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    Meet the Teacher                                                                                                           3/22/15

    Greetings! My name is Regina Lee Dember Garvey.

         I am originally from Long Island, New York. I attended Long Island University in downtown Brooklyn, and received a degree in Communications and Information Systems. After working in NY, traveling and settling in Houston, I enrolled in HISD’s ACP program and attended classes at The University of Houston, and Texas Southern University. I am certified to teach provisional Elementary (Grades PK-6) General Ed. All-Level (Grades PK-12) English as a Second Language. I am also GT, science and technology trained. Presently, I’m in my 21th year of teaching in HISD.  I stayed ten years at Park Place Elementary, where I taught 2nd grade, third grade and technology. I stayed six years at Maud Gordon Elementary in Bellaire, where I taught 4th grade.  I also worked two years at Bonner Elementary, where I taught 3rd grade. I have had three major awards from HISD. Including the Emily Scott Evens award for science.  I have found continuing educational opportunities to be very helpful for example, Hu-Link Science and Technology, Baylor Science, The Teacher Technologist program and Empowering Writers just to name a few. 

    My husband Jim and I have two daughters, Elizabeth and Alina.  They both went through HISD’s Music Magnet School System.  In planning for our children’s development, we selected the music magnet program, because of what music does to stimulate a child’s mind. Elizabeth studied piano and is working on achieving a degree in Digital Design and computer science.  Alina studied flute in HISD, and attends a university where she plays in the Symphonic band, and is majoring in applied mathematics and computer science.

         I am extremely excited to be working with Pre-K students here at MacGregor Elementary. Amazingly, students in Pre-K have many of the same concepts that upper grade students have, however it is in a simpler form.  Student in Pre-K learn their letters, sounds, rhyming and numbers, shapes, one to one correspondence, science and social studies concepts etc. With the cooperation of their parents, students can even learn to read!

         Parental and or guardians support is so very important to young learners. My students will have several projects in which parents or family members will have the opportunity to get involved.

         When I am not working, I love to garden. During the school year I plant kale my favorite, snow peas, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, string beans, collard greens, red and yellow onions, garlic, peppers, mint, oregano, thyme, and asparagus just to name a few.

          Favorite quotes: “A teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom in pupils.”

    By Ever Garrison

    To quote the exceptional teacher Marva Collins:

    “I will, is more important than I Q.  It is wonderful to have a terrific mind, but it has been my experience that having outstanding intelligence is a very small part of the total package that leads to success and happiness. Discipline, hard work, perseverance and generosity of spirit are, in the final analysis, far more important.”