By: Crosby Bennett
Here at Mauro Sheridan we welcome three new teachers to our MASH family through the ESSER grant program. ESSER stands for The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund which was created by Congress in March 2020 as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Mr. Genece is a new ESSER teacher in second grade and he loves it. He enjoys the kids, the staff and this is his first experience as a teacher. Before coming to MASH, Mr. Genece studied computer science and in his first class he learned he did not like it. He became a camp counselor at Lighthouse Point. After that he decided to be a teacher to make a real difference. He just got accepted to S.C.S.U. to complete his MASTER'S DEGREE. He likes his group of kids, even when they're loud. Mr. Genece takes great pleasure in sleeping and listening to pop music. He lives with his mom and dad in Hamden where he grew up. Mr. Genece thinks MASH is beautiful and wouldn't change a thing. Mr. Genece’s favorite subject to teach is math. Mr. Genece’s favorite colors are navy blue and dark orange. He likes his group of kids, even when they’re loud. Our new ESSER third grade teacher is Ms. Gillotti. She was forced to go to Sacred Heart University by her dad to get a Bachelor's Degree in Business. Sadly, it didn’t work out so she went back to school at the University of Bridgeport to get a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. Now she loves her job, school, and students. Ms. Gillotti has a boyfriend named Zack and a Shih Tzu that is one year old. One thing Ms. Gillotti would like to change in the school is the relationship between grade levels. Ms. Gillotti enjoys teaching math and works with Pre-K 3 afterschool. Ms. Gillotti's favorite color is light blue because there are so many varieties of it. We also welcome Miss. Flanagan, an ESSER grant first grade teacher. Miss. Flanagan likes to teach here at MASH. She likes the other first grade teachers, and also likes her kids and classroom. Miss. Flanagan has a Bachelor's degree in psychology and Spanish from Central Connecticut State University and is currently in her last semester of her Master’s degree in Elementary Education at Southern Connecticut State University. Miss. Flanagan says “I feel very lucky to have my group of kids for my first year teaching.” When asked about what could change here at MASH Ms. Flanagan says, “I wish there was more support for first-year teachers. I also wish there was more of a school community. There are only about a handful of people I converse with and I think very few people even know who I am.” Ms. Flanagan enjoys being outside when it is nice. Ms. Flanagan also has a cat Indie and a fiancé. Ms. Flanagan chose to teach because she likes kids and likes school herself. Ms. Flanagan's favorite subjects to teach are ELA and Fundations. Her favorite color is blue. By: Ahmed Elkacimi
In my fifth grade class, we have twenty six students and we have a few behavior issues. We argue and take it a little too far. In our class people argue about useless stuff like pencils, erasers, papers, and pieces of gum. We don’t get to learn the way we are supposed to without the principal or administrator coming into the class. The principal comes to calm the class down and to make us pay attention. I think that class sizes are too big and if they were smaller, the teachers would be able to keep an eye on the kids and there would be more learning and less fooling around. The consequences for misbehaving, in my opinion, are not enough. Some consequences are being suspended, just going to the office or getting called home. The consequences sound pretty harsh, but in reality the kids continue fooling around. When our class misbehaves, the punishment is more reading. Students can also get sent to Mr. Robinson, the administrator, or to Mrs. K’S office. You could get suspended or even expelled. A small class is better than a big class because the teacher doesn't have to repeat instructions for the umpteenth time. In my opinion, learning math, reading, science, and social studies was better when we were online. Online school is better to calm people down. If we remained remote, behavior issues would not be much of a problem. In remote learning you can easily click a button to stop any sound coming from you or from background noise, while in-person you can’t. Also, if there are, for example, thirty people in your class and all of them are raising their hand it takes forever for the questions to be answered. The effect of that will be people learning less and asking more questions. On the other hand, a big class of kids will have more opportunities for friendship and sportsmanship. The class isn’t all bad though. We still get enough learning for some useful education and other really important things. Another positive thing is the bigger classes are less boring and more exciting and fun when people do well in the classroom. Splitting the class would be beneficial to teachers and also to the students. One reason is that kids will have more fun with more people and hopefully have better behavior. Another reason is if kids behave they can learn more effectively with groups. I think the solution could be splitting the class in half and hiring more teachers. If we separate the troublemakers, the class would talk less and it would calm the class down a notch. If they are not going to hire more teachers, at least split the troublemakers into different classes or change seats in the classroom. In conclusion, I think a smaller class is better because there is more focus and less drama. By: Hafsa Makhmarat
This year our Shakespeare group is performing our 12th annual play! We will be performing the Tempest which is a magical play involving an enchanted island filled with spirits and creatures, kings and queens, and a wizard. “We are so excited to be performing in person this year after doing two Zoom plays due to Covid. It’s much more fun to be in person on the stage and collaborating together as a group. We have twenty four cast members who are in fifth through eighth grade. Some of our actors have been performing with us since fifth grade. Our students perform the play in the original Shakespearean language,” said Ms. Jodi Schneider. “We are so excited to perform in person.” Mama Kamara, who is in seventh grade likes how fun it is to act in a play and Keara Douglas also in seventh grade, likes how they warm up before they start to get the wiggles out. This is Mama’s first year and this is Keara’s second year doing Shakespeare. Rehab Rajoui, an eighth grader in Shakespeare plays the character Miranda's daughter. This is her fourth year performing in Shakespeare here at MASH. She says, “I like acting and how we all get together as a group to perform the show. She enjoys making new friends too! Mr. Robinson says he is extremely excited to see young people acting and getting out of their comfort zone. “I love our Shakespeare program and working with our amazing students. It's very gratifying to see the play come together over the months we spend rehearsing to the actual production. The play is always the highlight of the year and I'm sure this year will be spectacular,” says Jodi. The Tempest will perform for parents and families for two nights in June and the school community as well. |