Professional Semester III Final Report

Faculty of Education
Field Experiences
Fall

Spring

Semester, 2016 (Please check appropriate semester)

Professional Semester III is a five-course equivalent integrated semester including half-time teaching and
professional study in curriculum design, leadership, advanced methods, and reflective practice. Intern Teachers are
assigned full time to schools for the semester during which they assume responsibility for approximately one-half of
the teaching day. PS III professional study is designed to complement and enhance the internship. The
professional study components may occur on or off-campus and are coordinated by the Faculty Mentors in
collaboration with Intern Teachers and school personnel.

Place a checkmark () in front of the course in which you are registered

Education 4571
Elementary Education
Education 4572
Secondary Internship
Education 4573
Special Focus Internship
X
Education 4574
Fine Arts Internship - Art or Drama
Education 4575
Fine Arts Internship - Music
Intern Teacher

Erin Hildebrandt

Grade Level(s)

School

Saint Teresa of Calcutta

Administrator

Anthea Boras

Teacher Mentor

Jana Boschee & Carmen Larsen Faculty Mentor

Garry Shilliday

Intern Teachers Descriptive Report:

During my PSIII internship I had a very challenging, but incredible experience and I have learned
so much. The staff at Saint Teresa were very welcoming, always willing to help, and made me feel like
part of the school family. As this was the opening year at Saint Teresa, the staff worked hard to create a
new school culture, routines, and to enhance their multi-age pedagogy. I am blessed to have been
provided the opportunity to be included in this journey at Saint Teresa and I know that this experience has
given me skills and understanding that will enhance my future teaching career.
During my Art internship, I was provided with the opportunity to teach a wide range of courses,
Art, Health, Social/Science, Daily Physical Activity, and I also gained small group instruction experience
through intervention time. The school and my teacher mentors gave me classes that provided me with an
array of experiences in different subjects to build upon my already gained knowledge, skills, and
attributes. Although challenging, I truly appreciate the confidence that they had in me to be the best and
come out the other side with more self-reliance as a real teacher. My Social/Science and D.P.A. classes
were homeroom classes, consisting of 24 students. My Art and Health classes consisted of instructing all

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the 3/4 classes, a total of 73 students, students with a wide range of abilities and multi-age levels. The
multi-age philosophy at St. Teresa was new to me as a student teacher and in the beginning it was a
challenge due to the number of students I needed to plan, prep and mark for while also keeping in mind
their different grade and skill levels. I did my best to differentiate my lessons and to create assessments
that were fair and consistent with the multi-age philosophy. During my internship, I taught units in Health
on the 7 habits of happy kids, growth mindset, and digital citizenship. In art I taught units on self-portraits,
geometric art, and artist trading cards. In social/science, I was able to collaborate with the other 3/4
teachers, preparing units on global citizenship and communities, and building/testing materials.
Intern Teachers Descriptive Report (Continued)
I had opportunities for further professional development during the first month of my internship by
attending PD planning meetings for the district wide PD day, alongside my teacher mentor, Jana Boschee.
Attending these meetings provided me with valuable insight and involvement with other skilled teachers,
helping me to build relationships and understand the process behind planning such an important event. I
was fortunate to be a part of these planning meetings and to see such dedication and contribution. I was
also very excited to be a part of the school choir, practicing twice a week during recess and performing for
school events and the local community. Being a part of the choir helped me to build relationships with
students outside of my grade level and provided me with additional fine arts experience, practicing songs
for religious events, holidays, and Christmas. It was an amazing and rewarding experience!
During my internship, I did struggle with difficulties at home and while going through a drastic life
change, my university consultant, administrator, teacher mentors, and fellow teachers at St. Teresa were
amazingly supportive and understanding, giving me the strength to push through and succeed. The
support they provided me was impactful on my learning and success and allowed me to achieve what I
had thought was impossible during a difficult time. One of my professional learning goals was to strive to
build lasting relationships, which was difficult with the stress at home, but I feel as though I was
successful through my professional inquiry project. I am very excited and proud of this project that I could
implement during my internship. I planned a global collaborative artist trading card project with two
teachers in Abu Dhabi and China, and the students could become artist pen-pals with the students from
those countries. My students were very excited about this project and loved creating their miniature art
pieces to trade globally. My students showed continuous engagement with this project and I was able to
create a unit that could be implemented at Saint Teresa moving forward and I will also continually use this
project in any of my teaching opportunities in the future.
In conclusion, I know that my internship at Saint Teresa was a life changing and rewarding
experience, one that will guide my teaching practice and professional learning throughout my entire
career. Saint Teresa welcomed me with open arms, treated me as part of the family, and helped me to
become and develop as a well-rounded teacher. Through this experience, I have grown professionally,
spiritually, and mentally, and I love teaching and interacting with my students every day! I know that I still
have learning to do, but I feel that I now have the skillset to move forward and have a successful and
fulfilling career.

