Mrs. VanKouwnburg or popularly known as Mrs. V, is one of the best teachers anyone could have for a study hall.

I was so fortunate to have Mrs. V as my study hall teacher. I know it doesn’t seem so extravagant, but thinking back I would not be the person I am if it weren’t for Mrs. V.

Although we almost never studied, we almost always had fun.

Every day, I looked forward to the seventh period because I knew I could be myself in her classroom while feeling safe and comfortable enough to tell her anything. I and many others were lucky to have her as a middle school teacher.

Mrs. V teaches 7th grade Home and Careers, one of the more fun courses of the dreaded middle school years.

Aside from being a middle school teacher, Mrs. V enjoys many hobbies. In her free time, she enjoys making art and doing crafts. Even stating, “If I didn’t teach home and careers, I would most likely teach something involved with art.” Her classroom is colorfully decorated with art and even a hand-painted mural she painted herself, it’s very at home and comforting.

Mrs. V is still a newer teacher to Victor, her first year of teaching was 2020. She enjoys teaching at Victor, expressing, “I was drawn to Victor because of its strong commitment to excellence and character development of the students as well as their positive environmental collaborations with colleagues.” She explains that the change was smooth because of the support she received from the district.

Mrs. V’s husband, Mr. VanKouwnburg, also works at Victor’s Junior High. With him being a PE teacher and with her being a Home and Careers teacher, she expresses that having this experience is unique. Victor has a lot of spouses working together, with its benefits of being able to share ideas, but they do try to keep work life and home life separate.

Before becoming a teacher, she worked as an interior designer, with her passion for art, she did this for 10 years. During this time she was asked many times if she was a teacher. Obviously at the time she wasn’t, but it inspired her to go into the world of teaching.

She started off at BOCES, working with behavioral students, with only 6 kids in one classroom, each with an adult. So coming to Victor, it was different because she wasn’t used to such big class sizes, so she was very nervous about getting to teach that many students.

Overall, Mrs. V is an amazing teacher, and I am so fortunate to have been her student. If you ever need someone to listen to your lively stories or just need someone to talk to, stop her room and say hi, I know I always will.