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Splashes From The River Staff
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Basic
Grammar
"Happiness is being your own best friend." |
M. Rackham |
Marie Sophia Rackham was born in 1934 and raised in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She earned degrees in English and Geography from the University of British Columbia, and spent thirteen years studying piano with the Royal Conservatory of Music before moving to Campbell River in 1966.
She worked as a public school teacher for thirty-four years, teaching at all levels from kindergarten to grade twelve; and taught piano and theory privately in her own studio for fourteen years.
During her time as an elementary classroom teacher, Marie conducted choirs, recorder and string ensembles, and produced productions of Cool In The Furnace, The Mikado, and Taming Of The Shrew. The music curriculum she implemented inspired the creation of a district wide elementary music program.
At the high school level she produced productions of The Wizard of Oz, Grease, Oklahoma!, Guys and Dolls, and South Pacific. Teaching English at the high school level, Marie worked with remedial, regular, and honor students. Her emphasis with the remedial classes was developing their organizational skills and addressing their hyperactivity by using quiet, calming classical music. Over her many years of teaching language arts, Marie developed her own curriculum for teaching basic grammar and punctuation, which was eventually published through the local Teacher's Resource Center and made available to all the schools in the district as a self contained workbook. This workbook became the inspiration for the award-winning The Basic Cozy Grammar Course™ and The Basic Cozy Punctuation Course™ Videos/DVDs, produced by Splashes From The River Multimedia Entertainment Inc., featuring Marie herself.
When Marie retired in 1994, she was recognized as a master classroom teacher and an annual award was established in her name. The Marie Rackham Try Award is given each year to an average student perceived as having tried their best.
Since retiring, Marie has been having lots of fun growing herbs, making fruit wine, playing with computers, and composing music; first, for original stage shows produced in California by the Rainbow Man Productions, and now, for the projects produced by Splashes From The River. In 1997 Marie wrote, arranged, and orchestrated the score for the original stage musical Rediscovering The River - A Personal Celebration Of Being Campbell River Born.
School District Administration Reports: Marie Rackham
Marie's philosophy of life is that it takes less effort to smile than it does to frown.