Meet Mrs. Carpenter

This is my fourth year teaching and my fourth year at St. Augustin School. Previously, I taught Transitional Kindergarten and Math Resource/Talented & Gifted. I am so excited to be the second grade teacher this year!

I grew up in Des Moines, attended school in the Diocese of Des Moines all the way from Pre-K to 12th grade, and graduated from Dowling Catholic High School.  I graduated from Drake University with a degree in elementary education and endorsements in reading and talented and gifted. Go Bulldogs!    

I live in West Des Moines with my husband, Ross, and our very spoiled Shih Tzu, Bentley. Outside of school I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, reading, going to movies, cooking, and being outside as much as possible! 

A sweet story about teaching: When I was student teaching in a 2nd grade classroom, at the end of every school day I would find an anonymous sticky note containing words of encouragement on my desk. Eventually, I found out who was leaving me these adorably kind notes. When this student was having a particularly rough day I decided to write her a note filled with encouragement and kindness, which was able to cheer her up! Encouraging notes became something I adapted into my own classroom from this point on as I noticed how they could make an impact in helping students achieve a more positive mindset! These sweet moments taught me that one act of kindness, no matter how small can truly make a difference in a student's day.