I love teaching. I’ve been teaching for about 18 years now, and although I’ve taught almost every grade and subject, the 7th and 8th grades are my absolute favourite grades to teach.

I’m happily married to my husband for over 35 years, and I am mother to two wonderful grown-up children, a son and a daughter. I love animals, puttering in my gardens, travelling, drinking way too much coffee, and Zumba! But most of all, I love reading. I read every single day. My home is full of books, and, I must admit, always in need of new bookshelves.

I try to buy as many books as I can for the classroom because I strongly believe that we become good readers by reading. Reading helps us to learn, become more knowledgeable, develop critical thinking skills and improve empathy. As a teacher, I encourage my students to read every day, to discover who they are as readers, to fall in love with books, and to make viable and personal short and long-term reading goals. I also love writing, and while writing did not come as naturally to me as reading, I’ve found that the best way to become a good writer is . . . to write, a lot.

That’s one reason I believe in these blogs. Intermediate students love to interact with one another, and the blogs make writing a more interactive experience. I’ll encourage students to blog as much as they can, to write every day. Writing helps us learn, to consolidate our thinking, to think critically, and to discover our own voices.