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Community Corner

Who's Who in Foster City: Tara Dixon

Tara Dixon teaches first grade at Foster City Elementary

Name: Tara Dixon

Age: 30

Occupation: Teacher at Foster City Elementary

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What brought you to Foster City? This is my first professional teaching job.  When I was looking for my first teaching job, I applied to several school districts.  I was hired in 2004 to teach first grade in the San Mateo-Foster City School District, specifically in Foster City.  And I'm still here, just about to start my seventh year of teaching.

What do you like about Foster City? I like Foster City because it has the feel of a small town, where you know many of your neighbors and participate in many local activities, but with much more diversity and technology.  The people here speak many different languages, come from a variety of cultures, and celebrate different holidays.  During one school year, eleven different languages were the first languages of my students, including Urdu, French, Japanese, Greek, and Spanish.  Where else can you find that?  I like that there are soccer teams, Boy Scouts, and the Peninsula Jewish Community Center.  There are dog parks and Thai restaurants.  I feel like you can find anything you are looking for here in Foster City, yet it still has the small town-feel.  I'm proud to be a part of the Foster City School staff.  I love our school community, and I think Foster City is a great place to raise a family.

What drew you to teaching? I became a teacher because I love to be busy and to help people.  Children are fun, and they keep you on your toes.  I like going to work each day.  I get the chance to teach children to read, to add and subtract, and to learn to get along with others.  Being a teacher is also a busy job.  You are "on" all day.  It is the only job I've ever had where I'm not counting the hours until the work day is done.  It's just the opposite actually; I hope to have more time in each school day to get as much done as we can.

Why first grade? First grade is the job that I was hired to teach when I started in 2004, but I've stuck with first grade because I feel like it's such an important grade.  We teach the basics, reading, writing, addition and subtraction, telling time, etc.  The students grow so much from August-June.  It's really exciting to see how far they come.

What is your favorite Foster City park? My favorite Foster City park is probably Boothbay Park.  We have our annual end-of-the-year first grade picnic there each year.  We order a ton of pizzas and have snacks and ice cream for the children.  They have a blast running around all day, playing at the playground, hitting some baseballs, splashing each other with water balloons, getting their faces painted, and visiting with their family and friends.  It's a clean park, and it's a great place to spend our last day together as a class.

What do you do in your spare time? In my spare time, I like to visit my parents up at their house in Placerville, go out to dinners with my friends, and spend time with my cat, Rosie.  I've recently started hiking.  I love to bake, especially with chocolate.  I am learning to ice skate too.  I also enjoy going to the beach and reading.

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