Throughout the month of November, we will be introducing you to the 2022-2023 Glynn County Teachers of the Year.
Christie Robbins was named Teacher of the Year at Satilla Marsh Elementary School. She has taught grades K-3 for 21 years, 14 of which have spent as a Sandpiper. Here are some awesome things you should know.
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Family: I grew up on a chicken farm in a small town in North Georgia called Talmo. My daddy still lives on the farm and most of the rest of my family lives in North Georgia. My husband, Chad, and I will celebrate our 25th anniversary in December. Chad and I met at the University of North Georgia. He is from Homerville and most of his family still lives in that area. We lived in the mountains of North Georgia for many years and moved to St. Simons in 2008. Chad and I have two dogs named Carlos and Ellie. They are our four-legged children.
Who is your role model? My husband Chad has been a great influence in my life. He has taught me so much about being selfless and serving others. Through him I have an example of living a life of giving and service for those in need. He runs our nonprofit ministry through which we are able to serve in foreign missions as well as disaster relief in the states. What a blessing it to be able to mix cement by hand to help pour a floor for a family whose floor is dirt, or handing out Christmas gifts to children who otherwise would have nothing because their homes were destroyed by a hurricane in Honduras. These experiences have taught me to be grateful for my blessings and to share that with others. I love getting to share these adventures with my class and they get so excited when we are able to video chat with Chad around the world.
What book has most influenced you? I love the book, “Love You Forever” by Robert Munsch. It not only reminds me of the love of a mother or father for their children, but the love of Christ for his people. That is what I try to share with my kids in my class – unconditional love. I want my kids to know that even when they leave my class, I will always love them and they will always be a Robbins’ kid.
What is your greatest teaching memory? I would say a great teaching memory for me is when my kids say, “Mrs. Robbins! This is the best day ever!” Especially when those comments are about a lesson we are doing in class and not a field trip. When they get so excited about learning that they forget its school! Last year I collaborated with our media specialist to help my kids create videos of their fairytale writing. They wrote their own version of a fairytale, typed the story on the Chromebook, created illustrations, and then turned that story into a video narrated with their own voices. The kids loved it! We had a movie day with popcorn and comfy pillows to screen our videos. It was a great day! “Best day ever!” was heard a lot!
What is your favorite quote or personal motto? My favorite thing that I say in class is a call back: Easy Cheesy! Lemon Squeezy! It helps the kids to realize they can do the hard stuff. I want my kids to know that it is ok to make mistakes. Those mistakes are how we learn to make the hard stuff easy. We talk a lot about being in the learning pit and how we work hard to climb out of it. The learning pit is where we are when we are struggling with a hard concept or lesson. By making mistakes and learning from those mistakes, we climb out of the pit and it makes it Easy Cheesy! Lemon Squeezy!
What is a fact about you that most people don't know? Way back in day I was my elementary school’s mascot. My elementary school went to the 8th grade and I was part of the cheerleading squad that year. I think I was like in the 4th grade and got to cheer for the 7th and 8th graders. Go North Jackson Elementary Bulldogs!! Of course that was a long time ago! They have since changed the mascot and created middle school!
Any hidden talents or hobbies? My favorite hobby is riding my bike Sunny on the bike trails at Jekyll. There is nothing better than a sunset bike ride by the beach. We love to ride at night and my bike Sunny is all decked out with lights. If you see a crazy, yellow, light covered bike ride by, say hi! My husband and I also love to go to Disney World as often as we can. Epcot and the Magic Kingdom are our favorites. I can’t really consider it a hobby but it is definitely one of the things I love to do!