NOMBRE:
Señora Spinelli
ESCUELA:
Bowne, Central, Chittick, Frost, Irwin, Memorial, Warnsdorfer , & Lawrencebrook Elementary Schools
CLASE:
Español/El Quinto Grado
TELÉFONO DE ESCUELA:
732 613-6700
I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and have been teaching for 16 years.
After graduating high school I spent 3 months in Costa Rica.
I enrolled in the school, Centro Cutural and studied Spanish.
I was in class 5 days a week where we were taught strictly
in the target language. There was no English spoken at all.
The only common language among all students was the Spanish
we were learning in the classroom. The teacher only spoke Spanish
and my classmates were from many different countries,
and not one of them spoke English.
It was a fascinating and extremely rewarding experience.
I learned to communicate very quickly in Spanish.
I returned to Wisconsin to continue to study Spanish and Elementary
Education at the University of Wisconsin.
I moved to Brooklyn NY to marry my husband and pursue my degree.
I graduated Brooklyn Colllege with a BA in Education, and
a MS in Education/Humanities. I completed my education for Teacher of
Spanish at Caldwell College and went on to continue my education at Kean
University for certification in Supervision. I have been teaching Spanish
now for 8 years here in East Brunswick.
My mother and father's families both come from Sicily.
I have four sons, Lenny 24, Nicky 20, Joey 15 and Sal Anthony 10.
I have a live-in nanny from Peru who helps me at home. I speak only Spanish
to my nanny and encourage my boys to communicate in Spanish.
I enjoy many extra curricular activities. I teach spinning classes at night
at the YMCA in Freehold NJ. I love to swim, dance, and snow ski.
I also like the beach, jet skiing and water skiing.
I love to travel! I have been to Florida, The Bahamas, California, Montana,
Aruba, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica and Mexico. I would like to travel to as
many Spanish speaking countries as I can, and of course I can't wait to go
to Italy and see where my family comes from in Sicily.
I consider myself very fortunate to have a job that I love.
I look forward to getting up in the morning and going to work to
Sing, Dance, and Teach Spanish!
My philosophy for foreign language in the elementary schools is to teach
98% in the target language. English translation is discouraged as research
shows that this is counter productive. Students are emmersed in the
language where their speaking, listening, and comprehension skills are
nurtured. English translation has proven to be a barrier because the brain
is then asked to decode in two languages rather than one. I believe in a
hands on program with a comfortable environment where my students do not
have to be afraid of making mistakes. I use a very dramatic approach with
extensive manipulatives, materials, and puppets. I sing, dance, role-play,
model activities, and even "stand on my head" to help my students
understand in the target language without translating into English.
