Carrie Norton is passionate about teaching. Her enthusiasm for teaching becomes obvious within seconds of meeting her and one immediately recognizes that she absolutely loves what she does. She is always looking for methods and techniques to reach each individual and applies strategies that help learners of different types. For example, Mrs. Norton dresses up in costumes relevant to the unit of study and gets her students involved in doing small-group skits about a topic to make the subject come alive. When a student moved to her class from Australia she reviewed Australian text books and materials to understand how topics had been presented and to accommodate different spellings of words that would be correctly spelled in Australia but were incorrectly spelled by US standards. Her desire to see each and every student succeed shines through to the students in her classes and they respond remarkably because Mrs. Norton makes learning FUN! When sixth graders were asked what they will remember most about the years they spent at Val Vista Lakes Elementary School, repeatedly they responded that it was Mrs. Norton and her hilarious, crazy costumes like the ninja or Bessie the Cow. Others were proud of receiving an award for their skits in Mrs. Norton\'s class while other students paid her the ultimate compliment and identified her as the best teacher they had ever had. Mrs. Norton makes everyone feel special and as a result her students develop a relationship with her that extends far beyond the school year. Mrs. Norton has a lasting impact on her students and their families!

Signed,
Jennifer Mccarthy