My name is Kelly Grew, and I am the 6-8 ELA teacher at Notre Dame Academy.  I love teaching English because reading books and writing poetry are more than just hobbies of mine—they are my passion! I enjoy sharing my love of books, poetry, and writing with my students. My education at St. John the Baptist and Holy Angels Academy fostered my love of reading and eventually led me to pursue my teaching degree. I hold a Bachelor’s degree in English (Buffalo State, 2004) and a Master’s degree in Secondary English Education (Buffalo State, 2007). I started my teaching career at the Notre Dame Abbott Campus from 2006-2011. After that, I taught in Charlotte, North Carolina then moved back home to Western New York and taught at St. Stephen’s School on Grand Island. In 2022, I found myself back here at NDA, this time at the Okell Campus. I am so happy to be part of this special NDA community!

We read and write every day in order to help us become successful students. My goal is to encourage and awaken a love of learning in all my students in and out of the classroom. I want each student to show progress and personal growth by the end of the school year. In each grade level, we read a wide variety of literature, poetry, and informational text. We read two novels together as a class, and every student chooses books to read independently throughout the year. We also write journal entries, argumentative and literary analysis essays, personal narratives, research papers, poetry, and more. Students build their vocabulary with our “Word of the Week,” studying the Latin and Greek roots, and by learning to use context clues to figure out what words mean while we’re reading. Some of the websites we use to help us learn are No Red Ink for grammar and writing skills; Accelerated Reader and CommonLit for independent reading and comprehension strategies; and Quizlet and Blooket for fun and engaging review games. By the end of year, I hope students feel confident and prepared to move on in their journey!