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Catharine Blaine K-8 School |
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Teachers and Staff |
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Ms. Swanson began as Assistant Principal at Blaine in December of 2005. Prior to that, she interned at Eckstein Middle School and Sanislo Elementary, both in the Seattle School District. Ms. Swanson holds a master’s degree in Education with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction from Seattle Pacific University. |
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Karen Helweil, Third Grade |
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Ms. Helweil has taught for 20 years in the Seattle School District. She has taught kindergarten, first, second, third, fourth at Catharine Blaine School. When Ms. Helweil is not teaching, she enjoys food shopping, cooking and going out to restaurants. |
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Ms. Lily graduated from Antioch University. She has worked in public education since 1988, 12 of those years working for Seattle Public Schools. Before joining the kindergarten team at Blaine, Ms. Lily taught at T.T. Minor Elementary and Montlake Elementary. In her free time, Ms. Lily enjoys reading, traveling, shopping, and spending time with her friends and family. |
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Mr. Anderson has been teaching for four years. He holds a BS in Environmental Education from Western and a Master’s in Education from Antioch University. In his free time, Mr. Anderson enjoys bicycling, reading great books and running/hiking with his dog Finn. |
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Ms. Joldersma has over seven years experience teaching K-12 students. She holds a Master's in Teaching from the University of Washington, a Special Education Endorsement, University of Washington and a BA Comparative History of Ideas, University of Washington. In her free time, Ms. Joldersma loves reading and has great passion for all kinds of dancing. |
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Diana Joldersma, First Grade |
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Hwa Kang-Crosby, Second Grade |
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Erik Anderson, First Grade |
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Ms. Kang-Crosby has been teaching for 12 years. Her educational background includes a BS in Environmental Science and a Master’s in Education with an endorsement in Reading. In her free time, Ms. Kang-Crosby enjoys running and going to the park with her son, daughter and husband. |
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Our second grade teacher Ms. Westlake has been teaching for 16 years. She holds both degree in Nursing and a Master’s in Education. On the weekends and in her free time, Ms. Westlake and her husband can be found playing with their grandchildren, doing chores, & camping. She also loves Bluegrass music and going to concerts. |
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This is Ms. Matzen’s second year of teaching at Blaine. She holds a BA in Language Arts from Seattle Pacific University. When she is not teaching, Ms. Matzen enjoys camping, watching basketball, reading, and spending time with friends. |
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Ms. Keller has taught primary education for the last 17 years. She holds a BA from Pacific University and a Master’s in Education with a reading endorsement. On the weekends, Ms. Keller enjoys family time, reading, travel and hiking. |
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Ms. Duke has been teaching for over 11 years and 8 of the years have been at Blaine. She holds a BA in English Literature from St. Olaf College and a Master’s in Education from University of Minnesota. In her free time, Ms. Duke enjoys hiking, camping and spending time with family.
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Ms. Scurlock has over twenty years of teaching experience. She holds a Master’s in Education from Seattle University and both a K-8 and Special Education endorsements. Ms. Scurlock has taught Spanish, LAP, History and was a math specialist. In her free time, she enjoys reading History mysteries, doing needlepoint, kayaking and playing with her grandsons! |
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Ms. Montague has been working in the educational field for over 3 years. She holds a degree from University of Washington in History and a Master’s in Teaching from Antioch University. In her free time, Ms. Montague enjoys reading, walking Green Lake, watching football, basketball and baseball |
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Mr. Skipper has been teaching for 6 years. He holds a science degree from SPU, TELF and American Sports Education Certification. In his free time, he enjoys soccer, hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing and snowboarding. |
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Carol Westlake, Second Grade |
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Laura Matzen, Fourth Grade |
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Julie Keller, Third Grade |
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Lisa Duke, Fifth Grade |
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Marianne Scurlock, Fifth Grade Social Studies & Math |
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Molly Montague, 6th Grade Social Studies & LA |
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Kylie Kypreos, 7th & 8th Language Arts |
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Randy Self, 7th & 8th Science |
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Ms. Kypreos has been teaching for eleven years, eight of which have been at Blaine. She holds a degree from Seattle Pacific University and a Master’s in Education from Seattle University. In her free time, Ms. Kypreos enjoys reading, drinking coffee with friends, traveling, gardening and exercising with her dog Kobar. |
