Switching It Up For The New Year Wednesday, September 15, 2010 By Senior Alexis Smith Mrs. Shaul sharing a story with her Kindergarten class - Alexis Smith Advertising It’s a fresh year full of new adventures for both teachers and students alike at Parkview Elementary. The school only gained one new staff member, Speech Teacher Teresa Harkey, but there are 16 teachers who will be enjoying a whole new experience because of their movement within the district. Teacher Mrs. Joyce Shaul changed from First Grade to Kindergarten and noticed the difference.  “Probably one of the biggest changes is that the children coming into Kindergarten are actually having to make the transition to a more structured environment and the first grade has had one year prior.” Teacher Mrs. Cyndee Miller, who also switched from First to Kindergarten agrees. “They come in not knowing anything, but the First Graders have been in Kindergarten for a year and know the routine.” Watching them begin their journey through school does does have rewards though.“They are just so excited to be here. Everything is exciting,” she added. Teaching isn’t always easy, but Mrs. Carmen Williams, who switched from First Grade Special Education to Second Grade, enjoys it. Her favorite part of teaching is, “The kids. The joy that they have, and seeing them learn things, and knowing that you are helping them become better future adults,” she explained. The number of students taught by Mrs. Williams went from just a few at a time to twenty-one. This makes her job both more challenging and more exciting, “You have different students who learn in different ways and you have to be able to work with all twenty-one of them individually as well as a group where as in special education it was myself and a para-professional and we could do a lot more one-on-one. As far as exciting they are just a lot of fun, a lot of personalities and a lot of fun.” The other teachers who moved around within the school district or Parkview are: Chris Bartlett, Jeri Patti, Julie Blair, Tanya Meservey, Lori Whitt, Brittany Barnett, Keri Sedgwick, Lavonne Wahlert, Roxanne Rooney, Sandi Noellsch, Phillip Limb, Mandy Raletz, and Andrea Morris. It’s sure to be a great new year at Parkview Elementary. All of the teachers seem to be looking forward to it. Mrs Williams sums the teachers attitudes up well by saying, “I hope to have each child leave my classroom feeling like they were special and that they learned something.”

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