About Ms. Collins

I am a Physical Education teacher for the K-8th grade students at Coonley.   I am from Holland, MI and attended Michigan State University.  I graduated from MSU with a B.S. in Kinesiology, completed a yearlong internship teaching at the elementary and high school levels, and then traveled to Richards Bay, South Africa to complete an additional 3 month teaching internship for PE abroad.  I have a M.A. in Curriculum Design and Teaching and a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Master Teaching Certificate in Early and Middle Childhood Physical Education. I absolutely love teaching Physical Education and I am always looking for new ways to help my students learn and grow. This is my fifteenth year teaching and my twelfth year at John C. Coonley Elementary.  I feel very fortunate to be at such a wonderful and supportive school like Coonley.

I am a proud parent of three girls: Lillian, 12, Olivia, 10, Marian, 6 and our boy Cian, who is 3 years old.  My husband, Gareth, and I spend our holidays with the family traveling to parks, visiting Gareth's hometown of Lexilip in Ireland, and enjoying all that Chicago has to offer.  I grew up participating in many physical activities and enjoyed swimming, basketball, gymnastics, and soccer in high school.  I continued playing soccer for the club team at MSU as well. Currently, I enjoy exercising by biking, running, and Pilates.

I look forward to another amazing year and hope to meet and communicate with you in the future.  If you ever have questions, concerns, or comments, please feel free to contact me.