Page 6 April 28, 2016 EL SEGUNDO HERALD School Spotlight Teachers Selected as Fellows in Cotsen Foundation’s Program for Math Tapping into in the Cotsen Foundation’s “Art of Teaching” mentoring program, some of El Segundo Unified School District’s talented elementary teachers are pushing themselves and ESUSD Cotsen Fellowship Teachers for 2016. their colleagues to the next level of expertise to better help their students fully grasp the deep mathematical thinking required by the Common Core State Standards. “ESUSD implemented the Cotsen Foundation’s mentoring program in the 2015-16 school year to provide its elementary teachers powerful professional growth and development as they implement Cognitive Guided Instruction (CGI) in their math classrooms,” said Dr. Melissa Moore, ESUSD superintendent. Last summer, ESUSD and the El Segundo Education Foundation selected Christine Quinn at Richmond Street School, and Sue Kim at Center Street School as the mentors for the launch of the two-year program at their respective schools. Another ten teachers from kindergarten through fifth grade at Richmond and Center Street Schools volunteered and were selected as Cotsen Fellows. The teachers selected to participate in the prestigious fellowship program are Mychala Barnes, Jessica Bupp, Kelly Nicol, Valerie Sandowicz, Rachel Santora, and Christine Van Duzer from Center Street School; and Carolyn Elder, Alisa Lister, Marie Loye, Celia Plotkin, and Sherry Schmidt from Richmond Street School. Quinn explains that Cotsen Mentors are in dedicated full-time positions to act as “change agents” within their schools. After being selected for The Cotsen Foundation’s intensive training last summer, the second-grade teacher took on the role of full-time mentor to five of her teaching colleagues who are Fellows. Quinn helps her teaching colleagues reflect on their lessons and plan strategies to push their students forward with the Cognitive Guided Instruction that the District has implemented to address California’s Common Core Standards. “We work on our craft, review student data, we do inquiries and discuss articles.” She and the Cotsen Fellows also attend conferences and participate monthly in an inquiry group to further study “best practices” in teaching. “It’s really rich learning.” Cognitive Guided Instruction, Quinn explains, is “a research-tested pedagogical lens where the student is the focus.” She says, “In our math classes, teachers pose a problem and students are allowed to solve it any way they see fit. Based on their reaction, teachers push and prompt the students forward, asking probing questions, allowing the students to help guide the instruction.” The intention is that this open exploration builds the students’ mathematical thinking and encourages flexibility with the way they solve the problems and arrive at the algorithms. Valerie Sandowicz, Cotsen Fellow and fifth-grade teacher, works with her colleague, Cotsen Mentor Sue Kim, at Center Street Elementary. Encouraged by Kim’s coaching and supports, Sandowicz says, “Students are beginning to soar. They realize, ‘I’m not just doing the procedure. I now know why the algorithm works.’” The mathematical problems Sandowicz poses to her students are customized to relate to their real life situations. “We insert their real names into the problems they are solving, and personalize the situations, says Sandowicz. “Whether that’s using fractions or division to work out what share of a pizza or the number of cookies each kid at a birthday party gets, the students have real buy-in because the problems we are posing relate to their real lives.” Having taught 15 years, she is grateful for the insight and extra set of eyes her Cotsen Mentor provides. “I have the support See School Spotlight, page 12 TOWN HALL MEETINGS FACILITIES MASTER PLAN FOR EL SEGUNDO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY 3 AND MAY 12 The El Segundo Unified School District (ESUSD) invites parents, employees and community members to provide input and feedback for the District’s Long Range Facility Master Plan currently in development. ESUSD is committed to providing your children with a high quality instructional program. The planning process will identify the most important facility needs for the next 10 years that both support the needs of current students and anticipate facilities of the future in line with enrollment and programming trends. Attend a Town Hall Meeting on either May 3 or 12 from 6:00-7:30 p.m. and have your voice heard. ESUSD TOWN HALL MEETING DATES MAY 3: El Segundo Middle School, Bulldog Hall at 332 Center Street, El Segundo May 12: Richmond Street School, Multi-purpose Room at 615 Richmond Street, El Segundo Visit www.elsegundousd.net for more information. Papa: Hemingway in Cuba Shows Dark Days as a Genius in Crisis By Morgan Rojas for Cinemacy.com In