Mrs. Kim Mikolajczyk
Principal
Email: [email protected]
Kim Mikolajczyk, principal of McDonald school loves the students,
families and staff she works with each day. She earned a Bachelor’s
Degree from University of Idaho, her Master’s Degree from Eastern
Washington University and her Education Specialist degree from
University of Idaho. After serving as the school counselor at McDonald
for 10 years, Kim now leads our school.
She brings a wealth of knowledge
about the children, their families as well as working closely with
staff and programs within the school and community. Her positive and
proactive approach along with getting to know and enjoying each student
helps make McDonald Elementary a fantastic place to be!
Kim grew up in Vancouver, Washington, in her large family of seven
children. She came to Moscow to attend the University while on a Track
scholarship and has never left! She enjoys exploring new places,
exciting foods and playing on the St. Joe river in the summer with her
husband and two children while out of cell phone range of anyone else.
Classroom Teachers
Mrs. Heidi Palmer
Kindergarten
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://mcdonaldelementarykindergarten.weebly.com/
Heidi Palmer hails from The Dalles, Oregon and earned a degree in K-8 education and early childhood education from Western Oregon University in 1999. In 2009 she graduated from University of Idaho with a Master’s degree in Special Education.
In the fourth grade, Mrs. Palmer visited her aunt in San Francisco. While there she toured her aunt’s work place, which was a training center for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Over the next several years she raised four guide dogs. It was an awesome experience!
For Mrs. Palmer, being a teacher is a very fulfilling career. She loves watching the children grow socially, as well as academically throughout the course of the year and for years to come. She loves the enthusiasm for learning that Kindergarten children demonstrate each and every day.
Check out Kindergarten’s website:
http://www.mcdonaldelementarykindergarten.weebly.com
Mrs. Brandi Urie
Kindergarten
Email: [email protected]
Class Website: http://mcdonaldelementarykindergarten.weebly.com/
Brandi Urie was raised in Boise, Idaho but moved to Moscow in 2000. She has considered the Palouse her home ever since. She graduated from the University of Idaho in 2010 with her B.S. Education and looks forward to completing her Master’s degree with them as well (Go Vandals!). Shortly after graduation, Mrs. Urie taught abroad for two years in Kumamoto, Japan, where she worked with students as young as 3 and as old as 75.
Mrs. Urie enjoys reading, gardening, painting, and the occasional cross-stitch project. She can often be found heading out on grand adventures with her husband, Ryan, her daughter, Alora, and toddler son, Taran. Teaching kindergarten has been a lifelong dream for Mrs. Urie. She loves the unique and inspiring ways kindergarteners engage with their learning community and hopes to instill in all her students an enduring love of learning.
Mrs. Kristine Fitze
1st Grade
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://mcduckfirst.weebly.com/
Kristine Fitze earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Education at University of Idaho. Following graduation she achieved her Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Mrs. Fitze has taught at McDonald Elementary since 2001.
She loves the outdoors such as camping, fishing, boating, hiking, and walking her Yorkie. She also loves baking fruit pies, reading and scrapbooking.
Mrs. Fitze loves making a difference in a child’s life in some small way. It is always good when she is teaching and a student says or does something that teaches her something too!
Mrs. Gena Hudelson
1st Grade
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://mcduckfirst.weebly.com/
Gena Hudelson grew up in Northern Virginia near Washington D.C. along the Blue Ridge Mountains. She earned her BS in Recreation & Resource Management from the University of Montana and her Elementary Education certificate with an endorsement in Literacy from Lewis-Clark State College.
When not in the classroom, she enjoys spending time with her family outside. Whitewater, rafting, dry fly fishing and camping on the river are her favorite activities. In the winter, Gena and her family can be found on the ski hill on the weekends. She also loves to cook, work on photography, travel when she can and explore with her little ones.
Mrs. Hudelson has been a professional whitewater rafting guide since the age of 17. Within that time, her greatest accomplishment has been floating through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River four times. That is a total of 65 days spent in the bottom of the Grand Canyon! It has become her most treasured places to visit. Oddly enough, she has yet to see it from the top of the rim.
Gena loves providing an atmosphere that promotes an excitement for learning! She enjoys making her classroom feel like a community that encourages acceptance and believe in students finding their individual interests through the power of reading.
Mrs. Mitzi Wright
1st Grade
Email: [email protected]
Mrs.
Mitzi Wright was born and raised in Hutchinson, KS. She met her
husband while in college in Missouri and spent nine years in Oklahoma
before moving to Idaho in 2003.
She
graduated from Ozark Christian College with a degree in Christian
Education. She taught two years in a private school, teaching third
grade and Kindergarten. In 2002 she completed her elementary education
certification at the University of Oklahoma. When she moved to Idaho,
she subbed in various districts for two years before working in the Troy
School district from 2005-2018. She spent seven of those years as a
one on one aide and recently six years as a second grade teacher.
