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YOU TAUGHT US TO FIND OUR PLACE IN THE WORLD

“My teachers believed in me—but they also taught me to believe in myself. They
gave me the confidence that no matter what challenges happened in life, I’d have the
strength to face them. What a gift to be able to pass that same sense of confidence on
to a new generation of children.”

BROOKE TAMAS GREEN ’97
Alumna & Third Grade Teacher

“Stay Calm and Rock Your Awesomeness.” That’s a In a recent project, for instance, Green turned her entire
favorite classroom philosophy of Laguna third grade faculty classroom into a miniature city. Students learned about local
member Brooke Tamas Green ’97 who has made it a personal government by living it—running an election, serving on city
mission to help her students unleash their distinct passions. council, and managing the ins and outs of a cash economy.
“My goal is to help students recognize their strengths and Students were empowered to choose the roles most relevant
know they’re encouraged to express them,” Green says. “That to their own personal strengths and interests and gain real-
process is going to look different for every student—and that’s world skills at the same time—be it writing, public speaking,
what being a student at Laguna is all about.” or business.
That philosophy—of celebrating the unique gifts of each Green also encourages a tremendous amount of colla-
individual child—is something Green says she herself gained boration with students in other grade levels. Her students are
as a student at Laguna Blanca in Grades 7 to 12. And it’s just buddies to Laguna’s kindergarten class and meet regularly
one reason she was thrilled to come back and teach here after to explore elements of STEM. They also collaborate with
earning her education credentials. Middle and Upper School students
“Laguna helped me to grow as a confident person,” on a number of writing projects—
Laguna faculty and
Green says. “It gave me life skills needed to make decisions— both journalistic and creative. Indeed,
staff participated in
in relationships, in my pursuit of higher education, and in writing is an incredibly important over 500 hours of
wanting to help others. I always knew I wanted to teach. But part of the curriculum to Green, professional development
in the past year,
being able to teach at Laguna—that’s a dream I’ve had since who credits her former teacher (and
leading to curriculum
childhood.” current Laguna faculty member) enhancements,
Green’s goal is to engage students through their strengths. Carol Nordgaarden with giving her partnerships on new
interdisciplinary projects,
In her classroom, that means providing students with different the writing skills to succeed in college
and special programming
options for learning and self-expression. While some may opt and life. such as TEDx.
to do a written report for a certain project, others may choose “My teachers believed in me—
to do a speech, create a fashion design, write a poem, do an art but they also taught me to believe
project, or even create an iMovie to share what they’ve learned in myself,” she says. “They gave me the confidence that no
from the class material. The opportunity allows students matter what challenges happened in life, I’d have the strength
to explore who they are and gain confidence expressing to face them. What a gift to be able to pass that same sense of
themselves in a way that makes them feel personally successful. confidence on to a new generation of children.”

2017-18 ANNUAL REPORT 11