Focus on a Student: Dannan Murphy

By Nadja Anderson-Oberman

 

Dannan M. in her classroom.

This school year, Lisa Pack, the fourth and fifth grade group teacher at Project Learn School (PLS) has a class of only eight kids. One of the new, younger students, Dannan Murphy, likes being in such a small class. “When there are less kids in my class, I feel  like I have more focus than when there are more kids,” Dannan commented. “With less kids, Lisa can focus more on me than she could if she had 15 other kids that also need help,” she added.

  One thing unknown about Dannan is that this isn't her first year at PLS. Dannan went to PLS in 2009, but left in 2010 to go to Greene Street Friends School. “I didn't like going to Greene Street Friends. The teachers were really strict. That’s one of the reasons that I left and came back to PLS this year (2014-2015),” Dannan said. Even though Dannan was at Greene Street Friends, her brother, Jimmy Murphy, continued to go to PLS.

  Outside of the classroom, you can often find Dannan hanging out with her friends or dancing. Dannan is currently taking jazz lessons at the Wissahickon Dance Academy. She used to be interested in ballet, but now she is more interested in jazz. She’s been dancing for about three years.

 Inside the classroom, you can find Dannan enjoying herself the most during Social Studies and Geography. Overall, she loves all of her classes. So far, she really likes Lisa’s group, and Lisa of course. Dannan loves Lisa’s classroom, and feels like it’s an ideal learning environment for her. She is happy that she decided to come back to PLS and enjoys laughing, playing, and learning with Lisa and her group.