Jan 7th, 2009
Pre-K/K
PRE-KINDERGARTEN~
NES offers a half-day pre-kindergarten program taught by Mrs. Merilee Odom. One class meets in the morning, and one meets in the afternoon. Research shows that students who attend a pre-kindergarten program are much better prepared for kindergarten, not only academically, but also socially and emotionally. Mrs. Odom works tirelessly to ensure that our pre-k’ers are taught the concepts and skills that are essential to a successful kindergarten year. She teaches units such as Nursery Rhymes, Transportation and Pond. Mrs. Odom says, “My goal for students in my class is to have them ready to go to Kindergarten and be successful. There is nothing else in the world like seeing the excited look on the faces of my 4 year olds when they are learning something new and that’s every day that they come to class!!”
Merilee Odom – Mrs. Odom is a Sam Houston Bearkat! She earned a B.S. in Academic Studies, with a major in Elementary Education, and a minor in English. She has also done graduate work in Early Childhood Education. She holds certifications in elementary education grades 1-8, Elementary English grades 1-8, Early Childhood Education, and English as a Second Language all grade levels. Her 14 years of experience have all been in Normangee, and 12 of those in pre-K. she and her husband have lived in Normangee 29 years. They have two sons, a daughter, and five grandchildren. Their youngest son graduated from Sam Houston; their daughter is working on her teaching degree there; and their oldest son is a police sergeant. In her spare time, she and her husband Will restore their beautiful 90-year old craftsman style house here in town. She also enjoys refinishing antique furniture, finding collectibles, working in the yard, and riding their horses. Mrs. Odom says, “I believe that Normangee is a great place to live and teach!!”
KINDERGARTEN ~
Our school has two kindergarten classes, each one taught by an experienced educator who loves the classroom!
Linda Huffman – Mrs. Huffman is certified in elementary education, early childhood, and gifted/talented. Nineteen of her 20 years teaching have been here in Normangee. Before moving to Texas, she taught in Oklahoma and Louisiana. While living in Tennessee, she and her husband ran a dairy farm, milking 600 cows three times a day. (Wow!) Other places she has lived include Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Washington, Louisiana, and Illinois. In her spare time, Mrs. Huffman enjoys reading, cooking, cleaning, walking and spending time with her husband, two sons, two daughters-in-law, and two granddaughters.
Shannon Pickering – Mrs. Pickering is in her 19th year of educating children, most of those years in kindergarten. This is her fifth year with NES. She is certified in Early Childhood, English as a Second Language, and Gifted/Talented. Mrs. Pickering loves to read and do needlework when she’s not being an active Girl Scouts leader. She and her husband Tim have two children.
