JPDSP Student Spotlight
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March 2007 |
Taymar, A.O. Marshall Elementary |
Taymar has been selected as the JPDSP Student Spotlight for the month of March at AO. Marshall. Taymar is a first grade student in Mrs. Kump’s room. She has worked closely with Ms. Teresa Martinez who is a teacher candidate from the University of St. Francis.
Last semester, Ms. Martinez was a teacher candidate in fifth grade working with Ms. Smith and Mr. Fitzgerald. She is finding student teaching in first grade an enormous change from fifth grade. She says, “There’s so much more repetition in first grade. Learning is more hands on and interactive. First graders need lots of visuals.” Which grade level does she prefer? “I like them both.” she declares with no hesitation.
How does Taymar feel about having two teachers in her classroom? “Good. Mrs. Kump is a good teacher and Ms. Martinez is very pretty!” says Taymar with a shy smile. Ms. Martinez has helped Taymar in many ways. In writing, Ms. Martinez has helped Taymar verbalize what she is thinking before she writes it down on paper. She has also helped in reading. “I just got 100% on my first Accelerated Reader test. I read Rosie’s Walk two times at home and twice at school to Ms. Martinez.” Ms. Martinez has helped in other ways also. When students earn enough points, they are eligible to play “Hangman” using their spelling words and rich vocabulary words. Taymar explains, “We compete with Ms. Martinez and now we are winning! She makes school fun!” |
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February 2007 |
Dulce, A.O. Marshall Elementary |
Dulce is a new fifth grade student at A.O. Marshall this year. She has been in bilingual classrooms until this year. It was a very scary experience for her when she entered her first general education classroom in a new school this year. This was a huge transition for her.
However, a USF teacher candidate, Lezlie Jenner, took Dulce under her wing and gave her the confidence and daily help that she needed. Leslie was there to help Dulce with homework and class work. As Lezlie states, “Once Dulce was comfortable with me, she came to me just to go over her work to be sure she understood what she was doing. Usually, she had done the work correctly; she just needed assurance that it was accurate. Dulce is a very hardworking, quiet student who always asks questions.” At the beginning of the year, Dulce’s first writing assignment was to write down her goals in a time capsule to be read at the end of the school year. One of Dulce’s goals was to earn straight A grades by the end of the year. With Lezlie’s help, she will achieve her goal! |
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January 2006 |
Angelique, A.O. Marshall Elementary |
Angelique (Angie) is a fourth grade student in Mrs. LeGrand’s classroom. During this past fall, Angie received special assistance from a USF Student Candidate, Kristin Panush. Kristin was an Intermediate Field Experience candidate under the guidance of Mrs. London.
Angie is all smiles when she talks about her experience with Ms. Panush. “She helped me understand how to decode words and do my homework every night. On Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at lunch she would help me read my Accelerated Reader books. I really improved on my progress report. I’m hoping that my next report card will show how much I have gotten better.”
Mrs. Panush says: “Student of the month to me represents a student that has made a change or improvement over the last month to better themselves and their education. Angie Troutman did not see the value or importance of doing homework, schoolwork, and keeping herself organized. After realizing this was Angie’s difficulty with school, an informal meeting was held with Angie to discuss her feelings toward her schoolwork and the importance of being responsible. Then Angie and I sat down with all of her books, papers, and folders in order to teach her methods of organization. During this time we talked about school and the importance of doing well. A reward system was then set up for her with extrinsic motivation, which she responded to very well. Over the course of few weeks, Angie’s ability to stay organized, focused, and complete school and homework assignments improved dramatically. Angie began to see the importance of being responsible and the joy and satisfaction that completing schoolwork in a timely fashion can bring. It was very evident that Angie’s self esteem improved as well. Angie was chosen as our student of the month because she showed an improvement in the academic as well as interpersonal areas.”
“It is a privilege to be able to work with Angie, who is such a sweet and gentle girl. I would personally like to thank her for what she has taught me.” |
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Victoria, Farragut Elementary |
Victoria is a bright and lively fourth grade student at Farragut Elementary School. Her eagerness to learn manifests in her avid participation within the classroom. She takes great pride in performing extra classroom responsibilities which include the setting up of her classroom’s computers. She is also a dedicated member of the Farragut orchestra in which she plays the violin.
In regard to the JPDSP program, Victoria is greatly appreciative of the extra assistance within the classroom. She feels that the team teaching of teacher Mr. Shane Johnson and Intermediate Field Experience teacher candidate Lori Martinovic is “a good chance to learn more because there is more help.”
