Skyridge's Crystal MacDonald has poured her heart and soul into teaching

Editor's note: This is the sixth in a series of stories featuring the winners of several categories leading up to the Auburn Chamber of Commerce's Celebrate the Community Awards on Oct. 3 at Gold Hill Gardens in Newcastle. The Auburn community celebrates nine honorees every year for selflessness and service to the city through the Celebrate the Community Awards. Skyridge Elementary teacher Crystal MacDonald will be honored next month as Friend of Education. MacDonald has worked in education for 15 years and has spent the last 13 at Skyridge, teaching transitional kindergarten. She is the first experience away from home for a large number of her students, and she has made it her goal to make sure it's a positive experience for all of them. "I just love working with that age group because they're just so fun," MacDonald says. "They're easy to mold and they just love to be at school and learn, so it makes my job easy. I want to make it fun. I want to make it enjoyable. I want them to learn, and I want them to know that they can do hard things." MacDonald says as stressful as the first experience of school can be for the kids, it can be equally taxing on the parents and she does everything she can to make sure it's an easy transition to school for them as well. "A lot of times for these parents, this is their very first time sending their kids off to school. I'm a mom, I totally know that feeling," MacDonald said. "I want to make sure to have a lot of communication with parents and give them a good experience, too." MacDonald said she was surprised to learn she won the award, especially because she felt there are so many deserving teachers in the community who do great work. Said MacDonald, "I am honored that people recognize how hard I work. It's one of my biggest goals to create a warm and happy environment for the students, staff and families. There are so many teachers that I work with that go above and beyond. So to be chosen, out of all of those, is a real honor."