About Ms. Collins

I am the Physical Education teacher for the K-8th grade students at Coonley.   I grew up in 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 from MSU. I have also obtained my 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 thirteenth year teaching and my eleventh year at John C. Coonley Elementary.  I feel very fortunate to be at such a wonderful and supportive school like Coonley.

I am the proud parent of three girls, Lillian, 10, Olivia, 8, Marian, 4 and our newest addition, baby boy Cian, who is 17 months old.  Gareth and I spend our weekends with the family traveling to local parks, visiting my hometown of Holland, 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 doing 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.