Meet the enrichment teachers!
| Music - Julie McHugh Louise Kiser | Michelle Clinton - Art Teacher |
| Kristie Bryan, Computer Lab | Howard Zehr, PE |
| Spanish - Nicole Fallon | Resource Teacher |
General Information
The enrichment program at Julie Rohr Academy consists of classes in art, music, physical education, Spanish and library/computer.
The art program at Julie Rohr Academy operates within the framework that the process of creating art is as important, if not more important, than the final product created. Creative thinking and individual expression are emphasized as thoroughly as basic skills. Students work in a variety of mediums, draw ideas from personal experiences and are exposed to various artists and periods of art. They make choices, learn creative problem solving, work on collaborative projects and begin to understand the power of an image. Every student at JRA has art from three to five days a week. An art instructor with a degree in field teaches TK through 8th grade level classes. Basic skills teachers and aides are responsible for nursery, pre-school, and Pre-K art classes.
The music program taught daily to all students, heavily emphasizes the performance aspect. Basic music concepts are taught as they naturally occur in the music rather than as a separate music theory class. Students are encouraged to participate in four performances during the year. We are proud to report that 100% of our students have participated in the performing arts program each year since the first performance in 1976. The music specialist teaches the music program in 30-minute sessions daily to all students in PreK through 5th grade. Preschool has a daily music enrichment program taught three days per week by classroom teachers and two days per week by the music specialist who has a masters degree in music. In Pre-K through 5th grade, basic music skills are taught through a combination of fundamental music theory, manuscript writing, Dalcroze eurhythmics, and Robyn children's preparatory keyboard skills. The middle school music classes are 40 minutes in length and are taught by the principal at JRA. Her bachelor and masters degrees are in music education. She has always enjoyed the opportunity to teach the middle school music program and she also directs the annual Broadway musical.
The physical education program, taught daily to all students, is designed to promote a life-long healthy lifestyle. Wellness concepts are taught in the health education portion of the physical education program. Movement education and introduction to many sports are also taught. A physical education teacher with a degree in field instructs pre-school through 8th grade classes daily.
The Spanish program is designed to provide an introduction to Spanish grammar, conversation and culture. In kindergarten through 4th grade, emphasis is on becoming comfortable with pronunciation and building a fifty-work vocabulary through songs, games and holiday celebrations. In the 5th through 8th grades these activities are amplified by beginning formal grammar study in the present tense. In the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, the goal is acquisition of a 500 work vocabulary, conjugation of AR verbs in the present tense, and beginning conversation. The culture, history, and geography of Central and South America and Spain are also addressed.
At JRA we are proud to offer a variety of enrichment classes to our students. We have opportunities for students to display their talents through the art and international fairs, the county art competition, the performing arts program, and track and field day. All these activities help our students to achieve the well-rounded education that is vital to success in the twenty-first century. The enrichment program is completely in line with our philosophy and is recognized by the community for its variety, consistency, and frequency of classes.
Dear
Parents,
I am Julie McHugh, director of Julie Rohr Academy.
I have a Master of Music Degree in Music Education from University of
Miami. I have also taken many elementary education courses from both
University of Miami and University of South Florida. Prior to coming to Julie Rohr Academy, I taught chorus
classes at Everglades Middle School in Fort Lauderdale for a period of six
years. This is my thirty-second
year at Julie Rohr Academy. In
addition to being director, I teach music to 1st through 8th
grade and direct the spring musical.
I have five sons.
Mitchell is fourteen, Martin is twenty-two, Matthew is twenty-nine, Mark
is thirty-two, and Michael is thirty-four.
All of my sons attended Julie Rohr Academy until they graduated.
Michael graduated from the University of Central
Florida in Orlando in 1995, taught at JRA during the 95-96 school year and then
returned to UCF to work toward a Master of Music Degree in Music Education.
He completed a second degree in music education in 1999 and began
teaching at Millenium Middle School for the Performing Arts.
