Our Third Grade Team
Patty Armanini
I have been teaching at Wade Thomas School since 1987. Prior to that I taught in Occidental for 2 years and at Marin Country Day School for 8 years. Most of my career was spent in Kindergarten although I have taught across the grades K-6, and even did a stint as a P.E. teacher/coach! I ‘graduated’ from Kindergarten in 2002 and currently love teaching third grade. I graduated from Sonoma State University with a major in Anthropology and minors in Psychology and English. I grew up in San Anselmo and attended Brookside School, Drake, and the College of Marin. I met my husband while attending COM, while doing an archaeological dig where the library now stands. We have been married for 30 years and have 1 son, who is a contractor by day and a freelance illustrator by night. We enjoy hiking, fishing, sport-shooting, hunting, and taking our lab, Nero, to the beach. We look forward to settling up in Oregon where we have property along the Rogue River.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my long career in teaching, and most recently have taken on a part-time contract with the county to be on the BTSA Leadership Team working as a support provider to new teachers, as well as training new teachers and support providers. Last year, I was also awarded the Golden Bell Award, which was quite an honor to receive.
Craig Engle
Remember “The Summer of Love” in San Francisco? That’s the year I started a school with two other teachers in Haight Ashbury. I taught science and drove the “The Yellow Submarine” on weekly fieldtrips. After graduating from U C Berkeley with a teaching credential and a Master’s in Environmental Education from San Francisco State, I became the director of Environmental Education for Marin County. But after four years, I missed the direct interaction with students, so I found a home at Wade Thomas and have lived in Fairfax and San Anselmo for the past 26 years. Simply stated, life for me is a wonderful adventure waiting to be challenged. I rode a bicycle from San Francisco to L.A., climbed 14,260 foot Mount Shasta, walked 70 miles across the Cotswolds in England with my wife, crossed the Yucatan, and traveled by train and bus from San Francisco to the Mayan ruins of Tikal in the jungles of Guatemala. I believe that for me to be the best teacher I can be, I need to be a constant learner and challenge myself to new levels of understanding and insight. My goal is to instill in each student a love for learning, the confidence to ask questions, and an openness to ask - Why?
Kelly McKenna
Being a teacher has been a life long dream of mine. When most children were dreaming of becoming an astronaut or a ballerina, I was ready to start work in a classroom! I went to school in Arizona, at Northern Arizona University. There I was provided with fabulous opportunities to work with students, and had phenomenal teachers. While in school I also studied abroad in Madrid, Spain and traveled around Europe. Living in another culture and country opened my eyes to new worlds, and taught as well as humbled me as an adult. I learned what it is like to feel unsure, confused and a bit lost. I found this gave me such great insight into how my students can feel when faced with a new or old challenge. As an adult I continue to try new things to maintain this perspective as a new learner. I am a passionate educator and hope to inspire and help my students understand on an individual level how important they are. I am so proud to be a Wade Thomas Mustang and know that each year will continue to be better than the last!