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Intern Teacher Signature

Date

This page is to be attached to the Intern Teachers Report.

School Administrator Comments:

Erin was proactive in establishing contact with both myself and her teacher mentors prior to
the school year beginning. Unfortunately, our school was not yet open and Erin quickly learned to be
flexible in meeting the challenges of starting a school from scratch. She met with her teacher
mentors and helped to set up the classroom just weeks before the arrival of the students.
Erins practicum was based in a multiage 3/4 classroom which included a diverse group of
learners ranging from several ELL students to many mild moderate learners. She had to learn to
differentiate her instruction to meet the varied needs of the students. We are a collaborative school so
Erin also taught students outside of her homeroom setting and had to adapt to manage different
classroom routines and structures. As the semester progressed, Erins lessons were more detailed
and step-by-step instructions were provided to give the students more direction and focus. I would
encourage her to continue to work on structure and routines as clear direction will make classroom
management, and therefore instruction, so much easier.
We are striving towards being a Leader in Me School and Erin attended the 7 Habits
Training sessions and familiarized herself with the Leader in Me book. She learned to use the
common language of the habits with the students. Erins mentor is our schools professional
development representative at the district level and Erin attended a couple of those meetings too.
She immersed herself in the school culture through her involvement with school choir and used her
artistic talents to help decorate the school for the Advent season.

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Erin integrated technology into the classroom in various ways. She learned to use
Chromebooks and various google tools in the classroom. She also taught digital citizenship to the
students and incorporated PowerPoints into her units and lesson plans.
I had the opportunity to observe Erin both formally and informally. She was always receptive
to feedback and reflective of her own teaching practice. She was willing to implement ideas and
strategies suggested by her teacher mentors or myself. I was impressed with the positive, caring
learning environment she created for the students. She made an effort to get to know each student
and their story.
It has been my pleasure watching Erin grow as a teacher over the past few months. She has
the attributes needed to be a successful teacher. I wish her the best in her future career!
Sincerely,
Anthea Boras ~ Principal

School Administrator Signature

Date

This page is to be attached to the Intern Teachers Report.

Teacher Mentor Comments:

I was fortunate to be able to co-mentor Erin Hildebrandt with Jana Boschee during her PSIII
internship at St. Teresa of Calcutta School in the Fall of 2016. Erin started her preparations after our
initial meeting in June of 2016, and maintained contact on and off throughout the summer leading up
to the beginning of her internship. In addition to planning and preparing for her own teaching, Erin
helped to set up her classroom space and other parts of our school prior to opening. Erin was an
important member of the team opening our brand new school, and contributed to the establishment of
the culture of our staff.
Every time I visited Erins health classes, she had a very calm demeanor about her, and the
students definitely fed off of that. She spoke kindly and respectfully to all students, setting a wonderful
example for them. Her health lessons were well thought out, and aligned with the 7 Habits material,
our Holy Spirit Digital Citizenship Scope & Sequence, as well as the Health & Life Skills Curriculum
for grades 3 and 4. Erin also assessed and reported to parents using the eLuminate Report Card
system. Erin regularly differentiated her teaching style, and incorporated technology when it made
sense to do so for the learning task. Organization and classroom management were both areas I

