By Liz Kersjes
BONNY DOON -- Kindergarten teacher Judy Kele started work thinking it was going to be just another Tuesday.
But it wasn't all coloring and snack time for the longtime Bonny Doon Elementary School teacher -- local OfficeMax employees surprised Kele with $1,200 in classroom supplies.
"Teachers don't get a lot of recognition," said Superintendent and Principal Stephanie Siddens. "It's nice to have that public acknowledgement for the work she does."
Kele's loot included a printer, a digital camera, an office chair, a label maker, several reams of printer paper, crayons and a pencil sharpener.
The gift is part of a partnership between OfficeMax and Adopt-A-Classroom, a nonprofit organization that connects corporate sponsors with teachers and schools in need.
Each year, OfficeMax stores around the country surprise a local school teacher with a box of classroom supplies. Schools considered "needy" nominate a teacher, and the winner in each community is chosen by the OfficeMax community affairs department, which also funds the gifts.
"It's good for the students; it's good for everybody," said Cliff Hall, store manager of the Santa Cruz OfficeMax.
Kele first started at Bonny Doon Elementary in 1986 as a volunteer, but soon after there was an opening for a fourth- and fifth-grade teacher.
"I had never taught fourth and fifth grade," she said. "So I thought, Well, I'll try it.' "
She's been teaching at the school since.
"I love it," she said. "If I were a young teacher, I'd want to teach kindergarten again for another 20 years."
Kele's surprise gift was well-earned, said Siddens, who nominated her months ago.
"She's the first person here in the morning and the last one to leave," Siddens said of Kele. "She absolutely loves her kids, and the kids love her.
"She's just an amazing person and teacher."