He resigned from his teaching position six years ago to “follow his
dreams” and sing professionally. Michael
moved to Japan and sang professionally for Universal Studios in Osaka for four
years. Two years ago he began
teaching music at the International Baccalaureate School in Kobe, Japan. He got married on July 22, 2006 to a wonderful girl from
Japan. Her family came over for the
wedding. It is amazing how well we
managed to communicate even though they did not speak English.
Mark graduated from UCF in December of 1996 with a
major in Business and Finance. He
worked at JRA from January until August ‘96 primarily organizing, ordering,
and setting up our computer lab. He
began Law School at Harvard in September of ‘97 and graduated in June of 2000.
The following month, Mark began working as an investment banker with
mergers and acquisitions at Credit Suisse in New York City.
He is now a Vice President at Credit Suisse.
He recently transferred to the Los Angeles office.
Mark got married last April to a beautiful girl named Suzzette.
Suzzette has a nine-year old daughter, Brittney, so I became an instant
grandma!
Matt graduated from Sarasota High School in June of
‘96. He began working at Julie
Rohr Academy while still in high school and continued while attending MCC.
He took a reduced load at MCC while Mitchell was in chemotherapy to allow
time to drive me to and from Tampa Children’s Hospital.
He completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Finance from the
University of South Florida in May of 2005.
He now works full-time at JRA as our Business Manager.
It is wonderful having him here five days a week!
Martin graduated from Sarasota High School in June of
’03 and from Manatee Community College in May of ‘05.
Martin also has worked at JRA throughout high school and junior college.
He will begin his last semester this month and will graduate in December
from USF with a degree in Business and Finance.
We will miss him at JRA! He
may work here in the summer until he finds a full time job in his field.
Mitchell will be in ninth grade at Sarasota Military
Academy this year. I will teach a
show choir there every other morning. As
most of you know, Mitchell was diagnosed with leukemia in November of 1998.
He completed chemotherapy in November of 2000.
We are now nearly eight years post-chemo and Mitchell seems to be doing
just fine. We go every six months
for blood work and exams but so far, all is well.
It is a chapter in his life that he wants closed and rarely mentions it
anymore. He does, however,
frequently mention his sister, Meaghan, that he never met because she died from
leukemia before he was born. Meaghan
died seventeen years ago at age three. It
is interesting that in my 39 years of teaching, I have taught only two children
with leukemia and they were both my children.
My husband, Michael, is currently the director for
the Sarasota County Public Schools Support Services. He will retire this year and will help out at JRA.
I am delighted to have his expertise.
My mother, Dr. Julia W. Rohr, the founder of the
school, works here during the day giving private music lessons.
She also directs the Shriners Chanters.
She works full time and still has time left to fuss at people who park in
her parking spot! On July 13th, my mother celebrated her 90th
birthday. Congratulations, Mom!
It is very important for me to know each of you well. I want to talk with you frequently and get your feedback on
how things are going. Please be
sure to see me at least once a month just to touch base and let me know how you
feel your child is progressing. Even
though our school is large, we want to always maintain our “family”
atmosphere. I am at JRA from 8 AM
to 6:30 PM daily. Should you need
to call me before or after those hours, you are welcome to call my home at
371-5840 or my cell phone at 544-4232. I
stay up late and get up early so you can usually reach me!
Have a wonderful year and I am so happy that you are part of our
JRA family!
Sincerely,
Julie McHugh
Director
Dear JRA Families,
Welcome to the start of the new school year at Julie Rohr Academy! My name is Louise Kiser, and I have been working at JRA for almost twelve years.
My husband, Shane, teaches high school English at Sarasota Christian School. My daughter, Charity, is working on her M.A. at USF in Tampa and my older daughter, Share, is finishing her BA with a double major at USF. My grandchildren, Cameron and Kendall, attend Julie Rohr Academy, which is a treat for me!
This year I will again be teaching Pre-K music with Miss Cindy, as well as working with her in assisting Mrs. Julie in first through third grade music, fourth and fifth grade music, and Middle School music. I will also be helping Ms. Angie and Ms. Confer in the mornings during first and second grade Language Arts time, and taking care of TK and Pre-1st in the afternoons.
