Thomas Mifflin School

Teacher of the month, Ms Nicole Boyd.

In our effort to get the East Falls Community more acquainted with the Thomas Mifflin School in our neighborhood we at the Friends of Mifflin are endeavoring to bring to you not only stories of some of the great things going on inside the school but also stories of the great people that are working really hard to

make the it one of the top schools in the area.  

    This month we are going to be highlighting the story of Ms. Nicole Boyd.  Ms. Boyd is one of the third grade teachers at Thomas Mifflin School. This is her eighth year at the school. In all, she has been with the Philadelphia School district for 18 years. (talk about longevity and dedication!)  She received her undergraduate degree at Bloomsburg University in Elementary Education. Her Master's in Elementary Education was earned at Cabrini College with a speciality in Reading. She is also a certified Reading Specialist in the state of Pennsylvania.

    Talking to her, you will quickly realize how proud and appreciative she is to be working at the Thomas Mifflin School. She will tell you how "I consider Thomas Mifflin as my second family, and like many other teachers here, spend many early mornings and evenings at our 'home away from home'."  Her husband is also a Philadelphia school educator and along with their three sons, maintain the importance of a good education. With the help of the school community, last year her class scored the highest in the school on the PSSA assessment. In addition, they also scored in the top echelon, as one of the highest third grade classes in the Northwest region of the city.  When asked why she enjoys teaching at the Thomas Mifflin school she said: "I love teaching at Thomas Mifflin school because it is such a caring community. It gives me the opportunity to foster a love of learning to all 'my' kids. Because it is a pre K - 8 school, I get to watch them grow into such wonderfully engaged young men and women. I have the opportunity to have my previous students mentor and tutor my current ones. They truly get to visualize how education can come full circle. That is why Thomas Mifflin is so endearing and special to me. "

    Ms. Boyd likes to point out that it is the support of the Friends of Mifflin, and the community partners like Philadelphia University, and East Falls Tree Tenders, that the Mifflin School enjoys a myriad of programs and trips to continue their educational journey outside of the classroom. The students learning experiences have flourished with these opportunities and are so fortunate to have such a special relationship with those in and around the East Falls area. She would like to invite anyone who is curious to come and visit the school and see for yourselves, just how great Thomas Mifflin really is. She has fallen in love with the school and knows you will too!

Thomas Mifflin School, Meet the teachers!

Each month we are profiling one of the hard working teachers of the Thomas Mifflin School.

This month we are highlighting the story of Mr Silvino Alexander, who is the Art teacher at the Thomas Mifflin School.

Mr Alexander has been with the School District of Philadelphia for the past 4 years, the last 2 of which he has spent at the Thomas Mifflin School. Although he has taught at two other schools in the district he will readily tell you that Mifflin has been, by far, the best school. He feels that the students here really care about learning and the staff of educators are just about as good as they come.

He is originally from The Bronx in New York. He has been living in the Philadelphia area for the past 18 years.  He is married and has two children, ages 9 and 13.  He is currently attending St Joseph's University in pursuit of his doctorate in Educational Leadership. He is presently writing his dissertation, and will hopefully be finishing up some time next year.

Last year he was working with the students introducing them to various forms of drawing techniques and principles.  Being as it was his first year working with the students at Thomas Mifflin, he was not sure of the artistic skill levels that the children possessed. This year he tells us that he is building on the lessons they learned last year by pushing their artistic ability to a higher level.  For example, last year they learned one-point perspective drawing, so this year they will be learning two-point and three-point drawing. Also, last year the students learned about hieroglyphic design principles, and created their own hieroglyphic drawings. This year they will be making a hieroglyphic cartouche out of clay.  He is a big supporter of cooperative education, as such, he tries to have older students help in the art room with the younger students.  This year he wants to facilitate a couple of cooperative education projects with the students:

1. Collaborate with the first grade teachers and have the first graders write their own stories once they learn how to write at a proficient level and then have the 7th or 8th graders illustrate their stories to create their own books.

2. Collaborate with Mr Frascenelli (8th grade teacher) on a science project, where the 7th graders create their own volcano models using bolsa wood and clay and then creating actual elements of a volcano in science class.  

3. Having the 6th graders create an Art of Literacy project where they use one of two writing prompts "Where I am From" or "Monster in my Closet", and write a poem or a short story. Then they will have to draw an illustration to the writing piece to create an illustrative journal.

Mr Alexander is also working with Mrs. Della Buono (the 6th grade teacher) on trying to get another grant through the Picasso Project so the students can put on two shows (winter and spring) for the school.  They are in the process of finding a local playwright and completing the grant application. He is looking forward to a productive year in the art class.  He is happy in knowing that the knowledge the students gain in art this year will help them be better students in their other academic subjects. 

Thomas Mifflin School, Meet the teachers!

Stacey Dello Buono

    Ms Dello Buono has been at the Thomas Mifflin school for 12 years teaching the middle grade students.

She presently teaches the 6th grade Language Arts and Social Studies. She serves as Literacy Chair for the Leadership Team, and as the RTII Champion. RTII is an early intervening support process where the goal is to improve student achievement using research based interventions m

atched to their instructional need.

