Classroom Snapshots

Ms. Perez has been teaching at St. Joseph for fourteen years and loves helping her students grow and learn. She enjoys setting up fun, hands-on centers and incorporates music, art, games, puppets in her classroom to keep students engaged while learning.

In reading, she focuses on teaching letters, sounds, and basic CVC words. For writing, she teaches pencil use and letter formation. In math, she introduces number recognition, counting, patterns, and sorting. She also encourages independence and responsibility by setting clear goals and using positive reinforcement to guide her students.

She believes in the importance of setting clear expectations and using class and individual rewards to help students feel proud of their achievements. Her favorite moments are when students teach her something new or share a fresh perspective. Her goal is to help her students become confident, caring, and creative individuals who are ready for kindergarten and beyond.

By: George – 8th grade

Ms. Dellavalle has been teaching at Saint Joseph’s Elementary School for 40 years. Her favorite part of teaching is seeing students finally “get it.” As she says, “I love seeing when those little lightbulbs go off in their heads.”

Ms. Dellavalle teaches important basics like phonics (the sounds of letters), how stories have a beginning, middle, and end, and simple math like addition and subtraction. But more than that, she focuses on helping children become independent and responsible. She teaches them to own up to their actions, try things before saying, “I can’t,” and be honest.

Students learn to think critically, be responsible, and grow into kind and respectful humans in her classroom.

By: Dylan – 8th grade

Mrs. Courtney Barrett has been teaching in the primary grades for 24 years. She enjoys connecting with her students and being able to provide them with a safe space so that they may be able to grow and so that they will love to learn and read. When asked about her philosophy, Mrs. Barrett says, “I strive to create a warm, welcoming environment where students develop an intrinsic love of learning.” In first grade reading, the focus is on direct phonics instruction and reading fluency. Students also work on building vocabulary and understanding what they read. For writing, they learn narrative, informational, and opinion writing while practicing punctuation, grammar, and capitalization. In math, Mrs. Barrett teaches number sense, the foundations of addition and subtraction, and word problem solving skills. Responsibility and independence are practiced and encouraged daily in her classroom through routines, organizing supplies, and turning in thorough and neat work. She leads by example; always applying the golden rule and showing her students how to always do the same. Mrs. Barrett firmly believes that the Schoolwide Learning Expectations are a crucial part of the experience at Saint Joseph School, as learning to be Tenacious Scholars, 21st Century Learners, and Disciples of Christ are vital abilities that students will remember and apply throughout the rest of their lives. 

By: Juliana and Alexandra – 8th grade

For nearly thirteen years, Ms. Yurak has been teaching the Second Grade at Saint Joseph School. In second grade, students learn reading comprehension. Ms. Yurak helps them understand what they read and hear. In writing, they work on paragraphs, grammar, and expressing their ideas. For math, she teaches them how to add and subtract 2- and 3-digit numbers.

Ms. Yurak loves watching her students grow whether it’s solving problems on their own, getting better at schoolwork, doing homework without help from parents, or staying organized with their assignments. She thinks of herself as more of a coach than a teacher. To her, the “team” includes both the students and their parents. Her goal is to push each student to do their best and set high expectations for their future success.

By: Michelle – 8th grade