Meet Miss Maldonado ( I own photo above)
Dear First Grade Family,
Hello! My name is Miss Maldonado and I want to welcome you to our fantastic first grade class. I am excited to be your teacher this year and I can't wait to meet you. Our first day of school will begin on Wednesday, August 25, 2015. On this day we will start building our classroom community and we’ll get to know each other a lot more. I'd like to take this time to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about me.
I was born and raised in a small town in Florida where I enjoyed playing soccer and tennis. In the hot summers, I loved swimming, kayaking and rope swinging with my little brothers and sisters. After high school, I attended Edison State College where I received a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Psychology.
Five years ago, I took a trip up North and decided to visit New York. I immediately fell in love with the city and all the friendly people. After that eye opening trip, I decided that I wanted to live in such a welcoming community. My passion is working with children and I'm thrilled to be starting my 2nd year here at NYC Elementary.
Over the past few months I have enjoyed taking walks with my dog Lilly, reading in Central Park, and traveling to Florida to visit family. Some highlights of my summer were: traveling to Guatemala, learning how to wake surf, and working on my new home that I bought.
Since I've shared a few things about myself, I'd love to know something special about you! If you could, please draw a picture or write a story about something fun you did this summer. On the first day of school we will share our drawings and stories to our new classmates. I am anxious to meet you and look forward to our first day of school. See you soon!
Love,
Miss Maldonado
Dear First Grade Family,
Hello! My name is Miss Maldonado and I want to welcome you to our fantastic first grade class. I am excited to be your teacher this year and I can't wait to meet you. Our first day of school will begin on Wednesday, August 25, 2015. On this day we will start building our classroom community and we’ll get to know each other a lot more. I'd like to take this time to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about me.
I was born and raised in a small town in Florida where I enjoyed playing soccer and tennis. In the hot summers, I loved swimming, kayaking and rope swinging with my little brothers and sisters. After high school, I attended Edison State College where I received a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and Psychology.
Five years ago, I took a trip up North and decided to visit New York. I immediately fell in love with the city and all the friendly people. After that eye opening trip, I decided that I wanted to live in such a welcoming community. My passion is working with children and I'm thrilled to be starting my 2nd year here at NYC Elementary.
Over the past few months I have enjoyed taking walks with my dog Lilly, reading in Central Park, and traveling to Florida to visit family. Some highlights of my summer were: traveling to Guatemala, learning how to wake surf, and working on my new home that I bought.
Since I've shared a few things about myself, I'd love to know something special about you! If you could, please draw a picture or write a story about something fun you did this summer. On the first day of school we will share our drawings and stories to our new classmates. I am anxious to meet you and look forward to our first day of school. See you soon!
Love,
Miss Maldonado
My Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy is rooted in my goal to effectively teach all my students and instill in them a love of learning. I want my students to understand that learning should take place not only in the classroom, but throughout their everyday lives. I strive to help them become life-long learners and to seize their own opportunities to gain knowledge.
I am an enthusiastic educator who places a large emphasis on differentiation. Understanding that each child is unique and that students learn in different ways, I believe it is essential for educators to differentiate our lessons to better meet the needs of our students. This can include scaffolding, preparing different lessons for students, and adapting whole group lessons for diverse learners. I also support that building positive relationship with students is essential for trust to be gained and thus, learning to thrive.
I continue to improve my own teaching by engaging in careful reflection. This allows me to think critically about what works and what doesn't. Then, I am able to adapt my own teaching to better meet the needs of my students.
Additionally, because all students are different, they will respond differently to assessments, thus I believe in giving a multitude of assessments including: tests or quizzes, papers, projects, presentations, and other assessments to gain a better understanding of what my students know. Engaging the creative instincts develops students' abilities to express knowledge through a variety of ways like journals, research reports, physical models, and artistic representations. The benefits of using constructivism in the classroom make children learn more, and enjoy learning more when they are actively involved, rather than passive listeners. By grounding learning activities in an authentic, real-world context, constructivism stimulates and engages students. Students in constructivist classrooms learn to question things and to apply their natural curiosity to the world.
Entering this ever evolving field of education where new technologies are being implemented and innovative strategies are being discovered, I will continue to keep myself educated and constantly reading and learning about new ways that may meet the needs of my students even more effectively. My philosophy will continue to guide me throughout this noble profession.
My teaching philosophy is rooted in my goal to effectively teach all my students and instill in them a love of learning. I want my students to understand that learning should take place not only in the classroom, but throughout their everyday lives. I strive to help them become life-long learners and to seize their own opportunities to gain knowledge.
I am an enthusiastic educator who places a large emphasis on differentiation. Understanding that each child is unique and that students learn in different ways, I believe it is essential for educators to differentiate our lessons to better meet the needs of our students. This can include scaffolding, preparing different lessons for students, and adapting whole group lessons for diverse learners. I also support that building positive relationship with students is essential for trust to be gained and thus, learning to thrive.
I continue to improve my own teaching by engaging in careful reflection. This allows me to think critically about what works and what doesn't. Then, I am able to adapt my own teaching to better meet the needs of my students.
Additionally, because all students are different, they will respond differently to assessments, thus I believe in giving a multitude of assessments including: tests or quizzes, papers, projects, presentations, and other assessments to gain a better understanding of what my students know. Engaging the creative instincts develops students' abilities to express knowledge through a variety of ways like journals, research reports, physical models, and artistic representations. The benefits of using constructivism in the classroom make children learn more, and enjoy learning more when they are actively involved, rather than passive listeners. By grounding learning activities in an authentic, real-world context, constructivism stimulates and engages students. Students in constructivist classrooms learn to question things and to apply their natural curiosity to the world.
Entering this ever evolving field of education where new technologies are being implemented and innovative strategies are being discovered, I will continue to keep myself educated and constantly reading and learning about new ways that may meet the needs of my students even more effectively. My philosophy will continue to guide me throughout this noble profession.