SCHOOL YEAR 2017 - 2018
TATAMAGOUCH ELEMENTARY
Mrs. Lockerby – grade 5. "The interaction was positive, the kids were captivated and engaged. The pace was grade appropriate. Kids wanted to read all the books. Costumes were a great touch to spark interest. Well done. Enjoyed the presentation." Ms. Lanking/Mr. Smith – grade 3. "Geraldine, what an absolutely, fantastic presentation! The kids were engaged, and I had a number who were excited to dive onto your books. Thank-you, thank-you." Mrs. MacKeen – grade 6. "Great enthusiasm on your behalf. Great tips for writing for both kids and teachers. Also, great props and great explanation of the Halifax Explosion. Thorough!! After 45 minutes the boys got restless. Perhaps read more from the other books. Great to see pictures of what things looked like in 1917. Thank-you for your inspiration. I think I’d like to write books for smaller kids." Ms. Morgan – grade 3/4. "I loved how you had the students moving around and dressing up as characters from the novels. It was great for the students to visualize and feel like part of the book. Drawing a map on the awesome scroll paper was lovely. Thank-you." Mrs. Blaikie – grade 4/5. "An engaging and lively presentation which captivated the attention of the children. The use of props and age appropriate content & vocabulary ensured the children enjoyed the talk. Thank-you." HANTSPORT SCHOOL (I was asked to return. This is a 2nd visit) Marie Doucet & Heather Babin – grade 4/5. "Another wonderful presentation. Thank-you for being so flexible and accommodating my XL class. Your presentation was very relevant and so engaging! Thank-you so much. Jenna Warren – grade 6. Thanks for giving such detailed historical content to the Halifax Explosion and your book. The photos in your Power Point really helped the students stay engaged and visualize the severity of the event." WOLFVILLE SCHOOL Beliveau – grade 3/4. "A great presentation. Lots of variety and good audience participation from the kids. Loved how it relates to your writing." Balcom – "Excellent job. Very age appropriate. Students were engaged. Lots of useful vocabulary." MacLeod – grade 5/6. "Wonderful activity and exploration of historical fiction. Students were very engaged. We will use it as a starting point for our historical fiction unit in January. Many students are anxious to start reading the series. Black and white photos brought it all to life." |
FOREST RIDGE ACADEMY
Debbie Gregory – grade 3. "The story telling and dress-up was a good idea. Obviously, Geraldine is used to classes of children. Well prepared." Willis – grade 5. "Great presentation. I really liked your displays and how you involved the children." Scott – grade 4. "Awesome! You engaged the children in your presentation by allowing them to participate. Well Done!" Stoddard – Grade 6. "Students can relate to your personal experiences. Leads well into historical fiction unit they will do later this year. Good strategies for how to write stories and do research. Informative and interesting." A.G. BALLIE SCHOOL Mr. Burchett – grade 5/6. "Great job. Lots of connections and examples for the students. Power Point very relevant. Nice exert read from book. Time flies when students are engaged. Thank-you." Mrs. Power - grade 6. "Excellent. Thank-you very much! I enjoyed this and could tell the students did too. The old photos were every interesting to see. Hard to recommend anything. Perhaps explain the meaning of the word, ‘marauder’, at the beginning." Mrs. Gordon – grade 5/6. "Wonderful presentation, very engaging for the students! Lots of authentic connections. Very receptive to students’ questions." MICHAEL WALLACE SCHOOL Ms. Coskun – grade 3/4. "Loved the way you used costumes to engage the students, Very effective! I suspect many of the students will be putting your boks on their Christmas wish list." Timothy Stickings – grade 4/5. "Very interactive. The students loved the story telling and roll playing. Could include more information about your own writing process." HILDEN ELEMENTARY Mrs. Gelinas – grade 3/4. "Good to dress up students. Fun, creative activity with paper treasure maps. Would love you to read more throughout the presentation." Ms. R. Levangie – grade 4/5. "Very interactive with students. You honour students’ opinions, background, knowledge and stories well. My students love prompts, so you were able to really catch their attention. The map was engaging and will be a great starting point for tomorrow’s writing." Mr. Richards – grade 6. "Preview of books, involvement of students and the use of costumes was a good idea. It was nice to hear an exert from the books. The presentation is a link to our present Halifax Explosion assignment." |
SCHOOL YEAR 2016 - 2017
NORTH QUEENS ELEMENTARY
