Lori Barr is new to CMS as an eighth grade civics teacher on the Magnolia team.  She was born in Washington County, Virginia and attended school there, graduating from Patrick Henry High School in Emory, Virginia.  After high school, she moved to Florida and lived there for several years.  She returned to Southwest Virginia and began attending Radford University.  She has been married for two years, and her husband, Ervin, and she live in Pulaski.  They have one cat, Dora.  Lori enjoys reading, photography, history, and traveling.  She has traveled to Europe, visiting France, Spain, and Portugal for several weeks.  She has also visited Hawaii, Wyoming, Colorado, Mexico, and the Caribbean.  She hopes her next “big” trip will be to the British Isles.

             Elizabeth McCue, though she goes by Betsy, has kept her maiden name despite being recently married into the Hudak family.  Her undergraduate degree from Fordham University is in History, and she received a Master of Arts in Education from The College of William and Mary.  She has worked with kids in the Bronx, New York in Williamsburg, Virginia, and in Newport News, Virginia.  The last three years were spent working in high schools, but she will make the jump into middle school this school year at CMS.  She received a fellowship from the College of William and Mary and sang at Carnegie Hall in New York.  Her goal for this year is to help her students not only learn civics, but also to help them develop the skills needed to be successful in high school and to move forward in their lives.

BAND

             Natalie Gibbs loves music and is excited to be teaching band at CMS this year.  Natalie grew up in Bristol, Virginia, and attended Virginia Tech.  She lives in Blacksburg with her husband, a jazz piano player, and a very spoiled dog, Hannah, an English setter.  They love traveling, movies, and Hokie football.  Natalie also enjoys photography, chocolate, and home decorating shows.  The main instrument she plays is percussion, but loves playing and learning about all the instruments in the band.  This is her fourth year of teaching, and she is anxious to meet her students, parents, and the CMS staff.  

 COUNSELING

             Wendy Cooke, our new part-time counselor, is from Christiansburg and graduated from Radford University and Virginia Tech.  She lives with her husband, Nathan, step-daughter Hannah and daughter, Madison.  She is a Hokie fan and enjoys spending time with her family on the weekend.