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Erik Skipper, 7th & 8th Grade Math Science |
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Mr. Self has been teaching for the last ten years in Seattle Public Schools. He holds a BA from Rollins College in Environmental Science and Master’s in Education with a Science Endorsement from WWU. On weekends Mr. Self can be found hiking, reading, camping, playing soccer, cooking, gardening and changing diapers! |
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Heather Swanson, Principal |
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7th & 8th Social Studies |
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Tommy Rose, Assistant Principal |
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Space for new 7/8 grade SS Teacher |
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Mr, Rose’s bio coming soon |
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Rassamee Hayes, Kindergarten |
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Ms. Hayes has been teaching at Blaine for the past 5 years. She holds a BA from Western Washington University in Special and Elementary Education and is completing her Masters in Curriculum and Instruction at Seattle University. Ms. Hayes is trained Positive Discipline and National Urban Alliance literacy strategies. On the weekends, she enjoys traveling, trying new recipes, relaxing with her husband Isaak, and playing with her dog Leo. |
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This is Ms. Peterson’s 11th year teaching in special education. She has earned from Seattle University a B.A. Community Services, a Master’s in Public Administration and a Teaching Certificate in Special Education. In her free time Ms. Peterson enjoys traveling, gardening, reading and spending time with her family. |
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Paula Peterson, Special Education |
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Mr. Reedy has been an instructional assistant at Blaine for the last eight years. He attended Southern Illinois University and University of Texas at San Antonio. In his spare time, Mr. Reedy likes to read, run with his Husky named Sasha and travel with his wife Kathy. |
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Bill Reedy, Special Education |
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Ms. Pickens has 12 years experience in education. She holds at BA from the University of Washington and a Master’s in Education from Antioch University. In her free time, Ms. Pickens enjoys time with her family, gardening in her P-patch, going to ballet class, watching movies, reading and writing. |
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Trina Pickens, PE |
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Mr. Miller has been teaching at Blaine for nearly 12 years. He earned a BA in Landscape Design and Physical Education. In his free time, Mr. Miller enjoys traveling, golfing and spending time with family and friends.
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John Miller, PE and Athletics Director |
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Mr. Anderson has been working in Education for 17 years. He holds a BA in Counseling Psychology from Western Washington University and a Master’s in Education K-12 Counseling from Seattle University. On the weekends, Mr. Anderson can be found rocking out with various bands he plays with, restoring old motorcycles and renovating his home. |
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Mike Anderson, Counselor |
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Before becoming Blaine’s new librarian, Ms. Barden taught Kindergarten at Blaine for four years. She also was a substitute teacher and parent at Blaine. Ms. Barden holds a K-8 teaching certificate and a Library/Media Specialist certificate. In her free time, she enjoys reading, visiting libraries, museums, and art galleries. |
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Barb Barden, Librarian |
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Ms. Peterson has worked in Seattle Public Schools for over 17 years, 14 of which have been at Lawton and Catharine Blaine. She holds a BA in Speech & Language Pathology and Audiology from the University of Washington. In her free time, Ms. Peterson enjoys spending time with her family, gardening and playing in the cascades. |
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Sonja Peterson, Special Education Assistant |
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Ms. Corbit grew up in Seattle and attended Eckstein Jr. High and Roosevelt High School. Later she attended nursing school at the U of W. Ms. Corbit has done a variety of things with nursing including working for a large Seattle hospital, working in a sports medicine clinic and providing immunizations o public school students in need. In her free time, Ms. Corbit likes to read, watch movies, play tennis, follow and watch her children's sporting events and root for the Huskies! |
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Merilee Corbit, School Nurse |
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Our Wonderful Support Staff |
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Vivian Belcher, Administrative Secretary |
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Toon Phothivongsa, Custodian |
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Catharine Blaine K-8 School Principal: Heather Swanson heswanson@seattleschools.org 2550 34th Avenue West Seattle, Washington 98199 Office: 252-1920 Fax: 252-1921 24-hour Attendance Line: 252-1924 |
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Ms. Hancock has over 11 years of teaching experience. Before joining us at Blaine, she taught at Aki Kurose and coached math. Ms. Hancock has a BA in Elementary Education and a Master’s degree in Educational Technology. On the weekends you’ll find Ms. Hancock spending time with her husband and two children.
