Mrs. Heckathorn is a graduate of Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania.  She received her masters from Winthrop in Rock Hill and 30 hours plus from colleges throughout South Carolina.  She has been teaching in District Two since 1989.  She moved to Oakland Elementary when it opened in the fall of 2003.  She loves her kindergarten children.  Watching them develop good learning habits and a love for learning is a real joy.  She is married and has two daughters.  One graduated from Charleston Southern and has her Masters in Library Science from University of South Carolina.  Rebecca is married and one of the children's librarians at the Main Library in Spartanburg.  Rebecca and Kirby have one grandpuppy, Gizmo, and a grandkitty, Tippy, which Mrs. Heckathorn loves.  Christina is a business graduate of the University of South Carolina in Columbia.  She is married and  working Greer.  Christina and Will have one grandkitty, Milo, which is also loved.  Mrs. Heckathorn directs the adult choir, at the church she attends with her family, enjoys the outdoors, walking, biking, and traveling.

Our Classroom Philosophy

    In our classroom, hands-on learning is very important to build basic concepts.  Some children have had many experiences while others have never experienced things outside their home or neighborhood.  We will provide experiences through field trips, dramatizations, and demonstrations.  The children will be involved in hands-on activities that are designed to meet their multi-level needs.  Science, social studies, and health will be taught in themes correlated with the curriculum.  We will have a story time, sight word activities, Math, Reading, dramatic play, and writing skills daily.  These skill areas will also be addressed during centers.

In Kindergarten each year we get a new packet of "seeds."  We "water" them, "feed" them, and check them daily for "weeds and pests."  We know that each "plant" is different and they grow in different ways with different personalities. We tend our "garden" carefully until the end of the year when the "plants" are ready to face a new "gardener."  Our "gardens" will flourish if tended carefully and lovingly.  Each year, in our Kinder"Garden", it is our goal to nurture our children and help them "grow and blossom."

The Star Polisher 

 (Leah Becks)

I have a great job in the universe of occupations.
What do I do?
I’m a “star polisher”.
I have a very important job.
If you want to know how important
Just go out at night and look at the stars.
Twinkling and sparkling.
You see, I’m a teacher.
The stars are the children in my class.
My job is to take them in-
In whatever shape they’re in-
And shine and buff them and send them out to take
Their places as bright little twinkling beacons in the sky.
They come into my room in all shapes and sizes.
Sometimes they’re bent, tarnished, dirty, crinkly, and broken.
Some stars are cuddly, soft, and sweet.
Some stars are prickly and thorny.
I tell them that the world cannot do without them.
I tell them they can do anything they set their minds to do.
I tell them they can be the brightest, shiniest stars in the sky
and the world will be a better place because of them.
Each night as I look at the sky, I'm reminded of my very
important job and awesome responsibility.
I go and get my soft buffing cloth and my bottle of polish in preparation
for tomorrow and for my class of little stars.