Ms. Baur Makes a Difference in Our children’s Lives

by Lauren Mulvaney, Eastbluff Elementary School, Newport Beach

IRVINE, Calif.  Ms. Amber Baur received 2008 Orange County Math Club Coach of the Year for Elementary School award at the Avid Academy Excellence in Mathematics Award Ceremony.

Ms. Amber Baur has an extremely youthful approach to teaching the student to love math while using it in everyday life. 

When she first introduced the Website in September for our 5^th and 6^th graders – many parents were tentative about “blogs” & “networked homework”.  Once we saw the simple means of effective communication for the entire grade with this math teacher our concerns vanished.  She nightly would monitor the communication, add responses to questions and facility study groups!

Early in October Ms Baur took math to the everyday world for our students.  She allowed the children to research recipes on “safe” websites – and pretend to purchase the ingredients into a excel spreadsheet – that taught budgeting/tax/quantities..  Amazing how much real life knowledge a child can get from shopping.

Finally, about 2 months ago, Ms Baur asked the students to use geometric shapes to draw famous buildings that were to scale with pictures that she provided.  This amazing teacher was so impressed with the outcome that she begged a friend of hers to open us her gallery in Newport Beach for a night this month as an Art Exhibit for our 6^th graders.  Each pieces was matted by Ms. Baur and hung in the gallery.  Each and every student in the entire 6^th grade at Eastbluff attended with their families to see what they learned from this teacher about Math.

Please take my hasty humble words into consideration when review candidates that make a difference in our children’s lives!  Ms. Baur has touched the mathematical minds of the students at Eastbluff.