Meet our Kindergarten Teachers
Mrs. Megan Farnum, Teacher
Mrs. Diane Engebritson, Assistant Teacher
Mrs. Engebritson is starting her twenty-second year at St. Agnes. She began as an assistant teacher in first grade. After two years, she moved to kindergarten. Before coming to St. Agnes, Mrs Engebritson taught at a local pre-school. She also worked in the Fairfax County Public Schools teaching children ages five through ten. Mrs. Engebritson studied Early Childhood Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. This past summer, she received certification in the IMSE Comprehensive Orion-Gillingham Training. In her free time, Mrs Engebritson enjoys gardening, baking, and spending time with her family. She raised two St. Agnes graduates and her husband is a St. Agnes graduate.
Mrs. Kathleen Hofer, Teacher
Mrs. Kathleen Hofer began teaching at St. Agnes in 2014. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from George Mason University and a Certificate in Special Education from Marymount University. Kathleen has worked in diocesan schools for 9 years. She has served as a lead preschool teacher and instruction assistant as well as a 3rd grade teacher. Prior to her career in primary education, Kathleen worked at George Mason University as Assistant Director of the Alumni Association and the Assistant Director of the Annual Fund. Kathleen is also the mom of three St. Agnes graduates.
Mrs. Liesl Hepp, Assistant Teacher
Mrs. Liesl Hepp is starting her first year at St. Agnes. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Boston College and a Master of Science in Elementary Teaching from Fordham University. Liesl previously worked for Arlington County Parks and Recreation for 21 years in the Early Childhood Division as a preschool, assistant and substitute teacher, and 17 years as a summer camp director. She is a parishioner at St. Ann Church in Arlington and just recently retired from 15 years as a catechist for grades kindergarten to 7th grade, where her three children attended Faith Formation.
Kindergarten At A Glance
Children, age 5 by September 30, are eligible for full-day kindergarten, which provides a safe, nurturing learning environment and education of the whole child. Faith formation is woven through the entire day to develop the children’s love of God. Each child’s self-image is fostered so that each child can appreciate himself as a wonderful person created by God.
Academically, the focus is on introducing skills needed for successful reading and writing, skills used to communicate, and math concepts that will lay the foundation for future learning.
The Responsive Classroom approach is used to encourage children to make choices, act responsibly, and work cooperatively. Kindergarten children grow in learning, so they can work independently, follow directions and increase their attention span. class size is limited to 25 students per class.
The kindergarten curriculum is designed to prepare the student for first grade. The program is developmental, dealing with all areas of growth:
- spiritual
- social
- emotional
- language
- physical.
Academic highlights include:
Religion
Kindergarten students begin to understand and appreciate God’s goodness in creating them and the world. Students learn about God through Bible stories and projects.
Language Arts
Children receive varied experiences in reading and writing, auditory and visual perception, and language development. With these skills, children gain the foundation for all future learning. St. Agnes utilizes the multi-sensory program, Orton-Gillingham, to teach reading.
Math
Students use a “hands on” approach of guided and free exploration of materials along with questioning and independent experiences. Topics covered include shapes, counting, patterns, addition, subtraction, graphing, measurement, and money.
Social Studies
Children learn about people, jobs, citizenship, holidays, maps and customs.
Science
The Science program follows a discovery and problem-solving approach. Using all five senses, children learn about living and non-living matter, weight, space, weather and seasons. Fun units, such as insects and dinosaurs, will be included, depending on the interest of the students.
St. Agnes kindergarten teachers meet with the rising kindergartners in the spring to administer the Brigance kindergarten readiness assessment, while the parents meet with the Principal or Vice-Principal.
