Specialist Spotlight: Kay Holloway

If I could compare Kay to someone you would all know, it would be St. Peter. She is the gatekeeper at our school and basically knows EVERYTHING! She is also hilarious, generous, and thoughtful.

I have always loved Kay and chatted with her when I made it all the way down to the office from 1st grade, but last year I came to love her even more. I basically ran around during my 1st year as counselor saying, "what?" or "who?" I was in a general state of confusion. Kay really helped me out and always had my back. She also helped me with all kinds of things that had nothing to do with school like homestead exemptions, insurance, property taxes, etc. I started to call her my school mom because she was constantly taking care of me. This year, I have my life together a little more and she is still taking care of me. She brings me yummy Market Street muffins for breakfast and Cadbury mini eggs when she knows I am about to have a stressful week and most importantly, she keeps me laughing.

I also appreciate that she is ALWAYS down for some FUN!!!! When Kimmie and I walked into the office and told everyone we wanted to do a dance to Juju on that Beat, but make it Reindeer on that Beat. Kay didn't bat an eye. She just pulled up Google and immediately bought some red sequin pants. She always goes all out for theme days and the kids love seeing her all dressed up!

Kay is certainly the life of the party and I am glad to be able to party alongside her! 

1. How long have you been in education?
I've been at Beverly for 15 years but would like to think I have been learning my whole life.

2. Have you taught any other subject or worked in any other capacity in schools?
I started at Beverly as a Resource Aide.

3. What inspires you?
When I see someone have that "Aha" moment.

4. What is your favorite techy tool?
First off, let's get this straight, I am NOT tech savvy. So I will answer that my favorite techy tool is my husband, "Better Call Hal".

5. Tell one of your favorite stories about a student.
I believe my all time favorite is when I asked a student why he was late and his answer was that his dad's pants were in the dryer.

6. Favorite thing to do in your free time?
Golf with my husband and boys. Now with the addition of my daughters in law, they are taking it up too.

7. Favorite children's book or author?
The Old Man and the Sea, when each of my sons and I read this book, I was encouraged that they actually got "it".

Here are some pictures of her boys now! She is such a good momma! 

8. Favorite teacher you've ever had?
I had a teacher in high school who really taught hands-on learning (a long time ago, before it was the thing). All the students loved his class because it was fun and we just learned even when we weren't realizing it. Not sure if I picked him as my favorite teacher because I also went on to date him for seven years after I graduated, either way, he was a terrific teacher.

These two girls are both characters! We laughed and had so much fun during this interview. 

Meet Nadine and Kendall.

Nadine is a 4th grader and has had me laughing since she was in Kindergarten. She was in my first grade class and I just adore her. She has a sparkling personality and fashion tips galore! Kendall is a 1st grader and her awesome mom is the art teacher at our school. We had heard stories about Kendall since she was born, but when she started in Kinder last year she was instantly adored by everyone. She is sweet, silly, and kind! 

1. How old is Mrs. Holloway?

K- 34

N- 38

2. What does Mrs. Holloway do for fun?

K- She watches movies for grown-ups. Ones that are inappropriate for kids. :)

N- She goes to the mall. I think she shops at JCPenny, Dillards, and Sephora.

3.What would she do with $1,000,000?

K- She would spend half of it for furniture and half for learning books

N- She would spend a third for her family, a third for school, and a third for charity.

4. If Mrs. Holloway didn't work at Beverly, what job would she have?

K- She would work at Target.

N- She would be a personal trainer because she does diets and gives tips to my mom.

Or maybe a nutritionist/chef?

5. If she was a fruit, which one would she be?

K- An orange because she gives hugs.

N- A strawberry because she is sweet.

6. What scares Mrs. Holloway?

K-Spiders

N-Wasps

Actually, Mrs. Holloway is very brave with bugs. One morning, she heard me screaming and running out of my office. She came to see what the problem was and I showed her the GIANT wasp-like creature that was flying around my office. She walked right in, swatted, and killed it. 

She is my hero! 

7. What is something Mrs. Holloway doesn't like? 

K- Hard beds that don't let you sleep good.

N- Fire Drills

8. If she could teleport, where would she go?

K-The Zoo

N- Hawaii

Those are great choices! Mrs. Holloway may have been born in California, but now Texas is the place she loves the most. 

9. What makes Mrs. Holloway so special?

K- She is always nice and shares her things. She is always letting people borrow stuff from her. 

N- She is very sweet and when people come to our school, she remembers their names. 

What does Mrs. Holloway do for her job?

-She says, "Hi! What do you need?"

-She looks on the computer to watch the cameras to make sure kids are behaving.

-She is in charge of the flags.

-She helps teachers

What do you think Mrs. Holloway doesn't like about her job?

-She has to walk alllll the time. There is so much walking.

-She has no privacy.

-Sometimes she just has to sit around. 

That's it for our Specialist Spotlight! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!