Bettina DeBell, Geneseo Middle School High School

We got our first nomination for this News 8 Golden Apple Award winner last October. Then they just kept coming from current and former students of Bettina DeBell in the Geneseo Central School District.

Mrs. DeBell walks the talk. Both as an Enrichment Teacher in the Geneseo Middle School and High School. And as the Director of the Drama Department. The lesson: hard work pays off.

Principal Mike Salatel says Bettina knows how to motivate students. "She really just instills in them that work ethic of spending a lot of time and devote something you think is special to you and others."

Junior Ethan Fletcher wrote to tell us Mrs. DeBell is preparing him for life after school. "She tells us do what you say you're gonna do. Keep your goals. And if you say you're gonna do something follow through."

Sophomore Kyle Fletcher also wrote a nomination. "And she's taught me leadership and how to juts like express myself in every way that's good."

Kyle and Ethan are just a couple of the current and former students who asked us to surprise Mrs. DeBell with a Golden Apple Award.

She has been Director of the Drama Department in Geneseo for 18 years. The performances are a community event. Former students come home to see them. She says participating in theater prepares kids in many ways. "It isn't just about the performance, it's about the journey and the process. And what you get out of it not only in terms of what you get out of it, not only in terms of what you put out there but what you learn along they way in terms of being a team and working together and moving toward a goal."

Bettina DeBell is a News 8 Golden Apple Award winner. You can read all the letters we got nominating her below.

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Dear Channel 8,

Mrs. DeBell is a K-8 Extended Studies teacher at Geneseo Central School. She is also the GCS Drama Club Director. I have been involved with the Drama Club for the past 4 years (since 7th grade). I would like to nominate Mrs. DeBell for a Golden Apple Award because ever since my first show (Honk!), she has done everything she could to teach us all how to be extraordinary actors and citizens, on and off the stage. She has taught us self-respect, control and much, much more. Mrs. DeBell is one of the best, and my personal favorite teachers of all time and this is why she deserves this prestigious award.

Sincerely,

Kyle Fletcher

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Dear Channel 8,

Mrs. DeBell is a K-8 Extended Studies teacher at Geneseo Central School. She works with many students at a variety of grade levels in a partnership with their grade level teachers. This is an enrichment program designed to allow all children to reach their potential. In addition to her classroom activities, Mrs. DeBell also serves as the Drama Club director. She has worked with hundreds of students during the past 17 years and has directed over 35 shows. I have been involved with GCS Drama Club for the past 6 years (since 6th grade). She is extraordinarily committed to making sure that every show is the absolute best it can be and her motivation as an extended studies teacher is no different. I appreciate and respect her because of that. She never lets me or anyone else settle for anything other than their best whether it be on the stage or in the classroom and that's why I think she deserves a Golden Apple Award.

Sincerely,

Ethan Fletcher

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Dear Channel 8,

I am a college freshman this year at SUNY Fredonia, and one thing I miss the most about high school is Drama Club, under the direction of Bettina DeBell. Mrs. DeBell was my teacher in third grade, and my drama director from eighth through twelfth grades, and she has had a huge impact on my life. Her directing style is encouraging yet demanding, and is what I can credit for many good things in my life today. She gives her students confidence in their abilities, and the chance to cultivate creativity and skill. Students who participate in drama in any way will come away from it with the utmost respect for theater, and the utmost respect for their director, who teaches them how to do things they never imagined they could.

Sincerely,

Sarah Peace

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Dear channel 8,

I was coerced into drama club, and it changed my life completely. Mrs. DeBell is always recruiting new kids for the shows; she sees the potential in everyone. I had seen firsthand the love and confidence that she created with my peers and knew it was special. I could go on about how the club changed my life or how, even now as a college freshman, I still miss the auditorium that she made into another home for a new kind of family. But this is all insignificant compared to the amazing woman she is. Mrs. DeBell has two adorable sons and an amazing husband who supports every crazy idea that pops into her head. Her dedication to kids in general in unparalleled by anyone I know. Somehow she manages to balance her family, with a son who has been very sick in the past, and her stage family. She takes care of us in a way no other teacher has ever mastered. And it's never limited to theater education either. Mrs. DeBell has a gift for creating an environment where kids can find themselves and, more importantly, are not afraid to be themselves. She inspires connections between everyone and forces us to see the beauty in each other to the point where we can't believe we were the critical kids we were Pre-Mrs. DeBell. In the end she became another mother to everyone, she is my inspiration and will always change every life she touches.

Sincerely,

Kathryn Esham

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Dear Channel 8,

I was coerced into drama club, and it changed my life completely. Mrs. DeBell is always recruiting new kids for the shows; she sees the potential in everyone. I had seen firsthand the love and confidence that she created with my peers and knew it was special. I could go on about how the club changed my life or how, even now as a college freshman, I still miss the auditorium that she made into another home for a new kind of family. But this is all insignificant compared to the amazing woman she is. Mrs. DeBell has two adorable sons and an amazing husband who supports every crazy idea that pops into her head. Her dedication to kids in general in unparalleled by anyone I know. Somehow she manages to balance her family, with a son who has been very sick in the past, and her stage family. She takes care of us in a way no other teacher has ever mastered. And it's never limited to theater education either. Mrs. DeBell has a gift for creating an environment where kids can find themselves and, more importantly, are not afraid to be themselves. She inspires connections between everyone and forces us to see the beauty in each other to the point where we can't believe we were the critical kids we were Pre-Mrs. DeBell. In the end she became another mother to everyone, she is my inspiration and will always change every life she touches.

Sincerely,

Anonymous Former Student

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Dear Channel 8,

When you give love, you get love, and there's a whole of loving going on in the Geneseo Central Auditorium. Thanks to Bettina DeBell, students have a place to enjoy themselves, work together, and be safe, and this is coming from a former student two years out of high school.

Towards the end of this past summer, Bettina and I decided that we should go grab coffee and catch up. Grabbing coffee and catching up turned in to hours of solid conversation about life and futures- neither of new where the day went! She always tells me what I need to hear, and I constantly refer back to her wisdom and guidance. She is not only a mentor but a friend as well. Her teaching transcends the classroom and affects everyone she knows.

While in school, I always looked for ward to rehearsals with Mrs. DeBell. She cared for each one of is in the cast, no matter how big or how small and made sure that we knew we were in a safe environment. It was that drama club, or as she calls it OUR drama club that allowed me personally to flourish individually and put my self out there. Bettina DeBell is the reason I have my self-confidence.

Bettina DeBell is the epitome of the gold standard for teaching. Smart and funny, she cares and teaches in and out of the classroom and on and off the stage.

Sincerely,

Connor Creagan