One of our most veteran teachers is beginning her fourth decade of teaching. On September 1st, as we came to visit , Mrs. Stilwell and her second grade class were having fun with an art project called a "watercolor resist." She had just finished teaching a unit on self-confidence, and her students were celebrating their differences and what makes each of them special. On this day, the students were celebrating the special names that they were given by their parents on the day they were born. The first step of the art project was to color a design around their first names using crayon. The next step involved painting over the crayon using watercolor paints. The paint resisted the wax and was only seen on the paper where no crayon was used. Mrs. Stilwell has been doing this art project for years since it teaches a good lesson and is so fun for the kids.
This is Mrs. Stilwell's 30th year teaching. She has been here at White City School the entire time. She is quoted as saying, "The school year is off to a great start! " She has 15 students, and they are well behaved. One of the new challenges this year for Mrs. Stilwell is getting used to the new schedule. This year the elementary school is experiencing a change in their block schedules for the classes of PE and Music. Regardless of the changes, her attitude remains positive. "I'm excited to begin a new year and I am eager to get to know all of my students and discover the things that make each of them so special!" she says.