Nicole Kasbar teaches ballet and modern dance technique at the Bay Academy for the Arts and Sciences/IS 98 in Sheepshead Bay.

But students are also learning literature, science and even physics in her class, said Kasbar, who is now in her 17th year as a teacher.

“I have them interpret literature and storytelling through movement,” said Kasbar, who teaches 6th–8th grade. “But they also learn anatomy and balance and the laws of motion. They don’t always realize they’re learning science and physics. But one student told me, ‘We learn more science in your room than anywhere else.’”

Kasbar’s creativity, leadership and academic rigor made her one of the 12 winners of the third annual Big Apple Awards, which celebrate the work of public school teachers. The awards are sponsored by the Fund for Public Schools, Lincoln Center and HBO.

Winners — chosen from some 4,500 teachers who had been nominated by their principals, fellow staff members, students and parents — were joined by well-wishers in the rotunda of the New York State Supreme Court building in lower Manhattan on June 15 for the ceremony. They were lauded by Mayor Bill de Blasio, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña and UFT President Michael Mulgrew.

“They make a difference, in ways big and small, in their students’ lives,” said Mulgrew. “And they do it all without a fuss — because that’s just what teachers do. To the winners: Thank you for the work you do and everything you have given our students.”

Lauren Bakian, also a winner, teaches 4th grade at PS 110 on the Lower East Side. When asked what she thought clinched the award for her, she didn’t hesitate. “I instill in my students the idea of taking the reins of their learning and owning it,” Bakian said.

Jose Figueroa said Bakian helped his son Alex, then 8 years old, get through his absence when he was in training for the U.S. Army in North Carolina. “Lauren was an army brat, too,” he said. “She made my 13-month shift easier, knowing she was looking out for him.” Both Figueroa and his son, now 10, attended the event.

The winners received crystal apples, and finalists, who were also invited to attend, received Big Apple pins. “It’s the Academy Awards of teaching,” said Jennifer Marmo Malave, a 2nd-grade teacher at PS 221 in Little Neck, Queens, and one of the 85 finalists. “This event is a treat. But the best part is we get to work with kids.”

—Linda Ocasio