Meet Mrs. Winstanley

Hi! My name is Mrs. Jessica Winstanley. I teach third grade at Amberly Elementary School in Portage, Michigan. I really enjoy teaching third grade, and Amberly is a wonderful place to work thanks to the students, parents, staff and administration.

Background Information:
I am the oldest of four children in my family. I have two sisters, a brother-in-law and one brother. I am very close to my immediate family and my extended family as well. I have many cousins, aunts and uncles with whom I share a special bond. I am also close to my two grandparents. My in-laws are also an important part of my family. I have known my husband's parents since I was in the sixth grade. He has three wonderful sisters and 3 adorable nieces. The most important people in my life are my husband and son, Bryant. My husband and I have been married for over 6 years and have known each other since we were 11. Bryant was born on February 4, 2007. He is a lot of fun and full of smiles and energy. In February of 2009 we will be welcoming a new addition to our family. A baby brother or sister for Bryant.

I grew up in Grand Ledge, Michigan from the time I was born until I finished kindergarten. I then moved with my family to Davisburg, which is over on the east side of the state. After a year and a half we moved back to Grand Ledge where we stayed until I graduated from Grand Ledge High School in 1998. I was very involved in high school. I was on the Pom Pon squad, captain of the Girls Golf team, advertising editor for the year book and a member of the National Honor Society. When I went to college at Central Michigan University in the fall of 1998, I continued to be involved in many activities. I was a chairperson for hall council, on the executive board for Honors Outreach Network, a member of Residence Hall Assembly, the secretary for Phi Eta Sigma (a freshmen honor society), and the historian and secretary for Kappa Delta Epsilon (a national teachers fraternity). Also while at CMU I worked at the Educational Materials Center and substitute taught. I graduated from CMU in December of 2002 with my Bachelors of Science in Elementary Education with a major in science and a minor in language arts. In July of 2002, I married my husband and we moved to Kalamazoo because he was offered an engineering position at Stryker. I was fortunate and had the opportunity to do my students teaching at Amberly Elementary in third grade with Carolyn Packard. After graduation, I started teaching at Paw Paw Middle School as a sixth grade science teacher. I enjoyed teaching in Paw Paw, but when the third grade position opened up for the fall at Amberly, I jumped at the chance to apply. I was offered the position and have been very happy at Amberly ever since. It is a wonderful school and I enjoy every moment I spend here with these fantastic students! In December 2005 I accomplished another one of my educational goals by completing my Masters of Education Degree from Walden University. My focus was integrating technology in the classroom, and I love to use what I learned about technology with my third grade students.

Hobbies and Interests:
I enjoy doing many things. I love to read, shop and do art projects. I also enjoy hiking. My favorite place to hike is in the mountains of Colorado. My husband, my family and I went to Colorado in July 2007 and spent a week hiking in the mountains. Another one of my hobbies is playing the piano. Unfortunately I I never learned to memorize music, so I can only play with the sheet music in front of me. I always admire people who can memorize music. I love listening to music, as well as playing it. I listen to everything from rock to country to classical. I enjoy going to concerts, musicals and plays.I enjoy meeting new people and seeing new things. I have traveled to and lived in many different places. I have been to Colorado, California, Texas, Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky, and many states in between. I have also traveled to South Korea, Canada, Spain and Morocco. I would love to travel more and see new places. Also after I graduated from high school my family began to move around a lot. They first moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They lived there for a year and a half. I lived with them during my vacations from college. Oklahoma was amazingly flat and had tons of cattle and red dirt. Next my family moved to Nashville, Tennessee. They lived there for three and a half years. I loved Nashville. The hills are beautiful, and there is music everywhere. My sister met and/or saw many country music stars while they were living there. In 2003, my family moved back to Michigan and lived in Metro Detroit for over two years. In January of 2006, they will move to Seoul, South Korea. My husband and I visited them over Spring Break 2006. It was a long flight for a short week, but well worth it. It was fascinating experiencing the Korean culture. Seoul is a fun and interesting city to visit and I hope to be able to go back someday.

Bryant Winstanley

Copyright 2007, Jessica Winstanley. All Rights Reserved.
Last Updated August 14, 2007