Kathy Leisten has been teaching kindergarten at St. Maria Goretti for twelve years. She enjoys her time at SMG and especially loves getting to know all of her students and seeing them grow each year!

She received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Early Childhood/Elementary Education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Dominican University. She believes that children learn best when they are actively involved in their learning environment, which is something that she puts into practice in her classroom. The students are always doing hands-on activities during centers and other parts of the day in order to make their learning interesting and exciting. She also makes projects and activities meaningful which allows the students to see the importance in learning. Her biggest hope for her students is that they learn to love learning! Seeing her students grow and mature as the years go on always inspires Miss Leisten to continue doing what she does.

This year, Miss Leisten plans on doing several exciting things with her students. Art projects, story activities, writer’s workshop, thematic units, field trips, reading buddies, and raising butterflies are just a few of the things to look forward to in kindergarten! An important theme this year will be a unit about Space during Catholic Schools Week.

In her spare time, Miss Leisten enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading, bike riding and other outdoor activities, scrapbooking, cheering on the White Sox.