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witnessed improvement in Erins teaching practice over the course of her time at St. Teresa. Erin was
always open to hearing feedback about her teaching and planning, and willingly tried alternate
suggestions and approaches when necessary. Erin also regularly sought input and advice from me
on many different aspects of teaching, and was always open to suggestions and was very positive
about the suggestions she received.
Collaboration with teaching partners is a big part of life at St. Teresa of Calcutta School, and
Erin got to experience first-hand what it is like to teach in a multiage, collaborative environment with
many flexible learning spaces. Erin was flexible and adaptable to many different learning situations
and co-planned, co-taught and even co-assessed throughout her internship.
In addition to her work within the classroom, Erin also got involved in activities with the rest of
the school. She helped with the choir throughout her internship, and she also helped with many art
projects around the school, including sharing her gifts and talents leading up to our Family Christmas
Festival.
We were blessed to have Erin as part of our team starting St. Teresa of Calcutta School, and
I know Erin will continue to grow and learn as a teacher, and I wish her all the best wherever her
journey in education takes her.
Sincerely,
Carmen Larsen ~ Associate Principal

Mentor Teacher Signature

Date

This page is to be attached to the Intern Teachers Report.

Teacher Mentor Comments:
Erin Hildebrandt has been an eager member of our Grade 3 / 4 team well before we had a
building to work in. She put thorough consideration and time into her planning for Art, Social Studies,
Science, and Health. She could adapt and adjust her lessons/units to respond to the realities of school
culture, allotted time, and the varied abilities of her multi-age students. She enthusiastically shared in
writing English Language Learner benchmark assessments and individualized learning plans. Regular
focused assessments effectively reported student learning to parents, colleagues, and students. Erin
asked questions and responded well to coaching from colleagues and administrators.

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Erin creatively designed and implemented classroom reward systems to plan for management and
create a community of learners. She continually self-reflected, evaluated and adjusted the effectiveness of
the management plan. In Social, Science, and Art, her planned activities were relevant and engaging,
directly connecting to the students local and global communities through social justice and sharing art.
She patiently and effectively worked with small groups of students to improve their basic skills and bring
them closer to grade level. Visuals, technology, art, and movement were all incorporated to involve all
learners.
Erin consistently presented herself to students as a respectful and confident professional. Her
voice was clear in message and tone, demonstrating sensitivity to her students needs. She quickly grew
rapport with her students, providing a nurturing and safe space to grow and share. Her open and sincere
manner helped develop relationship with parents at school events, interviews and in day-to-day
interactions. She listened and addressed their needs and concerns.
Working and teaching as team was a significant part of Erins assignment. She was collegial,
friendly, and cooperative in planning meetings and in the classroom. Erin participated in a committee that
planned the divisional professional development day. She volunteered time with the choir at school. Erin
made time to visit with staff, students, and parents. Her research project connected her to other educators
and classrooms at a global level.
While maintaining the giving and flexible nature that makes it so easy to work with her, going
forward, I would encourage Erin to boldly follow her good judgment and advocate for the best learning
environment for her students and for her own professional growth. It has been a pleasure to teach and
learn with this calm, caring, and sincere educator this semester.
Sincerely,
Jana Boschee ~ 3/4 Teacher Mentor

Mentor Teacher Signature

Date

This page is to be attached to the Intern Teachers Report.

Faculty Mentor Comments:
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PS III Final Report for ERIN HILDEBRANDT

Erins teaching reflects the finest qualities desirable in a professional teacher. Her planning and
preparation leave little to be desired. Her well-prepared rubrics are clear, concise, and consistent while
always presenting a challenge to her students imagination and creativity. The creative use of the smart
board and computer for information and research greatly enhances the learning environment in Erins
classroom.
The fine working rapport between Erin and her students has resulted in the production of high
quality creative art work for this grade level, with the students eager to explore and produce original art.
Awareness and respect for the appropriate K.S.A.s and their value have become an integral component
of Erins daily routine as she displays collegiality and professionalism in her dealings with faculty, staff, and
students. Erin also gives willingly to extra- curricular and co-curricular activities within the school
community in the spirit of congeniality and cooperation.
It is apparent that Erin has greatly benefitted from her P.S.III internship and in my opinion she has
demonstrated that she is now a capable teacher well equipped to manage her own classroom with
excellent results.
Sincerely,
Garry Shilliday ~ Faculty Mentor

I have read the complete Final Report and certify that the assigned grade is PASS.

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Faculty Mentor Signature

Date

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