CA PRIDE - MARCIA TABET

Being an alumna of Christopher Academy is something special. Having an alumna as a member of the teaching staff at CA is fantastic. Marcia Tabet was a member of the first kindergarten class of The St. Christopher School. I was delighted to learn that fact when she enrolled her oldest son in Preschool a few years ago. Having her as an employee to continue the traditions of CA is an added bonus.

Mrs. Tabet quickly became an active parent volunteer. She was very instrumental to the success of our auctions through her ability to get many great items for them. She could be counted on to help with our school events, large or small. Her help with classroom parties, field trips, and other activities got the attention of our teachers. They appreciated her warm, friendly manner when working with students and eventually persuaded her to become a substitute teacher for us. In 2012, she joined our staff as a teaching assistant for third grade. This year she added supervision of Third Grade lunch and teaching Physical Activity classes on Monday afternoon to her responsibilities.

Many of you know that Mrs. Tabet has been a dental hygienist for a number of years. Sometimes she does a dental hygiene class for our preschool students. She continues this work a couple of times a month in addition to her CA work. Her wonderful smile is a great advertisement for her work.

You may not know that her educational background is in health and physical education and sports management. She has a Bachelor of Science from UVA in Sports Medicine and a Masters degree from ODU in Sports Management. Her job experience includes working for the New York Yankees and the Norfolk Tides. You may also spot her over at the Y coaching a basketball team. You can see why I thought of Mrs. Tabet when I needed another Physical Activity teacher this year. I am so glad she accepted this new challenge.

Mrs. Tabet enjoys sharing many different experiences with our students. You will find her helping out with our afternoon programs such as CARES Club and the Running Club. She values giving our students opportunities to be involved in community services projects and working together. I having been using the phrases "the CA WAY" and title of this series, " CA Pride", a great deal this year. This idea was inspired by Mrs. Tabet in some of of our faculty meetings when she referred to how important it is to teach our young children the CA way of behaving and doing things. Mrs.Tabet brings that wonderful perspective of what this school is all about to everything she does at CA. Now that is what I call a fostering a love of learning.

CA PRIDE - PAM SEXTON

Pam Sexton has that special something that enables her to really connect with our first grade students. In addition to the time she spends working with them in the classroom, Mrs. Sexton is the person who is on the playground with them daily during Mouse and Lion Break and lunch. This gives her the opportunity to have informal conversations with them and get to know their personalities. The children really come to trust her and look forward to sharing their special news with her each day.

I first met Mrs. Sexton when I taught her son, Greg, in second grade. I knew her as an active parent who supported her own children and was a great volunteer. When we had a large first grade class in 1993, my predecessor, Dottie Seward, knew just who to hire as a teaching assistant to Mrs. Wilson for that year. Of course, it turned out that Mrs. Sexton quickly became an invaluable member of the first grade teaching team and has continued in that role since then.

First grade language arts instruction is so critical to the future academic success of our students . With her degree in English, Mrs. Sexton has the background to help our young students build that strong foundation of writing and reading skills. It is safe to say that Mrs. Wilson cannot imagine teaching first grade without Mrs. Sexton as her partner. During math instruction, Mrs. Sexton manages to seem to see what everyone is doing all at the same time. She moves from child to child making sure he/she is on the correct task, has the correct supplies out, and is paying attention to instruction. During independent work, she continues to be “on the move” as she checks in with students to see who needs assistance.

Mrs. Sexton is also the first grade science teacher. She loves plants and animals. This makes her a natural to excite young learners about the topics that are taught in first grade science.

Mrs. Sexton over the years has also tutored a number of our students. Sometimes they need just a little help to get over the hump of mastering specific skills. Other times they benefit from ongoing tutoring just to keep them on track. I always enjoy seeing Mrs. Sexton working one on one with our students. She gives them just the support that they need and, in the process, forges special bonds with them. Part of this can simply be a little time for personal conversation that lets them know she cares and is interested in them. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.

CA PRIDE - NANCY PERKINS

Nancy Perkins is the first person that many of our students see each day. She greets them by looking them in the eye and shaking hands as they say good morning. The teaching and learning starts the moment the car door opens with that daily greeting. What a positive beginning to our young students' day.

