And teacher of the year goes to…. Mrs Rebecca Bruce, a beloved teacher who has been at Canyon Vista since 2001.
Although she has spent the greater part of her life here in Texas, she actually did not move here until college.
“I was born in Buffalo, New York in the middle of a snow storm and I am an only child. I went to college at Texas A&M university where I met my husband and eventually got married. My husband and I were both only children so we have a small family with our daughter.”
Mrs. Bruce, the sponsor for NJHS and GSA (gender sexuality alliance) has sponsored many clubs and organizations here at the Canyon. Dedicating her time to the students she makes sure all students are welcomed and accepted.
“My daughter came out as bisexual to me and my husband so when GSA was here at school she became a big supporter. I’m also in charge of NJHS and the special ed classes which requires a lot of time that I don’t mind giving but it does get tiring running around all day with how much time I give but I don’t mind for our students here,” Bruce said.
Her coworkers value her efforts in and out of the classroom.
“I believe that Mrs Bruce is deserving of the teacher award. She is always helping out in the special ed classroom and giving so much of her time to her clubs and classes. She is a deserving teacher and I am happy she won,” Marlo Mattioli (8th ELA) said.
Teachers and students agree with Mrs Mattoli’s remarks. The coaches know her more than most.
“Mrs Bruce is always willing to help us out. She has been our book person for basketball and volleyball for years and she is really knowledgeable and knows how to keep score. She is very dependable and she is very loyal and works so hard and is always there for others. Knowing her for years I can say that she is an amazing person,” Coach Jackie Govea said.
Something most people don’t know about Mrs. Bruce is that she used to be a coach.
“My first 2 years teaching, I taught at Blanco Middle School, which is west and south of Austin. I taught 6th grade World Cultures. I was the only WC teacher. I also coached 8th grade volleyball and basketball. It was a learning curve, but about halfway through my first season of both sports, I was able to recognize plays and organize defenses. I left there because I had just given birth to my daughter and did not want to coach. Back when I started here, we had Advisory 1st thing in the morning. New teachers had a co-Advisor. My co-Advisor that first year was one of the girls coaches, Lynn Kaiser. When she heard that I had been a coach, she asked me to work the volleyball and basketball games. Once the boy coaches found out I could do that, they recruited me to do basketball. I’ve been doing it ever since,” Mrs Bruce said.
