West Elementary School Staff

Click on a staff member to find out some information to drop them an e-mail.

Pat Alexander e-mail Pat Graduated from Northern Illinois University with a B.S. Degree in Elementary Education and Special Education Masters Degree from Northern Illinois University in Early childhood Education Type 75 Certification in Administration Five concepts that will be introduced this year will be the following: Social and Work Readiness:  Listen, follow directions, respect others, share, be responsible for self and belongings. Reading Readiness:  Letter recognition, letter sounds, rhyming words Math readiness:  Patterns, sorting and classifying, number recognition, counting Science: 5 Senses Physical development:  Fine and large motor activities. Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Allison Bates   e-mail Allison Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Rebecca Blanco Bachelor's Degree in Communication, DePaul University Master's Degree in Education, DePaul University e-mail Rebecca Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Nancy Bonkowski e-mail Nancy Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Vicki Boone  e-mail Vicki B.S. in Education, Illinois State University M.S. in Education, Northern Illinois University “Opening the door to a child’s mind opens the doors to his future.” Fourth graders will focus on taking greater responsibility for setting personal learning goals and working to achieve them.  Students will be encouraged to take an active role in decision-making problem-solving and maintaining the classroom.  Cooperative relationships and personal responsibility will be nurtured and celebrated. Science units include a study of Matter, Rainforests, and Sound and Light.  All units include opportunities to conduct experiments and apply the steps of the scientific process to develop deeper understandings of the new concepts in these units.  Social Studies focuses on the geography of the United States.  Students will learn locations of all states, major cities, and important geographic features.  Exploring the relationships between climate, landforms, and natural resources and the growth of cities and various industries will be emphasized.  Important facts about our own state of Illinois round out the geography curriculum.   Everyday Mathematics® is the core curriculum for math.  Proficiency with all operations using whole numbers should be expected.  Understanding the relations between fractions, whole numbers, and decimals and more and more accurate estimations also develop in fourth grade.  Students will create and interpret graphs, measure and compare in both the customary and metric systems, and work with angles, 3-dimensional shapes, and coordinate grids. Students will also describe number patterns, write expressions to describe number relationships and solve problems, and use probabilities to make predictions. Literacy instruction is an all day activity—no matter what is being studied, children are learning to read, reflect, and respond.  The goal of reading instruction is to develop young people who enjoy reading a wide variety of text and who can  understand and flexibly apply a variety of strategies to gain information from text.  Using Writers’ Notebooks children will work from personal experiences and topics they care about to learn to write for a variety of purposes and audiences.   Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Katie Algrim e-mail Katie Western Illinois University, with a major in elementary education   Received middle school endorsements in math, social studies, and reading Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Angela Cambier  e-mail Angela B.S in Elementary Education from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois Masters in Education from National Louis University-March 2005 Five topics that will be introduced will be the following:   Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Mary Currie e-mail Mary Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Donna Eggleson e-mail Donna Bachelors Degree from Illinois State-in Elementary Education and Special Education Masters in Education from National Louis University-March 2005 Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Ken Goodman Bachelor of Science Degree, Music Education, University of Illinois Master of Music Degree, Wind Conducting, Louisiana State University Mr. Goodman teaches elementary band lessons at West and South Prairie, full band at all of the elementary schools, and high school band. e-mail Ken Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Jim Heintz e-mail Jim Bachelor of Science in Education, Elementary Education and Special Education, Bradley University Master of Education, Instructional Technology, Northern Illinois University 3rd Grade Keyboarding Technology Resource/LAN Administrator Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Ray Horan e-mail Ray Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Western Illinois University Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Laurie Jacobson e-mail Laurie Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Ed Johnson e-mail Ed Harper Junior College 1970-72 Eastern Illinois University 1972-75 Bachelors in Education Northern Illinois University 1978-80 Masters in Curriculum and Supervision Five concepts that will be introduced this year will be the following: U.S. History to 1865 Fractions Journal Writing Body Systems Completing assignments on time Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Andrea Loptien RN/ASN (Associates of Applied Science in Nursing)  - Kishwaukee Community College May 2004 BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) - Northern Illinois University May 2007 ILCSN e-mail Andrea Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Jennifer McCormick  e-mail Jennifer B.S. from Illinois State University Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from National Lewis University Five concepts that will be introduced this year will be the following: Reading for finding information Teamwork Love of literature Problem solving Science process skills Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Lisa Miller e-mail Lisa Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Helen Meadowcraft e-mail Helen Bachelor of Science in Education, Elementary Education and Special Education, Northern Illinois University. Masters of Education, Aurora University. Studied at the University of London, London, England Five topics that will be introduced this year will be the following: U.S. Geography Multiplication & Division Reading Improvement Matter Rainforest Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Toni Pyle e-mail Toni   Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Julieane Rosing e-mail Julieane BA in Elementary Education, University of Iowa BFA in Dance, University of Iowa Masters Degree in Elementary Reading Instruction, National Louis University Independent Study in Instructional Technology, National Louis University Several concepts that will be introduced this year will be the following: Transitioning from learning to read to reading to learn Problem Solving, Multiplication, and Division Creative Writing and Responding to Literature Science process skills, solar