PINE GROVE AREA MIDDLE SCHOOL

Hello! This is my 26th year teaching in the Middle School. I taught science/health on the 5th Grade Penguin Team for 17 years. Before that position, I substituted 4 years in the PGASD (K-8). I will be teaching science/health in fifth grade. I graduated from Blue Mountain High School and Kutztown University with a degree in Elementary Education and have received my Master's Certificate.

I am a co-advisor for the yearbook with Mrs. Burns, Librarian.

In my free time, I enjoy camping and boating, listening to music, watching movies, cooking, shopping, and traveling.

I became a member of The Polar Bear Swim Club of Barrow, Alaska in the summer of 2008. I swam in the frigid water of the Arctic Ocean among icebergs. Brrr!

Some of my exciting adventures include: Killer Whale Watching in the Puget Sound, swimming with dolphins in the Florida Keys, horseback riding in the Black Hills of South Dakota, walking on the Skywalk Glass Bridge at the Grand Canyon, panning for gold in Alaska, and snorkeling in the Hawaiian Islands and Bermuda.

In the summer of 2010, I went on my first African Safari for 21 days! While in Africa, I visited: KENYA, where I took a Hot Air Balloon Ride over Amboseli National Park, saw a Wildebeast River Crossing during The Great Migration in the Maasai Mara National Reserve; TANZANIA, where I saw all of The Big Five in the Ngorongoro Crater and the Serengeti National Park; ZANZIBAR ISLAND, where I swam with wild dolphins in the beautiful blue Indian Ocean; and ZIMBABWE, where I got soaked from the spray of the mighty Victoria Falls and rode elephant back on safari.

My African Adventure Part II, in South Africa, is where I went on safari near Kruger National Park; explored caves, rode horseback, and watched whales at Grootbos Nature Preserve; walked on Boulders Beach with African Penguins; and survived a Great White Shark Cage Dive in Shark Alley off the coast of Gansbaai, South Africa.

I traveled to Namibia for My African Adventure Part III, where I sand boarded down the world's largest sand dunes at 45 mph, rode a camel named Olga in the Namib Desert, visited a seal colony in Cape Cross, and went on a safari. I actually had the opportunity to touch a pangolin!

In 2015, I traveled to Brazil to visit the Amazon Rainforest, Rio de Janeiro, Iguazu Falls, and go on a Jaguar Safari. Fishing for Piranha was fun! I caught two White Piranhas and released them. I actually held a Three-toed Sloth mother with her baby and an Anaconda!

Belize was fun! I was swimming with Nurse Sharks and Stingrays in Shark Ray Alley, Don't worry...Nurse Sharks are harmless to humans! They feel like sandpaper and the Stingrays were slimy and squishy!

I traveled to Costa Rica. My adventure began in Tortuguero watching Green Sea Turtles lay eggs in nests on the beach at night. Then to Arenal Volcano to rappell down waterfalls, one as high as 200 feet! The Monteverde Cloud Forest was the best for zip lining and walking the Hanging Bridges. Manuel Antonio was a nice place to relax at the beach and snorkel.

I went on an Orca Whale & Grizzly Bear Safari in British Columbia in 2018.

A cruise around the Greek Islands and Italy was fun! The food was amazing!

In 2021, I traveled to Guadeloupe Island off the coast of Mexico for the Best Great White Shark Diving in the World. In a cage, of course! What an experience to be eye to eye with a Great White Shark! 

I look forward to joining you on your adventure to wonderful discoveries in science!