Give a big Maercker D60 welcome to Brittany Stock, who will be joining our team as the Fine Arts Teacher at Holmes! She has a background in both theater and teaching and feels that education provides opportunities to make local and global communities better.
“I consider myself a lifelong learner, and I hope to model a sense of curiosity, passion for learning, and willingness to try for my students,” said Brittany. “When in my classroom, I hope that students feel they have the freedom to make mistakes, see the value in a variety of voices and perspectives, and feel both challenged and inspired. Regardless of what they choose to do in life, I hope that my students are empowered to continue to learn at Holmes and beyond!”
Welcome Brittany!
We hope everyone had a great first day of school! See you tomorrow for day two! #d60learns
We've gotten some great photos of students on their first day of school! We especially love seeing our new kindergarten students ready to learn! #d60learns
We have some stylish students on the first day of school! The staff at Holmes even got into the first day of school photo fun! #d60learns
We're off to a great start with some first day of school pictures from around the district! Send yours to d60communications@maercker.org for consideration! Have a great first day Maercker D60 staff and students! #d60learns
Today is the first day of school! We want to see and share your first day of school photos, send them to d60communications@maercker.org and let’s kick off an amazing year of learning! #d60learns
We are excited to kick off the school year tomorrow! This week we held an opening day all staff meeting and were able to honor staff members for their achievements! Congratulations to Samantha Herrera, Kate Cannova, Michelle Chick, Thatcher Ramirez, Tania Yackle, and Patrice Malamis for attaining Tenure and to Sam Williams, Cesar Tamayo, and Desiree Regalado for earning their master's degree! #d60learns
We are fortunate to have such incredible educators in Maercker D60! We celebrated our staff during our opening day to recognize their years of service. Congratulations to everyone and thank you for your dedication to our schools!
15 Years of Service: Lorrae Finkbeiner, Kelly Russo, Stephanie Walker, Not Pictured: Joanne Van Hoegarden
20 Years of Service: Lorenzo Parker, Mike Ryan, Amy Griffin, Mary Jo Lopez, Megan Casey, Katie Pebler, Lissa Blake, Trudy Vacek, Not Pictured: Nicole Pervan
25 Years of Service: Lynn Donahue
30 Years of Service: Robert Goss
Let’s welcome another new teacher to the Maercker D60 community! Melissa Wych will be joining the team at Westview Hills to teach Spanish. She says that she chose to work at Maercker D60 because of the district's passion and dedication to their students and for having values that mirror hers including diversity, inclusivity, and family community alongside academic strengths.
“As cliche as it sounds, I have always wanted to be a teacher,” said Melissa. “ I love being a positive light in children’s lives and being able to teach them new things every day. The Spanish language has always been important to me because I am of Latin descent. Teaching the language which my family speaks and the culture that we share is an honor. My mission is to make sure each student is filled with motivation to learn and grow not just as students, but as people!”
Bienvenida Melissa!
Maercker School Families, join us tonight (Wednesday, August 21) from 4-5 p.m. for Meet the Teacher and Supply Drop Off. We can’t wait to see everyone and start the school year! #d60learns
It was amazing to have students in the building at Holmes yesterday! Everyone had a great time at the exotic animal show and we are feeling ready for the school year! #d60learns
Westview Hills Families, don’t miss the back-to-school meet and greet tonight (Tuesday, August 20) from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Come meet your teachers, find your locker, and get ready for the school year! #d60learns
The Dual Language program at Holmes continues to grow and we are excited to welcome April Kujawa to the team to teach second grade students! She is passionate about the value, beauty, and power of diversity and says she appreciates that Maercker D60 is willing to invest in programs like dual language.
“I have always loved learning and wanted to be able to encourage others to fall in love with learning as well,” said April. “Working in education is a calling and a heartbeat. I believe that knowledge is power and one of the best ways to empower students is to help them recognize that learning can take them where they want to go- today, tomorrow, and beyond. It is the stepping stone to their dreams and it should be real life, engaging, and fun in the process!”
Bienvenida April!
The new Admin Team at Maercker School is ready to kick of the 2024-25 school year on Thursday, August 22! It's going to be a wonderful year to be a Wildcat! (L to R: Mr. Mark Pagel and Mrs. Laura Gilmartin, Co-Principals; Mr. Dennis Bolus, Assistant Principal) #d60learns
Maercker D60 staff is preparing to kick off the 2024-25 school year during Institute Day! We love seeing our team together getting energized for an amazing year. #d60learns
Holmes families, Meet the Teacher and Curriculum Night is tonight (Monday, August 19) with two sessions. Session 1 will begin at 5 p.m. for last names A-M and Session 2 will begin at 6 p.m. for last names N-Z. Drop off your supplies, meet your teacher, and students get to see a wildlife show! #d60learns
The youngest learners in Maercker D60 will get amazing support from Amanda Laurinec, a new preschool for all teacher! She says that she was searching for a district that truly values creating lifelong learners, and that Maercker D60 fits that perfectly.
“I knew I wanted to be a teacher ever since preschool thanks to an incredible teacher who made each day an adventure,” said Amanda. “When I was in her classroom, I felt truly loved and valued, and that feeling has stayed with me. My preschool teacher and I still keep in touch, and she’s always been one of my biggest supporters. I promised myself I would make a positive impact on my students, just as she did for me. There's nothing better than seeing students fall in love with learning the way I did!”
Welcome Amanda!
Kindergarten Leap students had a great time. We even heard one student say “I waited all morning to get in the car to come to school!” #d60learns
Please join us in welcoming Elizabeth Valtman to the Maercker D60 team! She will be serving as a Differentiation Specialist at Holmes and says that she believes that a way to inspire students is to build relationships with them, get to know them as a person, and tie their interests to the learning.
“I had an amazing first and third grade teacher that changed my whole outlook on learning as a student and took it from being hard to being fun,” said Elizabeth. “I decided I wanted to be that teacher for others struggling and be the reason they learn to love learning and become lifelong learners!”
Welcome Elizabeth!
Another familiar face to the Maercker D60 community is joining the team for the 2024-25 school year. Andrew Lewandowski completed his student teaching in D60 and he says that the staff and students left him with a strong desire to continue his journey here. He says he love working education because it’s an opportunity to make a difference in a child’s life and that seeing the smile after a student conquers a difficult problem is one of the most rewarding parts of being an educator.
“I believe each child has the right to explore,” said Andrew. “By letting the child take control of their learning, you are letting them find new and exciting experiences. These experiences then lead them to questions and these questions lead to more discoveries.”
Welcome back Andrew!
