Mrs. Bell Welcome Letter:)

Getting to know me:

This summer my family and I enjoyed traveling around Michigan.  Our favorite trips involved going to the beach! We really loved Big Rapids and Ludington.  We especially enjoyed swimming in Lake Michigan, reading on the beach, and looking at all of the neat shops.  I have been married for 18 1/2  years and have three children in Hartland Schools.  My twins will be in 10th grade at HHS and my daughter will be in 7th grade at Ore Creek. We are very involved with Hartland sports such as basketball, volleyball and soccer.  You will see me driving around Hartland as I shuttle my kids to their many activities. 

This will be my 11th year teaching.  I taught for 3 years in Wellington, Florida.  While in Florida I taught Algebra, English I, Newspaper, and English III.  As a newspaper adviser, I received the 2004 Palm Beach Post Adviser of the Year Award, and the 2004 Sun-Sentinel General Excellence Award for advising The Wave newspaper.  In the fall of 2004, my family and I relocated to Hartland, Michigan.  I was hired to teach British Literature, Algebra and the newspaper class.  I am now in my 8th year at Hartland High and am very happy to be here.  I will be teaching four sections of Algebra and one newspaper class this year.

Last year, we received our first Spartan award at the state journalism awards competition.  We also had several individual awards.  We had several senior staff members decide to pursue journalism and photography at the college level.    The journalism program continues to excel with numerous awards at the State level.  We plan on attending state conventions and competitions again this year to expand our students' journalism experiences.

I am excited to work with the new 2011-2012 newspaper staff members.  Please see the "Awards" link for details on last year's successes.  We will be publishing 5 school issues and a bi-weekly page in the Livingston County Press and Argus. Please see the "Publication Dates" link for more information.

I graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science and dual certification in English and mathematics.  I completed my Professional Teaching Certification in July 2007.  In addition, I completed my Masters in Curriculum and Training through Nova Southeastern University in December 2008.  My Masters curriculum has helped me focus on increasing the use of multiple intelligence strategies and cooperative learning in the Algebra classroom.  I enjoy using this variety of traditional and cognitive curriculum methods as I teach my students.  I have found that a variety of instructional models increase student motivation and retention as they apply new Algebraic concepts.

I have completed the Reading Apprenticeship training and the EMATHS technology program and plan on implementing several of these strategies to help improve students' comprehension, retention, and engagement in math concepts.

This will be a great year and I am looking forward to meeting you.  Please email me with any questions at ElaineBell@hartlandschools.us.

Sincerely,

Elaine Bell

Office phone #810-626-2348