Introducing Our New Teachers (3)

The 2019-20 school year welcomes a large group of new teachers. We asked all of our new teachers to the district to share some information so we could all get to know them a bit. They are a fascinating group!


Name: Becky Kummery
Teaching Assignment: Vocal Music
Building Assignment: Quakertown and Pfaff Elementary Schools
Teaching Experience: 1 year MS Choral at Owen J Roberts Middle School, 11 years Elementary in Central Bucks SD, 3 years as a Learning Support Aide at Richland
Hobbies/Interests: Reading, traveling with family, co-leading a Girl Scout troop, volunteering and playing music at our church, using our kayaks, walking our crazy puppy and watching our children's activities and performances
Why did you become a teacher?: Music class was always my favorite. It was a respite in the middle of a rigorous academic day, and allowed me to perform, learn and feel in a way that no other place did. It was always a highlight, particularly in my later school career, and I wanted to share that joy and peace with children.
What is your favorite part of teaching? I love when students are excited to share their knowledge and accomplishments with others (and me!)
What is one thing you want the community to know? I also have a K-12 German degree and my husband and I have been fortunate to have had many opportunities in our younger years to travel the world. My favorite was when I was a summer volunteer in a remote village in arctic Canada that was only accessible by plane. We lived there working with children for just over a week but that experience was life changing. Living in other cultures challenges my thinking and my teaching. Traveling gives me an appreciation of my own life and circumstances but also an appreciation of the culture and values of others.

Name: Michael Madden
Teaching Assignment: 7th Grade Science
Building Assignment: Strayer Middle School
Teaching Experience: 7 years
 Hobbies/Interests: I love to travel.
Why did you become a teacher?: I love how every day is a different with lots of interesting stories.
What is your favorite part of teaching? Building relationships
What is one thing you want the community to know? I have started teaching teachers at Saint Joe's University this year!

Name: Laura Mill
Teaching Assignment: Kindergarten, Long-term Substitute
Building Assignment: Pfaff Elementary School
Teaching Experience: 4 years in Central Bucks as a classroom teacher, 3 years in Souderton and Pennridge as a sub (including long and short term assignments)
Hobbies/Interests: Running, cheering on my kids at their sporting events
Why did you become a teacher?: I love kids and loved school when growing up
What is your favorite part of teaching? Being a part of the students’ excitement and growth
What is one thing you want the community to know? For 15 years, I helped plan an annual fundraiser in memory of my former student, Liana, who passed away from cancer. We raised a significant amount of money for local charities.

Name: Shelby Ramirez
Teaching Assignment: English
Building Assignment: Senior High School
Teaching Experience: 5 years
Hobbies/Interests: Basketball, sports, skiing, travel, reading, movies, food, and coffee!
Why did you become a teacher?: I love working with teenagers and helping them on their journey to the next step.

Name: Stephanie Rodgers
Teaching Assignment: Guidance Counselor
Building Assignment: Pfaff Elementary School
Teaching Experience: 6 years as a school counselor for CORA Services. CORA Services is a non-profit organization that outsources counseling, speech, education, and psychology services to all non-public schools in Philadelphia.
Hobbies/Interests: Spending time with my family and friends, a Mommy to my two little boys- Brayden (4) and Jameson (22 Months), enjoying time outside, reading, relaxing
Why did you become a teacher?: I became a school counselor to help children beyond the scope of the classroom. My goal is to provide a safe, comfortable environment for students to be able to share their feelings and emotions in a non-judgmental, confidential space.
 What is your favorite part of teaching? I love building relationships with students and being that "go to" person if they are need of help or a listening ear.
What is one thing you want the community to know? This summer I traveled to Outer Banks, North Carolina and Ocean City, New Jersey with my family. I love the beach!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

QCEA Celebrates Retirees! Mary Ann Byatt

Image
     As we wrap up the school year, since we can't celebrate in person, QCEA wants to virtually celebrate all of our retirees. We thank them for their years of dedication and service, and we wish them all the best in retirement!  Name:  Mary Ann Byatt Current Assignment:  Senior High School,   Math Number of Years in Education: 35 Number of Years Teaching in Quakertown:  35 Which building(s) have you worked in?  Only the high school. I actually did my student teaching here, too, so I have been in the district since January, 1985. When I finished my student teaching I subbed the remainder of that year and started full time that September. What will you miss the most about teaching?  The daily interactions with students both in my classroom and through activities. I was a class advisor for 10 different classes. I chaperoned over 25 senior trips to Walt Disney World. I attended sporting events and musicals and chaperones proms a...
Read more

QCEA President Shares Statement at 11/12/20 School Board Meeting

Image
QCEA President Ryan Wieand shared the following statement at the November 12, 2020 QCSD School Board meeting. You can view the entire school board meeting with this YouTube link:  https://youtu.be/VyVSJ28Sb6g    Good Evening, In the past, this board has used low community spread as one of its reasons for claiming our schools should return to live instruction, five days a week. At the beginning of the school year, only one county had a “substantial” level of community spread; however, that has quickly changed and the upward trend is frightening. As of last week, there are now 38 counties that have the highest level of community spread, designating them as “substantial,” including Bucks County. The QCEA membership resides in nine different counties and every one of those counties is currently labeled as “substantial,” and their community spread is increasing, as well as hospitalizations. Those staff members are traveling to and from their hot spot counties each day, working...
Read more

QCEA Celebrates ALL of its Retirees

Image
QCEA wants to celebrate all of our retirees. We thank them for their years of dedication and service, and we wish them all the best in retirement! Congratulations to all of our QCEA retirees. Mike Boyd Mary Ann Byatt Douglas Detweiler Judy Maccarone Angela McFetridge  Kristen Newill John Makoul Bruce Russell Gretchen Ruhl Sally Sugita Karen Serfass Janet Weihbrecht Dave Weinstein Thank you to those who participated in our social media campaign to share your memories and to provide a space for others to share their memories with you.  Enjoy your retirement! ~ Your friends at QCEA
Read more