Madame Cipriano has joined Mauro-Sheridan as the new French teacher for grades 5 to 8. Bonjour, Madame!
“Studying a foreign language is so important for so many reasons,” Madame Cipriano said. “For starters, it opens up entire worlds -- places, people, experiences, and jobs! It also helps develop critical thinking skills as you compare word roots, and it gives students the opportunity to develop the interpersonal communication skills they need to succeed as they continue their education and pursue satisfying careers.”
She has been teaching for 17 years. She most recently taught at Betsy Ross, a magnet and middle school. She also spent a few years as a coach, working with new teachers. In addition to teaching grades 5 to 8, Madame Cipriano continues to give advice to the two other language teachers.
“When I coached teachers full time, I would work with them in whatever areas they needed or wanted support including instructional strategies, classroom management, planning, or assessment. A lot of the teachers I worked with were new to teaching, though I also worked with more experienced teachers as well. While I'm still able to work with teachers on a limited basis this year, I've been doing more work around gathering and sharing resources than in-person coaching.”
Madame Cipriano’s favorite part of teaching is getting to know the students, learning what motivates them, how they best learn, and seeing them grow over time as language learners and all-around students.
But teaching also has its challenges, Madame Cipriano said.
“The most challenging part about teaching is that there is always more that can be done, new ideas to explore or strategies to try. You're never ‘done!’ That's one of the best parts but also one of the most challenging parts of teaching.”
Madame Cipriano completed her undergraduate degree at Bard College in New York, and earned her graduate degree from the Graduate Institute in Connecticut.
Outside of school, she likes to read, watch movies and spend time with friends and family. She enjoys taking pictures of the sky and also meditates every day.