2014 Faculty and Staff Acknowledgments
The Jackson Theater was nearly filled with guests and students who joined our annual recognition of faculty and staff for professional achievements and five-year service anniversaries. It’s clear that the affection our students feel for the people involved in their learning is shared by their parents, and we deeply appreciate that respect.
With Dr. Brad Weaver on the list as honoree, Board Chair Katie Murphy launched the assembly with his service anniversary recognition, including thoughts from his colleagues and students in her acknowledgment. Dr. Weaver followed, noting first the 2013 professional achievement honorees and following with thoughtful comments about the faculty and staff observing five-year service anniversaries. A summary of achievements and remarks shared at the Monday Assembly follows.
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Advanced Certificates and Degrees: 2013
- Tina Souza - Public Notary Commission and IT Support Certificate
- Kristen Sorensen - Masters of Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning with an Emphasis in Educational Technology
Five Years Service
Dr. Brad Weaver
Dr. Brad Weaver
- He makes us teach as well as learn, and he understands what it is like to be a student. - A student
- He is pushing our school community to be the best learning environment for children, and is doing it extremely well. - A colleague
- Most importantly, he is OUR head of school. He has molded both the job and this school into a reflection of his high moral standards, his commitment to his word, our obligation to our community, and his loyalty to teachers, staff, parents, and trustees. - Katie Murphy
Christy Harper
- While I could certainly regale you with countless stories of creative and inspiring math lessons taught to our third, fourth, and fifth graders, I want to focus on the impact she has had on our community through the SCDS Entrepreneurship Program. Ms. Harper and I have had many conversations about how to teach entrepreneurial thinking to young children, and many discussions with local entrepreneurs, but nothing has had a greater influence than the simple act of allowing students to actually start and run a store on campus.
Shelly Laskey
- Ms. Laskey’s verve and enthusiasm for learning carries beyond the classroom, first helping her to complete her teaching credential a couple of years ago and now allowing her to serve as a Beginning Teacher Program mentor for other new teachers. Ms. Laskey is renowned for her organizational skills and she has that “withitness” that is hard to define, but is a key element of an effective teacher.
Ten Years Sevice
Tina Souza
Tina Souza
- Her reputation as a jack-of-all-trades, our resident go-to person for any problem, big or small...or just for some conversation in the midst of a busy day, as one of her colleagues put it. (Just the way you would go to your mama first when you need help!) Most people would assume that all this is more than a front desk registrar could possibly manage in a day, but it doesn’t stop there. Each year, Ms. Souza also volunteers to coach an all-girls Lego Robotics team, often combining girls from SCDS with girls from a local public school.
Patti Wick
- Ms. Wick is a shining example of something we strive to instill in our students at SCDS: Being a continual learner and bringing personally meaningful learning into your own life. A few years ago, she came to me and expressed how she was ready for a new version of her self as a learner and she hoped that could continue to be at SCDS. Her dream coincided beautifully with our very real and ever-expanding need for support in educational technology...it was clear that a highly imaginative someone was required to shepherd us and our efforts to promote creativity in the classroom.
Fifteen Years Service
Loreen Azevedo
Loreen Azevedo
- I know that two principles guide Ms. Azevedo’s commitment to personal excellence. The first is a clear devotion to the fact that we are all here, regardless of whether we are in the classroom or the business office, for our students first. The second principle is her own dedication to being a learner. Ms. Azevedo understands that working in a school means that the adults in our community have to model our desired outcome of bringing learning to life.
- One of my favorite definitions of excellent teaching is warm demand. This means a great teacher is someone who holds the highest expectations for students’ learning and behavior, all the while caring about them as young people...Mrs. White understands well that physical education is much more than exercise and sport skills. It is about the overall well-being of a person, the development of sound character and a lifelong appreciation of how our body works as a system. She models this for us all as a runner and expects the first job of her players to be good members of the team and exhibit good sportsmanship.
Twenty Years Service
Kelly Gaab
Kelly Gaab
- Ms. Gaab’s continually fresh outlook and optimism for what her students can accomplish could be mistaken for the attributes of a teacher who recently completed a credential program, not one of our most veteran and experienced teachers...Another of her colleagues said, “Once Ms. Gaab puts her mind to something, there’s no stopping her.” We are so thankful that for 20 years, Ms. Gaab’s mind has been focused on making math at SCDS the finest program it can be and her students have excelled under her care.
Sonoma Country Day School
We are…
The premier, fully accredited, independent TK-8 college preparatory school in Sonoma County. Located in northern Santa Rosa and proud home of The Jackson Theater, SCDS offers a challenging academic program rich in fine and performing arts, music, world languages, and social and emotional learning. For more than thirty years SCDS has been the school that brings learning to life.
