- the executive committee: Mary Clough, Melissa Stasiak, Karen Leeper and Cheri Brooks
- CT PTA executive officers: Presdient, Melissa Johnson, 1st VP, Marne Usher and VP of Legislation, Mike Taylor
- Hamden Lights for Life and the Saint Raphael Foundation
- Mary Marrindino, Hamden Partnership for Youth
- Stephen Beck, 1000 Friends of CT
- Jim Pascarella, on behalf of Mayor Henrici, Hamden Town Council and Hamden Education Foundation
- Superintendent Rabinowitz and Assistant Superintendents, Dr. Portia Bonner
- Kelly Reilly, Nancetta Walker Scholarship Award Winner
Congratulations to all the Meg Nowacki Hamden PTA Council Recognition Award nominees. We are a greater school system because of all of your accomplishments and contributions. Thanks to the nominators for such heartfelt and compelling nomination speeches. The nominees were:
- Cathy Crowe, Bear Path School
- Sue Foraker, Dunbar Hill School
- Melissa Tommaselli, Hamden Middle School
- Jennifer Marchand & Susan Martinez-Sendroff, Ridge Hill School
- Andy DeBenedet, Shephard Glen School
- Evelyn Neuber & Elizabeth Shack, Spring Glen School
- Ruth Croll, West Woods School
And the winner is....
When asked about the nominee, one of her students said this:
“She’s really good at math. She’s always fair. She’s really into birds. She makes learning fun with math and spelling games. She knows when to give the right test to each kid.”
Mrs. Ruth Croll has been teaching at West Woods School since its opening, starting as a 3rd grade teacher in 1974. In those 34 years, she’s also taught 2nd grade, a readiness class and a combination 1st and 2nd grade class. But she’s been teaching 1st grade for 27 years. It’s her favorite grade because she loves to watch the kids grow, as they learn how to read and write and be part of the West Woods School family.
Since the beginning of her tenure at West Woods, she has been a representative from the teaching staff to the PTA. Whatever we ask of her, the usual response is “No, I don’t mind. I don’t mind at all.” In return, we supply her with as much bird seed and field trip money as we can afford.
As an avid bird enthusiast Mrs. Croll, or “The Bird Lady” as many students know her, has instilled in our children an appreciation for the natural world and all its wonders. Almost twenty years ago she joined forces with naturalist Flo McBride and integrated her bird watching and feeding habit into the fabric of life at West Woods.
The courtyard in the center of our school is the ultimate observatory for Project Feeder Watch, coordinated by the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology, to monitor the distribution and abundance of winter bird populations. She and her fledgling bird watchers have sent their data from November to March to Project Feeder Watch for the last ten years.
In addition, Mrs. Croll heads the Bird and Nature Club, a group of 3rd to 6th graders, which meets in the trails behind our school every Thursday morning. Not only does she lead the group in enjoying the natural classroom, but also helps them to maintain the trails.
The first graders are one of the most mobile classes in our school. Mrs. Croll and the other Oak Teachers always make good use of their PTA allotted funds and free transportation. The children annually go to:
- Lighthouse Point Park for the fall hawk migration
- the local fire station
- The Peabody Museum
- East Rock Park / Mill River for spring bird migration
- The Beardsley Zoo
Mrs. Croll’s class also has a thriving publishing company, producing 20 class books per year about their travels, family traditions and curriculum projects, with each child contributing a well written sentence or two and thoughtful illustration.
Lastly, here are five more reasons why the West Wood PTA recommends that Mrs. Croll be given the Meg Nowacki Hamden PTA Council Recognition Award:
- She’s dedicated to her students and school (arriving at 7 am, often not leaving until 7pm), and to our PTA, attending nearly every meeting.
- She balances curriculum requirements with the learning abilities of each student. It is a fortunate child who has benefited from an individual educational plan with Mrs. Croll.
- She shows her classes how to practice gratitude. One PTA member put it best by saying “I'm going to miss those nice ‘thank you’ notes her classes always write us!”
- She has taught parents, as well as their kids, how to identify a sharp shinned hawk from a red tailed hawk and a barn swallow from a chimney swallow. (Just wait, that skill will come in handy one day!)
- Mrs. Croll is retiring this year and we feel this honor is fitting for a woman who has given our school, our children and our PTA so much of her passion, knowledge, integrity and dedication. The West Woods PTA’s relationship with Mrs. Croll is the epitome of what all parent/teacher relationships should be: a shared involvement in our children’s education, doing whatever it takes to help them achieve great things.
Congratulations, Mrs. Croll!
