Hi all! My name is Gina Olabuenaga, your child’s fifth grade teacher. I am looking forward to this year and the opportunity to teach your child along their educational journey. I wanted to tell you a little bit about myself.
I am a University of California, Irvine graduate in English with a minor in Psychology. There I also received my credential and my Master’s in Teaching. In May of 2010, I earned an educational doctorate (Ed.D) in teacher education for multicultural societies. My research focused on project-based learning, professional development, and student outcomes.
I grew up in Virginia and am a huge enthusiast of American History for that reason. California has now been my home for 14 years, Los Angeles for 7, and I love it! We are very fortunate to be in Los Angeles, a city with so much diversity and access to culture, the arts, and history. I hope to impart some of that enthusiasm to my students.
With me, your child will also be exposed to poetry since I am poet and believe strongly in the power of creative expression, as well as our magnet emphases, math, science, and technology. We will use habits of mind to frame our work and project-based learning to develop 21st century skills, while the principles of social-emotional learning will guide classroom curriculum design and instruction. To learn more about these topics, check out the sections “Social-Emotional Learning“, to the right of this post, and the “Habits of Mind” link at the top of the page. Edutopia is another place to learn more about this important successful school core strategy.
Now, I look forward to getting to know all of you!
Warmest Regards,
Dr. Gina Olabuenaga
Fight On!!
EDMUSINGS & BEYOND 