Teacher of the Week: Katie Thornburg

CASTLE HAYNE, NC (WWAY) — Coach Katie Thornburg is building strong bodies and minds at Holly Shelter Middle School.  She is a Physical Education teacher who goes above and beyond just teaching.

” I normally tell my students from day one, ” Coach Thornburg says, “if there’s anything they need they can come and talk to me and I’ll make sure they have it. It can be stuff for personal hygiene, if they need some food, whatever they might need and I’ll just go out and get it bring it back to them. Nobody ever has to know anything and it just kinda appears.”

Her commitment to her students does not go unnoticed.  She received multiple nominations for the WWAY and Michael and Son Teacher of the Week.  With teaching middle school students she says “There’s never a dull moment. You never know what you’re gonna get, what to expect. They keep you on your toes. They keep things interesting, but they’re sweet as sweet can be. They just want to have a good time. They want to love you and they wanna be loved at the same time.”

A life long sports enthusiast, Coach Thornburg says her love of teaching others to love sports started in high school.  She wants all her students to leave after finding a physical activity they can carry with them through life.

She also wants them to leave knowing more than sports.  “We talk about being a good person. We talk about being kind, to be responsible, to take other people’s feelings into consideration. Just how to go above and beyond what your normal expectations are.”

She also says, laughingly, “I want them to say I was the best teacher ever! ”