Que professora incrível -- Sunrise Elementary's Teacher of the Year, Priscila Lund
Congratulations to Sunrise Elementary’s Teacher of the Year, Priscila Lund! Lund is from Sao Paulo, Brazil, and has been living in Cache Valley and teaching first-grade Portuguese dual immersion at Sunrise since 2016. Lund loves waking up to the view of the beautiful Utah mountains and the fresh snow in the winter.
From the time she was young, Lund always knew she wanted to become a teacher. When she was eight years old, she would play “school” with her four-year-old brother, showing him how to read and write. Her mother was impressed by Lund’s ability to teach her younger brother. From that time on, Lund grew up believing that she would teach. Lund moved to the United States in 2016 to gain more experience in American schools and continue learning and growing as an educator.
When Lund first started teaching at Sunrise, she was teaching fifth grade. Then, when the opportunity opened up for her to teach first grade, she jumped on it immediately. Lund observed that while she enjoyed teaching older students, she couldn’t see the full progress of their improvement because they were already fluent in the language. While teaching first grade, Lund enjoys seeing the improvements that first graders make every day, not just with the language but with social skills and navigating life.
Lund explained that the first couple of months at the beginning of the school year can be challenging. The students come into her classroom and everything is new. Most of them don’t know any Portuguese. It is their first time spending the whole day at school and their teacher does not speak English, so they can be fully immersed in Portuguese. However, Lund believes that watching her students progress throughout the year is the most rewarding thing she can experience as their teacher.
“Language really helps you with other things and other skills in life,” Lund explained. “When you learn a language, it’s not only the language itself. It works with your brain, so your brain works differently, and you're able to solve problems faster and have more critical thinking skills.”
Sunrise Principal Derek Beer says that Lund works tirelessly to improve her classroom by researching, making videos, creating dances, and making learning fun. “Priscila Lund is working day and night to empower teachers here in the United States as well in Brazil with a channel dedicated to helping teachers with ideas and resources,” Beer explained. “She is always willing to embrace new challenges, and she has the determination to overcome challenges and to do extraordinary work no matter which grade she teaches.”