Mrs.
Wright enjoys hiking, camping, fishing, kayaking, roller skating,
reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with her family. She is
the youngest of seven children. Her siblings range from 12-24 years
older than her. Her family consists of the three amigos, herself, her
husband, Eric who is a mental health counselor and her daughter Macie
who will be in first grade. Mitzi is a world traveler and did a small
stint in roller derby.
When
asked what she loves most about teaching, Mrs. Wright stated that
teaching is rewarding and she loves to inspire the excitement of
learning, creativity and helping students to think for themselves. She
enjoys seeing students be sponges by soaking up what they learn and use
it to share with others.
Ms. Jana Horne
2nd Grade
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://grade2quacks.weebly.com/
Jana Horne was born and raised in Texas. She received her Bachelor’s degree in science from Texas A & M University – WHOOP! She earned her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Idaho.
Ms. Horne loves the outdoors and spending time with family and friends. When time allows, she enjoys gardening and knitting. When she was younger she enjoyed playing sports. Basketball is her favorite sport.
Jana has one child, Connor and a lovable Golden Retriever named Dusty. Ms. Horne has rafted the Canning River in Alaska north of the Brooks Range and rafted the Middle Fork of the Salmon with a group of friends.
Ms. Horne stated “I love the challenge of making school fun and successful for every child.” Check out the second grade website http://grade2quacks.weebly.com/
Mrs. Emily Spellman
2nd Grade
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://grade2quacks.weebly.com/
Emily Spellman teaches 2nd Grade at McDonald Elementary. She was raised in a town outside of Philadelphia and moved to Moscow at the age of ten. She graduated from Moscow High School and went abroad to Nepal for her first semester in college. She learned lifelong lessons in Nepal and it was there that she decided to become a teacher after teaching English songs to kids in the villages. She graduated from the University of Idaho with a Master’s degree in Education along with a literacy and gifted & talented endorsement.
Other than her love for teaching, Mrs. Spellman loves to run, hike, backpack, travel and volunteer for the Humane Society of the Palouse. She has volunteered there for 20 years and been on the Board of Directors for the shelter for over ten years.
Emily enjoys spending time with her family and is married and has two young children, Maya and Reid. She is proud to admit that she is a McDonald Duck alumnus along with her husband. She stated that once her youngest child enters school her whole family will be Ducks, “once a duck, always a duck!”
Mrs. Spellman loves getting to know the students. She likes the opportunity to support them in their learning career and creating a safe and inviting environment for them to grow.
Mrs. Pepper Abbott
3rd Grade
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://abbott3.weebly.com/
Pepper Abbott teaches 3rd grade at McDonald Elementary this year. She achieved her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Idaho in Elementary and Special Education.
Mrs. Abbott loves being outdoors! She enjoys hiking, biking, whitewater rafting, four wheeling, soccer, rock climbing, snowboarding and camping. If after all of this she has any spare time, she loves to quilt and knit, but top on her list is spending time with her husband, children and dog.
Some interesting facts that you may not know about Mrs. Abbott is that she spent four summers in Naknek, Alaska working in the roe room of a fish processing plant. She also fought wild fires for seven summers.
Mrs. Abbott loves knowing that she makes a difference in each and every student that she teaches.
Read more about what is happening in Mrs. Abbott’s 3rd grade class at http://abbott3.weebly.com
Mrs. Krysta Swanger
3rd Grade
Email: [email protected]
Class Website: http://www.mrsswanger.com
Krysta Swanger grew up in Cheney, Washington. She came to Moscow to attend the University of Idaho in 2006. GO VANDALS! After graduating with her bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education and working a couple years as support professional in Kindergarten, she decided to become a substitute for Moscow School District. She fell in LOVE with McDonald Elementary and began teaching 3rd grade here in 2014. Then in 2021, she earned her master’s degree in Learning Design and Educational Technology from Western Governor’s University.
Mrs. Swanger and her husband, Scott love to spend time with family. Their young children, Cameron and Carlee keep them very busy at home. Much of their extended families live nearby, so they get to spend a lot of time with siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. They also enjoy camping, traveling and going to musicals and concerts.
Mrs. Swanger strives to get to know her students on a more personal level to better help them in the classroom. She hopes to get to know families to promote open communication between home and school. She believes in a balanced teaching approach and meeting students’ needs in different ways. Not only does Mrs. Swanger love teaching her students, but she is constantly learning new things from them as well. To see more about Mrs. Swanger’s class, go to her website at http://www.mrsswanger.com
Mr. Wes Bascom
4th Grade
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://thefantasticfourth.weebly.com/
Wes Bascom teaches 4th grade at McDonald Elementary. He grew up in Eastern Oregon and achieved his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Washington State University and his teaching certificate at University of Idaho.
