STIRLING SCHOOL

Box 340, Stirling, Alberta, Canada

T0K 2E0
Respect, Responsibility, and Integrity

Principal Mr. Darren Mazutinec

Vice-principal Ms. Inge Pot
Vice-principal Mrs. Charlene Teramura
Phone (403) 756-3355
Fax (403) 756-2189
www.stirlingschool.ca

Home of the Lakers

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Re: Kathy Kawade final evaluation

To Whom It May Concern:
Kathy Kawade has been a PSIII student teacher with us for the Fall of 2015. Kathy was given
the responsibility to teach Math 7, Math 8, and Math 9.
Kathy was consistent in her planning and lesson preparation. Her year plan submissions to me
were detailed and included both formative and summative evaluation plans as well as a
monthly/weekly breakdown for all of her assigned units. Kathy would spend considerable time
visiting with her mentor about her methodology on planning and lesson delivery in math. As I
spent time watching Kathy build relationships and have fun with her classes and math lessons,
it became evident quickly that Kathy had a knack for working with middle school grades. Her
content knowledge, class management, and teacher-student relationships, was very strong.
Her daily lesson plans throughout the semester always started with a General Learner
Outcome followed by a Specific Learner Outcome as found in the Program of Studies. Kathy
would start each lesson with a quick homework check to check for both level of understanding
and homework completion. If she determined that there was the slightest bit of confusion from
her students on the homework check, she would quickly break it down for all to see and move
onto to the days new lesson. She was efficient and consistent in this opening exercise. Kathys
lessons were broken down into detailed segments that would guide her throughout her lesson.
She had a well-balanced approach to introducing new concepts and allowing enough time in
class for students to show their level of understanding. At the end of every lesson, a quick
summary of the days learning was part of her daily plan. If Kathy identified students who may
not have grasped the days learning intentions, they would then be invited to our day-end
tutorials where she would help them with their understanding in smaller more manageable
groups.
Kathy demonstrated sound content knowledge in all of her Math class assignments. I
appreciated her composure, sense of humor, and confidence as she taught and interacted with
her students. Her classroom had a feeling of fun and efficiency as it was readily apparent that
all knew her expectations and were comfortable enough to show their vulnerability and level of
understanding.
Kathys class management was consistent and known to all of her students. Kathy
demonstrated a willingness to confront any unruly and/or off task behavior that was not
appropriate for class. She always handled the management in a firm and confident manner
while respecting the dignity of the student.

Kathy had a solid understanding of the role of formative assessment in her assignment. I
witnessed entrance and exit slips, student questioning, whiteboards, thumbs up/down, and
classroom walk-around as methods employed to help her understand the impact of what she
was trying to accomplish with each lesson. I was appeased to see her take the formative data
and change lessons immediately to try and address the deficiencies that her formative
assessment tools were telling her. As I visited with her about the purpose and role of formative
assessment, I was very confident that she has a solid understanding about the role and
purpose of this pedagogical tool.
In our school, we are committed to bettering our understanding on what research has
determined are the best teaching practices for student learning. We talk/discuss/PD about the
role of Marzano and Hattie and what they have concluded are the best strategies for student
understanding. As post-lesson discussions were had with Kathy, I was impressed with her
understanding and purposeful use of homework and practice, cooperative learning, direct
instruction, and teacher-student relationships. It was fun to see her understand and use the
jargon and then implement a purposeful use of these strategies as part of her teaching plan.
Kathy recognized the complexity of a public school and the dynamics that is involved in
providing both an academic content and an extra/co-curricular component to our students.
Kathy volunteered to be part of our Terry Fox run, Halloween dance, DEAR group supervision,
Operation Christmas Child, elementary choir, Flex Fridays, division and onsite PLCs,
basketball supervision, and daily tutorials. She took her turn with lunch hour supervision and
would volunteer in any areas of our school that she could. Her efforts were very much noticed
and appreciated.
Kathy demonstrated a very solid grasp of what is required to be a daily classroom teacher. I
was extremely happy with her efforts, the relationships she built with our students, and the
academic results she produced in our school. I am confident she will be an impact staff member
to any school she chooses to join. Please give me a call to discuss having Kathy join your staff.
Sincerely,

Darren Mazutinec
Principal