OLQM Teacher Pages

 

Hello! My name is Mary Pears, and I am the 5 th grade teacher at OLQM. I grew up in Bethel Park Pennsylvania , which is a suburb of Pittsburgh . Yes, I am a HUGE Pittsburgh Steelers fan, and I am very proud of their big victory in Super Bowl XL! I graduated from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in 1981 with a B.S. Degree in Special Education. While attending Clarion, I met my wonderful husband Andrew. We were married in 1984, and the following year Andy was commissioned as a United States Air Force Officer. We have been assigned to bases in eight states, an overseas assignment to NATO HQ in Brussels Belgium , and currently reside on Maxwell AFB here in Montgomery . Our oldest son Joe is a freshman at AUM, our middle child Jon is a senior at Hooper Academy in Hope Hull, and our daughter, Kayleigh, is in the 8 th grade at Catholic Middle School .

This is my second year on faculty at OLQM, and I feel so blessed to be a part of this great school. I really enjoy the family atmosphere here, and the smaller classes allow me to reach out to every child on a personal level. Individualizing instruction to meet the needs of all students has always been a goal for me as a teacher.

Previously, I taught at St. Bede School in Montgomery for 2 ½ years, and various schools in Pennsylvania . I was very fortunate to be one of 15 teachers in the state of AL selected to attend the Colonial Williamsburg Teachers' Institute this past summer in Williamsburg. What an awesome opportunity! It was one of the most memorable experiences of my life, and truly a highlight in my professional development. I will strive to insure that my students reap the benefits of all I learned during the course of the week.

OLQM recently celebrated Colonial Days. Throughout the weeklong festivities, each class was responsible for presenting a segment of colonial history to the rest of the school. My fifth graders focused on colonial trades, and recreated trade shops for our presentation. They worked in small groups to research the chosen trade, write a script, create a scrapbook with details about their trade, and come up with props and costumes to help set the scene. Here are a few pictures depicting the end results.
	Caitlian, Jessica, and Sarabeth show the wig making tools to the 2 nd graders.
	John, Turner, and Noah…our gunsmiths.
	Mackenzie, Andrea, and Sydney researched the saddle maker trade and performed a skit.
	2 nd grader Charles models the cadogan wig made by the wigmakers
	Each group also had to make a sign for their shop…very authentic wig makers!
	Turner, John, and Noah performing the skit they wrote.
Jamison, Ivan, and Kaleb demonstrate the silversmith trade to our visitors.	Sydney, Andrea, and Mackenzie were our colonial saddle makers.
Our attentive visitors during the blacksmith presentation.	Ivan, Jamison, Kaleb, and Andrew during the silversmith demonstration.
Nick and Alex were colonial blacksmiths and they explained how to make a fire place tool.	Rolanda, Julia, and Anna did a great job interpreting the apothecary trade.
Julia demonstrates the use of the mortar and pestle.