Tyrone High School teacher Beth Cannistraci got a little magical help teaching her sophomore biology classes this holiday season.
Christmas Elf Rosiland Marie, or Roz for short, made her annual appearance in Cannistraci’s classroom in December and spent the month helping her students learn biology.
Roz first showed up in Cannastraci’s classroom last year, mainly as an observer. But with a year’s experience under her elf-belt, Roz returned this year to help students understand some tricky biology concepts.
“I enjoyed myself so much last year that I decided to come back. I just wanted to add a little cheer to the biology curriculum,” Roz told the Eagle Eye in an exclusive interview.
Roz isn’t your average Elf on the Shelf. Named after two famous scientists, Rosalind Franklin, a biophysicist who discovered DNA, and Marie Curie, a physicist and chemist who won the Nobel Prize for her research on radiation, Roz is an expert in biology and chemistry.
Cannistraci said she invited Roz to her class to help make the learning experience and overall environment of her classroom a little more festive and fun for students over the holidays.
“Biology is a challenging topic, and with the additional stress of being a Keystone-tested subject, Santa decided to send an elf to our room to help bring some holiday cheer,” Cannistraci said.
But Roz isn’t all business, she also brings a little chaos to her learning activities.
“She did help with lessons, but she was also caught eating cereal with a mortar and pestle, so sometimes she gets in trouble,” Cannistraci said.
Despite her “issues,” this year Roz tackled buoyancy in a hot air balloon, tried to transport through the cell membrane to the Bahamas, dissected a frog model, and built some “sweet” biological macromolecules using candy.
Students seemed to love Roz and are already missing her.
“Roz always brings something fun to the classroom and something to look forward to every day. I think that Roz being a part of the classroom brings up the mood because we all enjoy coming in to see where she is and what she has to say on the cards. She’s definitely a fun addition to bringing the Christmas spirit to the classroom as well,” sophomore Lydia Merideth said.
According to Cannistraci, Roz was called back to the North Pole after Christmas, but she is invited to return next December to help a new group of students.
“I’ve got some big plans for next year. I can’t wait to come back,” Roz said.
