McLean School is like a home away from home for me. Coming from New Zealand, I have always appreciated whole-child teaching and learning. I received my Diploma of Teaching from the Dunedin College of Education after completing a Double BA in Anthropology and Religious Studies. I came to the US in 2001 on a teacher exchange program where I taught in Virginia Public Schools. I eventually found my way to McLean in 2004 where I discovered that student-centered education was valued and prioritized. My time at McLean has been split between Lower and Middle School, initially teaching grades 3 and 4 before joining the Middle School to teach grade 5, where I have been since 2019. I also serve as K-12 Department Chair for English. My teaching has been enhanced through training in The Writing Revolution – Advancing Thinking Through Writing, Orton Gillingham, and Step Up To Writing, as well as professional development in Restorative Practices and targeted Executive Functioning support. It is particularly rewarding to challenge students where they are, offer choice and voice over their work products, and provide real-world connections and applications to their learning experiences. For example, in math, planning a road trip with specific criteria in order to practice computation operations, and in literature/English creating newspaper articles about events/themes/characters in the novels we read.
Outside of school, I love to stay connected to my family in New Zealand, and to keep up with my two children and our collection of animals.