Mrs. Bailey

Education: B.S., North Carolina State University
Length of time teaching: 8 years

Holy Trinity’s tagline is: “Start Here. Go Anywhere.” How do you envision helping students to live this motto? 
Students at Holy Trinity are among the brightest on the Space Coast, but it requires more than high test scores to experience the joys of a limitless future. In addition to intelligence, it requires hard work, perseverance, the ability to work in a team, communication skills, and much more. For this reason, I try to diversify the learning experience within my room so all students have an opportunity to be challenged and grow. My hope is that students leave my class not only understanding the subject matter, but also having practiced some of the skills mentioned above so that they truly can "Go Anywhere."

 

What is the most important life lesson you want a child to learn in your classroom? 
Success in anything requires hard work, determination, and persistence.  Never give up simply because something seems too difficult. 

What are some of your interests and passions outside of the classroom? 
I enjoy spending time with my family, photography, and any craft project that requires multiple trips to Hobby Lobby.  In my free time you can find me walking our 5 year old energetic dog (who has taken a serious interest in the Florida wildlife), reading a book, or playing board games.

How do you inspire students to enjoy learning?
Science is always more enjoyable when it relates to life.  I realize that not all of the students in my class will go on to major in chemistry or computer science, but these 2 subjects are never lacking in relevance to their lives.  I always try to find out what interests them and go from there.  I have found that students perk up when I incorporate practical concepts such as the science of sports, the chemistry of fireworks, or how internet security relates to their social media page.

What has been your most memorable moment in teaching? 
Watching two future music majors score 5s on the AP Computer Science exam.  I love when students discover a passion for a subject that previously terrified them.  One of them even changed her major to a double major in music and computer science. 

If teaching was not your first professional career, what was? How did you transition into teaching?
My degree is in Engineering, and I worked as a mechanical design/manufacturing engineer for 2 years.  Part of my job was teaching and training technicians in the chemical concepts of adhesive bonding.  This sparked a love of teaching, and I have now had the privilege of teaching physics, chemistry and computer science to high school students in Annapolis, Atlanta, and now Melbourne.