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Shasta Monique Leonhardt

Shasta Monique Leonhardt

5th and Middle School Art--Middle School Health

Interests: Interior design, new recipes, animals, camping, and running/hiking outdoors.
Things that make me smile: children’s art..I love the simplicity, the use of colors and joy of how kids express their world through art. 
Educational Philosophy: Art should be messy. If you are not covered in glue, paint and glitter then you are holding yourself back from the creative process. I encourage mixed media pieces. I love to see my students making good use of every medium I have available. 
Favorite Part of My Job: Watching my students grow up. It’s a privilege to be a part of their lives. To see them grow a little more every year, to see their personalities develop more and more. I am extremely proud to be a small part of an amazing school that is raising kind and open minded human beings. 
My Hero: Women. Women who are teachers, mothers, married, single, stay at home moms. Women have the unimaginable ability to do it all. We are often the heartbeats of our family. We support, heal, fight, protect, encourage and provide without hesitation.
What I value Most: Kindness
Jill Salley

Jill Salley

K-4 Art teacher

Interests: Music, camping, reading, playing cards, games
Things that make me smile: My children, the funny things my students say, listening to my kids play guitar and bass
Educational Philosophy: Perfection is never the expectation, 100% effort is the goal. I also believe in “happy accidents”
Favorite Part of My Job: Interacting with my students 
My Hero: My mom and Ted Lasso
What I value Most: Family time

Iman Babaa

Arabic Instructor

Interests: Cooking, reading, traveling  and shopping
Things that make me smile: When my kids get the best education and a great job 
Favorite Part of My Job: When I see my students learning and practicing the language
My Hero: My parents
What I value Most: Health, and a strong relationship with family

Esraa Elisdawy

Arabic Instructor

Interests: I am passionate about language, culture, and education. I enjoy exploring different teaching strategies that make learning engaging for students. I also love reading, traveling, and learning about history.

Things that make me smile: Seeing my students grow in their language skills and confidence, hearing them use Arabic in conversations, and witnessing their excitement when they make connections between language and culture.

Favorite Part of My Job: Helping students develop an appreciation for the Arabic language and its rich history. I also love seeing their progress and enthusiasm when they realize they can understand and communicate in a new language.

My Hero: My parents, who instilled in me the values of hard work, kindness, and lifelong learning. They always encouraged me to pursue knowledge and share it with others.

What I Value Most: Respect, integrity, and the power of education. I believe that learning a new language opens doors to understanding and connecting with people from different backgrounds, fostering empathy and global awareness.

Nomi Gallo

Music Teacher

Interests: global traditional music, culture, anthropology and migration, all arts and traditional crafts, fabric, women’s soccer, musical instruments, building things
Things that make me smile: All things beautiful… nice walk, smiling face, sunset
Educational Philosophy: The job of the educator is not to fill the cup, but to make the cup bigger. I strive to offer agency and relevant, collaborative learning so that collaborators can teach the skills that are inherent to them and refine other skills from collaborators.
Favorite Part of My Job: Paperwork! kidding, collaborative learning. This can happen in meetings, teaching small groups, and pushing into colleagues classrooms.
My Hero: Mother Earth
What I value Most: Natural Laws

Eugenia Kuajara

Violin Instructor

Interests: Reading, traveling, learning new languages.
Things that make me smile: Flowers, cats, elephants, a good memory, my son’s witty remarks.
Favorite Part of My Job: Getting to interact with so many children and seeing their sense of accomplishment when they learn a new song.
My Hero: Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese violinist, composer, and educator, and the founder of the Suzuki Method of music education.
What I value Most: Honesty, integrity and determination.
Libia Sugar

Libia Sugar

PE/Health Teacher

Intereses: superarme profesionalmente cada día más.
Cosas que me hacen sonreír: ver a mi familia feliz, convivir con mis amigos y compañeras de trabajo.
Parte favorita de mi trabajo:  ver a mis alumnos disfrutando de mi clase y aprendiendo.
Mi héroe: Dios y mi familia
Lo que más valoro: Valoro cada dia que puedo abrir los ojos y respirar,  la integridad de mi familia y la oportunidad que me dio NMIS para ser parte de este gran equipo.