I'm excited to be your English teacher at Hornsby Middle School this year. This is my 12th year with WJCC where I've also taught 7th and 8th grade English at the Academy for Life & Learning and 6th grade English at James Blair Middle School. I've been at Hornsby Middle School teaching 6th and 8th grade since the school opened in 2010. Prior to WJCC, I spent four years with NNPS.
I've had the privilege of working in education for over 17 years, even spending three years teaching in Pusan, South Korea. I have a Bachelors in English Education, a Masters in Curriculum & Instruction, and endorsements in Gifted Education and English as a Second Language.
As you may guess, I love learning, and I love teaching. I'm truly looking forward to a great year of sharing my passions of reading and writing with you.
~ Ms. Brooks
Passion
Flip. Whip. Whirl. Twirl. I began learning to twirl the baton when I was 7-years old. Little did I know at the time, but twirling would become my passion for the next 12 years. I started by learning the foundational skills needed to perform in parades as one of the Marshalettes. My teacher was Marsha Phillips. She dedicated her life and the lives of her four daughters to the sport of twirling. She was tough, and she helped me out of my introverted shell.
I learned to love being the center of attention. Over the years, I took ballet and gymnastics to help enhance my twirling routines. I competed constantly in local, state, and national levels. At one point, I was third in the state of Pennsylvania in my age group. When I entered middle school, I became the feature twirler and performed during band performances in parades, competitions, and football games. I held the title of feature twirler all throughout my school years. In high school, I became known as the girl who twirled fire. |
Pudgy (aka: Pudgie)
When she was "Jenny" with a "y", I was Pudgy. When she was "Jennie" with an "ie", I was Pudgie. Crazy how she changed my spelling along with hers. Seems a bit foolish to me, but I love her anyway.
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She calls me Pudgy. I guess it's because I'm a bit on the plump side. That doesn't seem to be very nice because I can't help my weight; I was created that way. At least I'm soft and fluffy and with my big brown eyes, how could she not love me?
She really does adores me and takes pretty good care of me. I get to snuggle under the covers with her when she's in dreamland each night, and she really depends on me when she's sad or not feeling well. In fact, I have helped her wipe away many tears in my days. She even shared some pretty deep secrets with me. I'm pretty much on the shy side, so I've keep those secrets over the years. She left me when she moved out. That was an extremely traumatic experience for me, but she at least returns to visit a few times a year. For years, I kept her mom and dad company and tried to stay on the down low to avoid those crazy two nieces and nephew of hers. Now, she's finally found me a home in her classroom, so I get to see her every day. |