Essentials and Enrichment Classrooms

"Education is a natural process carried out by the child and is not acquired by listening to words but by experiences in the environment." -Dr. Maria Montessori

In a traditional Montessori environment the classroom teacher delivers all instruction, including music, art, physical education, and technology.

In our public Montessori, we have a teacher for each of these subjects to provide an enriching experience for your child.

Essentials and Enrichment Teachers

Mr. Bakken - Art

kurt.bakken@d11.org

Bachelor of Arts in Communication UCCS

Bachelor of Fine Arts University of Northern Colorado

Master of fine Arts University of North Texas

Hi, my name is Mr. Bakken I have been the Art teacher here at Buena Vista Montessori for the last 16 years. It continues to be a great place to watch children's creativity bloom. Whether we are painting, drawing or working in clay, your children never cease to amaze me.

I am a long-time West Sider. My family's history here goes back over 100 years. I have two daughters, Amber and Arielle. One is in college and one graduated and is working on a career of her own. I have a 15 lb. cat named Jade. She is the queen at my house.

Ms. Carrie - PE

carrie.delius@d11.org

BS in Education
MEd in Counseling
Colorado Licenses: K-12 PE and K-12 Counselor

I've been fortunate to be teaching Physical Education, and counseling students, at Buena Vista Montessori since 2004. I love playing with kids while supporting them in reaching their full potential... academically, socially, and emotionally!

Ms. Kris - PE

kristen.whitcomb@d11.org

Bachelor of Science in Economics Colorado College

Masters in Elementary Education Colorado College

Miss Kris graduated from Colorado College with an economics degree. Two positions with Fortune500 companies proved not to be as enticing as education. She went back to Colorado College for her Masters in Elementary Education. She has taught twenty years in the classroom, five as a literacy specialist, and five as a PE teacher. Her three sons and Canadian husband played hockey-which she enjoys watching, but has never played. She did, however, ice-skate on the frozen beaver pond in her backyard growing up in Vermont. Now she enjoys hiking, working out, scrapbooking, dog walking, reading, ping-pong, traveling, and, of course, TEACHING and LEARNING at Buena Vista Montessori!

Ms. LaShele - Music & Instrumental

lashele.warren@d11.org

Bachelors of Arts in Music Education
Vocal and Instrumental Music
Orff Schulwerk Level I
First Steps in Music Certification
Conversational Solfege I and II Certification

Welcome to Buena Vista Music!

Here at Buena Vista Elementary we offer Vocal and General music to Pre-K through 5th grade and Band and Orchestra to 4th-5th. If you have any questions about our music program, how your child is doing in music, information you would like to see on our webpage, please email me at lashele.warren@d11.org or 719-328-4140. We hope you have a wonderful school year.

Ms. LaShele's Teacher Website

Ms. Marni - STREAM

marni.zabel@d11.org

Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies with a Emphasis in Literacy and a minor in English Adams State College

Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Technology UCCS

Hello! My name is Ms. Marni and I have the pleasure of running the library at Buena Vista focusing on helping students find just right books and broaden their horizons past legos, Star Wars, and princesses.

I also teach STREAM to Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary and support the teachers at Buena Vista in any technology integration in their classrooms.

I was a classroom teacher in a traditional public school for the first 8 years of my teaching career and I am happy to say I feel at home in Montessori! I believe the independence Montessori fosters becomes the building blocks for a successful community at large.

My husband Phil and I have a wonderful daughter Mabel who started attending Buena Vista in the Fall of 2009 as a preschooler. We have two wonderful dogs and a bunny at home.

When not in the library, you can generally find me with my nose in a book, playing make believe with Mabel, or working on a sewing project. We also love traveling and exploring outdoors as a family!

For STREAM, I see each student once a week for 55 minutes. We focus on library skills, research, technology, and teamwork with STEM lessons.

I use the standards put forward by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) to guide all instruction during STREAM time.

Using the ISTE Standards, students learn to be:

- Empowered Learners

- Digital Citizens

- Knowledge Constructors

- Innovative Designers

- Computational Thinkers

- Creative Communicators

- Global Collaborators