Fall Guide - Kimi O’Malley

Nesbit Elementary School fourth-grade teacher

This fall, first-year teacher Kimi O’Malley plans to put a fresh spin on traditional subjects. She’s been known to turn college-drinking games into educational activities and to dress up as a British solider to teach the Revolutionary War. Outside the classroom, O’Malley volunteers with a student-mentoring group, Fertile Ground.

Last summer, O’Malley went to Mexico with a group of fellow teachers. “Over half of our students are from Mexico, so we went there to learn about their language and culture, and to visit elementary schools. We saw how little their public schools have, like only pencils for school supplies, no textbooks and 45 students to a classroom.”

“To get students to quiet down, I say, ‘If you can hear me, clap one time.’ If that doesn’t work, I say, ‘If you can hear me, clap two times.’ They usually start to quiet down when they hear people clapping,” O’Malley explains.

“I haven’t been called any names yet this year, but before I got married I was Ms. Martz and was called Ms. Fartz on occasion,” O’Malley says.

 

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