Among Mr. Bascom’s many hobbies, he enjoys drumming/music, outdoors backpacking and camping. He has lived and taught in three Northwest states, Costa Rico and Mexico.
Mr. Bascom enjoys watching the lights turn on when a student interests or understanding “clicks”.
Mrs. Merina Rainville
4th Grade
Email: [email protected]
Mrs. Rainville was born and raised in Saratoga, CA and come from three generations of teachers. She has a B.A in music from San Jose State University where she sang in the chamber choir and got to sing backup for the Rolling Stones on their last tour. Merina received her master’s in teaching from Santa Clara University and is a certified Waldorf teacher.
Merina lives in Moscow with her husband Danny, daughter Maisie, and an Australian Shepherd, Junebug. In her free time she loves napping, watercolor painting, and exploring Idaho with her family. Mrs. Rainville loves being a Duck not only because of the wonderful community, but also as it allows her to put into practice her belief that every child has the right to a good education!
Mrs. Wendy Thompson
4th Grade
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://thefantasticfourth.weebly.com/
Wendy Thompson was born in Tucson and moved here when she was three years old. She has been teaching at McDonald Elementary since 1999. She graduated from Moscow High School (Go Bears!) and went to the University of Idaho (Go Vandals!) where she earned her Bachelor’s in Elementary Education and Master’s of Education degree.
Her passions include anything related to friends, family and sports. She and her family are a huge baseball family who takes their children everywhere due to sporting activities. Between baseball, basketball, soccer, softball and dance, she stays very busy. In case you didn’t notice, Mrs. Thompson is a big fan of the UI Vandals, Seattle Mariners/Seahawks, Green Bay Packers and Boston Red Sox.
She loves everything about teaching and it is the one thing that she can do to make a difference in a child’s life. She enjoys seeing the “lightbulb” go on when students start to “get it”. It keeps her busy and on the go, but she values every minute of it. McDonald School is such a great place to be. It truly is “home away from home”.
Ms. Heidi Broenneke
5th Grade
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://mcdonald5thgrade.weebly.com/
Miss Heidi Broenneke was born and raised in Moscow. She received her BS in Elementary Education at the University of Idaho.
She enjoys hiking, paddle boating, going to concerts and singing. She is a Seattle Mariner enthusiast and has been chosen as one of Idaho’s Ultimate Northwest fans the past five years! She has a cat, Felix (namesake of Mariner Felix Hernandez) and Shishka.
What Miss Broenneke loves most about teaching is spending time with her students. She is the best version of herself when with them. Teaching provides her the opportunity to foster relationships that have a lasting impact.
Ms. Staci Brandner
5th Grade
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://mcdonald5thgrade.weebly.com/
Staci Brandner comes to McDonald Elementary from Yuma, Colorado. She moved to Moscow in 2015 after graduating from Chadron State College in Chadron, NE with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education.
Her passion is very simple, teaching! She loves working with kids and seeing them progress in their education. She reads a variety of books and loves to write poetry.
Ms. Brandner made a huge change to her life when she moved to Idaho in 2015. She decided to follow her family to Moscow to be closer to her oldest sister and since the move it has been wonderful living here. She enjoys exploring new towns and places and seeing the beautiful scenery. She is excited to claim this state as her home.
The thing that she loves most about teaching is seeing the students grow and learn. It is gratifying to see the students take the information that has been given them and have them apply it in their lives and throughout their education careers. She enjoys making those connections with students that allows for the fun, learning environment.
Ms. Caitlin Murray
5th Grade
Email: [email protected]
Ms. Caitlin Murray found her way to Moscow from Redmond, Washington in 2011. Although she originally hails from the East Coast in North Carolina, she happily transitioned to the Pacific Northwest in 2005. She found her passion in teaching young learners right here on the Palouse and graduated from the University of Idaho (Go Vandals!) in 2018 with a BS in Elementary Education.
Ms. Murray enjoys reading with her own little learner at home, taking her dog for long walks, or tending to her many house plants which she jokingly refers to as ‘the jungle.’ She loves animals, the outdoors, swimming, and trying out the latest coffee crazes. You might hear her say “everything is better with chocolate,” but she insists she recognizes the importance of eating a balanced diet.
Teaching fulfills one of Ms. Murray’s greatest life purposes: helping her students discover new interests and safely explore their own natural curiosities. She considers herself a lifelong learner and takes pride in helping kiddos foster a sense of agency while discovering themselves and the world around them.
