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2017-18 Staff Photo of Kerri Koutoumanis
Mrs. Carrie Koutoumanis
Rm. 17

Dear 4th Grade families,
 
Welcome to a new school year yet again. I am so pleased to welcome everyone to 4th grade. We are so fortunate to be a part of such a fabulous learning community. In this learning community, teachers spend time learning from one another and attending amazing conferences in the summer and throughout the school year. Because of these opportunities, we are able to offer such rich learning experiences to our students. 
 
Aside from personal growth, I enjoy spending time with my son and husband where we venture off to the beach or visit family abroad. 

Throughout my 22 years of teaching I have attended many conferences.  I have attended the Design Institute as well as the SEL (Social/Emotional Learning) Conferences at the Nueva School. A group of teachers and I participated in activities that promoted our growth mindset. We also discussed ways in which we can learn to work most efficiently and collaboratively in teams. Our mission has been to educate, inform and inspire parents, students and fellow colleagues.

Along with other colleagues at our school, I have attended the Silicon Valley Math Initiative where we learned about math talks, gallery walks while tackling a problem of the month, and talking about the incredible shift in math thinking among our educational system. To make sure that we take this fine work into our classroom, I was also part of the math committee where we met periodically and attended math meetings throughout the year. All of our mathematics are aligned with common core standards. I have attended the Teacher's College Readers & Writer's Workshop at Columbia University, where a few other Woodside teachers and I went through rigorous reading and writing experiences. 


Education
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I attended San Francisco State University and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Liberal Studies. I continued on and received my teaching credential from Notre Dame De Namur University, along with a Master's Degree in Special Education. 

Teaching Philosophy
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I believe that each student provides a special touch to our classroom learning environment. I expect every one of us to respect each student's learning time together. School should be a safe place for every child to be themselves, to learn and build healthy friendships.

If at any time a student does not feel this way, please know that I am always willing to help however I may to resolve any social/emotional challenges. Students and parents should also know that I am a very open person and I welcome all of you to meet and chat with me. 

The entire Fourth Grade team and I have an exciting year planned for you all. See you at Back To School Night. Remember, it takes a village!

Sincerely,
Carrie Koutoumanis
 
Fourth Grade Teacher