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Meet Mrs. Griffin
Click to view photos
Welcome to Griffin’s Great Brains…a Target classroom serving third, fourth and fifth grade gifted students! My name is Carolyn Griffin, and this year marks my 8th year as a Target teacher, my sixteenth year at Mt. Bethel and my twenty-seventh year of teaching…all in Cobb County! I have been a Cobb County resident for quite some time, as I attended Mt. Bethel Elementary, Dickerson Middle School and Walton High School.
I believe that the relationship I have with my students is of highest importance and is ultimately my top priority each day because it is crucial to their development and success. My classroom is an environment that is brain-based, calm, safe and unthreatening, where students feel comfortable taking academic risks; and thus, learning becomes personalized, meaningful and enjoyable. In having been granted the privilege of teaching each of the young people who cross my threshold each year, I am also granted the huge responsibility of, not only teaching academic and affective standards, but also striving to be the most positive, caring, influential, inspirational and encouraging role model that I can possibly be. My ultimate goal…to foster the love of learning in each of my students and inspire them to become life-long learners who pursue their dreams with a passion.
Growing Up
I was born in Massachusetts and lived in Maine and New Hampshire before moving south to Georgia in 1978. I was very sports-oriented as a child and was a tennis player, soccer player and a member of the swim team as far back as I can remember. During my years in high school, I played soccer and swam for Walton. Competing in the IM and butterfly races were among my favorite swimming events. I have one younger brother named Michael, who was a drummer in the Walton Marching Band throughout high school. He now lives with his wife and nine year old daughter in Charlotte, North Carolina. When I was young, my family did a decent amount of traveling within the U.S.; we often went to the New England states because we have so much family that lives up north, we loved to visit Hilton Head, the Florida panhandle, Washington, D.C., the Florida Keys and everywhere in between!
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Bachelor of Science, Middle Grades Education (BS) – Kennesaw State University 1995
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Master of Education, Middle Grades Education (MEd.) – Berry College 2001
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Gifted Endorsement – University of Georgia 2010
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Education Specialist—Educational Psychology, Gifted and Creative Education (EdS) –
University of Georgia 2011 -
Science Endorsement – Metro RESA and Kennesaw State University 2016
Education
Family
I have been married to my incredible husband, Dave, for 25 years. We live in East Cobb…the same neighborhood where I lived as a child… and have two terrific children:
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Margo Anne is an twelvth grader at North Cobb High School, in the magnet school for International Studies. She is an avid swimmer on the Swim Atlanta club team and her high school varsity team, an excellent student, a member of the National Charity League and is working toward her Gold Award in Girl Scouts.
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Clay is a tenth grader at Walton High School. He, too, is a devoted swimmer on the Swim Atlanta club team, is a fantastic student, is a black belt in Taekwondo, is a member of the Young Men's Service League of East Cobb and plays the tenor saxophone in his high school band.
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I have a six year old, super spoiled Brittany named Ranger. He loves to go kayaking and backpacking with us!
My Favorite
Fun Facts
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Places to Travel: New England, Backpacking in the Cohutta Wilderness, any beach, Europe
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Activity: Reading, traveling, kayaking, biking, swimming
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Movies: I love going to see movies! Two of my favorites are The Blind Side & Hidden Figures
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Color: Green
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Shop: Target, Abbadabbas, REI, Amazon
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Eat: Panera Bread, El Porton, Longhorn, Hong Kong Star
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Dessert: Ice cream
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Drink: Water, Green Tea & Cherry Dr. Pepper/Cherry Coke (for an occasional treat)
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Flower: Love them all!
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Team: University of Georgia
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Hobby: Swimming, Travel, Reading, Backpacking, Photography
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My family and I live in the same neighborhood that I lived in when I first moved to Georgia. My parents still live in the same home that they purchased in 1978, so we only live a mile from each other! We are super lucky to have them so close!
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I am a NAUI certified SCUBA Diver.
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I was a volunteer in the 1996 Summer Olympics (in Atlanta) and was trained as a security guard, who was responsible for scanning x-rayed bags for bombs/bomb equipment as they entered the Olympic Village with the athletes and authorized visitors....yikes!!!
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I am a member of the National Charity League, which is an organization where mother-daughter teams volunteer to help within different philanthropies. Over the past six years, my daughter and I have volunteered hundreds of hours of our time within our community in organizations such as The Chattahoochee Nature Center, the YMCA, Hunger Doesn’t Take a Break, MUST Ministries/Elizabeth Inn, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the House Rabbit Society, Erin's Hope, Drake Closet and Sunrise Senior Living!
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I am a member of the Young Men's Service League, which is an organization where mother-son teams volunteer to help within different philanthropies. So far this year, my son and I have volunteered with HomeStretch, MUST Ministries and the YMCA.
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I love science and spending time outside in nature!
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I went to Space Camp (twice) when I was in high school and wanted to be an astronaut when I grew up. I did the next best thing, and I LOVE teaching (especially science) to my amazingly gifted and talented students!
