Highlights for this year:

As students continue to use their network logins, students are understanding their ablity to work on class files in multiple places and with a variety of machines. Our Penny War fundraiser allowed us to update our Microsoft Office Suite so this year we will be using Publisher to create webpages and brochures for early explorers and space travel. We will again be expanding our skills with PowerPoint as we develop classroom presentations on famous Americans, the fifty states, and even prepare digital storybooks. Students in the primary grades will be using the computer lab to build brain-based graphical organizers (Venn diagrams, graphs, flow charts, illustrated tables, etc.) that reinforce curriculm lessons. We will again have Junior High students enter the Pennsylvania Middle School Computer Fair and projects from grades 2 and 3 will enter the PA Statistics Poster contest.

What would you like your students to take away from this year?

I would love for students to not only learn a software program but understand when it can be used.  If you understand when a program is appropriate to use, you are more likely to make the most of its many features.  It is that desire to see, "Can I do this?" that makes teaching computers fun.  Sometimes I learn new things just by trying a student's idea!

I also hope our Movie Makers continue to grow and experience the fun of digital movie making.  With new video editing software purchased with money from our Christmas Ornaments/Movie Night fundraising, students will be trying its many features including green screen filming, sound leveling, and titles and transitions.  We hope our Third Annual Night at the Movies proves to be as much fun this year as last!

Why did you become a teacher?

I love school, I love learning and I thought the opportunity to teach at Notre Dame was a great way to share this love. I have had many great teachers in my past and I try to incorporate and mix their styles with my own.

What is your favorite lesson to teach?

It would have to be PowerPoint because the students enjoy the opportunity to be creative on many levels.  PowerPoint allows them to use multimedia (pictures, text, sound, animation) to create an overall presentation that reflects their personality.

What is one thing your students don't know about you?

In college I worked as a phlebotomist, making rounds at 6 a.m. fo collect blood samples from patients at Sacred Heart Medical Center.