Lori Martinovic boasts that this experience has been the utmost rewarding opportunity to grow as a professional to this point. Her opportunity to work under the supervision of Mr. Johnson has not only helped prepare her for her future as an educator, but also instilled an inspiration and desire to make a difference in the classroom. |
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December 2006 |
Melissa, Farragut Elementary |
Melissa is a second grader at Farragut Elementary School and is an excellent student. She is truly a pleasure to have in class. She excels academically in all areas. Melissa enjoys reading and she also loves to practice her math addition facts.
Melissa enjoys having two teachers in the classroom, Mrs. Waters and Miss Prieboy. She feels that having two teachers allows her to receive extra individual help. She also has a lot of fun with all of the neat projects that we do.
Melissa believes that the partnership between the University of St. Francis and Farragut Elementary School is a great thing. Having it allows students at Farragut to receive extra help from student teachers. The partnership also allows future teachers to practice their teaching. |
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Shalique, A.O. Marshall Elementary |
Shalique is our JPDSP Student of the Month for December. He was chosen as the student of the month by Maria Zavala who is a University of St. Francis AFE (Advanced Field Experience) teacher candidate at A.O. Marshall.
Maria says, “At the beginning of the year, Shalique showed a complete disinterest in school. However, after being able to work with him, he began to shine. He showed his ability to write poetry as well as his vocabulary skills. He became a new student who loved to participate!”
Shalique appreciates the help that Ms. Zavala was able to give him. He benefited from having two teachers in the room and receiving the extra attention that allowed him to excel. |
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November 2006 |
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Destiny, Farragut Elementary |
Destiny is an enthusiastic student at Farragut Elementary School. She loves school, especially the computer center and looks forward to coming every day.
Destiny likes having University of Saint Francis, AFE candidate Kim Schroeder in her classroom. She says she enjoys having two teachers because it means more individual attention. “If one teacher is busy, I can go talk to the other one.” Destiny also thinks it is good to have two sets of eyes watching the students because, “If we get in trouble or do something wrong, one of the teachers will know, and we won’t be able to lie about it."
Destiny also likes that each of her teachers has a unique teaching style and does different activities with the students. She said, “Miss Schroeder does different types of things us. I like that.”
Destiny agrees that the partnership between Farragut Elementary and the University of St. Francis is beneficial to her and her classmates. When asked how it makes her classroom special, Destiny replied, “We have a lot of fun, and we learn a lot while having fun.” |
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James, A.O. Marshall Elementary |
James is a student at A.O. Marshall Elementary School. He was chosen as the student of the month by Shay Hayden, who is a University of St. Francis Advanced Field Experience teacher candidate.
Shay enjoys working with students who struggle with math. The teacher and Shay team-teach math which allows for more individual attention for the students.
James benefits from having two teachers in his classroom. He says, “I like having two teachers because there is always someone to help me when I need help.” Shay remembers helping James who was struggling with a writing activity. The students were given vocabulary cards during writing time. They had to write complete sentences using the vocabulary cards. Shay was able to show James how to turn phrases into complete sentences. “James is not afraid to ask for help. He has come a long way since August,” says Shay. |
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October 2006 |
Gudelia, A.O. Marshall Elementary |
Gudelia is a bright and energetic f student at A.O. Marshall.
Gudelia’s favorite subject is math. She is also an avid reader. The Accelerated Reader program is one of her favorite things at A.O. Marshall.
She enjoys and benefits from having Jodi Paulsen, Intermediate Field Experience teacher candidate from USF in the classroom.
“Having two teachers in the room makes getting ready for class much easier” says Gudelia. “Mrs. Paulsen helps everyone get ready for instruction.”
Gudelia enjoys the special attention everyone receives. She says, “Mrs. Paulsen helps everyone with their journal entries in the morning. When I’m out of ideas, she gives me suggestions. For example, one of our journal prompts was, ‘If you could change anything in the world, what would it be?’ I couldn’t think of anything! Mrs. Paulsen said, ‘What about the rainforest?’ That was a great idea! I wrote that I feel strongly that the president should try to make it illegal to cut down the rain forest.”
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Paris, Farragut Elementary |
| Paris is a spirited student who obviously loves to be at school. She says that she likes having two teachers in her classroom because she gets more special attention. In fact, her exact words were, “you help me with my homework and with my work.”
“Being part of Farragut has proved to be one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever known,” said Clare Gawlik, an Advanced Field Experience teacher candidate from USF. “I have had the pleasure of working with so many students who are skilled, talented and very smart.”
One such young lady is Paris, who feels that the partnership between the University of St. Francis and Farragut is great because it allows her to have two teachers in her classroom! Clare loves being part of the JPDSP (Joliet Professional Development School Partnership) because it provides the opportunity for candidate teachers like her and star students like Paris to learn from one another and succeed at the same time.
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