Staff Directory

Santiago, Bianca

Bilingual Instructional Assistant

bisantiago@seattleschools.org

Smartt Silva, Jessica

jksmarttsilv@seattleschools.org

Stemle, Matthew

Teacher-Third Grade

mcstemle@seattleschools.org

Biography

Teacher-Elementary

Tanaka, Midori

Teacher-Kindergarten

mctanaka@seattleschools.org

Thelen, Alana

Teacher/Bilingual BE

arthelen@seattleschools.org

Thigpen, Ashley

Teacher-Special Education

arthigpen@seattleschools.org

Thompson, Julie

Occupational Therapist

jmthompson@seattleschools.org

Trudnowski, Diane

Teacher-Second Grade

dtrudnowski@seattleschools.org

Ucol, Liwa

Special Education Instructional Assistant

lpucol@seattleschools.org

Veltri, Christopher

Teacher-Fifth Grade

crveltri@seattleschools.org

Ventura, Micah

Teacher-Fifth Grade

mrventura@seattleschools.org

Personal Message

Hello! I started teaching in 1998 and absolutely love it. I have taught here at Maple since the fall of 2007 after taking travel leave for a year to complete a four month bicycle trip through the Southern US.

I enjoy teaching fifth grade because the content in social studies and science fascinates me. During fifth grade we learn about government and history of the United States. We take a close look at current events and find connections between what we are learning in history to what is happening today. My favorite years to teach are election and census years. In science, we focus on engineering and problem solving, space science and health.

In my free time I enjoy bicycling, hiking, and spending time with my family. My wife Wendy and I live in West Seattle with our son Atticus Jack who was born in June of 2012.