Is leaving school feeling exasperated and grumpy your new norm?  Have you noticed your students acting like islands of one instead of like a community of learners?  Does the thought of incorporating SEL leave you feeling burned out, overwhelmed, and concerned about falling behind your curriculum?  This workshop can help!  Participants will explore simple, straightforward strategies to authentically incorporate SEL tasks into your current practice – all without the stress of adding one more thing to your plate.  Things feel different in the post-pandemic classroom, and the strategies presented will help to promote a happier, more connected classroom.  We want our students to feel good when they leave our class through the positive interactions they have with each other in the target language.  Participants should expect to experience strategies, reflect on how they fit into your current practice, and leave prepared to implement them in your very next lesson! You’ll also leave with editable templates and handouts to help you build a deeper and stronger sense of community! Join us to re-energize your practice and enjoy your time with your students again!

Jenna Cesario has been teaching French to Novice-level Middle Schoolers in New Jersey public schools for 11 years. She is passionate about curriculum development and design, and uses her varied and extensive training to create dynamic and contemporary thematic units that give her students the necessary tools for long-lasting linguistic competence.  Her careful attention to creating comprehensible and interactive lessons invites her students to take ownership of their language study, instills a love of language learning, and provides them with the skills and confidence necessary to attain higher levels of proficiency. Jenna holds two Master’s degrees from Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Education (2012) and TCNJ (2019). She is currently teaching at Columbia Middle School in Berkeley Heights, NJ.

Krista Horvath is a 2011 graduate of Rutgers University School of Arts and Sciences with a bachelor’s degree in Italian. She completed the Graduate School of Education’s 5-year program with her Master’s degree in World Language Education. After teaching high school Italian and ESL for a few years, she obtained an additional Master’s degree from TCNJ with a concentration in Classroom Environment and Classroom Management. She has been teaching high school Italian, ESL, and Tomorrow’s Teachers (an upper level career readiness elective) for 11 years and is currently teaching at Ridge High School in Basking Ridge, NJ.  She has presented professional development workshops at a variety of conferences, including ITANJ, FLENJ, and NECTFL. We do not use social media accounts in a professional capacity.