Welcome!
I'm Laura Bernardi, a grade 8 English Language Arts teacher in Glastonbury, CT. I am a homegrown Connecticut girl: I grew up in Guilford and attended Connecticut College in New London, where I received a BA in English and Education. I am currently in the process of completing my MA in Educational Technology from the University of St. Joseph.
I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in 4th grade. I originally wanted to teach elementary school, but they were too young. Then I student taught at the high school level, and they were too old. So I landed myself in middle school and that was just right! This is already my 7th year teaching at the middle school level, and I truly love working with this age group. I find that my eighth graders are insightful, quirky and curious.
Because technology is such an up and coming trend in education, I am hoping to get a head start on implementing new programs and applications in my classroom. Then, ideally, I may be of help not only to my students, but also to my peers and colleagues. In addition to teaching, I am a member of the Technology Team and I coach three Unified Sports teams: soccer, basketball, and track. I really just love being surrounded by kids.
My strengths in the classroom are organization, communication, and creativity. I am very Type A; everything has a place and the students know how to navigate my classroom via every nook and cranny. This allows for them to be independent and it models for them how they can also be organized. I value communication in the classroom. I like to keep my students' parents in the loop, so that they are aware of what their children are learning and so that they know their input is valued. In order for education to be at its best, all parties need to be invested, including those who live at home with my students. I try to keep my ELA classroom as creative as possible. It is hard to motivate today's adolescents to read and write, so I try to get them excited about the material and topics that lend for further exploration. I'm hoping that the Ed. Tech. program at USJ helps me to find even more creative outlets for my classroom.
I'm Laura Bernardi, a grade 8 English Language Arts teacher in Glastonbury, CT. I am a homegrown Connecticut girl: I grew up in Guilford and attended Connecticut College in New London, where I received a BA in English and Education. I am currently in the process of completing my MA in Educational Technology from the University of St. Joseph.
I have wanted to be a teacher since I was in 4th grade. I originally wanted to teach elementary school, but they were too young. Then I student taught at the high school level, and they were too old. So I landed myself in middle school and that was just right! This is already my 7th year teaching at the middle school level, and I truly love working with this age group. I find that my eighth graders are insightful, quirky and curious.
Because technology is such an up and coming trend in education, I am hoping to get a head start on implementing new programs and applications in my classroom. Then, ideally, I may be of help not only to my students, but also to my peers and colleagues. In addition to teaching, I am a member of the Technology Team and I coach three Unified Sports teams: soccer, basketball, and track. I really just love being surrounded by kids.
My strengths in the classroom are organization, communication, and creativity. I am very Type A; everything has a place and the students know how to navigate my classroom via every nook and cranny. This allows for them to be independent and it models for them how they can also be organized. I value communication in the classroom. I like to keep my students' parents in the loop, so that they are aware of what their children are learning and so that they know their input is valued. In order for education to be at its best, all parties need to be invested, including those who live at home with my students. I try to keep my ELA classroom as creative as possible. It is hard to motivate today's adolescents to read and write, so I try to get them excited about the material and topics that lend for further exploration. I'm hoping that the Ed. Tech. program at USJ helps me to find even more creative outlets for my classroom.