Nomination letter by Brynley Klein, 6th grader at Cross County School in Stromsburg:

"I am nominating my favorite teacher, Mrs. Gail Gropp, our English teacher for the Golden Apple teaching award. Mrs. Gropp has been teaching for 35 years, and she is forced to retire this year because of health issues. The reason she is retiring is because, she says when she has surgeries and the recovery would take a long time and she does not want to be away from her kids (which is us). Mrs. Gropp deserves this award because she teaches us through her heart. When people are having social issues, they go to Mrs. Gropp and she knows how to make everything better.

When we are in class we ALWAYS laugh. There has not been a time when we have not laughed in her class. She is always filled with joy, even though she is suffering. Mrs. Gropp has been teaching for 35 years, which means she has touched many lives. When some of the high school students have a free class period, they come down to the middle school area and catch up with Mrs. Gropp.

When we are in English class, she always asks how are day has been and if it's a Monday, she wants to know what we did on the weekend. Mrs. Gropp does not have a mean bone in her body and she always tells us how much we mean to her and why she is going to miss us.

She teaches in a different way - from her heart. For my class, English is last period so we always tell her how much homework we have in other classes. Mrs. Gropp does not like assigning homework, because she says she wants us to get outside, have fun and be a kid. Although some days when we have a lot to do, she assigns homework, but then she gives us her home phone number, so in case we get stuck on something, she is right there.

I know Mrs. Gropp is a great teacher and she deserves this award. Words cannot sum up how much she means to me.

Watch this Golden Apple Award feature Thursday on 10/11 News at 6.