I wanted to spin the fairly popular John Hamm "turn the lights off" meme for how we had our "Snowapolyse" ....
My video above was created with 2 photos I took (selfie and my white floof kitty) and I ran them thru a gazillion prompts and iterations in AI to make the videos. I imported into CapCut (I bought the subscription for a month but I could have just used the free version - or any other video editor - but I wanted to try it) and downloaded the song clip (CapCut had it which I did not expect). I edited to overlap the clips with a transition and exported into my YT account. It was about 2 hours start to finish, it would have been less had I had a better idea when I first started. I kept thinking I could make it better. It was super fun and I had hoped it would be a cool way for my new Spring Semester 2026 students to "meet" me for our fist day, which is virtual!

Design Thinking Snapshot: Ms. Sylvestre's Answers

1. What is one problem you notice in the world, your school, or your community that bothers you?
   One problem that really bothers me is that a lot of school learning feels disconnected from real life. Students are often capable, creative, and curious, but they don’t always get to work on things that feel meaningful, hands-on, or connected to real problems in the world.

2. What is one thing you are good at or interested in?
   I’m very good at connecting ideas across different subjects — art, technology, design, science, ethics — and turning abstract concepts into creative, hands-on projects. I’m especially interested in design thinking, creative technology, and using art and making to solve real problems.

3. When you are working on something challenging, what helps you stay motivated?
   I stay motivated when I understand the bigger purpose of what I’m doing, when I’m allowed to experiment and take risks, and when I can work creatively instead of following a rigid script. I do my best thinking when I can talk ideas out loud or sketch them.

4. Is there anything you want me to know about how you learn best?
   I learn best by doing. I need to try things, make mistakes, prototype, and reflect. I struggle with repetitive or purely passive learning.

5. What makes you mad about the world?
   It makes me mad that humans used to build beautiful things — buildings, objects, cities, art — and now so much of what gets built is plain, ugly, or purely functional. I wish design still prioritized beauty, creativity, and meaning instead of just speed and profit.

Quick Snapshot About Me

• Favorite food: Sushi (especially salmon) and really good bread
  
  

• Favorite holiday: Halloween
  
  

• Favorite Thanksgiving meal: Stuffing and mashed potatoes (with a ton of real butter) with my homemade gravy
  
  

• Spring break: Traveling, visiting cities, museums, bookstores, and coffee/boba shops
  
  

• Weekends: Working on art and creative projects, thinking about new ideas, walking to explore new places, playing DND
  
  

• Birthday: Something quiet and meaningful — usually good food and creative time
  
  

• Technology I want to learn about: more and more about AI, creative coding, interactive media, physical computing, emerging tech
  
  

• Music I like: New wave, post-punk, alternative, electronic, 80s, film soundtracks
  
  

Two favorite songs (for the class playlist):

• Here to Go – Devo
  
  

• Mexican Radio – Wall of Voodoo
  
  

• Never Let Me Down Again – Depeche Mode
  (Yes, I know that’s three. I break rules.)
  
  

• Favorite YouTube/TikTok creators: People who teach, explain, or make cool creative/tech things (including fashion, anything  for cosplay,  all sorts of stuff)
  
  

• Something I wish someone would invent: A real-life creative assistant that helps people instantly prototype ideas (basically AI + a makerspace + a design lab)
  
  

• Favorite car: Corvette Stingray — 1963 or 1967
  
  

• Favorite city visited: Recently San Francisco, Savannah and Philadelphia 
  
  

• Place I want to visit: Tokyo, Japan — for the design culture, technology, Studio Ghibli, food and art  /  Seoul, Korea — for maybe some plastic surgery lol
  
  

• Family / who I live with: My husband, my three sons, and my three cats: Oyster Sauce, White Floof, and Spare Parts
  
  

• Something that went well last semester: Getting to build creative, hands-on projects with students and seeing them grow more confident
  
  

• Favorite class ever: Any class where I was allowed to make things, experiment, and think creatively
  
  

• Favorite teacher ever: Teachers who treated me like a real person, not just a kid, and encouraged curiosity instead of just grades
  
  

• Something that scares me: Wasting time on things that don’t matter
  
  

• Something I love about East Wake: The creativity, diversity, and the openness to new ideas / All the staff - the people who work here are really cool
  
  

• Something that makes me mad about East Wake: I wish all the hours of Seminar time were used for students to participate in amazing clubs (at least some days!) — to learn, have fun, and maybe even do something good for the world
  
  

• Something I wish East Wake would change: More project-based learning and more freedom for creative classes (I'm trying to do both those myself at least)