International Dot Day!

Wow! So the final number of teachers, students, libraians, and others who registered to celebrate International Dot Day this year was over 600,000 worldwide! Every state in the United States and 6 continents (anyone have a friend in Antartica?!) were represented. Last year there were about 17,000. What growth! I am excited to say that this was my third year celebrating with my class and second year making our awesome t-shirts! (I'll post a short video with the technique we used at the end of this post.)

After celebrating at school on Friday, Emily and I headed to the Blue Bunny in Dedham and helped create a huge collaborative dot with Peter! You'l see it in this slideshow. Didn't it come out beautiful?!

 



On Saturday, we headed in The Children's Museum in Boston where we were able to participate in the Dot Day celebration. Emily and I even had our picture taken with the Mayor of Boston, Mr. Tom Menino.

To learn more about the message of The Dot and Dot Day, here are the Reynolds brothers in a really cool Discovery Education webcast to tell you all about it!

 

Looking forward to next year.  It is the 10th anniversary of the book.  I am sure exciting things are to come!

 

Here's the tie-dye Sharpie tie-dye project video:

 



           

New School Year!

Dear Second Grade Stars and families,
Welcome back to a new school year!  We had a wonderful first couple of days and I am confident that our year will continue as such.  I can already tell this is a fun, enthusiastic group of students.  I know many of you already, but for those parents who I have not yet met, here is just a little bit about me.  I grew up in Roslindale and Hyde Park (though my families roots are JP).  I attended Holy Name and then Boston Latin School, from which I graduated in 1991.  I received my Bachelor's of Science in Elementary Education from Bridgewater State College and my Master's in Elementary Education from Framingham State College.  I have taught in Walpole since 1998. 
I had two favorite teachers in elementary school, Mrs. O'Grady in 5th grade, and Mr. Bernazzani in second.  I have no idea where either of them are now or if they are still teaching, but they truly inspired me to become an educator.  From what I remember of them, they were patient, yet firm, and taught with a sense of humor.  They also allowed us to be curious and creative.  I like to think that those are qualities that I have maintained in my own teaching style. 
Teaching is constantly evolving.  Standards and policies change, students and classroom dynamics change, families change.  What works one year, may not work the next.  What works with one student, may not work with another.  While there are certain practices that work from year to year, please know that I am not afraid to try new methods or make adjustments to old ones so that I can best meet the needs of the children in my class.  Learning is not "one size fits all" and it sometimes takes a few tries to figure out the "right fit".  It is my hope that we will have open communication and work together to make this the very best year yet!