Mrs. Adamec's
5th Grade All Stars
August 2017
Welcome to Mrs. Adamec's 5th Grade Classroom! I am excited to begin my third year teaching 5th grade at Laurel Mountain. Fifth grade is an important year as students prepare to make the transition to middle school by gaining more independence through greater responsibilities. I believe that all of our children are gifted and can learn and be successful given the right opportunities and support, and I am committed to helping my students reach their full potential through challenging and fun learning experiences.
After graduating from the University of Texas - hook ‘em horns! - I taught 6th grade math and science and 8th grade reading in Pflugerville ISD. I then moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, and Beijing, China, to be the Community Liaison Coordinator for the U.S. Department of State. In both Guadalajara and Beijing, my primary role was to help the American Embassy employees and their family members adjust to life and enjoy living abroad among different cultures. What a wonderful experience it was to immerse in other cultures, but after being away from family, friends, and “home” for several years, it was time to return to Texas.
Before joining Laurel Mountain this summer, I spent five years developing educational video resources for college and career readiness programs at the University of Texas. I developed a series of kid-to-kid video lessons in which students use their language to teach difficult math and science concepts to their peers. How fun and insightful to see teaching from the student’s perspective! I also worked with students, teachers and administrators on campuses around the state identifying and documenting best teaching practices being successfully used with at-risk students for an online professional development resource. It was the time I spent working with these students that made me realize I belong back in the classroom. I have always remained a teacher at heart and have such a strong desire to see students succeed in their personal and academic lives.
My family and I live nearby in Cedar Park. My husband, Jeff, is a former Marine, and we have three wacky kids. Luke is 13 and going into 8th grade. Olivia is 11 and going into 6th grade, and little Parker is almost 2.5 years old. Our kids keep us busy with their activities, but there’s nothing more we enjoy than just hanging out together, whether it’s shooting hoops in the driveway, going on an adventure, or watching a movie.
I look forward to getting to know each of my students as we build our classroom culture of respect and trust together. Students should come to class ready to participate and work hard, take chances, make mistakes, celebrate successes, learn from each other, and laugh! This is going to be an excellent year!