Perhaps surprisingly to many SIS students, the constant presence of Cory Desmond has shaped our school environment. This is his fourth year playing Zero the Hero, a colorful superhero who visits the senior kindergarten classes on the 10th and 100th day of school to help them learn about the number zero.
Zero the Hero visits the kindergarten classes for two main events, other than the smaller promotional events—the 10th and 100th day. On the 10th day, Zero teaches kindergarteners the count of ten, particularly the number zero. On the 100th day, the students dress up as 100-year-olds, and Zero visits again to enact the role that zero plays among numbers.
“The way that it started was, on one of my first days of school here, I introduced myself to Ms. Gerhard, Dr. Gerhard’s wife,” Cory Desmond, middle school and high school art teacher, said. “I mentioned to her that I had taught all grade levels before, including K-5. She told me that the previous Zero the Hero had left, and asked if I was interested. I did not quite know what he was at the time, but I am comfortable with all ages, so I told her, ‘Sure.’ I also found out that I actually bought the mattress of the teacher who used to play Zero the Hero, so I like to think that the first day I woke up in SIS, the spirit of Zero the Hero was just absorbed into me.”
Before teaching at SIS, Mr. Desmond had taught K-12 at various schools, including in the United States, Vietnam, Argentina, Hong Kong, and Singapore. His experience with kindergarteners and lower grades lent well to the activities he led in SIS as Zero the Hero.
“Zero the Hero tries to encourage the students to be kind,” Mr. Desmond said. “He lets them know that we are all on our paths from zero to hero. It is a way to bring meaning and to remember the importance of teamwork.”
Beyond teaching numeracy in a fun, creative way, Zero the Hero also shows that zeroes can grow with the help of other numbers. Without other numbers, he can never be more or less than the number zero. Reaching higher or lower numbers is only possible with the collaboration of other numbers. Zero also represents the idea that even the number zero has an important role.
“The students very much look forward to Zero the Hero visiting,” Diahn Hill, senior kindergarten teacher, said. “They loved the excitement leading up to celebrating our first ‘zero day’ together, on the 10th day of school. His visits remind everyone that learning can be playful, and he helps build a positive, encouraging atmosphere. [He turns] learning into something magical.”
Despite knowing that the superhero can not be real, Ms. Hill explained that the students—unaware of Zero’s true identity as Mr. Desmond—love the mystery of his identity nevertheless. “Who does not love a superhero when you are five or six years old?” Ms. Hill asked. They spend the stretch of time between the 10th and 100th day wondering who the real Zero the Hero is, disbelief suspended by the amount of fun they had.
When not playing the superhero, Mr. Desmond teaches 6th, 7th, and 8th-grade art as well as high school Design. Last year, he taught Foundations in Art & Design, Painting & Drawing, AP Drawing, and AP 2D Design, but he shifted to teaching more middle school classes this year. Through art, Mr. Desmond also works to add to the school. He designs banners like the Terry Fox banner and teaches art in the elementary After School Enrichment (ASE) program. In this way, he helps to spread more color throughout the school.