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First UMC’s 2022 Educator Profiles!

Mandy Bailey

  • What is your name, what do you teach, how many years?
    • Mandy Bailey, 20 years
  • What is something new you are going to try this year?
    • Adding nutrition & wellness and mindfulness practices into our class
  • Which unit or lesson are you particularly proud of this year/last year?
    • Connecting & advocating for teens.
  • What’s one thing you want your students to remember about you?
    • Unconditional Love
  • Prayer requests for the upcoming year?
    • To make sure each of our students feels loved, valued and heard.
  • Wish list items:

David Bailey

  • What is your name, what do you teach, how many years?
    • David Bailey 22 years
  • What is something new you are going to try this year?
    • Going to be principal of the 9th graders.  Last year I had seniors.
  • Which unit or lesson are you particularly proud of this year/last year?
    • I always enjoyed working through John Wooden’s pyramid of success with students.  It was a great way to instill faith and hope in students in a way that wasn’t controversial.
  • What’s one thing you want your students to remember about you?
    • That I was willing to take the time to get know them and that they felt valued.
  • Prayer requests for the upcoming year?
    • I will be working mainly with 9th graders and their parents.  Prayers for patience and understanding.
  • Wish list items:

Emily Gough

  • What is your name, what do you teach, how many years?
    • Emily Gough, Environmental Science & Zoology at WCHS (grades 9-12).  This is my 16th year teaching, the 9th at WCHS. 
  • What is something new you are going to try this year?
    • I plan to take all of my Environmental science students on a rafting trip this fall, it should be an adventure!
  • Which unit or lesson are you particularly proud of this year/last year?
    • I work really hard to include a lot of field trips in my classes.  Many high schoolers haven’t been on a field trip in years, and there are lots of great opportunities to get out in nature and in our community.
  • What’s one thing you want your students to remember about you?
    • I hope that some of the content is remembered of course, but even if they don’t remember that I want them to remember that I cared about them!
  • Prayer requests for the upcoming year?
    • That each student makes connections and is able to find a space where they belong.
  • Wish list items:
    • Here’s my Amazon list:  https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/B6QRBWW3Y1LW?ref_=wl_share
    • But general items that are most helpful are single-serve healthy snacks (applesauce pouches, trail mix, etc.) and hygiene items like small deodorants, shampoos, lotions.  I have a space with these items for students to take as needed.

Katie Maile

  • What is your name, what do you teach, how many years?
    • My name is Katie Maile, this will be my nineteenth year of teaching!  I have taught seventeen years of 3rd grade, and last year I took on a new position as an instructional coach at Harrison Elementary.  I now work with all grade levels, both teachers and students, on creating amazing learning moments and enriching students throughout the building.   
  • What is something new you are going to try this year?
    • This year will be exciting with lots of new opportunities in my position.  I’ll be creating a new high ability book club in fifth grade to focus on teaching American history, using the Johnny Tremain novel.  New dissection kits and 3D printer lessons will help enhance and reinforce biology and science skills. 
  • Which unit or lesson are you particularly proud of this year/last year?
    • Last year, I did a project with some fifth graders on creating a budget and worked through life skills such as selecting an occupation, earning an income, paying taxes and being responsible for bills.  They learned a lot about life and math!  We also built a STEM lab at Harrison and began using it to create new learning environments for our students.  
  • What’s one thing you want your students to remember about you?
    • As a teacher, I want every child that I interact with, to learn something new every day.  And the legacy that I hope I am able to instill in children, is that there are a lot of opportunities out there – go work hard to figure out a path to be your best self. 
  • Prayer requests for the upcoming year?
    • My main prayer request for this year would be that God look over children that face many challenges and uncertainties in their world.  I would ask for prayers for wisdom, patience, and joy for our teachers and parents.
  • Wish list items:

Sara Rode

  • What is your name, what do you teach, how many years?
    • My name is Sara Rode. I teach 2nd Grade at Claypool Elementary School which is one of the eight elementary schools within Warsaw Community Schools. I am beginning my 27th year of teaching for Warsaw Community Schools. 
  • What is something new you are going to try this year?
    • I consider myself a lifelong learner, so I am always trying new things. I attended a virtual STEM conference this summer, and got so many ideas that I hope to try out with my students. Not only were there STEM/STEAM ideas, but also ideas about bringing JOY into learning through a multitude of ideas. 
  • Which unit or lesson are you particularly proud of this year/last year?
    • During this past school year, it was a pleasure to be able to have a wonderful student teacher from Grace College. We were able to accomplish a lot, with most students, by having two teachers in the room. The extra teacher was able to meet individual needs that arose throughout many lessons. 
  • What’s one thing you want your students to remember about you?
    • I want my students to remember me for being a caring, empathetic teacher, who really does care about who they are as individuals, and their needs. 
  • Prayer requests for the upcoming year?
    • My prayer for the school year would be for everyone to stay safe and healthy, be present at school, and be ready to learn together.
  • Wish list items:

