‘Vaughn Atkinson PO Box 546 Alberta Beach AB TOE 0A0 December 1, 2015 It is a pleasure and an honour to write this letter of reference for my friend and colleague, Josh Bouwsema, Although I have only known Josh for alittle over a year, I cannot now visualize our classroom and school without his presence. Mr. Bouwsema joined Ecole Agnes Davidson School as a student teacher in November, 2014, and has continued in a volunteer capacity throughout 2015. He has donated many hours of his time to our school community, and has performed many varied duties, including spending many outdoor recesses interacting with the students. Mr. Bouwsema is well liked and respected by our students. He has established an excellent rapport with them. They enjoy giving him energetic high-fives or discussing sports or popular music, but they always view him as a trusted teacher deserving of the utmost respect. Whenever Mr. Bouwsema is supervising students, he shows excellent instructional skills. He quickly establishes and then maintains an environment that is conducive to student learning. He uses a variety of instructional strategies, has very good questioning techniques and is able to adapt and respond to individual differences and needs. Mr. Bouwsema is a strong teacher. Josh is also an excellent colleague. He gets along well with all adult members of our school community. He has a marvellous sense of humour with a great laugh, yet he consistently acts in a professional and collegial manner. He is always prepared to volunteer for any needed task; from contributing his physical labour when needed to reviewing material with a student experiencing difficulty. In addition, Josh shows interest in leaming more about the craft and profession of teaching, Josh has strong self-reflective skills. 1 would have no hesitaney working with Josh as a teaching colleague. | am confident that his abilities will do nothing but improve as he continues his educational studies and training, Josh has the potential to be an excellent member of the teaching profession upon his graduation from. university, and he will someday be a fabulous addition to a very lucky school staff. Sincerely, Ve J ee ‘Vaughn Atkinson