Collins Elementary

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Beth Conn is the librarian at Collins Elementary. Beth has been in education for 16 years. She taught Pre-K for 4 years, 5th grade for 10 years, and has been our librarian for 2 years. Her favorite part of teaching and being in the library is connecting with students and their families. Beth says, "Once that connection is made, students are ready to learn from you. The beauty of teaching in a small town is that I can continue to watch my students grow and thrive throughout their educational journey". This year Beth has a goal of fostering a love of reading in our Collins students by helping them find the right book for each of them. Her philosophy is, "I do not believe students dislike reading. I believe some students simply haven't found the right book yet". Beth's hobbies are reading, traveling, and spending time with her husband, kids, and two grandsons.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Brenda Fechner is a 4th grade teacher at Collins Elementary. She currently teaches 4th grade math, science, and social studies/geography. Brenda has been in education for 29 years. She preciously taught 5th grade, remedial math, 3rd grade for many years, and now 4th grade. She says, "My favorite part of teaching is the students, of course!" Her goal this year is to inspire her students to love learning and to feel proud of their accomplishments. When not teaching, she loves to spend time with family and friends. She spends lots of time at rodeos and riding her horses. She also loves to read.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Lindsey Mayberry is a 5th grade teacher at Collins Elementary. She has been teaching for 15 years. Lindsey has taught 2nd grade for 3 years in another district and has spent the last 12 years teaching math and science at Collins. Her favorite part of teaching is building relationships with students each year. She enjoys getting to know their different personalities and learning styles. Lindsey says, " I am able to build off of what I know about them to personalize their learning experiences in my classroom and then get to see them grow year after year. Greeting them with a hug and knowing they will always be "one of my kids" is the best". This year and every year Lindsey wants to create a comfortable environment that is conducive for learning for her students. She says, " I want them to know they are cared for, first, and we are all there to learn and grow, second. I'd also love for them to see that math isn't something to be scared of, and it can be very fun! I am excited to meet my new 5th graders and watch them excel this school year". In her time away from school she is very active in the Methodist Church and with Activation Outreach ministry group. She loves watching her son play baseball or any anther sport he is involved in during each season. Lindsey also coaches her daughter's softball team and loves spending time with family.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Whitney Taff is a 3rd grade teacher at Collins Elementary. She has been teaching for 9 years and has taught 2nd and 3rd grades in 2 different districts. Whitney is also the Collins yearbook sponsor. Her favorite part of teaching is the "lightbulb" moment when students finally understand something they have been struggling with. She loves building relationships with all of the students and making sure they have a safe space to grow and learn. Her goal this year is to see her students improve on benchmark and testing scores. To accomplish this, she intends to use those scores to target needed areas and help students apply strategies to improve and succeed. She wants to build strong lasting relationships with students and make sure they know her room is their home away from home. In her free time, Whitney loves to spend time with her girls, read, and do crafts. She also enjoys photography.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Ashley McGovran is a 5th grade teacher at Collins Elementary. She is beginning her 9th year in education. Ashley has taught 3rd grade and 4th grade in other districts, before coming to Bristow. She has taught 4th grade at Colins and currently teaches 5th grade math and science. She is also the lead teacher of the 5th grade team. Her favorite part of teaching is creating new relationships with students and helping them build on their skill level. This year Ashley is looking forward to meeting new students, building new relationships, and helping to instill her love of math in her students. In her free time, she loves spending time with family and friends and traveling and visiting new places.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Deann Jones is the reading specialist at Collins Elementary. Deann has been teaching for 19 years. In her career she has taught Pre-K, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 4th grades, before becoming the reading specialist at Collins. Her favorite thing about teaching is seeing students improve their reading skills and get excited about learning. Deann has a goal this year to reinforce the phonics skills that are being taught in the regular classrooms and to do that using the 95% group curriculum with fidelity. In her free time she enjoys crafting and creating things. Deann says, " I have usually spent all of my free time attending my girls' events, volunteering to help with anything that they were involved in. We now, however, are empty nesters, so I may need to pick up some more hobbies".

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Kara Blansett has been teaching for 7 years. She is moving into 4th grade this year and will be teaching reading and language arts. She has been teaching 3rd grade previously in the subjects of reading, math, language arts, spelling, science, and Oklahoma history. Her favorite part of teaching is connecting with each of her students in unique ways and meeting them where they are in education and in life. Kara says, " There's nothing like seeing the look on a student's face when I take the time to participate in their life outside of school in their sports, music, church, etc...". This year, Kara has a personal goal of embracing the challenge of changing grade levels for the first time in her career. She hopes to inspire enjoyment of reading with students as she works to find them books they love. Her ultimate goal is for her students to leave her classroom at the end of the day and the end of the school year knowing that their teacher loves and values them. In her free time she loves spending time with her husband and toddler. Together they love to travel, cook, and spend lots of time outside. Kara is also very passionate about Oklahoma Sooner sports!

