods- Mrs. Jennifer Watt 

Lee Walker- Ms. Jessica Moore 

Cain said overall the school system is filled with great teachers, and believes the number of students who scored 30+ on their ACT test is a testament to that fact. 

Philip Bailey, head coach of the Vikings’ football team, believes celebrating teachers is a tradition that should be continued for years to come. "There is no greater calling than to work with young people,” Bailey said. “Jasper City Schools has some of the best educators in the world, and this is just a small token of our appreciation. They are making an eternal impact in the lives of our students, and we are extremely grateful for them" 78