Meet Mrs. Riley

MEET MRS. RILEY

 I graduated with high honors from Penn State University with a B.S. degree in Elementary and Kindergarten Education.  I taught Title 1 Math and Gifted/Talented Math in the Pennsville School District for one year before moving to Texas.   I taught second grade in Fort Worth, Texas.  When we moved back to the area, I taught kindergarten and Early K for 5 years.  Then I switched to first grade.  I taught first grade for 19 years before moving back to kindergarten when our district switched to campus schools.  This is my fourteenth year teaching the full-day kindergarten program. 

Ms. McClincy, who teaches first grade, is one of my former students. I taught Ms. Kiger, our school secretary, and Mrs. McFarland, our school nurse. Mrs. Fordham was my older son's third grade teacher. Although it doesn't feel like it has been that long, this is my 41st year teaching young children and my 38th year at Valley Park.

My husband and I were married 29 years before he passed away in 2013.  We have two grown sons-Michael and Brian. I've lived in Pennsville for 35 years. Michael is married. He and his wife, Annie, live in Delaware. Brian lives in Pennsville.

Eight summers ago, we adopted a black lab puppy named Duggy.  Duggy is a sweet  and energetic dog. I am sure that you will hear about some of his adventures this year. 

I grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania surrounded by mountains.  I have an identical twin sister and a younger sister.  My husband grew up in this area.  His family lived in Pennsville (the Valley Park area on Craig Place) for many years before moving to Elsinboro.

I am an avid reader and enjoy reading books.  I collect children's books and have a large collection which I enjoy sharing with my students.  I love teaching!  It is very challenging and rewarding. Every year, every class, every day is different.  

I am hooked on technology and enjoy using the Smartboard in my classroom and love using my laptop for creating materials. Did you know that when I first started teaching back in 1982 people didn't think our younger students would be able to use a computer at all? That year I piloted using computers with several elementary students from different grade levels. Our district has come a long way since that time. Our kindergarten students  work on iPads. In the classroom, we also use the Hovercam, a document camera, and the Smartboard during our lessons. The Hovercam is a great tool for students to use to share and explain their work.   

We are 1:1  iPads so students do not have to share. Your child will have a digital portfolio on Seesaw, where your child and I will share his/her work with you throughout the school year. I will push out videos and activities on Seesaw. Plus, parents/guardians and I  can communicate with each other through the Seesaw Family app (a separate app from Seesaw Class app). 

We live in an amazing time. I remember black & white televisions, rotary dial phones, typewriters, eight track players, vinyl record albums/record players, computers that took up an entire room, data entry cards and penpals through snail mail.  Your children are growing up as digital natives. They see you using Smartphones, listening to podcasts and music, watching TV shows on demand, connecting with friends on FB, sharing on Instagram and Pinterest... even some of the toys they play with are high tech.   

In the next few years,  your children will create documents and presentations on an iPad or chromebook, send completed projects to teachers through g-mail, submit work via Google Classroom, collaborate with other students using the Google Apps, send e-mails and instant messages...possibly have ePenpals and their own blogs, follow and tweet on Twitter...or even take classes online. Technology has opened up the world to our children.  We should use technology in our classrooms-not for the sake of being able to say we use technology, but when it can be integrated to enhance student learning. We must remember that play is still an important part of kindergarten and is developmentally-appropriate for our young learners. Children learn social skills and how to self-regulate through play experiences.

My favorite sport to watch is Penn State football. Go Nittany Lions!

I attend Pennsville Assembly of God. I believe that "...with God, all things are possible." Matthew 19:26