Teacher Letter of Recommendation Survey - Class of 2024

1. Determine how many letters of recommendation (LOR’s) you need, based on the
universities to which you are applying. Many universities around the world do not require
a teacher LOR. Other universities may require one or two teacher letters of
recommendation (please do not ask for more than 2). It is your responsibility to know
how many letters of recommendation you need AND which academic subject is required.
For example, MIT requires two teacher recommendations, but one must come from a
Humanities teacher!

2. Ask the teacher, in person, if he or she is willing to write a LOR for you. Don't assume
the teacher will be able to write one for you. It is possible that a teacher simply doesn't
have the time to write a letter, or they might feel unable to give you a positive
recommendation. Please also know that the teachers are under no obligation to write an
LOR for you.

3. Once your teacher(s) have agreed to write a LOR, make a copy of this document.
Re-name the document to match your name and the teacher's name with whom this
document will be shared.

4. These survey questions below are purposefully self-reflective, and we ask that you take
time to write thoughtful answers as this will allow teachers to write the best
recommendation for you. When you have completed the survey, upload the Microsoft
Word document to MaiaLearning for your teachers to access.

5. Please note that having a LOR written for you creates a responsibility to work to your
highest potential throughout the school year. If your performance drops significantly or if
you have committed a significant behavior infraction, a teacher may choose to withdraw
his or her recommendation.

6. Timeline for letter of recommendation:

● May 2023 - Ask teachers (especially important if the teacher is leaving JIS)
● A minimum of three weeks before your application is due, upload the “Brag
Sheet” to Maia Learning (we encourage you to do this sooner as some teachers
like to work on their LOR’s during the summer)
● Check in with your teacher(s) a few days before the deadline if you see the letter
has been uploaded yet

Best wishes, JIS High School Counseling Team

Note to Teachers:
There are two styles of LOR writing, a full letter on letterhead, and UCAS letters that only
require 2-3 paragraphs and must be geared towards the students specific subject they are
interested in studying in the UK. Some students may require both styles of letters so we have
asked students to indicate which one(s) they need below.
Teacher’s Name: Mery Tellez

Student Official Name (If you have a different name that you go by, please list in parenthesis):
Lesley Laurence

Student Number: 69557

When is your first university anticipated deadline? 1 November 2023

Classes(s) you have taken with this teacher:

AP Computer Science Principles
Countries/Regions I am Applying To (please indicate with “X”):
___ Asia (complete section 2)
___ Australia (complete section 1)
_X_ Canada (complete section 1)
___ United Kingdom/Europe (complete section 2)
_X_ United States of America (complete section 1)
___ Other:

If you are applying to Asia or UK/Europe, what is your intended major:

_____________________________________________________________________

Based on the Countries/Regions you indicated above,

please complete the appropriate recommended section(s).
_____________________________________________________________________

Section 1 (Complete only if you are applying to Australia, Canada and/or USA):

1. Why should I recommend you?

- I was very outgoing in the class and very willing to participate in class
discussions to efficiently learn.
- I was willing to ask questions when in doubt rather than shy away.
- I was very collaborative, a very crucial value for computer scientists.

2. What is a specific assignment/project you did in my course that you want me to

highlight?
The final project (my commitment, how hard I worked, the hours I put in, etc.)

3. Three personality traits that I should mention about you (consider your VIA Character
Strengths)
Tenacious, Curious, Humanity (VIA: Valuing close relations with others, in particular
those in which sharing & caring are reciprocated; being close to people.)

4. What was the biggest challenge you overcame in this course? (Aside from grades;
mention skills or concepts)
 My biggest challenge was the entire concept of a computer science course. Prior to
taking this course my knowledge and experience on computer science had been very
limited as my previous school never offered a computer science course. I did however
take a short program on coding by “KodingNext” but it wasn’t very helpful. Despite this
I’ve always had an interest in this field and I wanted to take the course if I was ever given
an opportunity. Of course, everything was foreign. I was unfamiliar with the program, the
language, and everything in general which caused me a very slow start. Additionally I
joined the course a month late, giving me a huge setback as I had missed an entire unit
of content that should’ve gotten me started. I struggled with the basics of the language,
and how a coder should organize their code. Fortunately, with the help of Ms Tellez’s
patience and willingness to help I was able to persevere and managed to get used to
everything in the span of two months, which allowed me to focus more on learning the
course’s content rather than the basics of coding.

5. What is something that is unique about you that relates to this class?
I joined the class a month late, meaning that I missed out on a whole unit which set me
back far compared to the rest of the class, and on top of that my lack of experience in
this field. Despite the huge setback I was able to perform pretty well in the class by the
end of the year and I improved significantly as a coder.

6. Provide a standout moment that highlights your performance in my class (Aside from
grades; mention skills or concepts)
Towards the end of the course I was able to get consistent good grades in the quiz
summatives which is a clear indication that I had improved in computer science in
contrast to my performance in the beginning of the year. This showed my resilience and
how I was able to adapt to computer science. The most notable unit where I displayed
good results was unit 7 where I got a 96%. I also got a really good score on the mock
exam (5).

7. How do your peers see you? What words would they use to describe you?

Bright, joyful, “always smiling”, insightful, team-player, easy going, grateful

8. We all know that this past year has been extremely challenging with the Covid-19
pandemic and virtual learning. Please describe for the teacher how you dealt with any
related challenges in their class?

Since I was still adjusting back to offline learning after the pandemic it had been a while
since I had such engagement in a class like Ms Tellez’s. Not to mention she had been
very helpful towards our mental health especially as students who had just come out of a
pandemic. Ms Tellez always supported me whenever I was struggling in a unit and let
me feel comfortable reaching out to her to ask for help. She truly made me feel as if
there really was no such thing as a stupid question. Her flexibility to the extent of being
reasonable was definitely one of the biggest reasons why I was able to perform so well.
She also opened the door for anyone to come into her class to use as a place to work on
our assignments which I really appreciated. In other words, Ms Tellez’s support really
exemplified the true qualities of an excellent teacher who can bring out the enthusiasm
of any student towards any subject.

9. Is there anything else you'd like the teacher to highlight about you in their LOR?
- Our first time meeting and how I quickly decided to join computer science with
enthusiasm
- I joined the class a month late yet was able to perform pretty well
- I always asked for help whenever I needed ot
- My collaborativeness
- The extra hours I put into the final project and how I was able to incorporate my
passion for music with everything I had learned throughout the year.