Each week, we celebrate one of our CPSD schools with a #SuperSchoolShoutout. Last week, we showed our #CPSDPride by giving a shoutout to Beachwood Elementary School third grade teacher Jennifer Soika and second grader Tremayne Hayden.
For Soika, third grade is the Goldilocks zone of teaching. “The kids are still so sweet,” she said. “They want to bring their stuffies in but at the same time, it’s the first testing year for them, and they’re learning much more challenging material.”
Soika is a retired military spouse and became a teacher after volunteering at her children’s schools during reassignments. “I’m so happy to have landed at Beachwood,” she said. “Everyone in this school brings their ‘A’ game every day and I feel like I can always learn a ton from my peers.”
Soika’s greatest strength as a teacher is her love for learning and continually pushing herself just as she pushes her students. “I wanted to become a better science teacher, so I took the Nurture Program through a grant, and this year I’ve volunteered to pilot the new math programs,” she said. “It can be difficult at times, but I know the discomfort makes me a better teacher.”
Tremayne loves being a Bobcat. He’s proud of his official job as the paper passer-outer and shines as an efficient worker who helps his friends and participates in lessons. “I love my friends and my teacher too,” he said.
Tremayne is advanced in math and finds adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fun. This year, he has also grown to appreciate reading and writing. “I like reading because I get to read all my favorite books like the ‘Who Would Win’ series,” he said. “I also like writing because I get to practice big words and learn more vocabulary.”
After school, Tremayne practices soccer, baseball and his favorite sport, basketball. When he grows up Tremayne hopes to become a superhero to help people like his idol Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man.
Go Bobcats!