literature, there is a term called the “Hemingway Hero,” which is essentially a set of noble traits and honorable qualities that the reader should aspire to, much like any character in an Ernest Hemingway novel. Every writer attempting to create this attribute will find that the qualities that make up a hero today compared to that of Hemingway’s day are consistent and timeless. This idea of what makes a man a man, and living a life of “honor, courage and endurance in a world that is sometimes chaotic, often stressful, and always painful” will forever ring true to those in search of a deeper meaning of life. The Bob Yari-directed film Papa: Hemingway in Cuba, tells the true story of one man’s relationship with the legendary writer Ernest Hemingway, and essentially starting his journey to find his own, literal, “Hemingway Hero”. “What do you say to the man who changed your life, and never even knew you?” Ed Myers (Giovanni Ribisi), a journalist at the Miami Herald in the 1950s, asks this question while struggling to find the words for a letter he plans to send to his idol, Ernest Hemingway (Adrian Sparks). Growing up an orphan during the depression, Myers’ voice-over explanation reveals that he had always wanted to be a writer and an adventurer. His lack of family ties created a longing for someone to look up to, someone to be a father figure. He writes all of this and more in his letter, spilling his soul onto the page. Then, one day, Myers gets a life-changing phone call from the man himself, telling him how much he appreciated the letter and then asking him to travel to Cuba to spend time with him. While the first third of the film tends to drag a bit slowly, it really comes alive when we follow Myers to Cuba and get to meet Hemingway. The atmosphere of the city and live music are electrifying, a juxtaposition to the man Hemingway had become by that point in his life. Myers quickly develops a closeness to Hemingway and his wife Mary (Joely Richardson), considering them the family he never had. However, their blissful life erupts into chaos as they immediately find themselves in the middle of the Cuban revolution. The fact that this is a true story alone is worth watching, but probably the biggest selling point is that this is the first Hollywood film to be shot in Cuba in over 50 years. The authenticity of being able to shoot in the original locations including the bar El Floridito and Hemingway’s actually home in Finca Vigia, which is now preserved as a national museum, is a fascinating thing to see. Possibly the coolest memento of all, though, is that the typewriter used in the film is Hemingway’s original one. Personally, a big fan of Hemingway myself, (I did name my dog Ernest after all), seeing this time period in his life is difficult as we all know the outcome of his losing battle with depression. It is a hard pill to swallow watching him stick a revolver in his mouth and beat his wife. For as beautiful the worlds he created in his books, the man we see on screen is a tortured artist that is struggling to see the purpose of his own life. Adrian Sparks captures both Hemingway’s brilliance and demons in his performance, truly giving justice and respect to the late author. As much as you become absorbed in Sparks’ performance, there are moments that can take you out of the film. At times Ribisi comes off somewhat flat, for example, getting that initial call from his idol, Hemingway himself, he barely seems to muster up any excitement. Instead, it feels as if that scene may have been rehearsed one too many times and, by that take, he was just going through the motions. Another head scratching moment is how quickly the film jumps into some scenes without much setup. One moment, Myers is on the beach in Cuba, the next he’s on the beach in Florida telling his girlfriend (Minka Kelly) about his trip to Cuba. It feels rushed, but at this point, we’ve become invested in these characters that we’re along for the ride so we don’t really care where we’re going or how we get there. Papa: Hemingway in Cuba is a stunning portrait of one of the greatest authors and storytellers of the 20th century. Bob Yari takes the biopic and breathes life into the genre just by the sheer amount of authentic details (like the shooting locations alone), plus this inspiring and true story of one man’s search for the meaning of life is something we can all relate to. Bonus- Keep an eye out for a quick cameo from Ernest’s granddaughter Mariel Hemingway. Rated R for language, sexuality, some violence, and nudity. Papa: Hemingway in Cuba opens in select theaters on Friday, April 29th. • Film Review Giovanni Ribisi and Adrian Sparks in ‘Papa: Hemingway in Cuba’. Courtesy of Bob Yari. STARS & STRIPES A M E R I C A N M A D E C L O T H I N G S T O R E COME CHECK US OUT! 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