Kindergarten teachers Claudie Baptiste and Wilda Randolph nominated one special volunteer who had become an integral part of their classroom with over seven years of faithful service. That volunteer, Terry Hackford, shared her passion for the arts, the written word and so much more with their Kindergarten students in K101.
Terry came to volunteering after retiring from a thirty-year career in publishing as a senior editor with Little, Brown and Company. Cambridge School Volunteers offered Terry an opportunity to get involved with a new, creative community in retirement. As an Early Literacy Volunteer with CSV, Terry would now discover the adventurous world of kindergarten.
Terry is known for a special project that happens every year called “Myself and Others.” She works with small groups of students to help each student to learn how to draw a partner. First, students learn how to observe their partner’s features, such as location of the eyes and nose. In art as in writing,Terry encourages students to look closely and notice (the finer) details. She asks them to use their power of observation to find features that are distinctive to capture.
At the project’s end, she holds the portraits up for students to guess who it is. The parents & families, who see the finished work at a breakfast in April, are always amazed at how the students can capture a likeness.
Terry has enormous respect for Claudie and Wilda for the world that they create in K101. And she’s moved by the warmth, heart, compassion and humor that they foster in the classroom.
Claudie knows that Terry loves the kids, and they love their time with her. She is responsible, reliable and creative in her volunteer role.
Unfortunately, this will be Terry’s last year volunteering at G&P because of a move out of state. We thank Terry, for inspiring many young artists and authors at the Graham and Parks School over the past seven years. She was honored for her commitment with a 2019 Mack I. Davis II Award.