Salutations!  My name is Mrs. Howe. 

I am an Instructional Assistant at Kemptown Elementary School.  I have a very varied job.   My first job in the morning is to prepare papers and other materials for our staff to use as they work with students and parents. 

  Throughout the rest of the day, I work with individual students in third, fourth and fifth grade.  My  students are working on strategies to become more fluent readers.  I also teach comprehension skills to a fabulous group of fourth grade students during the afternoon.  Many of the older students are involved in my Before the Bell Book Club or the Sticky Starfish Book Club.

I also work as a Media Assistant in the Library,  helping Miss G with the book collection, helping with classes and answering many, many questions! 

Click here to go to Miss G.'s web page.   http://www.fcpsteach.org/hp/usersites/liuda_galinaitis/Kemptown_Media_Center/KES/  

I work at the Circulation Desk, checking books in and out for students and staff.       One of my most important jobs is finding books and other resources for students and teachers.  I shelve and repair books.  I also help with the  AR program, encouraging students to become independent readers.   Helping students as they work on research papers and projects is another one of my favorite tasks.

To find out more about our library, click here http://schools.fcps.org/amedia/mediamain.cfm?bcid=1065

Some of my favorite children's books include Clifford, the Big Red Dog, Biscuit, Nate the Great,  Henry and Mudge,  Horrible Harry,  Junie B. Jones,  Nancy Drew,  Little House on the Prairie,  Hank Zipzer's books and Harry Potter.  Some of my  favorite authors are Jan Brett, Tomie De Paola, Thomas Locker,  Beverly Cleary, Marguerite Henry, C.S. Lewis and T.H. White.  This past summer, I read several more of Madeline L'Engle's books. 

During lunch,  I  work with students in the cafeteria.  It's a logical place to learn about nutrition and to practice counting money!  It's also a great opportunity to find out how their day is going, to hear about loose teeth, silly baby brothers, birthdays and favorite foods. 

Just like the students, one of my favorite parts of the day is going outside for Recess! 

Mrs. Jones and I both have bus duty, which gets me outside again, at the end of the day.                                                                                                                     

During the winter, you will hear me cheering for the DUKE men's and women's basketball teams!  I have a tall, blonde, grown up son, who went to the University of Virginia and a tall, blonde daughter who went to Kemptown, but now attends Penn State University.  My husband is a tall,  blonde nuclear engineer, who went to North Carolina State University.  

I taught third grade in Virginia Beach for several years after I graduated from Duke. I also worked as a Chapter I teacher for one year.  After my children were born, I became a substitute teacher.  I learn something new every day, so school is a perfect place for me to work.  Come visit me and tell me about your favorite book!

Reading and writing, taking  photographs, drawing, hiking, biking, and gardening are some of the ways I spend my free time.   My  big black dog, Thor, likes playing Catch and Frisbee when I get home from school and he loves taking field trips to run around Kemptown Park and the school fields. I volunteer for Duke University and enjoy  going to  my Book Club meetings with other teachers.  Traveling to see friends and family is one of my favorite activities.  I also like traveling to other countries - last fall, I went to Finland and this summer, I explored France and Switzerland!  I even went down a mile and a half long luge track!