A little about me...

Hi! I'm Mrs. Walsh, an English teacher at Kasson-Mantorville High School as well as a senior class advisor, an assistant speech coach, and a co-advisor for the diversity club. I've been teaching in the classroom since the fall of 2005, but it took me a few years to find my "home" here at Kasson in the fall of 2008, and I'm incredibly grateful that I did! My family calls Kasson home, and we bleed Blue! My daughter, Delaney, is in kindergarten this year, and my son, Murphy, is in 6th grade.

This is my 15th year at KMHS, and over that time, I have taught a variety of courses. Currently, I am teaching Interpersonal Communication, College Writing, and College Lit: Human Diversity. Both college courses are in conjunction with SMSU's College Now program.

I graduated from Winona State University with a Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts and Literature (Teaching) in May of 2004. I have taught all grade levels from 6th to 12th grade and a large variety of classes. Before coming to K-M, I taught three (non-consecutive) years in the Rochester Public School District and one year in the Alden-Conger School district. In the past few years, I have completed 18 English and Communications graduate credits through Minnesota State University Moorhead. I am currently working on my Master's through Minnesota State Universtiy Mankato's Library Sciences and Information Technology program.

I feel that a classroom should be an environment of respect as well as an environment of learning, including celebrating mistakes and offering redos. An e-learning environment shouldn't be any different. I strive to create lessons, activities, and assessments that appeal to all the learning styles found in each class section. I also strive to use technology as an educational tool in each class, especially to promote collaboration and discussion. One way I do that is by using Google Classroom in each class as well as resources like Flipgrid!

Things that make me happy: large bodies of water, tall trees, live music, soft blankets, good reads, tasty food and beverages, and fuzzy animals.