Hello!  My name is Casandra Newton.  I have been married to my husband for 23 years and we have two fantastic children:  a son in the Coast Guard and a daughter entering high school.  We live on our boat with our beagle, Daisy.  Yes, you read that correctly.  We live on a boat and love it.  After graduating from UNC and working in the medical field I decided to focus on raising my children.  While they were in school I routinely volunteered in the classroom and was a substitute teacher.  I became a Teacher Assistant permanently in 2009 in a combination 1st and 2nd grade classroom.  We moved to the Havelock area in 2012 where I became an assistant here at Gurganus in Kindergarten and then in first grade.  Last year I took a lateral entry position as a fifth grade teacher for the last half of the year.

 

I believe students are eager to learn.  I plan on fostering that eagerness with hands-on activities and through collaborative and independent work where manners, respect, and communication skills will be further developed along with independence and self-confidence.  Your child will be in a caring school environment surrounded by supportive teachers, administrators, and staff where they will have the opportunity to learn and grow through innovative and research-based curriculum which will include technology.

 

I have high expectations for your student.  My motto is, “Do your best!  Be your best!” 

 

We are all a family in our classroom and we will treat each other kindly and with respect, showing compassion and empathy toward one another.

 

I am looking forward to a year filled with lots of laughs and lots of learning!