#CTInquiry visits St. Cecilia Catholic E.S.

Last month we visited two stunning classrooms at St. Cecilia Catholic Elementary School (YCDSB). Our #CTInquiry received a warm welcome by Maureen Cicinelli, Antonella Fabbro, and Amanda Badiali.  Both spaces were Reggio-inspired and filled with many provocations along with traces of student learning.  I brought my son, and it was amazing to see how calm he was in these intentionally planned environments.

During our session we broke off into groups to discuss the article "From policing to participation: Overturning the rules and creating amiable classrooms" by Carol Anne Wien.  Some groups also began to study documentation from their inquiry work.  Before we ended our time together, I modelled how to use the app called, Snapchat.  If you are on Snapchat you can follow me (at joannebabalis) and feel part of our #CTInquiry network on evenings when you are unable to attend in person.  I make every effort to provide a school tour with images and short video clips.  Unfortunately, they are only available on this social media platform for a twenty-four hour period.


Here is a peek into these enchanting classrooms!



First I went into Antonella's space:

Then I went into Maureen and Amanda's space:

Are you Reggio-inspired?  

Would you like your classroom to be featured on my blog?  

If we cannot make a network meeting at your school or program, my son and I have begun visiting rich learning environments on Fridays.   We would love to visit you and your students!

Tomorrow (Wednesday, May 18th, 2016) we will be meeting in @anamariaralph's classroom at Maurice Cody P.S. of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB).  Our meeting will be from 6:00-8:00 p.m., and we will be reading "The Early Years: Carol's Story Focus of Inquiry Trees, Plants, Roots Starting the Environmental Inquiry Process pg. 63-73" from the Natural Curiosity book.

For parking, please park on Cleveland St. and the main entrance is on Belsize street.

At our last session, we agreed upon bringing a piece of documentation from our inquiry work to study together.  This could be a photograph, transcription of student talk, video clip, work sample, etc.

Be sure to follow along using the #CTInquiry hashtag on Twitter and Instagram, as well as, joannebabalis on Snapchat for a live tour!

If you are attending future events and would like to help with any of the following:

• hosting a future session
• providing snacks
• arriving earlier to guide participants to our meeting room
• donating a book or gift for the classroom we visit
• co-facilitating the discussion in person or during our Twitterchats
• setting up a provocation using something you tried in your own context (optional: with documentation)
• presenting a project or strategy that you are proud of or that you feel the group would benefit from
• sharing a new professional resource
• recommending articles that are available online for us to read at future meetings
• offering other ideas, events, locations, etc. for #CTInquiry 

This is our network, so please consider getting involved! You may let me know via email (joannemariebabalis@gmail.com) and we can make arrangements! 

A huge thank you is extended to our wonderful hosts, Antonella, Maureen, and Amanda.  I cannot wait to return to your magical spaces again soon!

For information regarding future #CTInquiry meetings, online chats, or to download all the readings ahead of time, please click here.

There are three teachers of children:

adults, other children, and their physical environment.

                                                                                                            -Loris Malaguzzi