Ms. Sweeney teaches G&T at Woodbridge Middle, selectively on Wednesdays. She previously taught 8th Grade Language Arts in Iselin Middle for 12 years. She also taught 9th, 10th, and 11th Grade Language Arts Honors at JFK High School for 2 years. She has never been to Woodbridge Middle School, but her father went to this school.

Ms. Sweeney has quite a history with the teachers in our school. She taught Mr. Olvesen and Ms. Wong. I asked Ms. Wong about Ms. Sweeney. She said, “Ms. Sweeney was one of the nicest teachers I had.” When Ms. Wong first saw Ms. Sweeney, she thought, “I’m going to make her feel very old right now.” Sweeney taught with Ms. Duffy and Dr. Crowe. In addition, she played High School Softball with Ms. Gallagher. Ms. Gallagher said, “She was a terrific teammate and made me feel comfortable.” and “I thought we worked together well.” At that time, Ms. Gallagher had been a high school sophomore and Sweeney had been a senior. She also played Soccer, Softball, Basketball, and Cheerleading. However, Softball was always her favorite sport.

When asked who or what inspired her to become a teacher, she said, “My oldest sister and my middle sister both became teachers.” She became a Language Arts teacher because she always loved reading and loved to discuss character and theme.

She was asked about the difference between being at Woodbridge Middle and JFK High. “The difference between JFK and here is that I’m lost here. Meanwhile, I graduated from JFK, so I know the place.” When asked what lessons/topics from when she was teaching JFK has been implemented into her teaching now, she talked about do-now quotes. Each week, Ms. Sweeney likes to choose a quote and discuss it with the class.

When there was an opening for the position of a G&T teacher, she decided to apply because some of her Honors Students had been in G&T. One of the jobs of G&T is to travel to three different schools, which she enjoys. She says, “Each school has its positive attributes.”

When asked if she would like to say anything to the readers, she said, “I truly want my G&T students to look forward to coming to class, enjoy being here, and remember their G&T class as a great experience.”