Meet Ms. Marica Myrie, Math Intervention Specialist, and Ms. Khadijah Jeanty, Reading Intervention Specialist, at Samuel Huntington P.S. 40 in Jamaica, New York. Here is how they use StarrMatica in their own words:
Samuel Huntington P.S. 40 is in the process of a technological reform. In order to meet the needs of the Common Core our principal has begun transforming our 100 year old building into a state of the art “tech hub”. Currently we house Promethean Boards in all of our 2nd through 5th grade classes. In addition, students have access to our new Apple Lab equipped with twenty-four brand new 20 inch Mac computers. Laptops and iPad minis are also available for student use. Our principal encourages all of her pedagogues to infuse technology every day, throughout the day. Her philosophy is that we prepare our scholars for being able to work independently using technology for the future.
This transformation has opened up countless possibilities for teachers and students, and the introduction of StarrMatica in our building has excited all. We were introduced to the program in Fall 2013. Since that time StarrMatica has been such a dynamic tool that we are enthusiastic about using. This program has become the perfect co-teacher in all of our classrooms. Currently, we use StarrMatica through a variety of ways. Many teachers use the StarrMatica videos for guided lessons when teaching a specific skill. When peeking through classroom doors you can find students engaged and tuned in. The teachers also use skill specific games for whole group practice. This component adds enjoyment and brings learning to life for our students.
StarrMatica has also added a couple more minutes in our day. In the past, we’ve dedicate countless hours skimming through the internet in search of appropriate materials. Now, that we have StarrMatica, we can type in a topic, and like magic, a plethora of material from games, to activities, to videos appear; thousands of resources at our fingertips.
We all love and have taken advantage of the digital backpack component that StarrMatica provides. This has helped our school GO GREEN! It allows us to assign students work that is geared specifically to improving areas of deficiencies he or she has. The great part is that they can access their backpacks at home, and/or at the public library. This aspect saves us from having to have work copied, and having students lose their assignments. In addition, the digital backpack allows us to add outside content, so the options are endless.
P.S. 40 has fallen in love with StarrMatica. We like to think that there is something for everyone. All of our teachers and students from PK-5 have been able to use it and have been able to navigate through it easily. StarrMatica has engaged our struggling learners, allows for academic intervention, provides enrichment for our advanced students, and has proven to be a great resource tool for our entire teaching staff.
We are reaching for the stars with StarrMatica!!!
Our teacher features are posted on our blog and are housed on the testimonials page of our website.
Want to be our next teacher feature? Contact us. We would love to hear about your experiences.
