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As a born and raised Northwesterner I am very excited to have found a home at Twality Middle School. I am honored to have the chance to teach here and to be a part of the lives of my students for many years come.
I grew up in the very small town of Curlew, WA. It's in the very NE corner of Washington state. The population of Curlew is about 250 people. My school was a combination of about 4 towns. It was a K-12 school with about 220 students. It was growing up in the mountains and forest that fostered my love of science and the outdoors. After college I spent some time working on a steamboat/paddlewheeler that went up and down the Mississippi River and Ohio River. It was such a great experience to learn so much about the deeper history of our country. After coming back and spending a couple years in corporate America, I finally realized my true passion of teaching. To start my teaching career off, I packed up and moved to Taiwan. I spent almost four years in Taiwan teaching English to students in K-8. Teaching in Taiwan was a life changing experience that I loved. I met so many amazing students, teachers, and lifelong friends. Being immersed in a different culture gave me a unique insight into the cultures and traditions of my students and friends. While in Taiwan I was able to travel to many different countries including Thailand, Philippines, and South Africa. After I came back from Taiwan I received my Masters in Teaching from Lewis and Clark College. I spent 3 years substituting until I found a position in Molalla, OR teaching a 4th/5th grade blend classroom. It was in the past two years that I fostered my love of teaching math and science and began to immerse myself in STEM (science, technology, engineering, math). As a math teacher I focus on making sure my students have strong foundational skills that will allow them to more easily work through more advanced concepts. My teaching incorporates many real-world examples and applications of classroom concepts. We do this through classroom projects, research, and classroom volunteers. My students will have exposure to professionals working in Oregon as well as around the country that are using what we are learning in the classroom in their daily lives. I believe this allows students to personally connect with mentors and role-models to motivate them to take an active role in their own learning and future in STEM fields. My goal in my classroom is to give my students the chance to have fun, be hands-on, and develop critical thinking skills that will create inquisitive humans in the future that will change the world with new and amazing ideas. |