Josephine Crichton retired in 2013, after 28 years of teaching in the American Section primary school.
Above: Trustee Sonia Lee honors Josephine at graduation 2013. Below: Josephine with her first American Section 2nd grade class in 1985.
Josephine Crichton has had a long story with the American Section. She arrived, with her daughter Annie and one suitcase, in August, 1985, after ten years of teaching in California. The Château was the Primary School at that time, and the AS classrooms were on the top floor. As soon as possible Josephine went about transforming some of the spaces. Using the 18th century mosaics on the floor, she made large stencils, and as a French colleague said, “Put the Château floor on the walls!” This was followed by creating a planetarium on the top floor, where the children and parent helpers from the American Section painted and hung the planets, the sun, and created a prehistoric sea. When the first satellite primary school opened at Ecole Henri Dunant, Josephine set up and opened the Grade 1 class. The first overnight trip ever for our Primary students? Many remember the trip to Lascaux with over 60 Grade 2 students which provided a fascinating array of activities and learning experiences. Branferé followed: a special trip organized for the graduating Grade 5 students, repeated several times and always a rousing success. The first Digital Reporting Team was inaugurated by Josephine during Sean Lynch’s tenure, and from then on included a 25-minute film per year with the collaboration of her Grade 5 students. Notable ones include Movin’ On Up, Changes, What Matters, and even the last minute filming of the American Section Graduation this year. These and others can still be viewed on the AS Vimeo site. Teaching three levels of Primary School, involving many subjects was always challenging and creative for Josephine. She loved the variety of students, from teaching five-yearolds in the morning to working with her Grade 5 students in the afternoon. Working with students and parents during Project Week and, in the olden days, the annual primary plays that were done with each class at the end of the year, provided tons of memorable moments. When recently asked what she misses the most, there was a resounding, “The kids! And working, exchanging with all my international colleagues. At the Lycée International, contact with the children and parents in the Section was a rich and ever-changing panorama. I miss that energy and joy.” After 28 years at the Lycée, Josephine has retired. And while she’s thrilled to be able to sleep late, pursue various artistic endeavors, and travel outside of school vacations, the American Section students and Jo’s colleagues will always occupy a very special place in her heart.
Melissa Pedraza is teaching Kindergarten and 2nd grade at the Lycée International, and 5th grade at Ecole Schnapper. With a Puerto Rican father and basic Spanish her only foreign language, Melissa Pedraza was not obviously destined for France. But her unique set of skills as a primary teacher and literacy specialist and coach were a perfect match for the enticing vacancy that the American Section posted earlier this year. After landing the job, she gave up a position at the Castlewood School in Bellerose, Queens, New York, took a one-month crash course in French and threw herself in at the deep end. “I haven’t travelled a lot and had wanted to go abroad, but only if it was the right place and the right job,” explains Pedraza, who grew up and studied in New York. Pedraza is an expert in the Columbia University Teachers College
Teaching of Reading Program, which is being rolled out in selected primary classrooms this year. Melissa is teaching the program in kindergarten, second and fifth grades. The method is based on the premise that children will improve their reading skills if a particular book engages them. In a break with traditional teaching methods, pupils
who are learning to read get to make their own individual reading choices, rather than the whole class tackling the same title. Children are also taught about the processes involved in reading, the teacher facilitating their reading accuracy, rate, and comprehension through workshops and individual conferences. “When we look at a book, we are thinking as well as reading,” says Pedraza. “We explain to kindergarten children that even if they can’t read yet, they can look at the pictures and tell the story. We find they can sit doing this for ten or fifteen minutes at a stretch.” Pedraza finds it “exciting to be teaching such a range of ages” at the Lycée. She is also leading the American Section’s Primary Players theatre group – some thirty budding thespians. “We’ll be putting on a play in June, but first we are doing a lot of role playing and improvisation and I’m getting to know everyone.” Alison James FA L L / W I N T E R
2013
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