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I am Mrs. Messina and I am thrilled to be your 6th grade language arts and writing teacher this year. There are so many fun things to look forward to in 6th grade and I cannot wait to tell you all about them as the year goes on. I am looking forward to getting to know you and to learning all the amazing things about you. You will get to know all about me this year too! I am originally from Bergen County, NJ, which is way, way up in the northern part of the state, but I have lived in Salem County, NJ for about 20 years now. This is my eleventh year teaching at Samuel Mickle School, and before coming to SMS, I taught at Woodstown Middle School. Prior to teaching, I was a paralegal, but I decided to follow my passion, and so I returned to Rowan University to study education. In 2010, I graduated Summa Cum Laude with Bachelor's Degrees in Elementary Education and English.
I have been married for over 20 years. I have 3 grown stepsons and one son, Cody, who just started college. I am sure you will hear me talk about him all the time, and you may even get to meet him at some point. This is Cody and me on the train to Hogwarts in Harry Potter World a while ago.
I love, love, love Harry Potter!!! Seriously, I am a huge fan. I have read all the books numerous times, seen the movies, and been to Harry Potter World at Universal Studios. If you have seen my classroom, this is not surprising to you. You do not have to love Harry Potter to be in my class, but you should give it a chance because it is AWESOME!
Other stuff I love: Starbucks, Doctor Who, and Barnes and Noble. Yes, I am a total Whovian! There is usually at least one Whovian in my class every year. I wonder who it will be this year? I also love Barnes and Noble. It is my happy place. How can you be unhappy surrounded by books?
In case you could not tell, I LOVE books and reading. So many people say they hate to read, but they really do not. I fervently believe that the only reason people think they hate reading is because they are not reading the right books for them. It is my passion as a teacher to instill a love of books and reading into all my students by helping them find just the right books for them. Have you seen my class library? Just wait until you do! It is not quite this big....
Other fun facts about me: I am a 4-H leader and volunteer in Salem County. My club is called Far Out Fibers. I used to raise sheep, but we don't have any currently. This is Jet, one of our old sheep. We had to give all of our sheep away for now, but I am hopeful that we will have some sheep to raise again someday.
Jet provided us with fiber from her wool. Since some of my hobbies are weaving, knitting and crocheting, I can take her wool and spin it into yarn using a spinning wheel like they did in the old days. Pretty cool, right?
Sports that I enjoy include football and the other football, also known as soccer. My son played as a goalkeeper for the Penns Grove Storm travel team and he is currently playing in a league with the team from Salem County Community College. We are also BIG Philadelphia Union fans, and we attend as many of the games as we can! Doop!
In American football, I am a fan of the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers are my number two favorite, but I like the Eagles too 😀.
