Hello! My name is Natalie O’Callaghan and I am excited to be your child’s teacher this year. This will be my third year teaching at Stony Creek, and my fourth year teaching overall. Previously, I taught third grade at a small, private school in Champaign, IL, and was excited to begin teaching fifth grade at Stony Creek in the fall of 2020. I fell in love with fifth grade during my undergraduate student teaching, and am so excited to continue working with this grade level. I graduated in May of 2019 from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with my Bachelor’s in Elementary Education. I am originally from Riverside, and currently live in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago.

I believe that a strong school-home partnership is key in assisting your child reach their educational goals. In this packet, you will find a “Stay Connected” sheet that provides my email address, direct phone line at school, as well as our class social media accounts. I will be your child’s teacher for social emotional learning, science, math, reading, and writing, and Ms. J’Kyra Space will be your child’s social studies teacher. If you have a specific question or would like to speak further, please contact me. As always, please reach out with any questions or concerns you may have this year. 

Students will grow academically and socially this year. Fifth graders flourish into independent, and self directed learners. After various COVID related disruptions in the last 2 years, the fifth grade team, and district at large, have been working tirelessly to provide opportunities for any remediation, as well as opportunities to challenge and further engage all students. Students can expect this exciting differentiation in all of their subject areas. 

Outside of school, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends, trying new restaurants, reading, doing arts and crafts, traveling, cooking, and being outside! I am excited to get to know all of you and what you enjoy doing outside of school!