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Tim Cook is a 5th grade teacher at Collins Elementary. He has been teaching for 16 years. Tim has taught 6th grade social studies and ELA, 9th-12th grade history, and now teaches 5th grade reading and English at Collins. His favorite part of teaching is getting to know the students in his classroom and getting to see them flourish in their creativity when they are invested in an assignment or project. Tim says, "Nothing can replace their smile when they come to show off their finished product". Tim's goal this year is to help each student find a book or a series that they truly enjoy. In doing so, he hopes he can instill in them a lifelong love of reading. In his free time, he enjoys listening to books, traveling, and hanging out with his family. As of late, he is pretty invested in "helping" his son defeat Ganon in the Legend of Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Emily Winter is the counselor at Collins Elementary. She has been in education for 21 years. She has taught 10th grade English for 2 years, 7th grade English for 9 years, was the 3rd-5th grade Reading Specialist for 5 years and has been the counselor at Collins for 5 years. All her experience is in the Bristow Public Schools district. Her favorite part of teaching and being at school is getting to build relationships with the students. She loves greeting them at the door every morning. It is her favorite part of the day. Emily has a goal this year of working with students to help build a culture of respect and teaching students how to control and understand their emotions using our Zones of Regulations curriculum. Emily says, "It's important for our students to learn how to be respectful, how to follow procedures, and how to control the different emotions that they may feel". In her free time, she loves to read. Getting caught up in a fiction story is her her favorite. Emily loves to travel with her husband and family. She has been to 46 of the 50 states. During the school year, she loves to watch her youngest son (the only one still in high school) in all his activities.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Nikki Stewart is a 4th grade teacher at Collins Elementary. She has been teaching for 26 years. She has taught Middle School history for 8 years, PE for 6 years, and has taught 4th grade now for 12 years. She has also driven a bus for 26 years. Her favorite part of teaching is getting to learn the different personalities of her students. Her goal for this coming school year is to help instill a love for learning in her students. She wants to provide a relaxed and safe environment where students can be themselves and learn at their own pace. In her free time, Nikki enjoys her church and family time. She spends much time at rodeos, running barrels, and riding her horses.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Brandi Root is a 3rd grade teacher at Collins Elementary. She has been teaching for 2 years. She taught 4th grade one year and 3rd grade for one year. She also taught Pre-K for 5 years previously. Her favorite part of teaching is getting to know students and building relationships with them. She loves getting to know their individual personalities and watching them learn and grow academically and socially throughout the year. This year Brandi has a personal goal of growing as a teacher and becoming more positive and confident in her abilities and conveying that to her students. She wants to strive to instill in students the motivation to learn from the very beginning of the year. In her free time she loves attending sporting events and watching her own children play and compete in numerous activities. She loves listening to music and singing loudly, reading, fishing, playing board games with the family, cooking, and taking care of the farm animals.

Back to School is just around the corner. Our first day will be Thursday, August 10, and we will have all of our back to school events on August 8. Contact the site principal for more specific details.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Heather Adams is a 5th grade teacher at Collins Elementary. She currently teaches science and history. She has been an educator for 32 years. She has taught 5th and 6th grade. She has also taught ESL and K-6 Spanish as an elective. Her favorite part of teaching is the relationships built with students. She loves to see them learning and laughing. She wants every student to feel seen, heard, and loved! In her free time she enjoys time with her family and pets, reading, scrapbooking, shopping, and dancing.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Jessica Montgomery is a 3rd grade teacher at Collins Elementary. She has been teaching for five years. Her favorite part of teaching is creating a safe space for her students. She wants her students to always enjoy coming to class. This year Jessica has a personal goad of continuing to become a better teacher. She wants her students to thrive in a peaceful learning environment. When not teaching she enjoys reading and loves playing golf. Her two young daughters get most of her time and attention and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Stephanie Kelly is the art teacher at Collins Elementary and Edison Elementary schools. She teachers art for one semester per year at each school. Stephanie has taught Pre-K, Special Education, and elementary art in her career. Her favorite part of teaching is seeing excitement in the students as they are learning. She has a goal this year of doing more collaborative art projects and to have students do an art project that can be auctioned. She wants students to be excited about having their art displayed around the community of Bristow. In her free time she paints, bakes, and spends time with family. One of her favorite things to do is go on adventures and see places she's never been.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Kendra Chuculate is a 3rd grade teacher at Collins Elementary. She has been teaching for 20 years. She has taught 1st, 3rd, and 5th grades and taught 4th through 6th grade reading for one year. Kendra loves getting to know her students and building relationships with students each year. She knows that once they have a relationship, students will enjoy coming to school more each day and they will know their classroom is a safe space for them . "The classroom is their home away from home", she says. This year Mrs. Chuculate wants to see students make progress and improve each day. She wants them to learn skills they can apply throughout the year and in their school careers ahead. She looks forward to improved reading and math skills proven by students' state and benchmark tests. In her free time she loves spending time with family and especially spending time with her new granddaughter. She also enjoys reading, crafting, and photography.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers! Mindy Aston is a 4th grade teacher at Collins Elementary. Mindy has been teaching for 14 years. She has taught 1st, 2nd, 5th grades and has taught STEM classes at the middle school for 6th, 7th and 8th grades. 4th grade is her favorite grade to teach, so far. She says her favorite part of teaching is the students, of course. She loves them and getting to know their personalities and building lasting relationships with each one. She is passionate about instilling confidence and skills in her students that will help them through school and everyday life. This year Mindy has a personal goal of exploring various teaching methods to lead students to success. She will strive to help her students succeed, both academically and socially. She spends much of her time traveling to baseball fields to support her two boys, but in any free time she has, she enjoys reading.

Spotlight on Collins Teachers: Deanna Dobson is a 3rd grade teacher at Collins Elementary. She has been teaching for 20 years and has taught Pre-K through 3rd grades. She loves getting to build relationships with her students and watching a child's facial expressions when the "lightbulb" moment happens. This year Deanna has a personal goal of learning more about technology and helping her students become more confident in their academic skills. She wants to build an environment where each child is excited to come to school and build strong relationships with each other. In her free time, Deanna enjoys painting, crafts, and the lake. Her greatest joy comes from her grandbabies and spending time with family.

The summer is well underway. It is important for students to keep reading through the summer months. Reading just 20 minutes per day can greatly reduce sliding reading levels. Check out the public library for lots of great resources. Keep track of books read and be ready to take AR tests when school resumes. READ, READ, READ!

Boys Basketball Camp starts tomorrow! Join us to work on those skills. If you're not signed up yet, you can fill out the form at drop off.