Mary Howard
I am a sixth grade teacher at Veronica E. Connor Middle School in Grand Island, New York. My subject areas are English Language Arts as well as Social Studies. I have been teaching for 10 years and absolutely LOVE sixth grade. My strengths are creativity and integrating technology. I've been very lucky to have been able to present throughout New York State on technology integration in the classroom. My blog, yoursmarticles.blogspot.com has been visited over 400,000 times and in it I share ideas, resources, and other technology related classroom projects.
I am a sixth grade teacher at Veronica E. Connor Middle School in Grand Island, New York. My subject areas are English Language Arts as well as Social Studies. I have been teaching for 10 years and absolutely LOVE sixth grade. My strengths are creativity and integrating technology. I've been very lucky to have been able to present throughout New York State on technology integration in the classroom. My blog, yoursmarticles.blogspot.com has been visited over 400,000 times and in it I share ideas, resources, and other technology related classroom projects.
Jillian Stapleton
My name is Jillian Stapleton and I teach 6th grade at Veronica E. Connor Middle School in Grand Island. I teach collaborative English Language Arts and collaborative social studies. I am always looking for new and exciting ways to get the students involved in the curriculum. Using the Islands of Enlightenment was the perfect way to integrate the Middle Ages curriculum into my classroom. It was highly motivating to the students. They had a ton of enthusiasm each day as we headed towards to computer lab. The kids not only learned the medieval content while navigating around Stormfield; they also learned some useful computer skills. One of my favorite things about the Heir of the King project was watching different students take on leadership roles. The children were so eager to help their classmates out if they encountered a problem and didn’t know how to fix it. They were also thrilled when they discovered something new and could show it to their peers. The project requires patience and organization on both the teacher and student. Because not all the students are at the same part in the project, it can be difficult to get around the room to answer questions. However, the effort put in at the beginning organizing and training the students is well worth it in the end.
My name is Jillian Stapleton and I teach 6th grade at Veronica E. Connor Middle School in Grand Island. I teach collaborative English Language Arts and collaborative social studies. I am always looking for new and exciting ways to get the students involved in the curriculum. Using the Islands of Enlightenment was the perfect way to integrate the Middle Ages curriculum into my classroom. It was highly motivating to the students. They had a ton of enthusiasm each day as we headed towards to computer lab. The kids not only learned the medieval content while navigating around Stormfield; they also learned some useful computer skills. One of my favorite things about the Heir of the King project was watching different students take on leadership roles. The children were so eager to help their classmates out if they encountered a problem and didn’t know how to fix it. They were also thrilled when they discovered something new and could show it to their peers. The project requires patience and organization on both the teacher and student. Because not all the students are at the same part in the project, it can be difficult to get around the room to answer questions. However, the effort put in at the beginning organizing and training the students is well worth it in the end.
Mary Jo Sellers
I am a middle school teacher at Sts Peter and Paul School in Hamburg, NY, having taught 6th-8th grade ELA and Literature as well as 6th grade Social Studies, Science and Religion for fifteen years. Additionally, I taught in the Lockport City and Williamsville Central School Districts for seven years, working with 9th-12 graders in ELA. I also have a background in Drama and have directed about 20 productions with middle school and high school casts.
I am excited about the Heir of the King Project because I view it as an opportunity for me to bring my teaching into the 21st century by incorporating technology that our students will find engaging and relevant. By learning new things myself, I feel that I will keep working toward
I am a middle school teacher at Sts Peter and Paul School in Hamburg, NY, having taught 6th-8th grade ELA and Literature as well as 6th grade Social Studies, Science and Religion for fifteen years. Additionally, I taught in the Lockport City and Williamsville Central School Districts for seven years, working with 9th-12 graders in ELA. I also have a background in Drama and have directed about 20 productions with middle school and high school casts.
