{"id":3416,"date":"2025-09-23T08:16:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T15:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/2025\/09\/23\/staff-spotlight-ruby-zamora-sandland-bringing-joy-to-fisher-students\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T08:16:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T15:16:13","slug":"staff-spotlight-ruby-zamora-sandland-bringing-joy-to-fisher-students","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/2025\/09\/23\/staff-spotlight-ruby-zamora-sandland-bringing-joy-to-fisher-students\/","title":{"rendered":"Staff Spotlight: Ruby Zamora-Sandland Bringing Joy to Fisher Students"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This post is part of the Lynden Schools Staff Spotlight series<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ruby Zamora-Sandland carries a level of excitement every day to her role teaching math and science to fifth graders at Fisher Elementary. She wants that exuberance to carry over into far more than just the academic subjects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Role<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Entering her sixth year as a fifth-grade teacher at Fisher Elementary, Zamora-Sandland is eager to explore the school\u2019s new model where she now teaches just math and science (instead of all subjects). \u201cIt\u2019s been such a fun change to dive deeper into these subjects with students,\u201d she says. That focus means she\u2019s working with two groups of fifth graders daily, using that time to build far more than academic knowledge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, there\u2019s so much more to this role than teaching math and science,\u201d she says. \u201cMy priority is to bring joy to my students and make sure they leave my classroom each day feeling loved, cherished and feel a true sense of belonging.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her goal is to make learning fun and engaging. That\u2019s why students rarely are seen head-down handling worksheets, instead collaborating, talking, moving about and participating in hands-on activities. \u201cI always say that if I\u2019m bored, they\u2019re probably bored too,\u201d she says. \u201cMy goal is to make sure that students are fully engaged, connecting their learning to the real world and enjoying the process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zamora-Sandland says working within a community full of loving and supportive families has been a bonus. \u201cEvery year, I\u2019m sad to leave my students, but I\u2019m just as sad to say goodbye to their families,\u201d she says. \u201cThey are a huge part of my teaching and make my job so much easier and more meaningful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut what I appreciate most about teaching is the chance to positively influence my students\u2019 lives. I strive to be a role model, showing perseverance kindness and empathy. They\u2019re watching and hearing how I approach challenges, interact with others and make decisions. Every day, I get the chance to guide them not just academically, but socially and emotionally, helping them build confidence, independence and resilience. I love seeing how even small words of encouragement or moments of guidance can inspire students to try new things, overcome challenges and believe in themselves. When they think back to fifth grade, I hope they remember the joy they experienced in my class, feeling safe to be themselves and how they grew in confidence. Knowing I can play a part in shaping who they are becoming makes this job incredibly meaningful and rewarding.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting to Know Ruby<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recently married, Zamora-Sandland and her husband are busy spending time with family, friends, their pet Scout and attending concerts. In the past year, she\u2019s been to 10 concerts (mostly country), but admits her singing still hasn\u2019t improved. The couple also loves to travel, exploring new places when possible. They recently celebrated their first anniversary of marriage in Belize, \u201cwhich is by far our favorite place we\u2019ve visited,\u201d she says. \u201cBut every time we return to Washington, we always say the same thing: no place beats the beauty of the scenery here.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zamora-Sandland stays connected to the community volunteering at school and district events, looking to support programs that make a positive impact for students. For the past four years she\u2019s led a Bible study with the same group of girls. It started when they were in middle school and now they\u2019re in high school. \u201cIt has been such a joy to watch them grow in their faith, lean on God through challenges and walk in his love as they navigate each stage of school within the Lynden School District.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having lived in Lynden for five years, Zamora-Sandland\u2019s loved making the town her new home. \u201cI\u2019m so thankful,\u201d she says, \u201cto be a part of a community that is so loving, supportive and always coming together to help those in need.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is part of the Lynden Schools Staff Spotlight series Ruby Zamora-Sandland carries a level of excitement every day to her role teaching math and science to fifth graders … Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":3417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Lynden High School","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lynden.wednet.edu\/lynden-high-school\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}