“Let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love.” - St. Teresa of Calcutta.
Reflections on Catholic Education
I remember the day I realized I wanted to become a teacher…I was in high school volunteering in a Grade 1 classroom. Helping six-year-olds learn how to read was a wonderful experience, and I knew teaching was more than just a job—it was a vocation. After high school I graduated from a four-year university honors program in Child Development and continued on to a one-year graduate teaching program, where I earned a teaching certificate for kindergarten through Grade 8 with a minor in special education. I have been teaching for twenty-three years and each year is just as exciting and rewarding as that first year I helped out in a Grade 1 classroom.
Over the years I have taught all grades from kindergarten to Grade 6 and have found that children learn best when they are engaged, when the lessons are relevant and meaningful, when activities are hands-on, and when learning is challenging and fun. This knowledge has served me well across all age levels!
My daughter and I came to Mount Royal Academy in 2005. Erin began her Mount Royal career in Junior Kindergarten and is now in Grade 10. I began my Mount Royal career in kindergarten and am now in Grade 5. We have both found something very special at Mount Royal Academy. We (teachers and parents) are united in our faith and model our morals and values for our children. We begin every day with prayer and we talk to our students about God and how much He loves us. My favorite part of the day is recess (just like my students). To stand on our playground and watch the older students play with the younger students exemplifies how special our school really is. We are a family.
Mrs. Jacqueline Diebold earned an Honors Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Windsor and Lakehead University in Canada in 1991 and 1993 respectively. She has taught elementary grades kindergarten through sixth over the past twenty-three years in Catholic schools both in Canada and the United States, and is a Teacher Advisor at the Sophia Institute for Teachers. During the last twelve years she has taught at Mount Royal Academy and is currently a fifth grade classroom teacher. Mrs. Diebold has led and organized many activities outside the classroom including chess club, coaching, field day, student virtue program, curriculum development, and team leader for NAPCIS accreditation committee. She is an active member in her parish, Our Lady of Fatima, in New London, New Hampshire, and resides with her husband and daughter in Grantham.