CA PRIDE - BETH LYDON

I think Beth Lydon must really like a challenge! Late last spring I decided to create a new position, Director of Advancement, by combining two part time positions: Development and Marketing. Her job description basically says she is to handle everything that has to do with promoting the school through marketing, volunteer activities, and fundraising. Needless to say the task list for a job like this is long and varied. I am delighted that Mrs. Lydon not only accepted the challenge of taking on the newly created position, but she did so with a positive, determined commitment to advance CA in every way she can.

As is true with so many of our CA staff, I first got to know her as an active parent volunteer helping with class activities and PTO events. Eventually I became aware that she has a financial background through her JMU degree and previous work experience. As you might guess, the teachers enlisted her to become a substitute teacher. Last year, I found out what a conscientious, dedicated worker she is when the did some long term subbing for us. I was very excited that she was interested in the Director of Advancement position.

About 5 seconds after accepting the position, Mrs. Lydon immediately went to work on organizing our 8th annual golf tournament which was quite a success in October. Initial planning of the 12th annual auction began before the golf tournament was over. Simultaneously, Mrs. Lydon launched our annual giving campaign, sought advertising opportunities in the community, and began a series of meetings with parents to revitalize our CAPS organization. Obviously, she has to be able to keep a lot of balls in the air at the same time. She is just now wrapping up the auction which was a fantastic event for CA. The auctioneer had hardly cried out the last “Sold!” when she was already discussing ideas for future events. It is fair to say that her job is never done...she has to be able to keep moving on to the next event or opportunity.

I appreciate the fact that Mrs. Lydon takes advantage of opportunities to learn about new ideas for events, projects, and communication through professional development webinars and meetings, talking to people in the community, talking to our own faculty and parents, and researching online. She just recently joined me at a regional VAIS meeting which gave her the chance to network with her counterparts from other schools. She knows there are many great ideas and is on the watch for those that are likely to be best for our CA community

Through a series of meetings with parents, Mrs. Lydon has helped identify some of the types of events, activities, and means of communication that our parents want. She also has begun to work with parents who are interested in planning some of the CAPS events. Some of these ideas will be implemented before the end of the school year and during the summer. Preliminary planning is beginning for next year. Being a busy parent herself, Mrs. Lydon understands all of the demands on our parents and values the time and effort from all of our volunteers. Finding ways to facilitate our having family events so that we can grow together as a school community is a priority for her. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.

CA Pride - Miriam Hartman

Miriam Hartman thought she was ready to retire after a successful career as librarian with Portsmouth Public Schools. But she was not quite certain she was ready to give up working with students. Fortunately for me, Mrs. Hartman happens to be a close friend of our former librarian, Kathy Batkin, who knew exactly how she was feeling. Mrs. Batkin suggested that Mrs. Hartman should join the CA faculty and staff on a part time basis and keep the best of both worlds: The flexibility of retirement coupled with the joy of working with young students.

I think all of our faculty will agree that Mrs. Hartman became a valued member of our staff so quickly that we often forget that this is her first year with us. She works closely with our elementary faculty to ensure that our library collection is well maintained and updated. She is the "go to" person when we are seeking resources on certain topics. She oversees our AR program for elementary students. Our young students look forward to her regular visits to read and discuss books with them. In March, Mrs. Hartman presented an excellent program for parents and students about the importance of "raising a reader".

Being librarian at CA is certainly a different experience from running a more conventional library in a larger elementary school. She has to oversee and coordinate a library collection of several thousand books that is housed in different classroom libraries. To say that Mrs. Hartman had to adapt her approach to her work may be an understatement. Yet, she embraced this new opportunity with such a positive, flexible attitude and is adding her own special touches.

Mrs. Hartman’s commitment extends beyond her responsibilities as librarian. She quickly became a part of our CA community in a number of ways. We started to get to know her even before she was officially on our staff. She attended last year’s school auction just after accepting the position for the coming year. Since then, she has supported school events as fully as she is able. She is always quick to offer assistance when she observes a teacher, staff member, or student who appears to need an extra hand. What I appreciate about this is that in Mrs. Hartman our students not only have a person who inspires them to read, but they also have a great role model to be a caring, helping person. Now that is what I call fostering a love of learning.

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.