Evening of Excellence: Sam Sole & Shirley Rotolo

90 Zillicoa Street,Asheville NC 28801

16 March, 2023

Description

"Kirk is a boy who has an abundance of toys that he loves to play with every day! However, he does not like putting them away because he feels like his toys would feel sad. Eventually, Kirk takes out so many toys that there is no room to move around his house. The toys explode out into the neighborhood for all of his neighbors to see. Kirk observes that his neighbors begin to think that he is giving his toys away to them! In the end Kirk learns about sharing, when he meets a friend who has only one broken toy to play with. This exciting and imaginative book was based on the author's experience and from watching other parents struggle with getting their children to put their toys away. This book teaches children compassion for others, sharing, as well as the importance of putting your things away." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Author Shirley Rotolo has been teaching for over twenty-five years and has been part of the Odyssey Community since 2012. She has several degrees in early education and is a graduate of Western Carolina University. Shirley has been involved in diversity programs such as Building Bridges and Cultural Competence Awareness. Although originally raised in New York City, Shirley has an international background, is fluent in French and several other languages. Shirley loves to share her experiences from living and traveling in France, Italy, Amsterdam, Spain, Switzerland among other countries. Shirley is a children's book author and is currently working on a second book. She is also an accomplished visual artist with a particular interest in Chinese painting. In her spare time Shirley loves to explore the different lakes and mountains of Western Carolina with her family. She is an avid reader and reads everything from the classics to fantasy, biographies, to sci-fi. Illustrator Sam Sole grew up fishing, hiking and enjoying the landscape of North Florida. She formed a passion for visual and performing arts at a young age which lead to receiving her bachelors degree from Florida State University in Studio Art and Art History while also dancing as a soloist with the Tallahassee Ballet. Post graduation Sam began her professional dancing career with the Chattanooga Ballet. There she acted as principal dancer, instructor, and marketing coordinator/graphic designer. After dancing with the ballet for five seasons, covid led to a move to Asheville where she discovered her love for teaching at Odyssey School. Presently, Sam is teaching alongside Shirley Rotolo in the kindergarten classroom, instructing and dancing at the Asheville Ballet, and painting in her free time. '