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Roz Witherbee
I taught at Brunswick School in Greenwich, Connecticut for four years before moving to Maine in 1987 with my husband, Jonathan (who teaches in our Middle School), and our two boys Sam and Nate. After teaching my youngest son at Sunshine and Buttercups in Rye New Hampshire, a colleague and I developed the program for the first kindergarten in the Academy’s history back in 1991. I have taught in Berwick’s second, third, and fourth grades since and have loved being a part of Berwick for all these years because of the Academy’s willingness to change and keep up with the latest and greatest practices in educating young people. Teaching is my passion. I have taught over 300 children since I started teaching at Berwick!
Back
Why do you love teaching fourth grade?
Our fourth grade offers a critically important experience, which fosters the development of confident young people and independent learners ready to take their next step to the Middle School. We believe that our students should love coming to school each day to learn and have fun in that process, and we can safely say that they do. We are fortunate to work at an independent school like Berwick where we have more freedom to teach what we feel is important in the context of our lower school curriculum maps. As a result, we both love our jobs and that feeling gets passed on to the children in our classes. As fourth grade teachers, we reap the benefits of teaching children who have a desire and love for learning that has been nurtured and supported through the lower grades. Each year, we have the opportunity to teach children on the cusp of becoming their own people.
How do you define great teaching?
We believe that learning is a natural process that should be fun! It occurs when children are given opportunities to learn in ways that are right for them, ways that foster their individual creativity through enjoyable classroom lessons and innovative projects. Great teachers assess and take into account the physical and social-emotional needs of their students. Great teachers discuss developmentally appropriate social-emotional topics in the context of the academic curriculum. Sensitive issues are often taught through book characters. This provides opportunities for children to practice empathy, to think about and develop their own character and integrity. When this is done successfully, true academic learning is more apt to occur. Great teaching encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning and their own actions.
Classroom motto or theme:
“It isn’t enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to believe in it. One must work at it.” - Eleanor Roosevelt
What is your favorite thing about the Lower School?
The Lower School teachers at Berwick Academy get to know and appreciate all of the students. Every child brings something special and unique with her/him. It excites us to cultivate these strengths and watch the confidence of each student increase month after month, year after year. Our relatively small size allows us to do this! In addition to shaping each young intellectual mind, Lower School teachers also offer guidance in athletics, music, art, cultural competency, and theater. Lower School teachers truly understand what makes each child feel confident and whole.
Berwick Academy
31 Academy Street
South Berwick, Maine 03908
Contact:
Admission | 207.384.6300
Main Office | 207.384.2164
South Berwick, Maine 03908
Contact:
Admission | 207.384.6300
Main Office | 207.384.2164
Berwick Academy, situated on an 80-acre campus just over one hour north of Boston, serves 520 students, Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12 and Postgraduates. Berwick students are from Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and several countries. Deeply committed to its mission of promoting virtue and useful knowledge, Berwick Academy empowers students to be creative and bold. Berwick strives to graduate alumni who shape their own learning, take risks, ask thoughtful questions, and come to understand and celebrate their authentic selves.
