CA PRIDE - ADELINA VAIRO

I first met Adelina Vairo when she enrolled her older son in our preschool. She quickly became an active parent volunteer who preferred doing more of the behind the scenes projects. One of our former teachers, Mrs. Morgan, depended on her to help create an annual display long after her children were not in her class. As you might expect it was not long until teachers began suggesting that Mrs. Vairo become a substitute teacher. She rapidly became a favorite sub because the teachers knew that she would do a great job teaching the plans they had left for their class.

When I added a teaching assistant position for second grade in 2007, teachers immediately told me that Mrs. Vairo was the best person for the job. I was certainly pleased when she readily agreed to become a member of our staff. In addition to assisting in the second grade classroom during language arts and math instruction, Mrs. Vairo is the technology instructor for second grade in the computer lab. She is enjoying helping our students explore and use new technology resources this year.

Mrs. Vairo is a quiet, calm presence in the classroom. She is a careful listener and observer of all the activity among her students . This is important, of course, so that our second grade students get extra assistance when needed to master skills and to be guided to stay on task. But it is also very important when a child is just not quite him or herself or there is a social disagreement among students. Mrs. Vairo supervises second grade lunch daily and gets to know her second grade students very well. She is likely the first one to notice when something is not quite right with a child whether it due to not feeling well or having a problem with a friend. I greatly value Mrs. Vairo's perspective and observations when I need to talk with second grade students about a problem.

Our second grade students could not have a better role model for their approach to doing their school work and being good school citizens. Each day they see Mrs. Vairo carrying out her tasks conscientiously and effectively. She is well organized and helps them become better organized. She is helpful and kind. Her words of encouragement and support mean a lot when a child needs it the most. And, of course, when they are successful, she is quick with a smile and a word of praise. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.

CA PRIDE - MIRIAM TERRY

Some years back Miriam Terry told me that she really likes a challenge. Since then I have taken her at her word and called upon her many times when I need someone to “pioneer” something new. These challenges seem to energize Mrs. Terry and her enthusiasm is contagious to both her coworkers and her students..

In 2005, Mrs. Terry pioneered our first 4th grade class with ten excited students and a group of very supportive parents. A faculty committee helped her develop the curriculum and program. She taught all of the core academic subjects that year. At the same time, we began planning to add fifth grade in 2006. Happily, she was joined by Mrs. Bikowski that year to launch our first fifth grade class. Mrs. Terry chose to teach math and science to both grades while Mrs. Bikowski concentrated in language arts and social studies.

Mrs. Terry LOVES math especially University of Chicago Everyday Math. She even gets excited about teaching negative number subtraction to fifth grade students. (That is truly a mystery to me!) She also is equally enthusiastic about science and loves hands on projects. For example, fourth grade students raise oysters at Hoffler Creek, fifth grade students hatch chicks and grow spartina grass. You never know what you might find going on in her 4th/ 5th grade classroom. It is always an interesting place to visit.

Mrs. Terry also has administrative responsibilities serving both as math lead teacher and assistant head of school. She is currently taking school leadership classes through ODU . Now she can really connect with her students when they talk about homework, projects and tests because she has to do all that too.

You may not be aware that Mrs. Terry is an active participant in VAIS, our accrediting association. She currently is serving on the state conference planning committee . She has served on two accreditation teams at other schools. She is also the chair of the steering committee for CA’s ten year accreditation visit coming up in 2015.

Mrs. Terry has a great curiosity for learning new things and having new experiences. She shares this quest for knowledge with her students. This is not limited to academic knowledge. She knows it is important for our oldest students to become confident in their social and leadership skills. Her instructional approach often includes collaborative learning through which students must learn to work together as a team. She also seeks ways to help her students develop leadership skills through opportunities to mentor younger students such as the gardening project shared by 5th grade students and K-Cubs.

Most of all she is excited to see her students discover new things and master new skills whether they are academic or personal milestones. Many of our alums keep in touch with her because they know she is genuinely interested in how they are doing. When they have a special event or success, Mrs. Terry is just as excited as they are. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.

