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mpytlak
POBLAR LA WIKI ES DOMINAR LA WIKI...  Aqui estoy, poblando la WIKI.  My dogs Sam (Left) and Pinot (Right)-- resting after a hard day of the dog's life. My name is Melissa Pytlak, and I live in Hamden, CT. I currently teach at Cheshire Academy in Cheshire, CT. I teach Upper School Spanish classes, level 2 and level 3, coach Field Hockey and Softball, and work as a dorm parent in Motter Hall. I have been at Cheshire Academy since 2006. Before coming to Cheshire Academy, I began my teaching career at Canterbury School in New Milford, CT. I taught Spanish classes there for four years in addition to coaching Field Hockey, Volleyball and Softball, and serving as a dorm parent in Carter House. I worked at Canterbury School from 2002-2006. I graduated from Trinity College in Hartford, CT in 2002, where I majored in International Studies: Latin America and the Caribbean and minored in Spanish Studies. During the fall of 2000, I lived and studied in Golfito, Costa Rica through a program with the University of Kansas. In my senior year at Trinity College, I worked as an academic mentor in the first-year program and a teaching assistant for a World Music course. I wrote my thesis about the influence of Carmen Lyra on the formation of the Communist Party in Costa Rica. During that time I returned to Costa Rica to work in the archives of the national library in San José. Aside from Costa Rica, I have traveled as often as I could so that I could visit other countries and satisfy for my passion for travel and learning about other cultures. I have also dedicated myself to my continued learning and improvement as a teacher by partaking in various Professional Development programs and travel opportunities during my summers. The following is a summary about how I have spent my summers since I have began teaching: 2003: I took two education courses at Fairfield University and worked as a camp counselor at the Boys and Girls Club. 2004: I traveled to Perú and spent two weeks in Lima working at the Puericultorio Perez Aranibar through an organization called Global Volunteers. I also visited Cusco and Macchu Piccu. I also attended ALPs at Dartmouth College to take a ten-day intensive Italian course in the Rassias method. 2005: I studied for three weeks at the Instituto Cultural in Rome, Italy, and lived with a host family; I arranged this through Languages Abroad. I also traveled to Perugia and Toscana. 2006: I decided to get my public school teaching certification and enrolled in the ARC Program, which stands for Alternate Route to Teacher Certification. It is a nine-week intensive course that includes a student-teaching period. My placement at the Waterbury Arts Magnet School in Waterbury, CT. 2007: I traveled to Spain to learn more about the city of Madrid in order to implement a virtual residency learning experience in my classes the following year. During this time I stayed with a host family and took classes at Estudio Sampere. I also began post-graduate work in the MATSL program at Bennington College in Vermont.
Latest page update: Jul 12 2007, 11:56 PM EDT
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