At the Principal Presentation on Curriculum Night, we introduced the adults that work at Country Meadows supporting your child's learning. Each of these staff members have the distinct honor a privilege of working with every child at Country Meadows. In case you missed the presentation, we wanted you to learn a little bit about each of their positions.
First, we would like to introduce the "Specials Team." Each of these adults have the opportunity to teach your child at least weekly if not daily.
•Liv Grossman – Art Hi I am Liv Grossman, the art teacher at Country Meadows and at Willow Grove. I love teaching art and giving your children the opportunity to be creative and take risks in a safe, fun, loving environment
•Jesse Rathgeber – Music My name is Jesse Rathgeber and I am the music teacher at Country Meadows and also at Willow Grove Kindergarten. Our number one goal in music class is to develop within our students a profound love of music. At the same time, we seek to guide them in their personal journeys of creating, listening to, performing, and understanding music as a unique way of making meaning out of their lives and of the world.
•Lauren Bernacki - Music Student Teacher My name is Lauren Bernacki and I’m a music student teacher for the first part of the school year. I am from Illinois State University and am having so much fun getting to know your children. I love that I have the opportunity to teach them and also learn from them. I can tell that I will have a wonderful experience student teaching here at Country Meadows as well as Willow Grove Kindergarten.
•Kathy Nihill and Holly Smith - PE: Our goal in Physical Education is to provide our students with movement skills, game and sports skills, and the knowledge necessary to be healthy and fit for a lifetime. We love seeing your children every single day! We are so lucky in District 96 to have daily physical education.
Next, we would like to introduce the team that we affectionately refer to as our “PIT Crew.” This team of talented adults tireless to support students and teachers in order to ensure academic and social emotional learning for all students.
•Bonnie Bodenheimer – SW - As the school social worker, I am available to all of the students at Country Meadows to assist them in being independent problem solvers. Along with other adults in the building, we support their emotional well-being by teaching all of our students how to be social thinkers and to be P.R.O.'s at school, at home, and in the community. Please look for more information on our school website.
•Bill Hellyer – OT - I'm Bill Hellyer, the occupational therapist. Occupational therapists help people to be meaningfully and purposefully occupied. At Country Meadows, I help all students to be the best learners they can be. In particular, I make sure that kids are able to participate fully in all tasks and activities in the school.
•Lynette Leonard - SLP - Speech and Language Pathologists work with students on articulation and language skills. I can be seen working with small groups of students, intervening in a classroom or small group pull-out, and I am a member of our PRO Teaching Team. Your child might talk about me visiting their Cub Community.
•Gabby deRubira – PSYCH - As the school psychologist, I help teachers problem-solve about students that benefit from various academic and behavior interventions. I also lead social-emotional groups and push in to the Cub Communities to teach and reinforce the Social Thinking curriculum.
•Meghan Kennedy – Special Educator (Grades 4 and 5) - As one of the special education teachers in the building I work with students on my caseload during the day. I am also lucky enough to be a part of 4th and 5th grade intervention block this year and work with most of the students. While I sometimes work to help students meet targets during this time, I often take groups of students to help them extend on targets. This gives me a chance to know all of the 4th and 5th grade students!
•Ariana Ray – Special Educator (Grades 1, 2, and 3) - As a special education teacher, I work with students who need additional support in small groups or one to one. I'm often helping students with academic concerns during intervention time and also support within the classrooms to help all students.
The next team that supports the learning of all students at Country Meadows is our Extending Learning Support Team. You may hear this team referred to as our “Coaches.” Like the other staff introduced, they work with students and collaborate with your child’s classroom teacher.
•Bob Hanrahan – Technology Coach As technology coach I collaborate with teachers and staff to incorporate technology in the everyday lives of our students. I work hard to bring new ideas and technologies into the classrooms. Getting technology into the hands of students to engage and enhance learning is my top priority.
•Lauren Fix – Reading Specialist As a reading specialist, I see students in Team Read and Team Write. Your child may come home and say he or she went to Team Read or Team Write today. During this time, the students work in small adult lead groups to improve reading and writing skills. I also work with small groups of students to support reading and writing.
•Lauren Backe – Literacy Coach As the literacy coach, your student may come home and share with you that I was in their room co-teaching a lesson on reading or writing with the teacher. Co-teaching might mean the the teacher has half the class and I have half the class or we might be teaching a lesson together to the whole class at the same time.
•Louise Schmidt – ICT Literacy Coach I am the ICT Information-Communication-Technology Literacy Coach here at CM. In this role I have the opportunity to reinforce what students are learning in their classrooms by teaching every classroom a half hour lesson or working together on a research project every week. In addition, I plan and support the learning in the ICT Center.
•Lisa Zimmerman – Math Specialist As a math specialist, I see students in math lab as well as in their classes during their math lessons. In math lab, I get the opportunity to see small groups of children. I provide the kids with extra, hands-on practice with any target that they may need more practice with. When I am in the classrooms, I can work with both small and large groups of students. The classroom teachers and I choose which lessons/targets that I may be involved with. They are often the more difficult concepts. Another teacher involved in the lesson means more individual help for students.
•Jen Zbylut – Extended Learning Specialist I’m the extended learning specialist. Your child will see me in his or her classroom at various times throughout the day. I might be teaching a lesson together with their teacher, or working with a small group of students. I support students who are at all levels of proficiency on targets, helping to extend their learning from “below to meets”, from “meets to extends”, and from “extends” to beyond. I also teach 4th and 5th grade Extended Math.
•Jackie Griffin and Katy Barrett – ELL Specialists We are the ELL specialists at Country Meadows. Your child may tell you they see one of us in their classroom working with guided reading groups or co-teaching with their teacher. We work with students in in all subjects- specifically enhancing listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills. Ms. Barrett also works at Woodlawn Middle School.