I am excited about the Heir of the King Project because I view it as an opportunity for me to bring my teaching into the 21st century by incorporating technology that our students will find engaging and relevant. By learning new things myself, I feel that I will keep working toward
Erica Aikin
My name is Erica Aikin. I am presently the Head of Middle School, and Middle School Science/Social Studies teacher. I have been teaching at Southtowns Catholic School for the past three years. Before that I was a middle school Religion teacher, second and third grade teacher, middel school Reading teacher, and even a K-8 building Principal. My experiece/journey has lead me to a few different paths, and now I am very happy in my present position working with children and enriching their lives both academically and spiritually.
My Education -
My name is Erica Aikin. I am presently the Head of Middle School, and Middle School Science/Social Studies teacher. I have been teaching at Southtowns Catholic School for the past three years. Before that I was a middle school Religion teacher, second and third grade teacher, middel school Reading teacher, and even a K-8 building Principal. My experiece/journey has lead me to a few different paths, and now I am very happy in my present position working with children and enriching their lives both academically and spiritually.
My Education -
- Medaille College - Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education
- Canisius College - Masters Degree in Administration and Supervision
- New York State Permanently Certified in both areas
Becky Moe
I have been teaching junior high ELA and social studies for the past ten years at a private elementary school in WNY. Before that, I had a brief stint as a preschool teacher. I'm thrilled to be a part of the Islands of Enlightenment project--education is changing daily, and I believe that this program provides an excellent way to combine education with the latest in technology.
I have been teaching junior high ELA and social studies for the past ten years at a private elementary school in WNY. Before that, I had a brief stint as a preschool teacher. I'm thrilled to be a part of the Islands of Enlightenment project--education is changing daily, and I believe that this program provides an excellent way to combine education with the latest in technology.
Jill Pallante
Hi! I am Jill Pallante. I am a teacher at Saints Peter and Paul School in Hamburg, NY. I teach middle school ELA and literature. This is my 12th year at SSPP, before that I worked in a middle school outside of Chicago in Carpentersville, IL. I was there for 5 years substituting, then long-term substitituting, and then as a 7th grade ELA teacher.
My long term teaching goals are to continue incorporating technology into my curriculum to make learning more engaging and relevant to my students, to instill a love of lifetime reading and writing in my students, and to survive the various state mandates that sometimes seem contradictory to my desire to have students love reading and writing.
As I always tell everyone, I was "volunteered" for the Islands of Enlightenment, and I had no idea what to expect when I arrived for my first day of training. I left that day, super excited about everything I learned, and I have been ever since. My 8th graders and I worked through the Anne Frank assignments for the first year, and I was learning right along with them as we went. Everyone was very engaged, and ended up learning about Anne Frank and virtual environments. For the second year, my 7th and 8th graders will both complete the Anne Frank and Heir of the King islands. I have added some things to the assignment directions this year (rubrics, etc) from my learning experience last year.
I highly recommend everyone to set aside his/her comfort level of teaching and try something new. The rewards will always out weight the discomfort.
Hi! I am Jill Pallante. I am a teacher at Saints Peter and Paul School in Hamburg, NY. I teach middle school ELA and literature. This is my 12th year at SSPP, before that I worked in a middle school outside of Chicago in Carpentersville, IL. I was there for 5 years substituting, then long-term substitituting, and then as a 7th grade ELA teacher.
My long term teaching goals are to continue incorporating technology into my curriculum to make learning more engaging and relevant to my students, to instill a love of lifetime reading and writing in my students, and to survive the various state mandates that sometimes seem contradictory to my desire to have students love reading and writing.
As I always tell everyone, I was "volunteered" for the Islands of Enlightenment, and I had no idea what to expect when I arrived for my first day of training. I left that day, super excited about everything I learned, and I have been ever since. My 8th graders and I worked through the Anne Frank assignments for the first year, and I was learning right along with them as we went. Everyone was very engaged, and ended up learning about Anne Frank and virtual environments. For the second year, my 7th and 8th graders will both complete the Anne Frank and Heir of the King islands. I have added some things to the assignment directions this year (rubrics, etc) from my learning experience last year.
I highly recommend everyone to set aside his/her comfort level of teaching and try something new. The rewards will always out weight the discomfort.