To our new families, we’re looking forward to getting to know you, and to our returning families, we’re happy to have you back!
Sincerely,
"Miss" Louise
7
Dear
Parents/Guardians,
My name is Kristie Bryan and this will be my 9th year as
computer teacher at Julie Rohr Academy. I
graduated with a degree in Elementary Education from the University of South
Florida. I am certified to teach K
– 8th grade.
I’ve lived in Sarasota for 15 years.
My dad (91 years old!), son and sister all live in Sarasota.
I have two pug dogs – Mookie and Rosie – and two cats.
I like to kayak, fish and garden. I
swam, biked and ran in the Siesta Key Sprint Triathlon in 2004 and 2006!
I help with the girls and boys basketball teams and I instruct the teachers on how to use their computers for
in-service points toward renewing their certification.
I love teaching the children how to use computers, programs and how to
search the internet. I believe that children should be in a safe, happy and
educational atmosphere while at school and I do my best to provide that for
them.
I’m looking forward to meeting everyone and if you have any questions
you can contact me through the school or at home (388-1812).
Sincerely,
Kristie Bryan
Hola! My name is Nicole Fallon-Ramirez and I am looking forward to my second year as the Spanish teacher at JRA. I am a longtime resident of Sarasota, having graduated from the Booker High School VPA program where I studied classical voice. I went on to attend Flagler College in St. Augustine; there I had a double major in Spanish and theatrical arts. During that time I traveled to Costa Rica and completed a semester long study abroad program at the University of Costa Rica. My most recent training has come from the University of South Florida where I have been working on my M.A. in elementary education.
Last year kept me very busy teaching all levels of Spanish from TK to 8th grade. When I am not teaching Spanish, I often fill in for other teachers so I get the opportunity to meet almost every student in school. I just can’t wait to see those familiar faces again and meet all our new students as well.
My philosophy for teaching Spanish is to create an environment that is fun and inviting where students feel free to experiment with the language and not be afraid of making a mistake. Within that framework I aim to provide students with clear explanations and examples of grammatical structures and vocabulary. Repetition in the early levels is key to acquiring a base of knowledge of the language and this is accomplished through songs, chants, and choral response.
This year I will meet with students in TK on Tuesdays and Thursdays and Pre-1st on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. I will correlate the activities and vocabulary for these students with the school’s topic list. Additionally we will play educational language games, read bilingual books, and sometimes watch fun videos.
I visit with students in grades 1st through 3rd for thirty minutes Monday-Friday. This really gives me a lot of time to develop several theme units throughout the year. This year I will be covering many seasonal and holiday themes as well as themes related to Latin culture and Hispanic heritage.
For those students entering 4th through 8th grade this year, I have a lot of fun projects and activities planned to support our core curriculum and textbook work. We will be writing skits, designing Spanish board games, making cultural crafts, and doing karaoke.
Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns. My email address is nick11475@aol.com. My office is located in the staff house and you can find me there M-F 3:30 to 4:00pm. Or if you would like to observe a class, I’d be more than happy to have you visit.
Coming Soon!
Dear
Parents,
Welcome back to Julie Rohr Academy for another challenging school year.
My name is Howard Zehr Jr. and I will be your child’s physical
educational teacher. This will be
my fourth year teaching at JRA. I
have a Bachelors of Science Degree in Physical Education from Houghton College
in New York State. I moved to
Sarasota in 2002 from New York. I
have participated in many sports including wrestling, cross country, pole
vaulting, baseball, football, and track.
I
have many exciting and exhilarating things planned for the upcoming school year.
The focus for the fourth grades through middle school is on life-time
sports and general fitness. The
younger children will focus on developmental skills and manipulation of
equipment. If you need to reach me, I am at school from 9:30 to 5:30 pm
everyday.
Sincerely,
Howard
Zehr Jr.