About Ms. Cooney
I grew up in Cedar Hill, a suburb of south Dallas, and moved to San Antonio after graduation to attend UTSA for a year before transferring to UT Austin. I dabbled in a variety of classes before deciding on my two majors of English and Anthropology. I became certified in teaching English at the secondary level through the UTeach program. Before working at Bowie High School, I student-taught at Westwood High School, Gorzycki Middle School, and Wooldridge Elementary. My educational philosophy includes the belief that it is my responsibility to not only provide the opportunity for all of my students to learn, but to also ensure that they do. Differentiated instruction is built into all of my lessons to showcase each of my student's unique talents. For a look at what we're doing in our classroom, click this link to our reading schedule.
As for my other passion, Anthropology, I have particularly focused on Mesoamerican Archeology. In the summer of 2012 I had the chance to work alongside archeologists from all over the world in the jungles of Belize. It was a challenging experience, but also extremely rewarding. We discovered thousands of lithics and ceramics as well as home dwellings and elite temples of the Maya. There were some interesting run-in's with territorial monkeys, poisonous snakes and parasitic mosquitos, but we survived! To say the least, it was an invigorating experience, and I hope to be able to continue spending at least part of my summers volunteering on archeological digs all over the world.
Before archeology, my first passion has always been literature. Growing up I spent most of my days climbing into trees reading (and re-reading) The Chronicles of Narnia, Nancy Drew, and the Dear America series. In these last few years at UT my studies have extended from the familiar classics to include literature from all over the world. A link to my top 10 favorite books and what I am reading now can be found here.
I hope to not only share my experiences as a traveller and a reader with my students, but also to inspire them to dream big-- and go after those dreams. I had no idea what I was capable of until I tried, and I was lucky enough to have a teacher or two along the way who pushed me in the right direction.
My dream for my students is that they "live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry." -Jack Kerouac
As for my other passion, Anthropology, I have particularly focused on Mesoamerican Archeology. In the summer of 2012 I had the chance to work alongside archeologists from all over the world in the jungles of Belize. It was a challenging experience, but also extremely rewarding. We discovered thousands of lithics and ceramics as well as home dwellings and elite temples of the Maya. There were some interesting run-in's with territorial monkeys, poisonous snakes and parasitic mosquitos, but we survived! To say the least, it was an invigorating experience, and I hope to be able to continue spending at least part of my summers volunteering on archeological digs all over the world.
Before archeology, my first passion has always been literature. Growing up I spent most of my days climbing into trees reading (and re-reading) The Chronicles of Narnia, Nancy Drew, and the Dear America series. In these last few years at UT my studies have extended from the familiar classics to include literature from all over the world. A link to my top 10 favorite books and what I am reading now can be found here.
I hope to not only share my experiences as a traveller and a reader with my students, but also to inspire them to dream big-- and go after those dreams. I had no idea what I was capable of until I tried, and I was lucky enough to have a teacher or two along the way who pushed me in the right direction.
My dream for my students is that they "live, travel, adventure, bless, and don't be sorry." -Jack Kerouac