system, and simple machines Becoming a responsible and independent learner Check out our class website at http://www.syc427.org/schools2/west/rosing/index_jr.mht Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Barb Schlawin e-mail Barb B.A. from DePauw University; M.S. from N.I.U. Five concepts that will be introduced this year will be the following: reading writing adding and subtracting seasons animals Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Amy Tonaki Bachelor of Arts from Augustana College e-mail Amy Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Ken Tonaki   e-mail Ken Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Linda Totman e-mail Linda Graduated from NIU Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from National Lewis University Taught 1st grade(4 years), 2nd grade (1 year), Been in Kindergarten since 1983 - all at West Five concepts that will be introduced this year will be the following: Kindergarten Curriculum Areas 1. Social and Work Readiness: Listen, follow directions, respect others, share, be responsible for self and belongings. 2. Reading Readiness: Letter recognition, letter sounds, rhyming words 3. Math Readiness: Patterns, sorting and classifying, number recognition, counting 4. Science: 5 Senses 5. Physical development: Fine and large motor activities Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Jolene Ward e-mail Jolene Graduated from Ilinois State University with a B.S. in Early Childhood Education. Masters Degree at Northern Illinois University in Reading. Taught kindergarten, second grade and Title I reading. Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Pam Webb e-mail Pam Graduated from NIU Degrees in Elementary education and Special Education (L.D., B.D. and EMH) Huntley High School -Special Education Grades 9-12 Rochelle High School- Special Education Grades 9-12 Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from National Lewis University Sycamore Southeast Elementary- 4-5 Multiage West Elementary 5th Grade Five concepts that will be introduced this year include the following: 1. Body Systems 2. Fractions 3. US History to 1865 4. Effective use of written language and reading in everyday life. 5. Electricity Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Jill Wennmaker e-mail Jill B.S. in Special Education from NIU Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from National Lewis University I support students at West School with and without disabilities in various educational environments along with peers their own age. During the school year, my responsibilities include but are not limited to: Providing students with an alternative Functional-Community Based Curriculum designed on an individual basis based on a child's IEP Adapting classroom activities to ensure meaningful learning for students Teaching students various learning strategies to increase their success in school and future environments Using technology to improve learning and independence for students Assess a student's strengths and weaknesses and implement appropriate changes or remediation activities Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Gail Weskerna e-mail Gail B.S. and M.A. from Western Illinois University Additional coursework from Illinois State University and Northern Illinois University My goal each year is to help to improve communication skills of all the students at West School. Communication lessons focus on "What good communicators do" (Use eye contact, listen well, wait for their turn to talk, are aware of body language and other non-verbal forms of communication). The students who are receiving Speech and Language services may also work on the following skills: Speech (articulation)- Pronouncing words correctly Receptive Language - Understanding spoken and/or written language Expressive Language - Using correct 'grammar' to form clear and complete sentences Social Language- Using appropriate language to communicate with others Alternative Forms of Communication-Some students may require supplemental or other forms of communication to help them communicate (sign language, picture systems, or assistive devices) Fluency (stuttering) or Voice (pitch, hoarseness) Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Stacie Williar e-mail Stacie Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from NIU Working towards my Master's degree in Early Childhood also at NIU Five concepts that will be introduced this year will be the following: Kindergarten Curriculum Areas 1. Social and Work Readiness: Listen, follow directions, respect others, share, be responsible for self and belongings. 2. Reading Readiness: Letter recognition, letter sounds, rhyming words 3. Math Readiness: Patterns, sorting and classifying, number recognition, counting 4. Science: 5 Senses 5. Physical development: Fine and large motor activities Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Kara Brouwer e-mail Kara Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Jan Bolander e-mail Jan Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Nancy Copple e-mail Nancy Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Terrie Crawford e-mail Terrie Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Tammy Diehl e-mail Tammy Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Barb Fewell e-mail Barb Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Vickie Foster e-mail Vickie Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Audrey Engelking e-mail Audrey Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Michelle Friedlund e-mail Michelle Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Dawn Graves e-mail Dawn Passed the Para-professional exam in 2004 Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Kelly Hoffman e-mail Kelly Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Jodi Holtz e-mail Jodi Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Kathy Horan e-mail Kathy Associates Degree from Ferris State University and Bachelors from NIU Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Trish Nihan e-mail Trish A.S. from Kishwaukee College Other college course work towards a B.S. Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Velma Nix e-mail Velma Passed the Para-professional exam in 2004 Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Nony Roush e-mail Nony Return to Top of Page                         Return to West's Home Page

Ginny Rasmussen e-mail Ginny 1975 graduate of N.I.U. B.A. in Speech Communications Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Judith Wartinbee e-mail Judith Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Pam Schramer e-mail Pam Passed the Para-professional exam in 2004 Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

Tony Young e-mail Tony Return to Top of Page                                                      Return to West's Home Page

"The secret in education lies in respecting the student." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

| Sycamore High School | Sycamore Middle School | North Elementary | Southeast Elementary School | | South Prairie School | | Sycamore Community Schools | Administrative Offices | 245 W. Exchange St. | Sycamore, IL 60178 | 815-899-8100 | | © Sycamore Schools | Comments | Web Design By...  | Website Disclaimer |