Saffady, Carolyn
Carolyn Saffady
1st grade
Rm. 205
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Where she lives: Carroll Gardens
Teaching since: 2004
At P.S. 8 since: 2004
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Ms. Saffady's first-grade classroom is usually teeming with living things--she's had snails, pillbugs, sowbugs and even a Madagascar Hissing Roach. When her first-graders study butterflies, Ms. Saffady has them write butterfly poetry, work butterfly-related math problems, create butterfly art and read Monarch Butterfly by Gail Gibbons and other books. The real butterflies--brought in when they are still caterpillars--are kept in a tunnel-shaped pavilion that hangs from the ceiling lights. It's usually around February or March, Ms. Saffady says, when first-graders reach a new level of self-awareness. "That's when they began to see themselves as active learners, to understand how they learn as individuals," she says. Ms. Saffady earned an undergraduate Fine Arts degree from SUNY Albany, and a master's degree in education from Long Island University. Before she arrived at P.S. 8 as a student teacher in January 2004, she worked as a graphic designer and large-format digital printer. She has two daughters who are P.S. 8 students. "I shifted into education so that I could be with my own children during the day, and I love that they both attend the school," Ms. Saffady says. On weekends, she likes to take her girls to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden or to one of New York City's many zoos. But her weekends are busy in other ways too, she adds with a chuckle: "I fold a lot a laundry."
Posted on: May 19, 2005
