Mr. Carbajal

About "Mr. C"

 

This is my second time teaching 3rd grade in my 5 year public school teaching career (having taught in many private schools before that), and beginning my third year teaching here at Grand Ridge Elementary (having spent the last two years teaching second grade). I'm absolutely passionate about public school education, and I can't believe how lucky i am to be at this stunningly gorgeous campus. I'm excited to have you in my class this year!



I've been told that once you hit the 10 year mark you can officially say you are "from" an area. Well, this year I celebrating my 15th year of living in the Northwest. I'm a native born southern Californian; having been born and raised in Santa Barbara, CA. I can't remember why I originally left the beaches and year-round 75 degree whether, but I'm glad that I did. The Pacific Northwest, with all it's grey and rain, is better than anything I can find down south.

 

In my past life, I was a professional actor and singer signed with Tiffany Talent & Modeling Agency in Seattle, WA. Though booking commercials, print ads and even working with Ghetty Images was great, my love has always been the stage. I've been performing and directing musical theater for over a decade at performance houses all over the Northwest. That love for performing, plus my passion for education, eventually led to teaching and directing children's theater. These experiences culminated in me founding Bainbridge Island Storymakers Studio: A Theatre For Youth Audiences, a 501.c3 non-profit organization dedicated to bringing quality live children's theater shows, children's theater education, and new show development to Kitsap County. 

I'm also a professional author and playwright; having been published by HarperCollins Publishing, NYC in 2015 and again in 2017. My first published work is a musical theater adaptation of the iconic children's book, "Caps For Sale" by Esphyr Slobodkina. Caps had it's world premiere in the spring of 2016 at the world-famous Boston Children's Theatre. It was met with fantastic reviews from such news outlets as The Boston Globe, and a major Broadway news site, TheaterMainia.com. The show was most recently performed by Valley Center Stage community theater in North Bend, WA, in the summer of 2017. Even one of our very own Grand Ridge teachers was in the cast!

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My second publishing contract is for a musical theater adaptation of Margaret Wise Brown's (of Good Night Moon fame) classic book, "The Runaway Bunny," again for HarperCollins Publishing, NYC. This production will again have its mainstage world premiere at Boston Children's Theatre in their 2018-2019 season!

 

I am currently working on a musical adaptation of the beloved book, "The Incredible Painting of Felix Clousseau" by Jon Agee for Macmillan Publishing Group. This book is actually in the 2nd Grade Making Meaning curriculum, and it has been an amazing experience working with the author himself on this project. Hopefully, we can make lighting strike a third time!

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Above all else, it is incredibly exciting to be able to bring my real-world experiences as a professional writer into the classroom as your children jump into the exciting world of Writer's Workshop. I look forward to sharing my unique adventures as a writer with your budding authors!