Biology teacher for 7th and 9th grades | Dominique Paladini
Dominique and the wonderful human beings
Biology teacher Dominique Paladini is a veterinarian who practices scuba diving and rides horses in her free time.
The daughter of an American father and Peruvian mother, Dominque is the youngest and the only one of the couple's eight children who did not study at Chapel for one year only. She lived the biggest part of her childhood and adolescence back in the US, where her Family stayed until she turned 17. Her parents fulfilled their promise of coming back to live in Brazil when they retired, and thus, Dominique came to Brazil with her parents, studied veterinary science, specialized in wild animals and earned a Master’s degree in Science, all from the University of São Paulo.
While working on her Master’s degree, she was invited to teach at Chapel, but was kept from taking on the job, because she had to care for her newborn daughter. However, now that she is settled in Brazil and in her career, and her daughter is school-aged, she has reconnected with the school that her seven siblings attended. The opportunity came this year when Chapel hired her.
The change has been drastic. After teaching over 10 years as a university professor with a specialization in reproduction, she is now responsible for 7th and 9th grades, as well as IB Biology from 10th grade on. Dominique, a veterinarian who rides horses, scuba dives, plays the piano and is fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish and French, loves to teach at Chapel: "It's a lot better than I could have imagined. I didn't expect these students to be so fantastic; they are wonderful human beings."
Brazilian Social Studies teacher for 2nd to 6th grades | Lais Seta
"Reading is not a hobby; it's part of the profession I chose out of love."
"I received a warm welcome from the team, the management, and my 250 students," says Lais Seta.
Of Spanish descent, she appreciates Hispanic culture and Caribbean rhythms. She has been going to Zumba classes for a year. Zumba can be roughly described as a rhythm that mixes dance and aerobic exercises with salsa.
Historian Lais connects hobbies - the focus of this interview - with the body, movement and dance: "If you say hobby, I'll say body. For me, if it has to do with movement, then it is leisure. Yoga has been in my life for a long time, as well as running, biking and other activities."
Before getting a history degree from PUC-SP, Lais Seta earned a psychology degree there, and holds a teacher dregree in education from Instituto Singularidades. Throughout her teaching career of over 20 years, she has taught at some of the most reputable schools of São Paulo, and is now at Chapel teaching history and geography to 10 classes from 2nd to 6th grades.
She could not have a better impression of the school: "I am enraptured with the politeness, respect and affection of the children. I am very happy."
Mathematics teacher for 8th, 10th and 11th grades | Maya Walsh
Maya's math: how many goals does it take to conquer the world?
Maya teaches math to 8th, 10th and 11th grade and plans to continue studying Spanish and Portuguese so that she can get to know Brazil and other countries in Latin America.
Maya, the kid, wanted to be a soccer player. Mia Ham was her hero. The United States national team player won the award for best player in the world twice (in 2001 and 2002). Mia retired in 2004 just as Maya was beginning her career, but not as a soccer player.
The American woman from California did play soccer, and she did it well, but only as a hobby. Fate led her to study mathematics at the University of Santa Cruz. After tutoring many friends with difficulties in the subject, Maya decided to specialize in education.
She taught in California and Hawaii before she found out about Chapel at the February 2014 Job Fair in Massachusetts. Erin Thomas's presentation and her desire to get to know Latin American were more than enough for Maya to apply for the spot at Chapel. She has been in São Paulo since July and practices Crossfit at a gym close to her apartment. She is waiting for her mom and her sister to come in December so that they can visit the Brazilian coast together.
Portuguese teacher for 4th grade | Ana Inglesi
Ana, Arts and Crafts
Ana Inglesi: "I like the fact that the school considers students' social and emotional education important."
The 4th grade Portuguese writing project teacher for 3rd and 5th grades is so reserved when talking about her skills that she redirects the interviewer to an interesting game - one of detective! It is not very hard if you pay attention to the clues: degrees in Portuguese and French language and literature, and a Master’s in Education, all from the University of São Paulo. What motivated it all: "While getting my Bachelor’s degree, I fell in love with educational issues when I got to know Paulo Freire." The subject matter? Educating readers.
She is fluent in Portuguese, French, and English - the latter which she perfected during the three years she lived in New York - and has known about Chapel for a long time, but the opportunity to become a teacher there only came this year. Ana comments, with few, but well-chosen words: "I like the fact that the school considers students' social and emotional education important."
On her rare time-off ("those with young children cannot have hobbies"), the woman with a Master’s in Education dedicates herself to cake decorating and crafts, namely, scrapbooking. Ana loves to decorate cakes with fondant and make decorations for the cupcakes she bakes, although she admits that "they look better than they taste."
Pre I teacher | Mayara Del Dotto
Mayara runs with the calmness of one who knows where she wants to go
Mayara Del Dotto became a Pre I teacher at the beginning of the school year.
The new Chapel teacher that has been at the school the longest loves to run, not only for exercise, but also to chase her dreams and professional goals. Mayara Del Dotto joined the school almost five years ago as an assistant teacher. At that time, she was studying Education at the Methodist University of São Bernardo do Campo (SP). Before graduating, she lived in the US and worked as an au pair for a year to improve her English.
Encouraged by her dad, who is a veteran runner, she started practicing the sport to keep him company. Now, she has been running on the streets, on the beach and at the gym for four years. She has also participated in three mini-marathons, the shortest being 5K and the longest, 7K.
The new Pre I teacher's short-term goals are to do two other specializations – one in psychopedagogy and the other in bi-lingual instruction. She asserts that the transition to the new role was smooth, because she was already familiar with the curriculum and the teaching methods, right after which she reveals, with a beaming smile on her face, that it was a major professional accomplishment.
Regarding her work with three-year-old children, the youngest students at Chapel, Mayara tells us that the experience has been wonderful: "I am learning a lot with the kids."