Kelly Brogan – grade 2/3. "A little guy in my class said, “We should do this all again tomorrow!” His comment says it all. Both myself and the grade 2/3 teacher enjoyed your presentation. Our only complaint-the time was too short. We both will be recommending your presentation." KINGS COUNTY ACADEMY Conway Shaw – grade 5. "Students wanted more of the stories read. They really enjoyed hearing you read from your novels." Mrs. Caitlin Mitchell & Mr. Adar West – "What a fantastic presentation! Very engaging for the kids. They thoroughly enjoyed dressing up and participating. I’m sure your books will go quickly from the library. It was great to see you use the language our kids hear in the classroom. You sued it to explain your career i.e. genre, descriptive language, writing tools." Gisele Caron – grade 5. "Fantastic presentation! Excellent balance between audience participation, oral reading and author’s personal writing experience. Love the dramatic reading. You had the students on the edge of their chair. I’m certain you have several wanting to read your series. The presentation was very age appropriate. Thank-you." ASPOTOGAN ELEMENTARY Martha Demone – grades 3/4. "I really enjoyed the engaging presentation. My students loved bringing the characters to life in costume. The writing tips really helped them get ideas." GASPEREAU ELEMENTARY Mrs. Croft – grade 4. "Books should be a NY Times best seller. She is good at story telling and giving details. True facts but still fiction. Amazing writer and wonderful presentation. Fun and funny to dress up in costumes. Good at reading, uses expression and enthusiasm, so maybe she can record herself. Mrs. Akin – grade 3. "I loved how you used the props and involved the kids by having them become the characters. The display was also a good way to catch their attention. Great job! Passing around real objects and bringing the story ‘alive’ are smart ways to keep students interested. Thank-you." Wanda Whiston – classroom TA, grade 5. "Very interesting, entertaining and informative. The children seemed very interested and all wanted to participate. Well presented. Thank-you." SHATFORD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Victoria Coolen – grade 3/4 . "Excellent presentation and display. The students loved dressing up. Exciting stories! Thank-you." |
PICTOU ELEMENTARY
Ann Marie Munro, grade 5. "Good classroom control-waiting for students to listen. Good to involve the students with a dress-up. You had them engaged. It was an excellent presentation for my group is not an easy group and you had them engaged. Keep doing what you’re doing." Grade 3, "Having costumes for the kids really brought the characters to life. Kids really enjoyed it!" TRURO ELEMENTARY – grades 3 to 5 Teacher – "Good crowd control. Props are engaging. Nice tone and voice volume." Teacher – "Loved how you made it interactive for the students. Don’t change anything! Thanks for coming to our school." Teacher – "I liked how you mentioned revising. Costumes were great, they brought characters to life. Speak a bit louder. Very engaging & interesting. Excellent." Teacher – "Loved how students were able to interact to get a visual of the characters." Teacher – "Wonderful connection with students. The language level is easy for them to understand. Very motivating. Children were very engaged and focused the whole time. This presentation was very enjoyable." HANTSPORT SCHOOL Carla MacPherson – grade 1/2. "You did a great job adjusting your presentation to this younger audience. The presentation today was amazing. Great to see all the props and have students engaged in dressing up as some of the characters in the stories. It was amazing when you read aloud parts of the story and had them create maps while you explained parts of the story that may have been difficult for them to comprehend. This presentation was one of the best I have experienced with this grade level. The students’ attention was captured throughout the whole presentation." Marie Doucette & Heather Babin – grade 4/5. "Fantastic presentation! I can tell my students loved every minute. Thank-you." Bill Hines – grade 3/4. "Excellent presentation! You had the kids from the beginning. Looking forward to reading your books." WEST NORTHFIELD ELEMENTARY Mr. Atherton – grade 5/6. "Mrs. Tuck was so engaging with the students. I loved how she had volunteers dress up in costume like characters in her novels. She is a wonderful presenter." Mr. Millett – grade 6. "Loved it! Your pace and interaction with the students was excellent." Teacher - "Very engaging, great pace and loved the costumes. Stories about the past captured their imaginations. They will want to read your books. I need to get them for my class library. Great activity for adding detail, show not tell. Thank-you." Teacher – "Excellent. Kept the students on the edge of their seats wanting more." |