Penny Road Elementary School
Home of the Pandas
Welcome Back!
August 1, 2019
Dear Parents and Students:
To all of our Penny Road families, whether you are new or former students we welcome you to the 2019-20 school year at Penny Road Elementary School!
Penny Road Elementary is a special school with extraordinary students, teachers and outstanding parent support. We are a school that believes that education can transform lives and that “all of our students are uniquely capable and deserve to be challenged and engaged in relevant, rigorous, and meaningful learning each day.” We embody this core belief and we make it our mission to serve our students in a capacity where this mission becomes our reality.
We are looking forward to meeting all of our students on the following dates and times:
Meet The Teacher- August 23, 2019
Grades 1-2: 9:00AM - 9:45AM
Grades 3-5: 10:15AM - 11:00AM
While we love chatting with our parents Meet the Teacher is a time to drop off school supplies and to say hello. We have limited time and greeting all our students and parents is our main priority. Therefore, holding long conversations will not allow us to achieve the warm welcome that we are aiming for. However, we are happy to meet with you at a different time. Please schedule a conference with your child’s teacher if you wish.
For your convenience, the following resources will be available to assist you on August 23, 2019. Representatives from WCPSS Transportation, Penny Road Carpool, Before and After School Care, PTA Membership, and Child Nutrition Services will be present to answer your questions. We love showing our PANDA PRIDE, so this is a great time to purchase Spirit Wear for your child(ren).
Classroom assignments will be posted the morning of Meet the Teacher. Please note, requests to change classes will not be considered. In addition, due to possible enrollment changes class assignments are not set until after the 10th day of school. At which time, we are required to evaluate classroom assignments and make necessary changes. This means that your child’s classroom assignment can change. In addition, requests will not be accepted to change classroom assignments.
For our new students and parents, we are extremely pleased that you are joining our Penny Road family, and we are looking forward to helping you and your child(ren) have a successful school year. Please go to our website to find out additional information regarding our school’s policies and procedures.
Best wishes for a great school year and congratulations on becoming a Penny Road Panda!!! Your journey to an extraordinary experience is awaiting you.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Gia Hoke, Principal
Meet Our New Staff....
Mrs. Amy Berry - Special Education Teacher
Hello, my name is Amy Berry and I will join Penny Road Elementary School as the ECS Special Education Teacher. I have been in the very rewarding business of helping people for most of my life. I grew up in the south of Pittsburgh, PA as the oldest of 5 children and graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in Recreation Therapy. I love to use play in the classroom to help children to reach their goals and become the best possible version of themselves. One of my favorite quotes is this: "Be kinder than necessary. Everyone you meet is fighting some sort of battle".
Mrs. Laura Binnick - Art Teacher
Hello, my name is Laura Binnick. I grew up in Wisconsin, but I have been living and teaching in Cary/Apex area since 2007. I graduated from the University of Iowa with a Bachelor’s in Art plus a K-12 certification in Art Education. I also hold a Bachelor’s in Elementary Education K-5 and a NC Reading Specialist certification. I have a passion for integrating math, writing, language arts, and science into the art curriculum. Additionally, I have a strong interest in multiple intelligences, and I’ve done graduate work involving AIG education. I’m married and have two kids, Allie and Myles. My interests include art, writing, reading, nature, fitness, and nutrition. She loves spending time with her family, traveling, and finding the humor in life. As an artist herself, I create jewelry and paintings. I am very excited about being a Penny Road Panda!
Mrs. Amanda Patterson - Third Grade Teacher
I am so excited to join the 3rd Grade Team at Penny Road this year. I am from Boone and I graduated from Appalachian State with a degree in Communications and a Business Minor. My husband and I are the proud parents of three children and we strongly believe in public education. We have three children, Katelyn who is going to be a Senior this year, Zack and Brandon (who are both Penny Road graduates!) who are in middle school. I had the pleasure of being a Penny Road parent and got the opportunity to work as an Instructional Assistant for 4 years. My work as an Instructional Assistant helped me realize that I wanted to be a teacher. I graduated from NC State in 2019 with a Masters Degree in Teaching. I am so excited to start my teaching career at Penny Road!
Ms. Lindsay Davis - Kindergarten Teacher
Hello Pandas! My name is Lindsay Davis and I am super excited to officially join the Penny Road family! I student taught at Penny Road and I’m over the moon to be back. I am originally from Lexington, NC (the BBQ capital) and currently live in Raleigh. I graduated from Meredith College were I received my degree in Child Development with a K-6 license. Go Angels! I love the beach where I enjoy sailing, boating, fishing, and more. Normally I spend the weekends at the coast! I also enjoy hanging out with my friends, playing with my dog, skiing at Appalachian Ski Mountain, and spending time with my family. I cannot wait to get to know you and your student and sparking the love of learning!
