Tamara Sakuda, English

“While our new learning environment is taking more time this year in preparing lessons and learning new technology, as a teacher I am up for the challenge. Despite being a bit nervous in the classroom due to the pandemic, I have thoroughly enjoyed connecting with my students this year. One of Lovejoy’s pillars on the Graduate Profile is “Open to Challenges of Learning,” so I have taken that to heart as a teacher. I have been using new technologies like Pear Deck, FlipGrid, EdPuzzle, and Zoom breakout rooms to find engaging ways to deliver content to my students, so lessons are not just watching videos and looking at Google Slides. In addition, I have been blending in ways to build community with my students – like playing word games, listening to student music requests, and sharing about our lives outside of school. I fully support the hybrid model of teaching because it is a way to allow families and students to pick a learning environment that supports individual student and family needs. The model and our block schedule is not perfect, but thinking outside the box allows all of us to move forward during this troubling time.”