Primary School I Program

Canterbury Brook Academy of the Arts utilizes dual-grade instructional formats through grade 6 based on best-practice data regarding elementary grade socialization, differentiation, and growth.  As such, our 1st and 2nd grade students share one, large, sunny classroom.  Our ten 1st graders and ten 2nd graders have the chance to learn and socialize flexibly, guided by their classroom teacher and full-time teacher's aide, both of whom are highly experienced and enormously well-respected in their field.  By 2nd grade, our students also join the larger CBA literacy program in a more concrete way through school-wide quarter book projects.  Our 2nd graders also begin learning cursive and making the gradual transition from learning to read to reading to learn, a critical shift in preparation for promotion to the Primary School Program.  They also begin more formal studies in the content areas.  Their arts instruction becomes gradually more focused at these grade levels, and their involvement in CBA-wide events increases as they grow.  At the end of second grade, students and families celebrate their promotion to the Primary School with a Showcase and an Ice Cream Sundae Party.  Take a look below at what a day in the life of a CBA 1st or 2nd grade student looks like:

Daily Schedule

Primary I Team

Mrs. Kate O'Connor

Kate comes from a long line of Hudson Valley educators, generations of women who have helped shape the lives children and grow a love of learning in the hearts of their
students. In the footsteps of her family, Kate has spent the nearly twenty years of her career striving each day to ensure that her students leave the classroom a little happier than how they arrive each morning. Mixing love with high expectations, she possesses a unique ability to maintain excellence in academics and plenty of opportunities for laughter, creativity, and adventure.
The mother of three beautiful children, she is acutely aware that all children learn differently and believes firmly in giving each child the space they need to grow and the
support they need to reach their own goals.

Ms. Katie Paniccia

Ms. Katie Paniccia, a native of Albany, NY, graduated from SUNY Potsdam with Bachelors Degrees in both Theatre and Childhood Education, and then earned her MS in Elementary Education with a concentration in Reading and Literacy from SUNY New Paltz. Ms. Paniccia has since resided in the Ulster/Dutchess County area, continuing to pursue her passions in teaching and performing, while integrating arts education in the classroom.  Growing up in the Albany area, Katie was involved in numerous artistic and theatrical productions and knows from first hand experience what the arts can do for a child’s academic and social-emotional growth. Over the course of many years, theatre has become a lifelong passion of hers, along with working with children in various settings with many different learning styles. She firmly believes that exposure to the performing and creative arts increases academic achievement. In combining her two passions, Katie enjoys incorporating elements of theatre in the classroom, while teaching students lifelong literacy and SEL skills.  Ms. Paniccia hopes to inspire her students to love learning and to develop self-confidence, while demonstrating kindness and respect for others within their community. She strongly believes in encouraging students to reach their full potential and to become lifelong learners. Ms. Paniccia also believes in the importance of incorporating multicultural lessons in her classroom to celebrate diversity. She is excited to meet her students this fall and is looking forward to a very positive and rewarding school year!