K Teachers
Mary Virginia Bunker
Kindergarten Teacher
A born and bred storyteller, Mary Virginia fills the days of her students with mythic lessons taken from folktale and legend. Inspired by Joseph Campbell’s work describing the cultural basis of the hero’s journey through myth and folklore, she believes it is through learning ancient stories that truths of personal power, justice, and interpersonal understanding are embodied. Mary Virginia is a founding teacher and was instrumental in creating (and continues to be instrumental in holding) the vision for Odyssey’s unique approach to education.
Mary Virginia passionately enjoys teaching at Odyssey, guiding her young students to see purpose and meaning in their academic lessons, celebrating their shifts in understanding, and helping them learn how to manage their energies, through imaginative play, social skills and the developmental tasks related to academics.
A graduate of Loyola College of Maryland (Bachelor of Elementary Education) with graduate-level work in special education, Mary Virginia has also earned a Masters of Appalachian Studies from Appalachian State and a Masters of Library and Information Science from UNCG. In 2011, she completed a post-master’s level CASE (Advanced Study in Education) degree from the Notre Dame of Maryland University.
Shirley Rotolo
Kindergarten Teacher
Shirley Rotolo has been teaching for the last 18 years and has been part of the Odyssey community for almost seven years. Shirley has several degrees in early education and is a graduate of Western Carolina University. She has been involved in diversity programs such as Building Bridges and Cultural Competence Awareness, and has also taken the Young Hispanic Dual Language Learners Achievement class. Shirley is also an accomplished visual artist with a particular interest in Chinese painting.
Although originally raised in New York City, Shirley has an international background and speaks several languages. Shirley loves to share her experiences from living and traveling in France, Italy, Amsterdam, Montreal, Canada, and the Caribbean Islands in the classroom! In fact, she also teaches French to students from Pre-K through third grade in after school!
In her spare time Shirley loves to explore the different lakes and mountains of Western Carolina with her family. She is an avid reader and reads everything from the classics to fantasy, biographies to sci-fi.
Shirley loves working with kindergarten students and looks forward to sharing her rich, diverse background with them through a calm, effective environment that allows student to learn, explore, and develop.
Current News & Events
Our Business Manager and extraordinary human @herby.knitter inspired us to make violet syrup this weekend. 💜 Odyssey faculty, staff, parents, and students are staying connected in beautiful ways this spring. 🌱 How was your weekend? #stayconnected #stayhome #stayhealthy #violets #makestuff #kidsofinstagram #integraleducation #holisticeducation #naturalbeauty #weekendvibes #spring #lifeinthetimeofcorona #asheville #ashevillenc #kidsgrowbetteroutside
We love you! 🤗 This message from our kindergarten teacher inspired a spontaneous tv hug from one of her students. We’re so glad her mom captured this moment to share. 🥰 We hope you can hug the ones you love - virtually or in quarantine together - and share the joy this weekend while staying home and staying healthy. ☀️ #stayhealthy #stayhome #virtualhug #virtuallearning #kindergarten #k12 #asheville #integraleducation #holisticeducation #emotionalliteracy #teachersofinstagram #remotelearning #remoteodyssey #onlineodyssey #odysseyspirit #happyfriday #lifeinthetimeofcorona
Today, high school math teacher @little.yost led us in our first remote meeting Best Practice presentation! We wrote mathy poetry and were reminded to celebrate how often we teach from a place of “best.” #strongertogether #bestpractices #teachersofinstagram #theloveliest #remotelearning #remotework #stayconnected #stayhome #inspire #collaborate #writepoetry #integraleducation #k12 #asheville #ashevillenc #onlineodyssey #holisticeducation #mathteacher #emotionalliteracy #lifeinthetimeofcorona
Today, our 7th grade language arts class hosted three real live “Atticus” lawyers who work or have worked in the criminal justice system around the country. We used Zoom to have a panel discussion about the discrimination present in today’s world, the glimmers of hope or “baby steps” (as Miss Maudie would say) of progress, and the ways culture, institutions, and individuals interact to create just or unjust outcomes. Big thanks to our panelists with big hearts 👩🏻💻👩🏼💻👨🏻💻(@alrollins000 / Dennis, @hillsmissme, Allison) for helping us better understand our world and our reading of #tokillamockingbird ❤️ #seventhgrade #languagearts #integraleducation #remotelearning #remoteodyssey #onlineodyssey #lawyersofinstagram #socialjustice while #socialdistancing
Coach Carly! Look at that motivating face! We are working to find the balance of online learning with physical exercise and time outside. 🌳🏋🏽♂️Also, Loom is a great teaching tool! #getmotivated #moveyourbody #physed #welovecoachcarly #hashtagforyourteacher #teachersofinstagram #remotelearning #remoteodyssey #onlineodyssey #integraleducation #k12 #fourthgrade #asheville #ashevillenc
This remote hip hop dance lesson video intro from @therealaquaboogy is so sweet. We are loving all the ways our community is staying connected; the way our teachers are keeping students engaged, moving, and creative; the way parents are supporting their kids and cheering on our teachers; and all while we’re figuring out how to live in this new world order and breathe through the weight of change. 💃🏻 Don’t forget to dance. #dance #dancersofinstagram #hiphop #middleschool #k12 #remotelearning #himom #lifeinthetimeofcorona #integraleducation #creative #collaborative #learningcommunity #asheville #ashevillenc #remoteodyssey #onlineodyssey
Look at this sweet #remoteschool set up! Morning Meetings help us stay connected. 💖 #thirdgradeteacher #thirdgrade #morningroutine #morningmeeting #remotework #positivediscipline #classmeeting #stayconnected #lifeinthetimeofcorona #integraleducation #k12 #asheville #ashevillenc #remoteodyssey #onlineodyssey
Those are three hilariously befuddled faces. We’re doing a lot of planning and tech tool training today to prepare for our first day of remote classes tomorrow! 💻😷 We are so grateful for resilient, brilliant faculty who pivoted on a dime and did lightening fast research; grateful for an understanding and supportive parent community; and can’t wait to see our students’ faces again tomorrow when we launch! 🚀 Let’s do this thing! #teachersofinstagram #zoom #remotelearning #remotework #technology #coronaschool #asheville #ashevillenc #k12 @thatsxelantscience #remoteodyssey #onlineodyssey
A little metta loving kindness for your Friday evening ❤️ #community #communityprayer #mettameditation #asheville #global #k12 #integraleducation
Our kindergarten students shared their independent research projects today! From knucker dragons (who, I learned, are only somewhat ferocious) to robots, students shared their passions and hard won knowledge with big kids, parents, and faculty, completing their hero’s journey in academic inquiry. 🐉 🤖 #kindergarten #dontunderestimateme #herosjourney #research #individuality #dragons #dragoneggs #integraleducation #creative #independent #projectbasedlearning #k12 #ashevillenc #asheville
Kindergarten Teachers
Featured Student Work