 Most of you know that Mrs. Perkins has been our Kindergarten language arts teacher since 1987. You may not know that Mrs. Perkins also taught elementary art to our elementary students for a number of years and continues to work with Mrs. Davenport teaching first grade art. She brings her love for art and nature into the learning experience for kindergarten students through wonderful projects that enrich the language arts curriculum.

Mrs. Perkins dedicates herself to helping our kindergarten students develop essential reading, writing, and oral skills that give them a strong foundation for future academic success. Mrs. Perkins’ classroom is a calm, peaceful learning environment during reading and writing instruction. She moves about the room quietly directing and assisting as our young learners begin to become confident readers and writers. She uses Calico, the Bear, to inspire students to write in journals. It is a special weekend, when Calico comes home with a K student.

Mrs. Perkins knows that first hand experiences bring learning to life. She seeks community resources that will provide real life experiences whether through a field trip, bringing in a speaker, or doing a special project.
When the students are working on these projects, her classroom is filled with high energy and imagination . She provides a variety of materials to inspire the students’ creativity. They may be working individually or together happily talking about what they are doing. They might be at tables or on the floor. And when it is all finished, she is just as proud of their achievements and creations as they are. Students are so excited to tell me and their parents all about their gingerbread houses or mouse houses or garden landscapes.

Mrs. Perkins has a gentle, soft spoken approach when talking with students. At the same time she has high expectations for best effort and excellent conduct from her students at all times. She models these expectations in the way she goes about doing her job in and out of the classroom. .

Mrs. Perkins is a true CA supporter. You can spot her at most school activities whether they involve her current K students or not. For example, she frequently helps with our CARES Club meetings. This year she has stayed after school to help supervise and cheer on the running club. I think it is great for our older students to know that their kindergarten teacher still takes an interest in what they are doing. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.

CA Pride - Tammy Penland

Tammy Penland is absolutely as excited about learning as our students are! She is constantly looking for new ideas that will enhance the learning experience for them. Best of all she stays "tuned in" to what the kids are interested in and draws her inspiration directly from them.

Mrs. Penland has been with CA for 8 Years. I first met her when she started volunteering in her nephew's class and discussed doing observations and an internship as part of her early childhood education classes. She began working on some special projects for us and is now a full time employee..

You may know Mrs. Penland as the kindergarten teaching assistant for both the morning program and K-Cubs in the afternoon. (I will write more about her role in developing our K-Cubs program in a future blog.) She is the kindergarten art teacher as well. Or you may know her as the Adventure Kids coordinator who plans our wonderful after school program for first through fifth grade students. Some of you know her as a tutor who has helped students strengthen their skills. Regardless of how you know her, one thing is certain. Mrs. Penland approaches everything she does with enthusiasm, dedication and hard work.

Mrs. Penland is constantly looking for opportunities for professional development. For example, she attended Handwriting Without Tears training a few years ago and is able to work with Mrs. Perkins to carry out this program in kindergarten. She also has taken sign language classes and has been teaching that to our kindergarten students. She models the love of learning for our students on a regular basis by learning new skills herself and then using them to enrich their learning experiences.

If you know Mrs. Penland at all, you probably know about her love of animals. She is a regular volunteer at the Portsmouth Humane Society. She brings her passion for taking care of animals to our students. For the past few years she has helped kindergarten students sponsor a drive to collect coins, food, and bedding materials for the shelter. She turns this into a math lesson as well as having the kids tally and graph how many items they collected before gift wrapping them and taking everything to the shelter for Christmas. She also helps CARES club with its annual animal shelter project.

Mrs. Penland's commitment to community service is not limited to helping animals. She looks for other opportunities to involve our students in projects that will help others. A great example is the Stone Soup project that is now an annual tradition for both kindergarten and CARES CLUB students. Based on the classic story, our students prepare enough soup to provide a lunch to approximately 100 homeless people at OASIS in Portsmouth. This is quite a process of chopping, measuring and getting it just right to make a delicious hearty meal. Mrs. Penland along with her husband, Mark, and many adult volunteers make this happen. Our students love knowing that they are doing something to make a difference in the lives of others. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.