Biography
The skinny:
BA in Elementary Education and Humanities at MacMurray College, Jacksonville, IL '72
M. Ed. Fitchburg State College, Fitchburg, MA '86
1992-2006 Bow Elementary School, Bow, NH (2nd Grade)
1977-1992 Bow Memorial School, Bow, NH (5th and 6th Grade)
1974-1975 Sylvanie F. Williams Elementary School, New Orleans, LA (K-1)
1972-1974 Calumet Park Elementary School, Calumet Park, IL (3rd Grade)
Family: Husband- Stephen, Jr.; daughter- Meghan; and son -Stephen III
Interests: Travel, Culinary arts, Wild Birds and Animals
The not so skinny:
I grew up in the country in northern Illinois surrounded by wildlife. I graduated with a BA in education from MacMurray College. I taught for two years in the third grade in Calumet Park, IL. My husband and I moved to New Orleans, LA, where I taught in an inner-city school grades K and 1 for another year. After that year I took a year off and traveled for three months in the western United States with another New Orleans teacher. (My husband was working on his Ph.D in Philosophy at Tulane when we lived in NOLA.)
Before moving to New Hampshire in 1977, my husband and I fulfilled our dream of backpacking through Europe. We visited 13 countries in six weeks time. We were too old for second class train travel, so we had to travel first class. We attempted to dress nicely during our travels and people thought we were from Belgium.
My husband, Stephen, and I moved to New Hampshire in 1977 where I started teaching 5th and 6th grade at Bow Memorial School. While there I taught Math, Reading, Language Arts and then Social Studies in my first 15 years. In the fall of 1992 I was fortunate to be able to 'switch gears' and teach in the second grade, where I am currently teaching. (We moved to NH because Steve was accepted to and graduated from Franklin Pierce Law School.)
In 1993 I applied for the "Ms. Frizzle Contest" that Scholastic offered to teachers across the nation. I was lucky to be chosen as one of the 2nd place winners (of which there were 99). I helped Scholastic with their Literacy Place presentations by signing Magic School Bus books. I bring "Ms. Frizzle" into the six second grade classrooms by presenting a Lobster Lesson each fall when we study Tide Pools. On occasion I have also done lessons on Bats when we study Heat, Light and Sound. Some times I just show up and be Ms. Frizzle teaching Ms. Ambra's class for a day.
Stephen and I are blessed with two children: Meghan, a senior at McDaniel College in Maryland, majoring in Art, and Stephen, III a sophomore at Acadia University in Nova Scotia, majoring in music. My husband, Stephen, became a lawyer, returned to school, earned his MS in Library Information Science at Simmons College and is now the Director of the NHTI (Concord's Community College) library. He teaches Ethics and Film, runs the NHTI Film Society, and is head coach of the women's soccer team. He is Happy!
Our family loves to travel. We have been to the eastern coast of Florida many a times to visit the grandparents, southern California, Arizona's Grand Canyon, Wyoming's Yellowstone Park, and Grand Tetons, South Dakota's Badlands and Mount Rushmore, North Carolina's Outer Banks, Illinois' Chicagoland Museums, among other U.S. places. We have been to Europe twice as a family and Meghan has traveled around the world with the Semester at Sea program. Stephen, III has traveled to see his host family in Germany and can't wait to go back. Canada has hosted us many a time as well.
Teaching is such a renewing and re-energizing profession that it is hard to imagine doing anything else. My colleagues make the experience both fun and rewarding. We collaborate with ideas as teachers and good friends. Students come with new ideas, open hearts, and every day with a child is brand new. I am now teaching former students' children in my classroom. That is very hard for me to believe!