CA PRIDE - CAROLINA BHAN

I first met Carolina Bhan last year when she taught a Zumba class for our afternoon Adventure Kids class. It was exciting to just walk through the room. It was filled with so much energy, music, and fun that I wanted to join in with the class. When I found out that she also is a qualified, experienced teacher I knew I had the perfect person to teach Spanish for us.

Señorita Bhan is from Spain. She has degrees from Conservatorio Real De Musica, Manuel de Falla, Universidad De Cadiz, and Facultad De Ciencias de la Educacion. She was a music and elementary teacher at El Centro Inglés/escuela De Música y Danza Paso A Dos before moving to the United States. We currently share her with the Montessori Preparatory School.

Señorita Bhan told me when she first joined our faculty that she was excited to share her personal experiences growing up in Spain with our students. When I have a chance to stop in and visit her class, I always find that she is sharing many interesting stories, customs, and experiences. Her instruction is focused on helping our students develop a Spanish vocabulary including the definition, spelling and pronunciation as well as learning to appreciate Spanish culture.

Señorita Bhan loves music and is a musician herself. Each Wednesday, she along with Mrs. Crandall, fills our halls with the sound of Spanish music. Music is a wonderful way to enrich our students experience of the Spanish culture and to expand their vocabulary . Most of all it is fun to sing and move to these Spanish songs.

When Señorita Bhan joined our staff in September, she was faced with the challenge of getting know 87 students in five different grades, becoming familiar with the CA schedule, and planning a Spanish Christmas program She approached all of this with a smile and positive attitude. When she can, she comes to school for other events so that she can get to know the students better as well as the culture of the school. She has helped at some of the CARES CLUB  and the running club meetings. It was great for our students to have their Spanish teacher running with them and cheering them on as they prepared for the Operation Smile Final Mile. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.

CA PRIDE - MARY LOU WILSON

If you want to become an excellent reader and writer, you should sign up for Mrs. Wilson's first grade language arts class! Mary Lou Wilson has taught first grade students reading, writing, and oral language skills for 25 years at CA. The result is students who have the best possible foundation for their future academic success.

Mrs. Wilson’s first association with CA was through enrolling her daughter in our Pre-K class. It did not take long for my predecessor, Dottie Seward, to discover that she had a parent volunteer who was not only an experienced teacher, but also a reading specialist. Mrs. Wilson was quickly added to the faculty. Her expertise as a reading specialist has served CA well over the years. She is regularly consulted by other teachers and me when a student in any grade has difficulty with reading. She also does the reading assessment for most of our new students coming in to CA.

Mrs. Wilson also teaches first grade math. When she took on this new challenge in 2008, she was excited to have the opportunity to participate in two days of workshops on Everyday Math. She came back ready to help first grade students build just as strong a foundation in math skills as in language arts.

You may not be aware that Mrs. Wilson has administrative responsibilities as well. She is the Language Arts Lead Teacher. In this role, she works with language arts teachers to ensure continuity in instruction through all of the grades. She is the primary mentor for our new elementary teachers. All in all, Mrs. Wilson is a leader among our faculty who is admired and respected by her peers. Along with steering committee co-chair, Leigh-Ann Hartley, she worked tirelessly to lead our faculty and trustees through a self study process to successfully earn our initial VAIS accreditation in 2005. She has played a major role in our subsequent re-accreditation in 2010 and preparation for our upcoming visit in 2015. She has served on one accreditation team for another school.

These extra responsibilities do not diminish her commitment to her students. First grade students always come first. She does not just teach by the "book", she is constantly finding ways to enrich the learning experience with special projects, fun events, and field trips. It is not enough to read about plants, but we should also plant them and watch them grow. It is not enough to count paper ice cream scoops, but perhaps we should eat some real ice cream scoops. It is not enough to read about an artist' painting technique, we should try to make our own masterpieces using that technique ourselves. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.

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.

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.