About the Teacher & Contact Info
Nicole Connors & Holly Master
Co-Taught Kindergarten, Lowell School
Nicole Connors:
A little bit of information about me...
My entire life I have always been around children in one setting or another. When I was growing up I loved to babysit, volunteered at our church day care and worked at a summer camp at a local nursery school. My freshman year of college - at Marymount University in Palos Verdes, CA - I began volunteering at an on-site preschool and realized that I had found my passion - teaching young children! I graduated with my undergraduate & Masters Degree from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. I started at the Lowell School as a student teacher in the Spring of 2007. I loved the feeling of community here and decided to come back the following year as an Instructional Assistant as I finished grad school. Finally, I graduated and as luck would have it, there was a kindergarten teacher position available for the next school year. I have never lost that passion for teaching and continue to love what I do.
My husband, Brian Connors, works here at the Lowell School (actually it's how we met), so you might hear your child mention that little fact at home. :) In November our son, Blake, will be turning 6! He has filled our lives with so much joy and makes every day an adventure. We also have a daughter named Avery (2). She was born on the first day of spring and has brought light into all of our lives ever since.
Holly and I have worked together for many years and this is our second year co-teaching together. We are looking forward to this opportunity and are fortunate to have the assistance of a wonderful, full-time classroom IA, Lisa Cavarretta!
I am lucky to say that I absolutely love my job. I love coming in every morning and I love what each student has to offer in his or her own way. I will forever be a student of my students. ~ Nicole
Holly Master:
A little bit of information about me…..
My passion is inclusion. I believe that ALL children with disabilities can be included and accepted in their neighborhoods, classrooms and communities.
I am originally from Pennsylvania and moved to Delaware with my family in 9th grade. I accepted a full athletic scholarship to play field hockey at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. I had a very successful field hockey career there, playing in the NCAA Division 1 Final Four and finishing as an All-American. I majored in Speech and Language Pathology and Audiology with a focus on young children with little or no expressive language. In my time there, I fell in love with New England!
I moved to Boston and was an Instructional Assistant in Newton and Lexington. Following those experiences I worked at the New England Center for Children and worked in the adult services department as well as the preschool. While working there, I completed my Master’s Degree from Simmons College in Special Education. After completing my degree, I returned to the Lexington Public Schools where I was responsible for creating programs for children with disabilities and successfully included them in their neighborhood schools and the community. After teaching for 7 years in Lexington, I took time away from teaching to spend time with my 4 children.
I live in Watertown with my husband Dan. We have 4 children: Nathan who will be in 12th grade in Watertown High School, Casey who will be in 11th grade at Watertown High School, Tessa who is in 9th grade, and Kaylee who is in 7th. You will often see me at the football field, field hockey field, soccer field, ice hockey rink, pool, and at the baseball and softball fields. I love supporting and coaching the kids in Watertown. I also continue to play field hockey and represented the USA at the Master’s World Cup in Spain in the summer of 2018.
I am looking forward to working with Nicole and Lisa again this year. I am excited to create a caring, warm and rich educational environment for all the children at the Lowell School.
