Meet the Teacher
I'm Melissa McGuinnes and this year I will be your child's first grade teacher! My family chose to make Marblehead our home more than ten years ago, we think it's one of the most beautiful places on Earth! I love spending time exploring the beaches, the wildlife sanctuary, and playgrounds with my husband, two boys, and our rescue dog Penny. I grew up in New Hartford, NY—a small suburb of Utica. I went to Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, a small liberal arts college on beautiful Seneca Lake. I came to the Boston area to study Child Development and Education at Tufts University. At Eliot Pearson (their amazing lab school) I had tremendously inspiring teaching experiences with children and families.
When I was at Tufts I interned for Dr. Marina Bers who shared a personal philosophy about trying something new each year to remind her how it feels to be a new learner. This stuck with me and has encouraged me to be a life long learner any chance I get --- guitar lessons, knitting, and my latest obsession--cycling on my Peloton. On days when my alarm rings at 5 a.m. I want to bury myself under the blankets and snooze for another hour, sometimes my knees ache and or my lungs burn and I want to give up much like your first graders might want to when I ask them to dig deep for five more minutes of writing, to read that sentence one more time with expression, or to finish that last page of math problems. So, now you know a little about me! My passion is for teaching—this year I hope to foster your child’s passion for learning in a community, working hard, & taking risks.
When I was at Tufts I interned for Dr. Marina Bers who shared a personal philosophy about trying something new each year to remind her how it feels to be a new learner. This stuck with me and has encouraged me to be a life long learner any chance I get --- guitar lessons, knitting, and my latest obsession--cycling on my Peloton. On days when my alarm rings at 5 a.m. I want to bury myself under the blankets and snooze for another hour, sometimes my knees ache and or my lungs burn and I want to give up much like your first graders might want to when I ask them to dig deep for five more minutes of writing, to read that sentence one more time with expression, or to finish that last page of math problems. So, now you know a little about me! My passion is for teaching—this year I hope to foster your child’s passion for learning in a community, working hard, & taking risks.