Amy Modrich moved from Seattle, Washington to the bay area this summer. She was born in Oakland but grew up in Durham, N.C. where she attended public schools. Amy earned her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from the College of Charleston in South Carolina and taught as a teacher’s assistant at Ashley Hall Private School in Charleston before moving to Seattle to develop her art portfolio. Amy’s work has been displayed at the Halsey Gallery of Contemporary Art in Charleston, SC and she exhibited in both group and solo shows in Seattle. Amy received her teaching certificate in K-12 Visual Art from Seattle Pacific University in 2006 and taught as a substitute in the Seattle and Everett school districts before moving to California. Amy enjoys working in a variety of mediums and hopes to bring a sense of discovery and excitement to the classroom. In addition to exploring the creative process, Amy encourages students to make connections between art and the outside world by incorporating art vocabulary, art history, and collaboration between art and other subjects within her lessons. Amy resides in Berkeley with her two cats, Albert and Rudy.
amodrich@lvcs.org | Website

Jerry Pettit grew up in Campbell and now resides in Dublin with his wife and son. He has taught Physical Education at the elementary through high school levels as well as special education. Basketball has been a passion of Mr. Pettit for many years and he also enjoys watching college athletics.
jpettit@lvcs.org | Website

Abbie Rockwell, holds a PhD. in Music from the University of Southern California. She teaches music K-8. Students study the concepts of beat and rhythm with a variety of classroom percussion – triangles, claves, castanets, finger cymbals, drums, rhythm sticks, shakers, guiros, then learn melody, form and harmony with xylophones, glockenspiels, hand bells, tone bars, found objects, and homemade instruments and learn the expressive elements of dynamics and tempo with all of the above. Instruction on recorder begins the second half of second grade. Concepts are taught with American and international folk songs, composed songs, and children’s songs, movement activities and dances. Instruction follows the scope and sequence chart from MENC, the National Association for Music Education. Before coming to LVCS, Abbie taught elementary general, choral and instrumental music for 10 years for the Los Angeles Unified School District, taught in-service classes in music for classroom teachers as well as adult education music classes for senior citizens. Abbie taught music curriculum classes for education students in the USC School of Education, where she received her Ph.D. Abbie has also taught in North Carolina, Australia, and as a volunteer at Kinderkirk Nursery School, Arroyo Mocho Elementary and Jackson Elementary in Livermore. In 2004 Abbie received the Friend of Education award from the Livermore Management Association.
arockwell@lvcs.org | Website

Señora Stonich grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. There, in 1988, she earned her first bachelor’s degree in both Portuguese and English. She taught Portuguese (5th – 7th) and ESL (K – 7th) for 12 years in Brazil. From 1997 to 1999, she taught core subjects to adults from a very poor community in Rio de Janeiro. In 1999, Claudia married William and moved to the U.S. She started attending California State University East Bay, Hayward, and earned her B.A. degree in English in 2005. From 2000 to January 2006, Claudia worked at a Christian school in Hayward teaching kindergarten and 1st grade. At that school, she was able to improve her communication skills and fluency in Spanish while interacting with students, parents, and staff. During the following six months, she worked as a substitute teacher for the Hayward and Livermore Valley school districts. In December 2007, she earned a Masters in Education /teaching credential and CLAD certification from University of Phoenix. In June 2009, she completed the Fifth Year Clear Credential Program from University of California, San Diego. Claudia enjoys traveling with her family, taking her daughter Ana Marie for bike rides and having family and friends over for barbecues. She is very pleased to be part of the LVCS team and she is looking forward to the new school year.
cstonich@lvcs.org | Website

Susan Wijeyeskera completed her Single Subject Teaching Credential program at St. Mary's College in Moraga, California. Susan student taught biology and earth science in Castro Valley and Pittsburg and worked as a substitute teacher for the Pleasanton Unified School District for five years where she taught all subjects in all grades. Prior to embarking on her teaching career, Susan worked as an interpretive guide and naturalist at the Chippewa Nature Center in Midland, Michigan for eight years. She graduated with a degree in Botany from Connecticut College. Susan is a member of the California Native Plant Society, Ohlone Audubon, and Sweet Adelines International. Her hobbies include singing, hiking, reading, bird watching, and botany.
swijeyesekera@lvcs.org | Website