To Whom It May Concern: Foothills Composite Alberta High School High School of Fine Arts

Mr. T. Schmekel Principal schmekelt@fsd38.ab.ca Ms. D. Pazskowski Vice Principal paszkowskid@fsd38.ab.ca Mr. J. Rhodes Vice Principal rhodesj@fsd38.ab.ca Ms. K. Strilchuk Vice Principal strilchukk@fsd38.ab.ca

To Whom It May Concern: This letter is provided at the request of Amanda Abrey, who has asked me to serve as a reference on her behalf. I know Amanda as she student taught under my supervision. As her mentor, I had an opportunity to observe Amanda instruct three English classes (10-1, 20-1 and 30-2) and to evaluate her knowledge of the English Language Arts Curriculum as presented in the province of Alberta. I highly recommend Amanda Abrey as a candidate for any teaching position. Amanda responds well to students and is able to elicit appropriate responses. Through sharing her personal experiences, and providing students with practical knowledge, Amanda established a strong rapport with her students, and most importantly, a nice teacher / student relationship with all of her classes. Her daily lesson plans were solid, and she continually worked toward researching different (and better) ways of addressing student learning needsi.e. multiple intelligence, differentiated instruction, etc. Over the course of her praxis, as Amanda moved away from straight lectures to more hands-on, group and one-on-one activities, she saw much more success and the students were better able to connect with the content being presented. Amandas strongest assess is her ability to constantly reflect onand modifyher teaching to suit the needs of all learners. Simultaneously, Amandas skills in all areas improved nicely as she progressed through her various lessons. Specifically, these included her ability to work with SMART Board and other related technologies (which her online portfolio speaks to), and with various marks programs (Maplewood & Remark). As stated before, almost daily did she utilize student-centered data to reflect upon the quality of both her teaching and assessments. In terms of professional development, Amanda had the benefit of working in a Professional Learning Community here at FCHS / AHSFA. This meant that once a week, all English teachers met for an hour or more to discuss curricular objectives, to create common assessment rubrics, and to reflect on their teaching practices. Amanda was an active participant and brought several good ideas to the table including work on creating thematic understanding policies for the department using the Understanding by Design model of Wiggins and McTighe. She was also involved in several other school programs such as Cross Country, 30 Hour Famine, and Leadership. For all these reasons, I can highly recommend Amanda Abrey without reservation. I know that she will perform well and be an asset to any school division. If you have any further questions with regard to her background or qualifications, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely,

NATHAN CROSBY, B.A., B.ED (HONS)

403-938-6116 ext 14524 / CrosbyN@fsd38.ab.ca

229 Woodhaven Drive, Okotoks, Alberta T1S 2A7 Phone: (403) 938-6116 Fax: (403) 938-7365