Jose Figueroa -- T'ai Chi (Taijiquan): I am excited to be back at MSC, working at both the Upper and Lower school. I have devoted more than 10 years to the training, performance and teaching of Chen Style T'ai Chi. I am one of four senior students of the teacher Master Ren Guang Yi, and am one of the first Latino students certified to teach Chen style T'ai Chi outside of China.

I earned a Bachelors of Science in Physical Education from the City College of New York and have worked for the New York City Board of Education, creating successful Physical Education pilot programs utilizing Chen style T'ai Chi in P.S./M.S. 20 District 10 in the Bronx and Harlem. I founded the Tai Chi Holistic Network in 1992 using various forms of T'ai Chi exercise in medical and psychiatric treatment at the Veteran's Affairs Hospital's Psychiatric Department. I have performed numerous demonstrations, lectures and seminars on the Chinese Martial Arts in New York.

Alfred Gonzales – Dance Teacher, Arts Coordinator: I hope everyone had a great summer! My summer was very busy. I taught dance and did some choreography for the musical theater summer camp at the Lucy Moses School. I also worked on writing the assessment and evaluation of last year's MSC Annenberg Arts activities, and attended the Lincoln Center Institute's summer session for teachers. A record number of 10 MSC teachers attended the Lincoln Center Workshop this summer.
I am very anxious to be working with MSC students (returning and new!) as I begin my 5th year as MSC dance teacher. I'm also looking forward again this year to collaborations with MSC classroom teachers and visiting teaching artists. As MSC Arts Coordinator, I have already set into motion plans for arts-related trips to the theater and museums. Residencies by teaching artists from cultural arts organizations in music, storytelling and drama are now being scheduled for students on all grade levels.

Have a wonderful year, everyone.

Michelle Horowitz – Science: I am excited to have begun the 1999-2000 school year. I have recently obtained my Masters in Early Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and have always enjoyed teaching and learning science. This year we have planned some wonderful lessons and experiments throughout the grades. The kindergarten classes will begin the year focusing on the senses, while the first grade will begin by learning about balls and ramps. The second grade will study habitats, the third grade will learn about growing things, and the fourth grade will begin the year learning about bones and skeletons. I am excited to get to know each and everyone of you, and feel privileged to have the opportunity to work with every student. Here's to a wonderful year!

Claudine Jellison – Reading and Language Arts: It's hard for me to believe that I am beginning my seventh year as at MSC. I am a graduate of both the Reading & Literacy and Early Childhood & Elementary Education programs at Bank Street College. I came to teaching with experience in educational theater both in New York and abroad and I was a professional actor and singer for almost 18 years before making the decision to become a teacher. My arts background continues to inform my teaching; I believe that theatre, music, and the visual arts are intrinsic to literacy and consider arts education to be a literacy priority in school.

My position as a Language Arts teacher allows me to plan arts and literacy programs for children throughout the grades. This position also gives me the opportunity to work closely with many children and observe growth in reading and writing. As I work with young children, I realize that literacy – being able to use language expressively, whether it be drama, storytelling, or simply writing a letter to a friend across the hall – is something greatly to be valued. Literacy is an art and, as in all arts, the use of language involves creative expression, but also demands mastery of specific disciplines and skills. It is important that children not only enjoy reading and writing in a creative sense, but also that they see themselves as capable users of the conventions of language. We strive to create a literacy program at MSC that strikes a balance.

Once again this past summer I attended workshops at the Lincoln Center Institute and this Fall I will attend workshops at the New Victory Theater. These workshops enable us to select performances from the Lincoln Center and New Victory Repertoires and to explore ways of integrating performing arts into classroom curricula. Field trips and artist residency will extend throughout the year for children in all grades. Together with Alfred I spent July writing and editing evaluation and planning materials for our Annenberg Arts and Literacy grant and I was also able to participate with other staff members in the Bank Street Schools Attuned Project. This program provided us with a way to observe children, with a language to describe their learning style, strengths and weaknesses and, most important, with the means as a teaching staff of coming together to meet children's educational needs.

Stephanie Klein – Spanish: Hola! Me llamo Stephanie Klein y soy la profesora de espanol este ano. OK, I won't write the whole letter in Spanish, but as the new Spanish teacher I would like to introduce myself to you. I grew up in Long Island, New York and began speaking Spanish at the age of ten. I had the opportunity to live with my family in Mexico where I made many friends, personally experienced the culture, and extensively traveled throughout the country. This made learning Spanish easy, and fun and is how I fell in love with the Spanish Language.

I attended the University of Miami where I obtained a business degree, also continuing to study Spanish. I used my Spanish constantly while I lived in South Florida, both personally and professionally. In my previous position, I was a bilingual sales trainer where I traveled to many foreign countries to deliver presentations and train staff in sales techniques. I returned to New York in order to attend Columbia University, Teachers College, where I obtained my Master's in the teaching of Spanish this past year. Over the Summer I studied abroad at the University of Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain to further my education and to gain an understanding of another Spanish culture.

Learning to speak, read, write and understand Spanish, in other words, being able to really communicate in another language, has been one of the most rewarding experiences I have had in my life. Being able to speak more than one language has opened up many doors for me. That is why I am here teaching Spanish. With enthusiasm, I look forward to a great year, filled with lots of learning, creative activities and the exploration of different Spanish cultures. Hasta luego.

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