{"id":2361,"date":"2014-10-02T15:35:14","date_gmt":"2014-10-02T19:35:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=2361"},"modified":"2015-03-26T16:03:43","modified_gmt":"2015-03-26T20:03:43","slug":"compass-keepers-club-aubrey-sprague","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/compass-keepers-club-aubrey-sprague\/","title":{"rendered":"Compass Keepers Club: Aubrey Sprague"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the corner of Aubrey Sprague\u2019s fifth-grade classroom, Bart sprawls out on top a perch of rocks, nested just to the side of green cactus plants. An unofficial member of the class, Bart is not a student; he\u2019s a bearded dragon.<\/p>\n

\"Bart\"<\/a>And, a beloved study aide.<\/p>\n

Need to study vertebrates and invertebrates? Take a look at Bart.<\/p>\n

Studying the Animal Kingdom? Track Bart\u2019s lineage.<\/p>\n

Are you following along with an explorer\u2019s voyage to Antarctica and need to send a class symbol for her to hoist as a flag along the way? Draw a picture of Bart.<\/p>\n

For Sprague, whatever she can do to connect her students to the curriculum, it\u2019s worth it. A former marine mammal trainer, Sprague ensures there is one key element of her teaching style: fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cLearning should be fun and teaching should be fun,\u201d Sprague said. \u201cI get really loud and excited and I cheer\u2026I go for it. If there\u2019s something they\u2019re particularly interested in, we\u2019ll go for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, that means having a class pet dragon. It means doing jumping exercises with students to calculate mean, median and mode. Or, it means calling in her husband, a police officer, to do demonstrations with her class.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_5287\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cHer teaching style is hands on,\u201d said Barbara Sessoms, Sprague’s\u00a0principal at Linkhorn Park Elementary. \u201cShe makes connections to everyday life with what she is teaching, making it relevant for her students\u2026It seems I learn something every time I am in her room.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even Sprague\u2019s family is a part of her classroom in one way or another. Her mother helps her decorate her classroom each year. Her father customized the desks in her classroom by building in pen and pencil holders. Her brother also comes in to do presentations for the students.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy whole family is here,\u201d Sprague joked. \u201cI use all of my resources. They all know they\u2019re on call.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family atmosphere is fitting because, for Sprague, her students have joined that rank as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor me, it\u2019s all about relationships,\u201d she said. \u201c(My students) know I would do anything for them. They know that. I tell them day one\u2026I worry about them when they are not here. I really try to be indispensable in their life when they are here. \u201d<\/p>\n

And, that enthusiastic commitment to her class is more than returned by her students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe second a kid knows you care about them, they\u2019re on your team,\u201d she said. \u201cKids want to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sprague said students engage during class. They play on her school football team. They show up to a special Cross Fit class she teaches at the school. They come to tutoring.<\/p>\n

“I do whatever I can to make sure everyone is included,” she said.<\/p>\n

It’s work that pays off.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the year, I always ask my fifth-graders to write my speech for their Rising Stars Ceremony and last year a child said, \u2018For the first time in my life I do not want school to end,\u2019\u201d Sessoms said. \u201cTo me there is no greater compliment than that. She pushes students, but she is there to support them when it is needed.\u00a0 She trains students to set goals and follows up to make sure the goals are met and helps them set plans to reach goals.\u00a0 This is a great life lesson.\u201d<\/p>\n

Q&A<\/strong><\/p>\n

What is your favorite thing to read? The Crossfit Journal<\/p>\n

What is your best study tip? Mnemonic devices. Make them up and make them silly.<\/p>\n

What is your favorite snack food? Cashews and avocados<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the last movie you saw? Dolphin Tale 2<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the corner of Aubrey Sprague\u2019s fifth-grade classroom, Bart sprawls out on top a perch of rocks, nested just to the side of green cactus plants. An unofficial member of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[24,103,39],"class_list":["post-2361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-compass-keepers","tag-linkhorn-park-elementary","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2361"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3393,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361\/revisions\/3393"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}