WELCOME TO MY TEACHING PORTFOLIO
LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION _________________________
To whom it may concern, August 19th, 2015
It is with great pleasure that I recommend Jessika Joy Ouellette as an elementary school teacher for your school board. As principal and founder of Académie Vaudrin, I hired Jessika to replace our kindergarten and grade one teacher as she was on extended medical leave and could not have been more pleased with her work. Jessika’s performance greatly exceeded our expectations considering she was responsible for ensuring that students met the curricular requirements before transitioning into grades one and two, with only nine weeks left to the school year. Jessika ensured that the students were ready with the time provided and did so with the confidence and dedication that a seasoned teacher would have had.
In her short time here we could all see that she deeply cares about her students and they in turn look to her for approval and guidance with admiration. Overall, her positive approach to teaching generated a warm and close rapport with her classes as well as our faculty. All in all, her time here proved to have been meaningful as she established a classroom atmosphere that was safe, nurturing, and simultaneously open to different types of learners, something we value here at Académie Vaudrin.
Although we wish we could keep Jessika for our own, our loss is your gain. Based on Jessika Joy Ouellette’s extraordinary knowledge, skills, and ability to teach effectively, there is no doubt in my mind that she is an outstanding educator who should be selected to teach at any elementary school.
Sincerely,
Michelle Vaudrin, Académie Vaudrin Principal
(450) 510-5454
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To Whom It May Concern, December 5th, 2013
It is with pleasure that I write this letter of reference for Jessika- Joy Ouellette, a student with whom I have been working since August, 2013. I have been the McGill Supervisor of Field Experience 3 for Joy and in that capacity, I have observed her growth, becoming a competent, confident teacher.
She struck me at the outset as an enthusiastic and dedicated young woman and that initial impression has been confirmed throughout my time working with her. Joy shows a love for her chosen profession and her natural ability to empathize with and understand her students shows that she has indeed found her calling.
Joy is conscientious and creative in her planning of activities, making sure to design them to meet the needs of all students in her classes. She has shown initiative in creating games and interactive activities that are well received by her students, engaging them in a fun way in their learning. She plans her lessons in a contextual fashion, showing that she has an excellent understanding of the pedagogical approaches embodied in the Quebec Education Program. With this said, Joy has adapted her lessons to respond to the needs of two very different groups, while still executing lessons within units that were engaging. Joy has worked well with technology, using it to enhance her lessons on a daily basis. She has a good understanding of the students’ interests and needs and has a particularly good rapport with each one of them.
Joy showed excellent initiative, proposing and implementing an extracurricular Girls’ Club that was designed to meet the perceived needs for the Grade 6 girls of the school. She piloted each activity and it was also well received by the girls as they benefitted from this initiative.
Joy is also thoughtful and takes the time to reflect on her day to make changes as she goes. She works very collaboratively with the teaching personnel of the school and is learning from them well.
I feel Joy has all the potential to and will be an outstanding teacher. I am happy to recommend her and would be available to provide further information if required.
Yours truly,
Jan Langelier, McGill Student Supervisor
(514) 453-7103
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To Whom It May Concern, December 2nd, 2013
Jessika Joy Ouellette spent four months with me at Edgewater School, Pincourt, Quebec. She arrived on the first day, with construction workers all around us, having to circumvent the many distractions and attempt to assist me in setting up the classroom. This could not have been more of an initiation into the reality of teaching! She came through it all with a fabulous attitude and keen to get to work.
Throughout Joy’s four month stage with me in grade 6, she has experienced a wide variation in both teaching strategies and styles. She participated in teaching Math and ELA to two groups of grade 6 students: one group was made up of approximately 2/3 IEP’s, while the other group had no inventions at all.
Due to many (12) IEP’s in one group, adaptations and modifications were implemented with quite a variation between the two classes. She was successful in implementing the same ideas but presenting them in two very different formats. She also had to vary her expectations between the two groups and successfully did so without the students being aware of these differences. In all cases she applied these with a smile and sense of kindness that truly made the children feel her warmth and because of this, they wanted to be successful.
Grade sixers are always heavily involved in many activities in the first term. Joy followed the participants and cheered them on wherever the event took place. This visible support was so important to the students; they truly appreciated her participation in all of their tournaments and fundraisers.
Throughout Joy’s time here at Edgewater, she displayed kindness, understanding, and strength to be firm with the silliness of pre-teens. At no time did she ever make someone feel less a person or less able to complete a task. In fact, both groups looked forward to whatever she was going to do with them that period.
Joy exhibited a calmness in dealing with each individual’s questions, weaknesses, lack of understanding. Essentially, she handled herself like a seasoned teacher!
Joy is a natural in the world of teaching and could handle a class of her own right now. Whether dealing with the daily drama of pre-teens, a SMART board malfunction that required learning on the fly how to use the overhead projector to teach, massive amounts of correcting, and altering expectations for IEP students… I could go on and on… the point is, Joy has made me feel good about the future of our profession. I see a bright, young lady who will be such an asset to any school- and the children will be the real winners!
Respectfully,
Margaret McEwen, Co-operating Teacher
(514) 972-2904
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To Whom It May Concern, December 1st, 2013
I am writing on behalf of Jessika Joy regarding the position that she is applying for. As former manager of the Vieux Duluth in Chateauguay and direct supervisor of Jessika Joy for three years, I was able to clearly gain a true perspective of her professionalism. During that time, I have gotten to know Jessika quite well and can thoroughly vouch for her character and abilities.
Jessika is a pleasure to work with because her pleasant and positive attitude can make nearly any work seem fun and interesting. She quickly gained my confidence, and became the leader of the front of the restaurant staff, and always handled the position fairly by making sure everyone had equal amounts of work. Whether there were issues with unsatisfied clients or conflicts between staff members, Jessika was always the go to person to solve the problem. Rather than getting upset, she managed to point out positives in negative situations and was always able to turn the situation around.
With her relentless motivation and her boundless energy, Jessika would bring a wealth of knowledge and skills to any position that she deemed worthy. I know she would be an excellent fit for your business. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Best Regards,
Peter Papatheodorakos
(514) 992-7828
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To Whom It May Concern, October 17th, 2013
Jessika has been tutoring English to my 6 year old daughter. My daughter really enjoys working with Jessika and always looks forward to seeing her. Through these sessions, her knowledge of the English language and confidence have greatly improved.
Jessika always brings an approach that is structured yet combines fun, laughter and builds self-confidence. So much that it is now my daughter who wants to read us bed time stories in English!
I would strongly recommend Jessika Joy to anyone looking for a dynamic teacher that is very professional and dedicated to what she does.
Sincerely,
Ian Ollek
(514) 715-6906