    Besides her "day job" of teaching the 6th grade she is also very busy with many other programs at the school.  She coordinates several programs/events at Mifflin including MyCoke Rewards, Candy Grams fundraiser, and Yearbook. MyCoke Rewards is a program where the school can get sports equipment by students collecting lids from Coke products. She has piloted the Odyssey of the Mind program in the school, sponsored the yearbook/news club, and just this year has launched the theater club.  Odyssey of the Mind is a program that is nationwide.  Schools assemble a team of problem solvers.  Teams are given a few choices of categories and present at a competition at the end of the year.  The team she led won first place for building a vehicle (human powered) to collect recyclables from the play yard.  

    The Theater Club's first performance was the 2013 winter show.  Students chose a movie (Nightmare before Christmas), they wrote a script, and made adjustments to eliminate the "holiday" message.  They created a program that all students could participate in "The Nightmare in Candyland", which was a big success.  

Stacey is a wife and mother of 4 (2 in college, 1 middle school, and 1 elementary)

Before becoming a teacher she worked as a manager of a beauty salon in the Court at King of Prussia.  She earned her teacher's license in cosmetology and wanted to teach at a public vocational school. While attending college to get her associates degree, needed to achieve that goal, she decided to teach elementary school. She and her husband worked to put themselves through college.  She worked as an executive secretary to the CEO of a company that built windows for heavy machinery in the daytime and attended Drexel University at night.

She earned her Associate of Arts in Secondary Education from Montgomery County Community College, Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from Drexel, and Master of Arts in Special Education from LaSalle University.

She is certified in elementary K-8, Middle grades Social Studies, K-12 Special Education, and holds a special certificate for teaching students with Autism (this is a new program in education).

    Ms Dello Buono recently wrote a proposal for the Picasso Project and the school received a $4500.00 grant for a spring endeavor entitled "The Cinderella Project".  The students will study the many cultural Cinderella stories from around the world and discuss the underlying bullying issue within them.  The culminating performances will be in June. The project is also a collaboration with the art teacher, Mr. Alexander to create a calendar promoting awareness of the need for arts in education.     

In her spare time she enjoys gardening (supplying her overflowing abundance of crops to Mifflin in the fall), learning new recipes for her fresh vegetables, photography and scrapbooking, fashion, running and yoga.  

    A great moment that she will always treasure was when a former student, who had struggled while at Mifflin, came back to show her his first college transcript and tell her that it's because she expected him to go to college.  Her hope is that students learn how to be successful learners because we never stop learning.  Knowing how to manage their responsibilities as a student/learner will help them follow any path in the future.

Thomas Mifflin School, Meet the Teachers!

Ms Trina Dean

    As a 4th grade teacher, Ms Trina Dean, teaches all of the major subjects - Math, Reading, Writing, Science and Social Studies.  She tells us that: "fourth grade is such a great age group. They are really able to do many things on their own as far as academics and apply what they are learning to solve real world problems." She is in the process of putting the finishing touches on an End of Year Project termed the "Pennsylvania Project" which is an interdisciplinary project where students will be required to use the writing and research skills learned throughout the year, along their knowledge of PA (which is their 4th grade Social Studies Curriculum).  They are working really hard reviewing and getting ready for the upcoming PSSA testing. They are also preparing for our upcoming Black History Program, where her students have been researching important civil rights events from 1964.

    Trina Dean has been a teacher with the School District of Philadelphia for the past 5 years, however this is her first year teaching at the Thomas Mifflin School. She currently teaches fourth grade. She likes to tell the story of when she walked through the doors to tour the school. What first struck her was the fact that Ms. Mason spoke to every student they passed in the hallway and addressed each one by name. Watching the students and teachers go about their daily routines, and the overall feeling that she got as she walked through made me realize that she wanted to be a part of this school community. Now that she is, she couldn't be happier.  She finds that the students and staff are amazing! 

    Teaching is actually her second career.  She received her Bachelor's degree in Finance from Drexel University.  Prior to becoming a teacher, she worked not too far away at the Department of Veterans Affairs on Wissahickon Ave.  She tells how it was a wonderful place to work, as she loved helping our Veterans, but she had wanted to teach since she was very young.  It just took her longer to realize that it was her passion.  She decided to return to Drexel where she received her Master's degree in Elementary Education.  She also holds an ESL (English as a Second Language) Certification from Penn State University. She loves to learn and is often enrolled in continuing education classes to become better for her students.  She says with enthusiasm; "they deserve the best"!

    Her philosophy is simple - she believes that all children can learn and achieve at high levels if they are provided the necessary tools to do so.  Teaching inspires me, she says.  She is afforded the opportunity to shape minds!  She has the ability to help students see things differently and there is nothing more rewarding than seeing the light bulb go off for a student! 

    She was born and raised in Philadelphia and was educated right here.  She attended Mitchell Elementary School, Tilden Middle School and Overbrook High School.

    She is married with two children - a high schooler and a toddler!  In her spare time she loves spending time with them, cooking, and reading.  She is also very involved with her church, where she serves on several ministries, including Bible Study teacher, Director of the Youth Choir and Co-Chair of a teen group where they get together to discuss issues facing teen girls.