The Interim Superintendent of the Berlin Central School District, Eileen Leffler, has announced the addition of five teachers to the District school staff.
Noting that none are replacing the teacher position eliminated last year, Mrs. Leffler said the teachers, one of which is half time, are in the fields of special education, speech therapy, English and art.
Working with Students with Disabilities, Laura Garry joins the Middle/High School from Berne-Knox-Westerlo CSD and Capital Region BOCES. She received her education from the College of St. Rose and the University of Albany.
Danyelle Meyers will be teaching English at the Middle/High School. She worked previously in the Greenwich Central School District and attended college at Russell Sage and the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in Education.
Heather Riccardi’s assignment is as Speech Therapist at the Berlin Elementary School.
Certified in Visual Arts, Samantha Noles will teach art half time at the Middle/High School while she pursues her Master’s Degree at the College of St. Rose in Childhood Education and Special Education. Samantha was a student teacher in Berlin Central and has also been a substitute in Berlin since January 2010.
Filling in for a teacher on leave, Christina Hasel will teach art at the Middle/High School. Also certified in Visual Arts, Christina received her Bachelor’s Degree in Science from State University of NY at Plattsburgh in Art (Photography) and her Master’s from The College of Saint Rose in Art Education. Previously Christina taught at the Early Childhood Education Center.
“All are eagerly awaiting the new school year in Berlin and the opportunity to work with our students,” Mrs. Leffler said. “We are fortunate to have such talented teachers join our staff, and we extend a warm welcome to them.”
Laura Garry said that what she liked most about children is that “They’re fun, willing to learn and excited about life.”
Danyelle Meyers attributes her Berlin High School experience and relationships with her teachers with inspiring her to teach and is looking forward to “enjoying the journey through English with her students.”
Christina Hasel said she is excited about creating a space for students’ creativity and offers this advice – “Give learning a chance; be open-minded about your learning.”
Samantha Noles added that as children have different backgrounds and degrees of motivation, she welcomes the challenge of meeting their individual needs. She tells her students, “You don’t have to be an artist to do well in art class; just try your best.”
All the new teachers agree that parents can help their children by being involved, supportive, patient and by checking their work to see what they’re doing and how they’re doing it so they can be there to help as much as possible. The school year begins in Berlin on September 8.
For more information, go to the Berlin Central School District website at www.berlincentral.org.