CA PRIDE - SUSAN SHIEMBOB

When I found out that I was going to need a new third grade teacher for this year, I knew I would not have to look very far. Our own Susan Shiembob was the ideal choice for the job. While this is her first year teaching third grade, Ms. Shiembob is not really a new teacher. She brings experience, fresh academic training and her own unique approach to teaching. I was very happy when she readily agreed to take on this new challenge. She started planning right away before the school year ended and continued working all summer so that she would be ready for this new adventure with her third grade students.

Let me tell you a bit more about her background. Ms. Shiembob graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. Ms. Shiembob also has a teaching license to teach marketing education at the secondary level. She postponed her teaching career when she became a mom. We got to know her at CA when she enrolled her oldest son, now 16, in our preschool program. Teachers soon found that they had a great parent volunteer who did an excellent job organizing and helping with class and school events. I bet you can guess what happened next. They were soon suggesting that she consider subbing and the rest is history. Ms. Shiembob was frequently called to sub because the teachers knew she would do a great job.

Eventually we recognized that Ms. Shiembob also has excellent office management skills. I took advantage of that by creating a combined position in which she worked as our office assistant in the mornings and taught physical activity and geography in the afternoons. During her two years in this combined position, Ms. Shiembob took the courses needed to add an elementary endorsement to her teaching license. She completed this additional course work just in time to be ready to assume the third grade teaching position this year filled with fresh ideas from her classes.

This was an easy transition for our students as they already knew her well since she had taught them P.A. and geography in second grade. They also know her as a running coach with our Adventure Kids running club for operation smile. And she continues to be an active parent helping out with school events such as CARES Club. Ms. Shiembob also was very active in our parent organization prior to becoming a full time employee with us. As P.A. teacher, Ms. Shiembob has organized our annual Field Day; this is one of our favorite days of the year.

Ms. Shiembob brings the same commitment to all of her roles at CA. She puts in a tremendous amount of time to be well prepared both for the classes she teaches and the activities she helps sponsor. It is important to her that her students continue to build upon the strong academic foundation they already have by third grade. She is a strong believer in the benefits of regular exercise, setting personal goals and working to achieve them. She expects her students to be of good character and always do their best. This is what she models for them on a daily basis. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.

CA Pride - Kathy Tarr

If I were a Pre-K student I would be pretty excited to be in Mrs. Tarr's classroom. You never know what is going to be in the counting box or what the project of the day will be. The students are also excited to have a turn to share "show and tell" items each week. All are fun ways to encourage and develop oral language, letter recognition, and number sense.

Kathy Tarr has been part of our Pre-K team since 2007. Her classroom is a colorful, inviting learning environment focusing on math and language arts skills. Along with a variety of learning centers, creative projects teach and reinforce the letter of the day, oral language, counting skills, and fine motor skill development. Pre- K students are building a strong foundation for kindergarten as well as developing important social skills in her classroom.

Look a little closer and you will see that Mrs. Tarr’s classroom is very well organized. Most importantly, it is planned to help students learn to organize themselves. From the way they "check in" to how they gather their project pieces and materials to the way they select learning centers and games, the classroom activities flow efficiently and effectively. Our young students are becoming independent and self-directed through Mrs. Tarr’s procedures in such a positive way. And the Pre-K’s are so proud to tell you that they know just what to do.

Mrs. Tarr is also the technology teacher for Pre-K. The Bears, Ducks and Fish have time with her in the lab weekly as well as having a computer center in her room. She uses a combination of software and online resources to provide technology experiences to reinforce letters, numbers, problem solving, and creativity. There are lots of smiles on computer lab day! Mrs. Tarr has the additional responsibility of supervising lunch with 4th and 5th grade students, but that is a story for a future blog!

I enjoy visiting Mrs. Tarr’s room when they are having circle time and especially on “show and tell” day. The children are so excited to bring in their special item and tell their classmates all about it. Students are learning to use statements and questions as they share. For those who do not feel comfortable speaking before a group, participation in “show and tell” and other class discussions really helps build confidence. For those who are uncomfortable speaking to the group, Mrs. Tarr is right by their side offering a word of encouragement and a big smile. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.