Mrs. Beth Praver          Mr. John Sakson
Jane Shoztic Memorial Award

Jane Shoztic had a wonderfully warm, magical presence that made students and parents alike feel that she was passionately committed to them and our school. With this in mind, we are pleased to announce that this year’s Jane Shoztic Memorial Award is going to middle school English teacher Beth Praver and middle school Social Studies teacher John Sakson. Their teaching “magic” is evident as their students show a love of their subject matter and are energized by the special extracurricular activities in which they have been involved.

Beth Praver teaches 6th and 7th grade English at BCDS. She also guides the school’s literary magazine called Kaleidoscope which is in its second year. Beth provides an incredibly valuable opportunity for 7th and 8th graders to create a magazine from start to finish. Under her guidance and supervision, the students write articles in a genre of their choice (such as poetry, fiction, mystery – whatever interests them). Then, she teaches them how to create their own graphic(s), take pictures, write headlines, design the cover and do their own layout. Each year, Beth also creates a class newspaper with the 6th grade, called "The Medieval Times," which complements a unit taking place in medieval times. In addition, she teaches the 7th grade to use the SmartNotebook software, which enables them to create their own interactive "video" games using the Wordly Wise vocabulary words.

Originally from New Jersey, Beth received her Bachelor’s Degree from Washington University in St. Louis and her Master’s Degree from the John Jay School of Criminal Justice. She lived in Israel for two-years and speaks fluent Hebrew. Professionally, Beth worked as a newspaper reporter for many years after college. She also was the press secretary at the Israeli Consulate in New York prior to attending graduate school. She started working at BCDS nine years ago, after her oldest son was born.

Beth is married to Rabbi Shaul Praver, the rabbi of Congregation Adath Israel in Newtown, CT. They live in Fairfield, CT with their three children: Noah, 9-years-old, who now attends BCDS; and Shane and Charlotte, 4-year-old twins, who will attend BCDS in the fall.

John Sakson teaches 6th grade Social Studies and 6th and 8th grade English at BCDS. In Social Studies, he encourages students to develop a love of ancient history by involving them in the arts, analysis of primary documents, and a variety of special projects that embrace a creative approach to learning. For example, when studying Mesopotamia, students make dictionaries in their own language and design their own city states complete with original myths, maps and charters. He also encourages students to understand the relationship between people and their environment, how civilizations arise, and how different governments operate. John takes a creative approach to his English classes as well, and his students love the language games, word play and web quests that help comprise the curriculum.

This past year, he introduced a group of BCDS students to the creative and fun world of improvisation, teaching them how to react as various characters in different scenarios. John also supervised a mock archeological dig on school grounds where students used information and processes learned in their archeological unit such as working with grids, recording data and formulating hypotheses.

John did his undergraduate work at Pennsylvania State University and his graduate work at Syracuse University. He trained in creative writing and was involved in the Arts in Education program, which prepares students to better understand works of art coming to their schools. Prior to joining the BCDS faculty six years ago, John taught writing and literature at various colleges and universities in New York State. Currently, he lives in Stamford with his wife, Janna.

BCDS headmaster, Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum, describes these educators as “exceptional in the way they make a difference in students’ lives—helping them to stretch intellectually and creatively, and encouraging them to fully realize their talents and potentials.” We are so grateful and proud to call them members of our BCDS family.