Ms Wakana knew from her first school experience, when a teacher profoundly influenced her life in Kindergarten, that she wanted to be a teacher. After high school, she moved from her hometown of Kumamoto, Japan to Melbourne, Australia to pursue her dream. Upon earning her Bachelor’s degree in early childhood and elementary education from Australian Catholic University, she decided that it was time for her to go back home. She began her career in education at an international school in Hyogo, Japan where she taught kindergarten in both English and Japanese for two years. When Ms Wakana moved to Clovis, New Mexico in 2018, she continued as a classroom teacher in Kindergarten and Second Grade at a local public school. She was excited to move to Maryland and join Silver Oaks Cooperative School!
Throughout her career, Ms Wakana has fostered the belief that the individual child thrives in a classroom when seen, heard, and loved by their teacher. She strives to nurturing and inspiring learning in her students, and also working closely with their families. Ms Wakana enjoys sharing her culture and traditions and learning from others about theirs. She also loves reading good books and taking her dog out for a walk. For this special occasion, Ms Wakana answered some of our burning questions!
Ms Wakana, what is your favorite book..? Anything that is written by Mo Willems and Dan Santat!
And what is your favorite food..? Lasagna, chocolate, sushi, and coffee…
Ms Wanana, what is your favorite color..? Blue!
Are you a dog person or cat person? I have been a dog person since I was a child. But when I adopted a cat, I became a cat person, too!
Is there anything about outdoor teaching that you did not expect? Outdoor teaching and learning turned out to be so much more fun than I thought it would be. It has been a wonderful experience to be surrounded by trees and nature while teaching my students.
What is your favorite thing about SOCS? I love the way SOCS incorporates games in all subject areas. It makes learning exciting for my students and fun for me to teach!