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Principal's Message
Greetings from Mrs. Huels, Gardner Principal
Welcome to Gardner Elementary School!
I am excited to start my fourth year as your Gardner principal and my tenth as an administrator. My old WJHS classroom, where I taught eighth grade language arts, is now home to fourth graders here at Gardner. The late Ed Gardner’s job offer brought me to WJHS years ago, and his wife, Rose, recommended me for a Columbia job where I worked for fifteen years. One of my goals is to replicate the exceptional examples, both educational and personal, the Gardners have set for me.
I have lived in Waterloo for almost thirty years and have raised a family of four children, Emma, Ben, Clare, and Henry, with my husband, Tim. My hometown is Quincy, Illinois. While I am currently taking classes to achieve my Educational Doctorate from SIU-E, I earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and a teaching certificate from Quincy University before a Master's of Science in Education with a focus in Instructional Technology. Although I did not plan on it early in my career, I turned into a principal after earning my administrative certificate. I love school!
Warm regards,
Mrs. Huels
Helpful Resources
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Read or add a post to our online Kindness Page!
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Please review the student version of our handbook at home with your child or children.
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Mrs. Ehrenstrom, our Gardner Social Worker, and I started meeting with students twice a month in the morning to help us get to know students and to help students know us. We enjoyed spending time with them and coaching them about success and life at school. To learn more, please visit our Spotify podcast to hear our recordings.
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Do you need some advice about cell phone use? Check out this Today Show link– “Worried about phones? 21 helpful things parents can say and do”.
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Teachers and I talk about this topic almost every day. Here's a doctor's perspective about digital soothing.
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Are you struggling with cell phone decisions? Here is the Wait Until 8th website which includes a page about parental controls.
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Check out this link to Phone Fundamentals which includes 10 parameters.
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Here's a book that confirms my feelings about smartphone use for children. Please take a look.
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When you read with your child, it might feel challenging to know what to talk about. Here are some ideas from Scholastic.
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Visit Family Fun's YouTube channel for some craft and holiday activities.
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The podcast "Raising Resilient Kids" is not a standalone podcast hosted by Simon Sinek, but rather an episode within his "A Bit of Optimism" series, featuring a conversation with psychologist Angela Duckworth. In this episode, Sinek and Duckworth discuss strategies for helping children develop resilience, which is the ability to bounce back from adversity.
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Common Sense Media is a non-profit organization that provides parents, educators, and policymakers with information and resources to help children navigate the world of media and technology. They offer age-based ratings and reviews of movies, TV shows, books, apps, and games, along with guidance on digital citizenship and media literacy.
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The "Good Inside" podcast, hosted by clinical psychologist Dr. Becky Kennedy, focuses on providing practical guidance and support for parents. Dr. Kennedy addresses common parenting challenges, offering actionable advice to help parents build stronger connections with their children, manage emotions effectively, and navigate challenging situations. The podcast aims to empower parents to feel more comfortable with discomfort, make repairs after mistakes, and ultimately, see the "good inside" their children.