Mary Kenny
2018 Fund A Teacher Recipient
Dear Alpha Beta Chapter
Last year I was a paraprofessional and now this year I am a Third-grade teacher at P.S.29. I was quite nervous moving from para to teacher as it was a new start for me. The money given to me by Alpha Beta Foundation was spent to create a new library.
The classroom I was moving into was a math room only last year. Being a first-year teacher is hard but being a first-year teacher is even harder when you must create a new library from scratch because my room was all math last year with no ELA. The books from the classroom from the previous years were placed in a storage closet in all mixed up non-matching bins. In my opinion, a visually appealing library makes reading more enjoyable for the students. So, I was on the search for the perfect bins. It took me a long time to find the perfect bins to fit all my books and look visually appealing as well. Finally, I found them in Target. The black and white bins fit my books perfectly and there were enough bins to mix colors.
My leveled books and my nonfiction books are in the black and white baskets and the blue and clear smaller bins have my chapter books. The baskets were expensive but they fit my classroom so perfectly that I couldn't resist. After purchasing these baskets and putting them together my classroom felt complete. It is a great feeling to know that you have accomplished your goal of creating the visually appealing library you wanted.
In turn, I just would like to thank all the members of Alpha Beta Foundation for their generous sponsorship. I look forward to one day joining this organization as a female educator.
Thank you,
Mary Kenny
PS 29
Staten Island, NY
