Welcome to 6th Grade ELA and Social Studies! I look forward to helping my students this year to become not only more proficient writers and readers, but also more CONFIDENT writers, readers, and thinkers. Expressing your thoughts, feelings, ideas, stories, and opinions is a vital life skill! I still remember my middle school ELA classes, and I know they were the foundation out of which my love of English blossomed. Reading and Writing permeate all aspects of learning and are essential to success in the real-world. I am excited to have the opportunity this year to also teach Social Studies. There are so many connections between the two subjects, so students will have a unique opportunity to begin their middle school experience with having the same teacher for both ELA and Social Studies. Not only will we learn about Ancient Civilizations, students will also engage in critical thinking and content-area literacy. 

    I am proud to say that I am a product of Kershaw County School District, graduating from Lugoff-Elgin High School. I taught English Language Arts for four years in Lexington, and I am so grateful to now be in my fourth year at Stover (8th year of teaching overall). I graduated from Columbia College summa cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle-Level Education. I am certified to teach both English and Social Studies. I also finished work on my Master’s Degree from the Univeristy of South Carolina (GO GAMECOCKS!!) in 2016, and I am currently working on a second Master's Degree from USC in Library and Information Science. I have always had a great passion for education, both as a student and as a teacher, and I have been lucky to have a family who always supports my educational endeavors. I am married, and my husband and I have a sweet and energetic three-year old named Mary-Kate. 

    Let’s have a great 2019-2020 school year!!