Specialty Staff
Mr. Aaron Schiffelbein
Counselor
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://mcdcounselor.weebly.com/
Aaron Schiffelbein was born in California but grew up in western Washington in Kent, a suburb of Seattle. He achieved his BA in Communication from Washington State University followed by MA in School Counseling from the University of Idaho.
Mr. Schiffelbein enjoys collecting and listening to vinyl records along with camping and being outdoors. One of his favorite things is going to concerts. He has seen a few of his favorite bands 15+ times in concert (and counting).
He loves the joy and energy students bring to school with them each day. One of his favorite things about the work he does is seeing students make new connections and learn more about what makes them uniquely who they are.
Mr. Lance Hamma
Physical Education
Email: [email protected]
Lance
Hamma teaches PE at McDonald Elementary. He was born in Montana
and achieved his Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and Physical
Education from the University of Idaho. In addition, he earned his
Master’s Degree in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of
Idaho.
Mr. Hamma loves
swimming, kayaking, rafting, hiking and chasing after his son. He loves
sports especially the Green Bay Packers, of whom he boasts that he is
part owner. Ask to see his Green Bay certificate if you don’t believe
it! Oh, Mr. Hamma LOVES brownies.
He loves working with children. Mr. Hamma states “they are funnier, more forgiving, energetic and capable than we can imagine.”
Ms. Stephanie Sant
Movement
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://mcdonaldmovement.weebly.com/
Stephanie Sant teaches Movement at McDonald Elementary. Movement is a non-competitive creative dance class where students explore, create, respond to and perform movement and dance works. Ms. Sant received her Associate of Arts degree from Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington. Upon completion of her Associate’s degree, she earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music and in 2005, a Master’s degree in Education, both from the University of Idaho.
Ms. Sant loves to sing for community events and occasionally sings the National Anthem at sporting events. She participates in the Palouse Choral Society choirs. In addition to her work at McDonald Elementary, she teaches Choir, Jazz Choir and Opera group at Moscow High School.
Among some of Ms. Sant’s favorite things about teaching is interacting with students, watching them learn and develop from year to year.
Mrs. Kathy Stefani
Music
Email: [email protected]
Class website: http://mcdonaldmusic.weebly.com/
Kathy Stefani, a Moscow native, has taught elementary and secondary music for many years. She joined McDonald Elementary in 2016.
She plays numerous instruments and is an Orff Level I specialist. Kathy currently serves as President for the Idaho Music Educators Association. Mrs. Stefani is the recipient of numerous grants and she and her programs have been recognized by the Grammy Foundation. The love of music came late to Mrs. Stefani and her hope is to instill that love in her students early on.
Mrs. Geri Ray
Special Education
Email: [email protected]
Geri Ray grew up in Bellingham, Washington and earned her Bachelor’s degree and teaching certification at Western Washington University. She has her Master’s Degree in Educational Technology and continues growing professionally by earning from Portland State University and University of Idaho.
In her spare time, Mrs. Ray loves taking pictures of her family along with gardening, ceramic painting and making jewelry. She finds mowing the lawn to be one of those crazy things that help relieve stress.
For Mrs. Ray, teaching is never a boring moment and she hopes her work with students will help people remember her. They will!!
Mrs. Jordan Roesler
Special Education
Email: [email protected]
Jordan Roesler is a special education paparprofessional at McDonald
Elementary. Jordan has worked with children in an educational setting
ranging from infants to high school for 17 years. She has a BS in
Psychology from Washington State University and a masters in teaching
from City University – Seattle.
Jordan
is a born and raised Idaho native. In her free time, you can find her
with a good book in her hand. Jordan also enjoys going to WSU football
games, traveling, camping, swimming and any other activities with her
busy family.
Ms. Vickie Green
Psychologist
Email: [email protected]
Vickie Green was born in Seattle, WA, but grew up in Council, ID. When her two sons started high school, she enrolled in LCSC, earning her bachelor’s degree in elementary education with endorsements in special education and reading. After teaching a couple of years, she became interested in the assessment part of special ed and in helping students work through difficult problems. She enrolled in the U of I’s school psychology /counseling program and completed her internship in a remote village in Alaska. Ms. Green taught at the U of I and served as a district special education coordinator in Nashville before returning to Council where she served as their elementary principal for the past four years.
A desire to return to her passion of working with, and hopefully helping students who view school as a difficult and sometimes, incomprehensible world, find the strategies and skills to make it more manageable and enjoyable, led her to apply for the school psychologist position in Moscow. (That, and the fact that the Moscow/Palouse area is one of her all-time favorite places!).
Ms. Green has nine grandchildren and lives with her two German Shepherds and a fat cat.
She loves to bike, run (slowly), and is working on completing her dissertation (also slowly).
What Ms. Green loves about teaching/education are the opportunities to help children connect their interests and learning styles to find success in school and beyond.