Lindsey Wallen

  • What is your name, what do you teach, how many years?
    • Lindsey Wallen, 4th Grade, Starting 14th Year
  • What is something new you are going to try this year?
    • I am the new English dual language partner teacher this year. I will teach 50 students this year in English. All of these students will come to me for a half day to learn reading, writing, math, and social studies. They will also be taught half the day in Spanish to learn reading and writing in Spanish, as well as, science. 
  • Which unit or lesson are you particularly proud of this year/last year?
    • I am excited that I get to continue teaching social studies next year, especially Indiana history. I loved the project based units that students participated in last year. Our social studies units were engaging, fun, collaborative, and creative. I was most proud of creating a lot of these lessons last year. 
  • What’s one thing you want your students to remember about you?
    • I want my students to remember that I love all of them regardless of needs, behaviors, ability level, home life, etc… All students are special and deserve a good education. 
  • Prayer requests for the upcoming year?
    • I pray that all students love learning and feel safe and taken care of at school. I pray for my partner teacher that just arrived from Spain and his family. I hope they feel welcome and are blessed with everything that they need to make Warsaw feel like home. 
  • Wish list items:

Paul Helstern

  • What is your name, what do you teach, how many years?
    • Paul Helstern, para at Washington Stem School, 1 ½ years.
  • What is something new you are going to try this year?
    • Add some new activities in Math and Reading that will build onto the ones I had last year to increase learning.
  • Which unit or lesson are you particularly proud of this year/last year?
    • I deal with remedial Math and Reading and did a lot of work with white boards and turned different skills into games that engaged my students so they didn’t think it was a chore to come to my class for extra help on skills they were falling behind on.
  • What’s one thing you want your students to remember about you?
    • I hope that they will remember me from the love of working with students, my kindness and the fun we have in class as they learn skills they were having trouble learning.  Just making it fun and gratifying to learn.
  • Prayer requests for the upcoming year?
    • Pray for the students, staff, and parents of Warsaw Schools that we have a GREAT start to our year and that we have continued support from the parents and administration as we go about our daily routines of teaching our diverse students.
  • Wish list items:
    • I need black dry markers, large paper clips, tic tac for walls, 1 pkg of clear paper protectors, 2 pkg of green file folders ( found at Staples), 1 roll of masking tape, 2-  2inch white 3 ring folders.

Jenni McCammon

  • What is your name, what do you teach, how many years?
    • Jenni McCammon, Kindergarten/Jefferson, 20 years teaching
  • What is something new you are going to try this year?
    • Kindergarten! 
  • Which unit or lesson are you particularly proud of this year/last year?
    • I enjoy helping the kinders to have the “I can” attitude! There will be lots of lessons to help us build our classroom family and culture. 
  • What’s one thing you want your students to remember about you?
    • I hope that they remember that I enjoyed having them in my classroom for a year and that they are all wonderful little human beings! I also hope they remember they CAN do whatever they dream! 
  • Prayer requests for the upcoming year?
    • Prayers that my heart can handle the load everyday that our little kinders bring to school in their backpacks that aren’t supplies that may cause them to struggle with learning or their peers. 
  • Wish list items: 

Meghan Ciula

  • What is your name, what do you teach, how many years? 
    • Meghan Ciula, I’m a School Psychologist and just started my 11th year in the field. 2 years in Douglas County Schools in Colorado, 3 years in Wabash City Schools, and 6 years in Warsaw Community Schools.
    • As a School Psychologist, I serve 5 different sites (three elementary schools, preschool, and the high school). There, I help intervention teams plan the best way to support students academically and behaviorally and plan ways to monitor student progress. I also work with staff as a resource for behavioral needs and data collection. There are so many supports in our schools. It’s amazing how our educators and staff can differentiate for all students! If there is a suspected disability, I lead an assessment team that will evaluate students for possible special education support. I am a collaborator, evaluator, and data collector and analyzer, for my buildings and for the district. 
  • What’s one thing you want your students to remember about you?
    • Students remember the connection and trust they’ve built with me when we work together to do testing. I love working one on one with students. Before I start testing, I explain that my job is to figure out how they best think and how they best learn in order for us to support them in school. I tell kids I’m like a brain detective! I typically work with kids for two or three sessions to complete an evaluation. There are students I tested years ago who go out of their way to say hi to me and check on how I’m doing! 
  • Prayer requests for the upcoming year?
    • I pray that we continue to love and support all students in our community and form great connections with families throughout our school system. These connections make such a difference for students.

If you or a teacher you know would like to be included in our weekly teacher profile, please submit information to communications@warsawfumc.org.

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