My Interests Page

"Be the change you wish to see in the world" -- Gandhi

Gandhi's quote -- "Be the change you wish to see in the world" -- defines my reason for becoming a teacher. I feel that teaching is the best way to make a positive difference in the world. Teaching is a privilege I take very seriously. While I'll certainly be holding your student to high academic standards, I feel that among the most important lessons I teach are how to value yourself, how to be compassionate to others, how to be accountable to yourself as well as to others, and how to grow as a human being. I feel it is important to connect with students on a personal level while raising the academic bar and helping them see that they are indeed capable of rising to higher academic achievements. Realizing this academic goal will often build confidence in other areas of their life, as well. I look forward to a partnership with you, and hope to make a meaningful difference in the life of your child this year. Pictured above, I am leading a group of students representing different ethnicities from around the globe during the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Assembly, 2009.

My Education

Teaching teenagers is my chosen profession, and I love it.
I graduated with my Bachelor's degree from the University of Washington (History and English), and have a Masters Degree in Education. I am endorsed to teach in the Humanities in the State of Washington grades 5-9, English Grades 5-12, and Social Studies grades 5-12.
Pictured here are myself and my mother, Jane (1923 - 2009), on a very special day.

Activities I Enjoy

Working out helps keep my stress low, my positive energy high and allows me to keep up with my 150 students on a daily basis. I'm a member of Silverdale Fitness where my husband, our 26 year old daughter and I weight-lift and run together four afternoons a week. Additionally, I practice Yoga at home each morning for a peaceful transition into the work day. I also enjoy kayaking, downhill skiing (pictured below with students), white water rafting (pictured here on the Snake River in 2010; I'm the 4th person from the front on the left side -- in the white shirt and black hat), and training for a 5K with my daughter, Heather.

My Family

My husband, Cliff, and I have a daughter, Heather, who graduated from the University of Washington with her Masters' Degree in Museology (Museum Science) in 2008. Heather is the 11th member of our family to have graduated from the UW. Pictured to the left are my husband, daughter Heather and I on the coast of Maine, and to the right is Heather among the tulip fields of the Skagit Valley.

Our foster daughter, Andrea, graduated from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2010 with her Masters' Degree in Social Work. We are VERY proud of both of our daughters' academic accomplishments.

My husband Cliff is a retired U.S. Naval officer (30 years), who spent his career on submarines, submarine tenders, and air craft carriers. Pictured here are Cliff & I together this summer in Maine, where Cliff's family traces its ancestry back hundreds of years. Cliff's Naval career brought us to lovely Kitsap County.

Cliff and I may be empty nesters now, but we do have three cats. Here they are waiting for me to get home from work: From top to bottom are Moira (MOY-rah), our nine year-old English short-hair Calico; Karana (Ka-RAH-nah), our fourteen year-old blue-cream Persian; and MaryAnn, our six year-old gray and black tabby.

GO CUBS!