I have been a Plano resident for over 22 years. My family consists of my husband, my two daughters: 28, and 18, and my son, 23 years old. My oldest dauther and her husband welcomed a new baby into the world on September 2nd and our family is overjoyed! My son has recently graduated from Austin College. My youngest dauther is a senior in high school and keeps my husband and I very busy attending her various events!

I began my association with Bethany Elemetnary when my son entered third grade, the very first year Bethany was open. Over the next couple of years, my youngest child joined her brother and they both eventually became Bethany Bunch grads. During that time I had the opportunity to be a room mom, volunteer in the school, go on lots of field trips and later became a substitute.

I joined Plano ISD as a full time art teacher for Skagg and Hedgcoxe during the 1996-97 school year. One year later I was given the Art Specialist position at Bethany and I have been working here in that position ever since!

Bethany has become like a second home to me. I just love working in my neighborhood school. Creativity is something I am very passionate about and I enjoy teaching Art. It is such a pleasure to get to know all the children beginning in Kindergarten and working with them through their fifth grade years.

In my spare time, I enjoy still life painting in oils, decorating our home, watching HGTV, cooking, antiquing, eating out with my family and playing with my granddaughter. Of course, I also love visiting museums and galleries and sharing what I learn with my students!

My favorite quote is “There is no such thing as a mistake – each attempt is a stepping stone.” Anonymous

About the Program

Students come to Art at an assigned time once a week for approximately 50 minutes. In class, we will work in a variety of ways to increase each learner’s visual literacy during their Bethany years.

Students will be studying the elements and principles of art, learning about art of the highest quality throughout history, studying the art of various cultures, learning about artists and the period of time they lived, exploring a variety 2-D and 3-D media, creating original art based on concepts taught, developing personal preferences and opinions about art styles, movements and media, questioning the meaning of art works, writing about art and more. Additionally, Math, History, Geography, Science and Language Arts skills are sharpened, as these subjects are integrated into art lessons.

Student art work is displayed in the hallways of Bethany and in the Virtual Gallery on our webpage. Our students participate each year in a number of opportunities for district and state art displays and contests.

For additional information on the Plano ISD Art Curriculum, click here.

This is my eighth year to teach music in the Plano schools. I majored in music at Dallas Baptist University with a vocal concentration, and am a Kodály Certified Music Specialist. I have been singing all of my life, and I am very passionate about teaching music! I love working with kids and I always try to find ways to make learning fun, and encourage everyone to find the musician within themselves!

One of my favorite quotes: “You can do anything if you have enthusiasm.” – Henry Ford

About the Program

Zoltán Kodály (1882-1967), a Hungarian composer and music educator, developed his method with the help of Hungarian public school music teachers. The musical literacy improved so drastically within his country that soon educators from all over the world adopted his methods. Basically, Kodály believed the following:
1) Children should be exposed to only the highest quality of music.
2) One way children learn to cherish their heritage and their roots is through singing songs of their native language and learning the folk songs and rhymes passed from one generation to another. Because the folk music endured many years, even without a written format, it is believed to be of superior quality and the basis of great compositions. Therefore folk music forms the bulwark of songs taught at the elementary level.
3) Musical literacy (the ability to read, write and think music) is the right of every human being.
4) Music education should begin at a very young age.
5) Music learning begins with the child’s natural instrument, the voice.

The goal of our Kodály based music program at Bethany is to encourage every child to explore their musical talents and learn to love and appreciate music. We believe music is a language in and of itself and that each child should be given the opportunity to grow and succeed in this basic and natural means of human expression. We foster this philosophy by providing a supportive, encouraging, and fun environment in which children want to learn music. Students at Bethany come to music once a week for 50 minutes. Each lesson consists of singing, playing musical games, folk dancing, reading, writing, and creating. It is our goal that when our students leave our program they will be musically literate and go on to enjoy music throughout his/her lifetime.

My goal as a PE teacher is to help all students develop a love for being active and being healthy. I always tell my students that they have only been given one body and then need to start taking care of it now so that it will stay healthy throughout their lives. I hope each student will leave my classroom at the end of the year having felt like they mastered some new skill or acquired some new interest from the activities we do. I also hope they will think about making healthy choices in what they do and what they eat once they leave my classroom. Most of all, I hope they will remember their time in PE as FUN!

I grew up in Oklahoma and attended the University Of Oklahoma. I studied Physical Education and decided to seek a career in both coaching and education. I enjoy working with young people and seeing them learn. I have been in the Plano schools for 25 years. Favorite hobbies include exercise, running, movies and watching sports.

Bethany’s physical education program is designed to educate students about the benefit of a healthy lifestyle, teach the importance of fair play and good sportsmanship, and enhance skill development. The program is continuous in nature, so that the students will be involved in activities suitable for their grade level. We reinforce the fact that physical activity is for everyone regardless of their skill level, age, size or shape. We stress being open minded to new experiences and that each student strives to do their best. A key to our PE program is that we want the students to learn in a FUN environment!