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Mr. Horst
In art class, my focus is introducing students to a wide variety of different media in a project-based environment. Throughout it all, I strive to nurture their understanding of the creative process--the steps used to create unique, high quality solutions to creative challenges
Some things about me: I live in McHenry and have two school-aged children myself, so I am a part of the community. Besides art, I have a number of hobbies including running, weightlifting,
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Mr. Riordan
I am the STEM Director here at MMS.
About Me:
Riordan Quick Facts:
- I was born on 09/03/1981 (a day I will always remember, and if you can tell me why, you will get extra credit)
- I have been teaching for over 10 years
- I have been teaching at McHenry Middle School for over 10 years
- I have taught; 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, 8th, Tech, and STEM
- I have two children: Elle Susan Riordan, who is 13 years old, and Ashton Robert Riordan, who is 10 years old
- I have two dogs: Katniss (pitty) and Finn (pitty mix)
- I have been married for over 10 years
- I love comic books (I have over 4300 individual books)
- I go to comic book conventions at least 2 twice a year (last convention I got 160 different books)
- I love ALL movies (Fantastic Four: First Steps and Superman were amazing movies, I saw each one at least twice in the same week)
- Cartoons are some of my favorite TV shows to watch
- I love Rock and Roll (the louder the better)
- I love creating 3D projects and playing with all the toys in the STEM room when I'm not grading all your projects
- Created After School Productions to help students create movies using different special effects programs like After Effects
- I am a huge fan of Technology (in our house, we have 4 laptops, 2 Chromebooks, 4 iPhones, 3 iPods, 2 iPads, and 7 different Alexa devices)
- I love video games and playing online (so playing the new season of Fortnite means no homework for you, so I can unlock that battle pass)
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Ms. Dutton
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M.A. Education with a Focus in Language Arts from Wilkes University in PA B.S. Elementary Education with Middle School Math from Clarion University of PA
Mrs. Hardy
Hello! My name is Mrs. Hardy, and I am proud to serve as the STEAM teacher at MMS. I have been teaching since 2010, and with each passing year, my passion for learning and teaching has only grown stronger.
My journey began in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I first pursued my love of the arts. However, I quickly discovered that my true calling was in education. I spent the next ten years teaching middle school mathematics before transitioning to a nonprofit STEM organization, where I focused on professional development for educators in mathematics, NGSS, and inquiry-based learning.
From there, my path led me to Illinois, where I taught STEM for three years before joining MMS as the STEAM teacher. Being able to bring my career full circle, blending the arts with STEM, feels like the perfect fit.
Beyond the classroom, I am happily married and share my home with three dogs and a cat. I enjoy reading, crafting, gardening, and spending time outdoors. I am also a strong advocate for mental health and believe in encouraging every person I meet, especially my students, to be their best selves.
I am truly excited for all of the incredible learning, creativity, and discovery that will take place in the STEAM and STEM labs at MMS.
Phone: 779.244.1600
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
Bachelors Degree in Health Education 2000 Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction 2005 National Board Certification 2010 National Board Certification Renewal 2019
Mrs. Andresen
Phone: ext. 209
Email:
Degrees and Certifications:
B.A. Spanish language and literature with teaching K-12 certification. M.Ed Curriculum and instruction with Bilingual and ESL endorsements. M.S. Learning behavior specialist 1
Mr. Hinks
Hello and welcome!
I am Mr. Hinks, your child’s world language teacher. I have been teaching at MMS since 2015 and I am proud and happy to call it my home! Before my time at MMS I taught eight years of bilingual kindergarten which was much different from the high school Spanish honors program I originally taught. As you can guess I am a fluent Spanish speaker and lived in Costa Rica for a short period of time to help grow and shape my Spanish language skills. As for my extracurricular duties I am a Yearbook sponsor with Ms. Keblusek and Comic Book Club sponsor with Mr. Riordan. I love to travel and experience new cultures and places. I am also an animal lover with two dogs at home and am happily married.
My exploratory class is broken up into five separate terms spanning seven weeks each, in which each grade learns about the different aspects of language learning including foreign language and culture.
- Our sixth grade students we will be exploring world languages including American Sign Language, Latin, Spanish, French, Italian, German, and Japanese.
- Our seventh grade students will be learning simple Spanish phrases and communications along with vocabulary building activities. Students will also be learning history and culture of Spanish-speaking countries.
- Our eighth grade students will continue learning Spanish phrases, vocabulary, grammar, and how to conjugate verbs in sentences. Students will also learn the history and culture of many South American Spanish-speaking countries.
I am always more than happy to connect with parents and families over the phone, through email, in person, whichever is easiest for you please let me know. Remember that you are your child’s greatest teacher, so let’s work together to make sure that your child has the greatest possible experience in world languages!
Click here to visit our class webpage.
¡Hola y bienvenidos!
Soy Sr. Hinks, maestro de idiomas extranjeros de su hijo. He estado enseñdo en MMS desde 2015 y siento orgulloso y feliz de llamarlo mi hogar. Antes de mi tiempo en MMS enseñé ocho años de kinder bilingüe que fue muy diferente que el programa de honor de español en la escuela secundaria que enseñé originalmente. Como Usted se puede adivinar hablo español con fluidez y he vivido en Costa Rica por un corto tiempo para ayudar y crecer mi habilidad de hablar español. Por los extracurriculares soy entrenador asistente de atletismo especializado en salto de altura y un patrocinador del anuario con Sra Keblusek. Me encanta viajar y conocer nuevas culturas y lugares. Amo mucho a los animales y tengo dos perras en casa y soy felizmente casado.
Mi clase de exploración se divide en cinco términos separados que abarcan siete semanas, en los que cada grado aprende sobre de los diferentes aspectos del aprendizaje de idiomas incluyendo el lenguaje y la cultura extranjera.
- Nuestros estudiantes de sexto grado que estarán explorando los idiomas del mundo incluyendo el lenguaje de signos americano, latino, español, francés, italiano, alemán y japonés.
- Nuestros estudiantes de séptimo grado estarán aprendiendo frases simples y las comunicaciones españolas, junto con las actividades de construcción del vocabulario. Los estudiantes también aprenderán la historia y la cultura de los países que hablan español.
- Nuestros estudiantes de octavo grado continuarán aprendiendo frases en español, el vocabulario, la gramática, y la manera de conjugar los verbos en oraciones. Los estudiantes también aprenderán la historia y la cultura de muchos países que hablan español en el América del Sur.
Siempre estoy más que feliz de conectar con los padres y las familias por teléfono, por correo electrónico, en persona, o en cualquier modo que sea más fácil para Usted, favor de decirmelo. Recuerde que Usted es el mejor maestro de su hijo, ¡así que trabajaremos juntos para asegurarse de que su hijo tenga la mejor experiencia posible en los idiomas del mundo!
Haga clic aquí para visitar nuestra página de web.
