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 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
Check out this poppin’ 3D bulletin board displaying summer reading projects designed to get kids engaged in reading in creative ways! 🔨📚📝📖✂️🖍🌟 #bulletinboardsofinstagram #reading #thirdgrade #fourthgrade #3d #bulletinboards #creative #integral #teachers #k12 #asheville #ashevillenc #integral #education #readingismagic
Parents getting oriented! 🦉 #schooliscool #weloveourfamilies #welcomeback #backtoschool2019 #backtoschool #parenting #ashevilleparents #parentorientation #integral #education #creative #collaborative #community #prek #k12 #asheville #ashevillenc
😍 One of our Executive Directors just purchased this gorgeous vase to support our PreK program. It was made by our uber talented teachers! Have we told you how talented our teachers are?! 🌺 You can buy one for yourself or pick up some delicious coffee and baked goods every Friday morning on campus! ☕️ 🥐 #vases #flowers #deskcandy #beautyonyourdesk #supportus #prek #prekteachers #teachersofinstagram #talentedartist #integraleducation #wholeself #creative #collaboration #education #asheville #ashevillenc #school #ceramics #handmadewithlove #clay
Happy First Day of School! 🌈🎒 #teachersofinstagram #teachermusic #music #firstdayofschool #k12 #prek #integral #creative #collaborative #school #asheville #community
T-2 hours until our first Welcome Back Party starts! Can’t wait to see everyone on campus this afternoon and tonight! #excitedteachers #teachersofinstagram #weloveyou #backtoschool #ashevillenc #asheville #k12 #prek #schooliscool #welcomeback #backtoschool2019
As part of Faculty Orientation, we take an Expedition Day to learn by doing, play, and connect. This year, we had a contra dancing workshop and Pad Thai cooking lesson. We contemplated the Integral model and our relationship with competence, confusion, and comfort zones. . . . #learnbydoing #workhardplayhard #teachersofinstagram #contradance #cooking #farmhouseliving #dance #padthai #contemplation #competence #expedition #lifelonglearning #teachers #ashevillenc #integraleducation #collaboration #beautifulviews #beautifulpeople
We begin every morning of Faculty Orientation with centering. This morning our PreK teachers led us through the sweetest activities - learning our letters through dance, practicing our unicorn breath, and listening to an original story (that will become a children’s book created by our teachers 🤩)... we were joined by this little special guest who’s counting down the days (okay, years) until he can join this classroom! . . . #prek #prekindergarten #asheville #ashevillenc #k12 #integraleducation #schooliscool #getcentered #findyourcenter #learntogether #playtogether #theletterh #littlechairs #weloveourteachers
Today, teachers did yoga, searched for treasures, set goals, posed for pictures, and started the epic journey that is Faculty Orientation! The 2019-2020 odyssey begins! 🌼 #weloveourteachers #weloveschool #orientation #faculty #backtoschool #portraitphotography #goals #getoutside #integraleducation #integral #teaching #asheville #ashevillenc #k12
Racing kid-designed, kid-made cars in their engineering class at camp! We’ve had a great summer swimming, creating, and playing! Thanks to all our sweet counselors, junior counselors, and of course, our camp families for a great season! Happy last week of camp! ☀️ #whatsummershouldbe #summercamp2019 #swim #play #make #getoutside #racecars #asheville #ashevillenc #summer
Today we spent time in the studio recording the pilot episode of our new podcast!🎙Stay tuned for details! #podcast #radio #recordingstudio #education #integraleducation #k12 #ashevillenc #speakintothemic #leadership #directorsdirecting
Kindergarten Teachers
Featured Student Work
