National Star Teacher, Summer 2023

Emma was nominated by Harper's mummy Sara, and this is what she had to say:

“I’d like to nominate Emma at Letts Swim in Hadleigh for Star Teacher. When we first joined Puddle Ducks she was the poolside assistant and was always so welcoming, efficient and helpful. Now she is our teacher on a Tuesday morning. Nothing is too much trouble and she goes out of her way to accommodate all of us, no matter what our needs are. Harper went through a phase of not wanting to go to her. But she persevered and made us both feel safe. She recommended a couple of things and he is back to being my water loving boy! I’ve seen her do this with several children. She is generally wonderful”

The nomination was chosen by Mike Goody, an eight-time Invictus Games gold medal winner, nicknamed The Prince of the Pool and who is an open water swimming/water safety ambassador for the Swimming Teachers Association (STA) of whom Puddle Ducks is affiliated to. Mike is also owner of It’s a Dogs Life. Here’s what Mike said about the nomination:

"The more times I read through the submissions, the harder it was to choose! All the teachers sound amazingly dedicated, hardworking and caring. You are all winners to me which again is why I found this so difficult. That being said, there can be only one for the competition and there were a few submissions that I kept being drawn to. For me, I think the line "goes out of her way to accommodate all of us, no matter what our needs are" was the reason for the final choice. This person submitting has observed this person being a Star Poolside Assistant to Star Teacher for their own child as well as many others. It reminded me of my own swim teacher, Sybil, when I was knee high to a grasshopper and learning to swim. She did exactly that too. She used to go out of her way to accommodate, above and beyond all for all. It reminded me of this wonderful lady some 30+ years ago and the memories have stuck with me all these years.
The wonderful impact and fun memories that all of you amazing teachers and assistants have now, will no doubt stick with all your attendees for years to come. Keep up the amazing work 🤩"