Summer vacation eventful for teachers
By:Sharlee Joy DiMenichi
For many South Brunswick teachers, busyness does not end when they grade the last stack of final exams.
Township teachers had a full summer and many balanced caring for their own children with honing their teaching skills so they can be sharp when school opens on Sept. 7.
Donna Saragnese, who teaches seventh and eighth grade math at Crossroads North, attended a workshop on Japanese style lesson study, which involves breaking math concepts into manageable topics and predicting children’s questions on each subject, she said.
"It’s trying to give them lots of opportunities to use their own learning style to learn new concepts," Ms. Saragnese said.
Anne Sisko, who teaches fourth grade at Greenbrook, also studied teaching methods over the summer. She did it at the National Writing Project Summer Institute at Rutgers University. Ms. Sisko wrote compositions using the same process in which she guides her students.
"I learn by doing and it’s one thing to have taught it, but it’s another thing to actually do it and experience the joys and frustration," Ms. Sisko said.
Mark Riccardi, who teaches seventh and eighth grade language arts at Crossroads North, said one of the summer’s most memorable moments was the first step of his 1-year-old son, Connor.
"He was just at one chair and he decided to take off and go see my wife," Mr. Riccardi said.
Mr. Riccardi said he has set aside all of August to spend time with Connor.
Ms. Saragnese spent part of her summer helping her child reach another milestone. She accompanied her son, Peter, 17, who aspires to a career in the Marines, on visits to the Virginia Military Institute and the Citadel.
Gayle Fine-Mihalko, who teaches art at Crossroads North Middle School, practiced facilitating student learning by working on a mural with young people from the middle school. Ms. Fine-Mihalko suggested that the students design the mural based on Edward Hicks’ painting "The Peaceable Kingdom." She guided the young artists, but the mural, which complements the koi pond in the school courtyard, was ultimately their own.
"The mural project touches my heart in a special way because the 13 students volunteered to work on it," said Ms. Fine-Mihalko.