About me
Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jessica Henry, but many people from Immaculate Conception met me as Jessica Kratz. I grew up attending I.C. from preschool through eighth grade. I enjoyed the many traditions including Fright night, Lucky bingo, and especially Elf Basketball in my time at IC (and I am happy they are all still happening). I then attended Springfield Catholic High School and loved my time acting in plays and cheering for the Fighting Irish. I continued on to Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, where I graduated with a degree in Education and Theology. I married my best friend Tom and we settled in Kansas City. I spent the next four years teaching math and science at St. Gabriel’s and Visitation Catholic Schools.
In spring of 2016, I moved to Springfield where we had our daughter Elliana and I came home to Immaculate Conception. I loved teaching technology last year and working with the whole school to find new ways to use tech. This last spring, I graduated with my masters degree in curriculum and instruction for math from the University of Missouri Kansas City.
I love spending my free time with my family, especially at Table Rock Lake. I enjoy exploring the outdoors on my bike on the various trails around the city. I also love music. While I grew up playing piano and then guitar, my favorite music lately has been playing drums and bells with my one year old. I also enjoy our awkward and fast dog, Didymus Franklin, “Diddy”. He is a whippet and is very fun to see run!
Moving into this math position is extremely exciting and a dream come true. I believe that everyone can learn math and we can even have fun along the way. I think it is important to find relevant connections in math and build a classroom community where everyone feels comfortable to learn and challenged to think in new ways. Learning math involves inquiry, practice, and opportunities to share thoughts with others. I believe learning math requires asking questions, making mistakes, and learning from them. I also love the challenge of new problems and discovering how to find solutions. I will be the first to admit I am not perfect and won’t have all the answers. I am a lifelong learner and if I don’t know the answer I am happy to work side by side with anyone to research and discover it together.
While at IC I had amazing teachers, including Mrs. Weissler. She inspired me and gave me a strong foundation that helped in ways I never expected sitting in her class in 7th and 8th grade math classes. I reconnected with her once I began my education courses in college where she welcome me to shadow her classes. After I started teaching, I would meet up with her at the annual Missouri Teachers of Mathematics conference each year in Columbia. While teaching technology this last year, I was even able to team up with her to coach Math Counts at IC. She is my hero and I wouldn’t be the teacher I am today without her guidance and support. That being said, you will see many Weissler-isms through my teaching. You can expect many similar songs and celebrations, including the YMCA subtraction song and PI day festivities. I am also excited to share my spin on teaching math. We will create new traditions, games, and experiences. I am confident we will have a great year!