About+Mrs.+Stelling

=Mrs. Stacy Stelling = 

My name is Stacy Stelling and this is my eighth year at Powell Middle School. I enjoy working and learning at Powell. The students are super, the staff is excellent, and every day brings a new challenge. I am originally from Ohio - go Buckeyes - and try to get back there several times a year to see family. I went to college at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (Mr. Jefferson's University) where I earned a degree in psychology. I moved out to Colorado in 1993 and quickly decided that I wanted to become a teacher. I started working in Denver Public Schools as a paraprofessional in an elementary school. I was the school librarian the second year as a para, as I started my training to one day have my own classroom. I earned my Master's in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado at Denver in 1999. I am married to a wonderful man with whom I enjoy spending much of my time. Mr. Stelling is a high school guidance counselor in the Denver area. He's from Wisconsin and has managed to convince me that the Green Bay Packers are the best professional football team around. Of course, he has become a fan of the scarlet and gray, so we are even! We are fortunate to have a lot in common including a passion for education, dedication to our community, love for the outdoors, commitment to making the world a better place, and vacation times. Further, we both enjoy taking care of our little girl, working around our house, and getting away for travel and adventure.

**Mrs. Stelling's interests:** **Children** - I have a beautiful little daughter. She is happy, adventuresome, and tirelessly curious. My husband and I have learned so much from her and are absolutely captivated by her smile! We also have a dog. "Uma" the Golden Retriever joined our family last May. She is from Spain (long story) and has quickly become our daughter's best buddy. **Travel** - I was lucky enough to go on my first overseas venture when I was in sixth grade. I traveled to France for three weeks with a group of students from my hometown. The trip literally changed my life - the travel bug bit me hard! Since then, I have traveled a good amount in the United States and abroad - including to Russia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, England, Denmark, and a few trips back to France... I even lived overseas in the country of Kiribati in the Central Pacific for two years as a volunteer teacher in the Peace Corps. I love to travel in the U.S., too. I have been to most of the 50 states. Each summer, my mom takes my sister, brother, and me along with our families to Holden Beach in North Carolina for a week. We spend a week together enjoying the sun, surf, and sand while making new memories together. **Adventure** - I enjoy getting outside to camp, snowboard, hike, run, and try new things. Adventure doesn't stop with me being a bit of a "weekend warrior" at times, either. I've managed to have some pretty unusual jobs over the years to bring more adventure to my life. My first summer out of college, I worked on a guest ranch in Wyoming. I actually was Neil Armstrong's maid for a week! How cool is that for a science teacher? Another summer, I traveled to Alaska where I ended up working in a fishery in Petersburg. We traveled by ferry through the most beautiful part of the globe I've ever seen. We viewed amazing whales and eagles, mountains and trees, sea and sky along the way. Again, a science teacher's dream! On a whim, I worked as a whitewater river guide in Dinosaur National Monument several years ago. I learned how to guide a paddle raft and row an oar frame raft loaded with gear down class III rapids! While in Dinosaur, I learned a great deal about geology and earth science. All was going well, until I got perched on that huge rock in the middle of Triplet Falls and broke an oar... Science helped save me that day, too! It was all about physics! **Learning** - I not only love teaching... I love learning. I am always trying to find new ways to do things for my students. I want them to have the best educational experience that I can possibly provide. I enjoy learning about our world and the people who live all over the globe. Indeed, this is one of the reasons I love travel so dearly. You will catch me watching the Discovery Channel, History Channel, etc. or searching the web for answers to the many questions that pop up in my brain...