Mr. Trent Crumpler
Hello, my name is Trent Crumpler. : I was born and raised in Goldsboro, North Carolina where my family still lives. I attended the University of North Carolina Wilmington (Go Seahawks!) studying Elementary Education with a concentration in mathematics. In addition to my education degree, I also received a minor in leadership which has given me the skills to be a leader in and outside of the classroom. I have been an educator in Wake County for 7 years, working with fourth and third grade. I have a passion for School Improvement and making sure that everyone succeeds in reaching the shared school vision, ensuring that all students have the resources they need to achieve. Outside of school, I enjoy going to the movies, shopping for new clothes, binge watching shows on Hulu, and spending time with my friends for game night. I have two cats, Jace and Koa, who are a handful, but I love them regardless. People would describe me as energetic and outgoing. I love meeting new people and making connections with others. I am very excited to start my first year at Penny Road and be a part of the panda community. I know it’s going to be a great year!
Mrs. Lisa Wohlslaeger - ESL & Intervention Teacher
I have had the honor of teaching for over 10 years. My path to Penny Road Elementary has been a winding and adventurous one. Because of my passion for child development, I started my career in early childhood education where I operated an in-home daycare/preschool for nine years while my three children were young, and dreamed of someday returning to college to become a teacher. My dream was realized when I received a Masters Degree in education and began teaching for Durham Public Schools. There, I taught early childhood education and parenting courses to high school students. From there, I became certified to teach elementary and joined Wake County Public Schools, where I have taught for over 7 years. I had the pleasure of being a Penny Road Parent and now have the added joy of becoming part of this incredible team who all share the same passion for children that led me here. My husband, Mark and I moved with our three children to North Carolina from Kansas City, KS . We have three children. Brooklyn, Tressa, and August..."Augie". We also have a little dog, named Remmy. I enjoy spending afternoons at coffee shops, being a mom, spending time with my family in Kansas, writing, and "DIY" projects.
Mrs. Jeanna Leauma - School Counselor
I spent my childhood growing up in Clarksburg, West Virginia. After graduation, I attended Slippery Rock University in Western Pennsylvania, earning a dual certification in Elementary and Special Education. From there, I moved to Nevada to complete my student teaching and later accepted a position as a special education teacher at Elaine Wynn Elementary School in the heart of Las Vegas. During that five year span, I gained valuable insight about teaching in one of the largest, most transient school districts in the nation. I also went on to earn a Master's Degree in Educational Counseling and married my sweetheart! We then decided to move to the San Diego, CA area where I spent three wonderful years teaching special education at Bernardo Heights Middle School in the Poway Unified School District. When our son was two months old, we decided to move back to the east coast and settled in Wake County. I was hired to teach special education at Penny Road Elementary and have remained at this wonderful school for the past 13 years! I have come to value the diverse community of PRE, developing deep and lasting relationships with the staff, students and their families. I am proud to say that both of my children are and were Penny Road Pandas! Teaching special education for the past 21 years has been an extremely rewarding experience, that I am not only proud of, but so very thankful for. When an opportunity came to become the school counselor at Penny Road, I could not pass it up. I care deeply about developing the whole child and have always felt that students learn best when their social and emotional development are in tact. I am beyond thrilled to get started on this new adventure and hopeful that I will be able to serve the students, families and staff of PRE with integrity, innovation and heart!
Instructional Assistants
Mrs. Angie Fogg - Instructional Assistant
Hello, my name is Angie Fogg. I am originally from Richmond, Virginia and a former resident of Winston-Salem for 16 years, my family and I relocated from Alexandria, Virginia in 2018. Along with my master’s degree in professional counseling, I have 7 years of experience in school and clinical settings working with children and adolescents with special needs and other various challenges. Other than spending time with my husband, daughter, and dog, my greatest joy is in helping a child accomplish something he or she, or others thought was not possible. I am truly passionate about playing a part in helping children reach their full potential. I am so excited, as well as honored, to be part of the Penny Road Elementary team.
Mrs. Luanne Guge
Hello, my name is Luanne Guge and I am very excited to join the staff at Penny Road Elementary this year. I have a B.A. degree in Elementary Education from Mars Hill University. I currently hold a North Carolina teaching license and have taught second, third, and fourth grades in private schools in Asheville, North Carolina. I have completed Orton-Gillingham multisensory training and have worked one-on-one with students with language-based disabilities such as dyslexia. I have also supported students in the classroom who are on the Autism spectrum.
My husband Joel and I lived in Asheville NC. for almost 30 years. We relocated to the Triangle area, at the end of December 2018, to be near our three adult children and two granddaughters that live in the Triangle area. I enjoy spending time with my family, exploring new places in Cary, and cheering for the North Carolina State Wolfpack.
Mrs. Katie Wiltshire
Hello, my name is Katie Wiltshire and I’m very excited to start my first year at Penny Road Elementary. I was born and raised right here in Cary and then headed to the beach where I graduated from UNC-Wilmington with a degree in Recreation Therapy. I am currently a licensed Recreation Therapist and love working with kids and adults to assist them in achieving goals through their leisure interests. In my free time, I enjoy taking my dog on walks, taking a yoga class, and spending time with my children and husband.