Welcome, Mrs. Vena

Welcome to our community, Mrs. Lucy Vena!

Mrs. Vena has worked in China as a teacher for nine years. She has worked in Guangzhou, Shaoxing, and for our sister school in Wuxi. Now joining us, she will be our Kindergarten teacher and has several goals she’s looking forward to implementing.

Mrs. Vena’s first goal is to connect with students, which correlates perfectly with next month’s LifePlus quality for life. “I want to connect with the students, not just my own students, but the whole ECC, too. I’m trying to learn their names, greeting them in the hallways, and finding time to have chats with them during play time.” She encourages deeper connection amongst students and parents as well by suggesting putting technology away and focusing on relationships. “Sit together, have conversations, go out, and just be together.”

Mrs. Vena’s also looking forward to connecting with parents through everyday activities and events, beginning with tonight’s Open House. “Even though it’s a lot of work for me and pretty nerve-wracking for me, I can’t wait to meet the parents on Friday and to get to know the people.”

Mrs. Vena’s second goal is to coordinate her lessons with being outside so students can embrace the outdoors and learn in nature. She says our school has a large garden which she can’t wait to make the most out of. “I love plants. I love gardens. I love touching soil,” she says, commenting that learning in nature has benefits. “There’s research proving just being amongst plants really makes us joyful.” She hopes immersing students in nature will ignite a love in them for the great outdoors.

Mrs. Vena enjoys cycling, climbing mountains in China, going to parks in the spring, and reading fiction books. She, her husband, and two sons are from South Africa. Her oldest son is in first grade, and her youngest son is in JK. Please join us in welcoming the Vena family to our community!