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Jennifer Hancock, Fourth Grade |
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Laureen Lily, Kindergarten |
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Karen Miller, Kindergarten |
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This is Ms. Miller’s third year teaching. She holds a BA in Liberal Arts and a Master’s in Education. On the weekends, Ms. Miller can be found spending time with friends and family, shopping, traveling and reading.
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With an MFA in Theatre (UW) and a BA in Expressive Arts (Evergreen), Laurel has worked throughout the U.S. and created programs for Wash. & Seattle Arts Commissions, Seattle Children’s Theatre, UW & UWMC, Pacific Science Center, etc. In 2006 she earned her MAEd (K-8 cert & MultiArts) from Antioch (ELL & SpecEd in process.) Laurel coaches acting & presentation, consults for artists & orgs, & does voicework. Laurel loves collectible hunting, exploring cultures, sunny beaches, road trips, and inspired conversation. over interesting food. |
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Laurel White, Multi Arts |
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Tim Mead, 6th Grade Math & Science |
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I'm the sixth grade Math/Science teacher, this is my fifth year with Seattle Public Schools teaching middle school science and math. I grew up in Washington, DC and graduated with a degree in Education from the University of Montana in Missoula. In my spare time I enjoy watching my two year old destroy things. I'm a big basketball fan, especially Allen Iverson. I would like to teach my son fly fishing with the hope that he loves it as much as I do. |
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Mr. Neary has been working in Special Education for six years. This is his first year at Blaine and his first year in Seattle Public Schools. He is originally from the Chicago area (go Cubbies!), but fell in love with the Northwest while attending Pacific Lutheran University in for his undergraduate degree. He also has recently obtained a Masters in Teaching from Seattle Pacific University. While not at work, he enjoys rock climbing, backpacking, cooking and watching live music at various venues around Seattle.
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When Elaine is not working hard in the office keeping Blaine’s attendance straight and assisting Vivian, you can find her crafting, gardening and pampering others. This Seattle native enjoys spending time with her husband and teenage son too. |
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Elaine Merz, Office Assistant |
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Ms. Belcher has been head secretary at Blaine for eight years. Before working in Seattle Schools, she was a flight attendant for Alaska Airlines for 25 years. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her three children and watching them play sports. Ms. Belcher loves to travel, work in her yard and visit with friends. |
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Ryan Neary, Special Education |
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Barry Porter, Special Education |
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Taylor Hansen, Special Education |
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Matthew Burke, Psychologist |
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Matthew Burke is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist. He holds an M.Ed. in Educational Psychology (UW), and has undergraduate degrees in Philosophy and Psychology (UMass at Amherst). In his free time, Mr. Burke enjoys turntablism, running, writing, and working on his Spanish.
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Mr. Porter has been an instructional assistant at Blaine for the last two years. He attended the University of Washington. In his spare time, Mr. Porter likes spending time with family and friends, movies and cycling. |
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Coach Hansen is in his second year of teaching. He recently moved from Salt Lake City, Utah to Seattle and is really enjoying living in Washington. In Utah he was a wrestling coach at a junior high for three years and a high school coach for two years. He graduated from the University of Utah with a B.S. in Special Education and minor in coaching. He loves to cycle, hike, and every now and then he will do a triathlon. |
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Stacy D’Averle, Lunchroom Supervisor |
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Shelley Winterer, Speech Pathologist |
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Mari Chin, Occupational Therapist |
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I am a graduate of University of Washington. I have been an Occupational Therapist for 32 years, 10 of which has been with the Seattle School District. I live at Greenlake and love walking the lake, the Zoo and the rose garden! A secret: I always stop and visit 'my turtles' each time I walk the lake! (I have seen as many as 14!) Oh, what a beautiful sight! I love traveling too. |
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I have two cute boys, ages 13 and 9 – McClure and Lawton, respectively. I live here in Magnolia and enjoy the heck out of being at Blaine. Prior to working here, I love to sail, snow ski, hike, garden, camp, cook and travel. I have a BA in Speech Language Pathology from WSU and a Masters of Science Degree from Western Washington University. |
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Beth Seguin, Recess Monitor |
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Robin Fisher, Recess Monitor |
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Ms. Davidson’s bio coming soon |
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Jenny Davidson, 1st Grade |
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Ms. Leja’s bio coming soon |
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Ms. Leja, Kindergarten |