About Me
"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.
Live the life you have imagined."
-Henry David Thoreau
A little about me...
I have wanted to be a teacher almost my entire life. In college I majored in History, with a minor in English. Had I not studied abroad for my junior year, I would have earned a double major in English. That year was one of the best of my life, so although it cost me a double major, I have no regrets! I spent half of the year at Oxford University in England and the other half at the University of Paris-Sorbonne, studying European history and literature.
After graduating from Saint Michael's College, I decided to take some time off before graduate school. During that time I traveled a lot, started a graphic design company, worked as a corporate trainer for an insurance company... and got married and had children. Knowing how time-intensive being a teacher would be, I decided to shelve my ultimate plans to become a teacher until my kids were older. Now that they are independent young adults, I'm thrilled to be working in the career I've dreamed of for decades.
Ever since graduating from college, I've continued to take more college courses in both History and English; happily, I am now certified as Highly-Qualified in both subjects. I also have spent a year and a half working at HBMS as an English tutor and also as a paraeducator. Those experiences have been invaluable, as I've been able to see the entire 8th-grade curriculum up close as well as to watch some amazing educators from both grades in action.
Going hand-in-hand with my love of learning is my love of reading. Above is a picture of my "ideal bookshelf," a creative concept developed by writer/artist Jane Mount. After being inspired by her book, I put together my own version, which you can read more about here. It was a lot of fun, but hard to do, as I have loved reading for as long as I can remember.
Some of my other hobbies include mountain climbing-- I've summited 44 of NH's 48 4,000 footers-- travel, snowshoeing, cake decorating, and cooking. I also enjoy all kinds of puzzles: crossword, sudoku, kenken, and jigsaw. You also should know that I have a quirky sense of humor; I don't watch much tv, but I'll watch re-runs of 30Rock, Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, and Freaks and Geeks when I want a good laugh. My daughter and I love Broadway musicals and try to catch live theatre any chance we get. We also enjoy traveling; some of my favorite pre-COVID trips have been to Phoenix (Arizona), Budapest (Hungary), Thailand, and New Zealand.
Other than these pastimes, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. My daughter Sydney recently graduated from Bentley University and spent a post-grad year teaching in Thailand. My son Jack just graduated from Georgia Tech in Atlanta. They both attended HBMS and HBHS, so we've been a part of this fantastic community for almost twenty years. Most of my extended family live in the Nashua area, and I'm lucky to get to see them frequently. I have one brother and one sister, with lots of nieces, nephews, cousins, and in-laws in the mix.
I'm so excited to meet all of you and to get to know all of you. We're going to have a great year!
~ Ms. MacLeod