Teacher Feature: Virginia Cainon

“I wanted to teach at a school that was in my community with great leadership,” says 1st grade teacher Virginia Cainon. The Mercer graduate is in her fourth year teaching at Wesley and says her favorite thing about Wesley is the relationships she’s built with her students and colleagues. “I especially love when the 5th-graders I used to teach come down to say hello and give me a big hug.”

“Their reading really takes off,” Cainon says about her young students, saying her favorite part of teaching 1st-grade is the amount of growth that can be seen in students at that age. “It’s the best part of being a teacher—seeing that lightbulb go off!” She sees this happen often during teacher-guided small groups in her classroom.

When doing team exercises, like STEM challenges, she sees students demonstrating IB traits. She says, “These moments allow me to step back and observe how they interact with each other, experience defeat and keep moving forward, and celebrate the wins.” She hopes students walk away from her class knowing “they are worthy, valued, and important no matter what obstacles they may encounter through life.”

Thank you, Ms. Cainon, for making a difference in our young students that lasts!