I am so excited to join the SJA family! This will be my first full year teaching in an elementary classroom. I took a maternity leave position last January in the preschool class at SJA. I got to know all of the preschool and Pre-K students very well and look forward to teaching them this year.
I went to Holy Spirit Catholic School from Kindergarten through 8th grade. I attended Cathedral High School until my sophomore year, when my family moved out east to New Palestine. I grew up with the Catholic faith and am very happy to teach this religion because I strongly believe in it. I currently am a parishioner at Holy Spirit Church.
I graduated from Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne. I moved up north with my husband when he was transferred with his job. I have a B.S. in Elementary Education.
I am happily married to my husband, Ryan. We live on the east side of Indianapolis, in the Irvington area. I have a cat named Oliver and a dog named Wrigley. I have a younger sister who is an ER nurse at St. Vincent’s and a younger brother who is a senior in high school. I have 2 wonderful parents who helped me prepare my classroom this year! I am very proud of my family!
Reading Mastery
In the Reading Mastery program, the kids learn the letter sounds which will build into the blending of letter sounds to make words. After completing the group lesson with the teacher, the students have to work independently to complete their seatwork which is directly related to the word and/or letter sounds they just worked on with the teacher.
Partner Reading
One way to improve reading skills is practicing with a peer. The students are given opportunities throughout the week to partner read with a designated reading buddy. Both students have the same book during the reading time. One listens and follows along while the other student reads. Each student has the opportunity to take a turn to read.
From Classmates to Best of Friends
In the kindergarten classroom, all of the kids are becoming very good friends! The kids in the class are caring, thoughtful, and loving to each other. They are willing to go the extra mile to help one of their classmates who might be hurt or have hurt feelings. They are a wonderful group of kids who are going to grow up to be wonderful men and women! I'm very proud of them because they work hard everyday and start their day with a smile!