GCM Foreign Language Faculty

Foreign Language Faculty

See here for information on the Señora María Teresa Capín Scholarship Fund

Emmet Conroy emmet.conroy@fcps.edu (703) 714-5550 x5648	Mr. Conroy teaches Level II Spanish and IB Spanish B, Part 2 (SL and HL) for 2007-08. He is originally from New Rochelle, NY but went to Georgetown University as an undergraduate. (Hoya Saxa). After graduating from Georgetown, Mr. Conroy spent a year in Nicaragua, living with families and working on disaster relief projects. He has taught in a variety of educational settings. He currently holds a M.A.T. degree in Social Studies from Teachers College-Columbia University and a Masters in Spanish Language and Literature from Middlebury College. He has taught Spanish or Global History during his career, and dreams of being a lifelong educator. In his free time, Mr. Conroy pursues a variety of hobbies, particularly collecting anecdotes about people's first memory and improving his time in Olympic Distance, USAT sanctioned multi-sport and triathlon events. His hero is Don Quijote de la Mancha. "[A]s Sancho says, "silence is golden.' 'That must be some other Sancho,' said Don Quijote." Volume 2, Chapter 43, pg. 584

Brian Kane brian.kane@fcps.edu (703) 714-5550 ext. 5418	Brian Kane received a B.A. in History from Virginia Tech and an M.A. in Classical Studies from The University of Kansas. He teaches Latin 1, Latin 2, Latin 3, IB Latin SL 1, IB Latin SL 2, IB Latin HL 2 and IB Theory of Knowledge. He also oversees the Latin Club and "Certamen" (an "It's Academic" contest in Latin). His favorite quote is: "Caelum, non animum mutant, qui trans mare currunt". (Horace, Epistles , I.xi.27) "They change their skies, but not their souls, who hasten across the sea."

Katia Olsen katia.olsen@fcps.edu (703) 714-5550 ext. 5609	Mrs. Olsen teaches French 1, 2 and 3 for 2007-08. Born in Paris, France, Katia (née Villegoureix-Ritaud) Olsen is a native French speaker and a French-American dual national. Katia spent many years living abroad in Africa, East and Western Europe, the Caribbean and Central America and has been living in Northern Virginia for the past 14 years. She earned her French Baccalaureate in Philosophy in France and then proceeded to the United States for her Bachelor of Arts and Master degrees respectively from Penn State and Johns Hopkins. Before joining the FCPS staff, she worked at Alcatel Data Networks and Sprint International and volunteered at the Loudoun Literacy Council. Katia believes in the potential for the future that rests with all of our children and places a high value on literacy. Her goal in teaching French is to further develop each student’s ability to express themselves in an articulate and intelligent manner both in English and in a foreign language.

Benjamin Pierson benjamin.pierson@fcps.edu (703) 714-5550 x5649	Mr. Pierson graduated from Mary Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs and received a certificate in Foreign Language Education from George Mason University. He lived in Spain, Mexico, Ecuador and Argentina. For 2007-08, Mr. Pierson teaches Spanish 2, IB Spanish, Part One, and Spanish for Fluent Speakers 1 and 2. He loves to go camping, play tennis, listening to music, read and attend plays. Favorite quote: "I imagine Sisyphus happy" - Albert Camus.

Jose Portillo jose.portillo@fcps.edu	Teaches IB Spanish A2 SL and HL; Spanish for Fluent Speakers 3; and Spanish 3. Coaches Football, Indoor Track and Track and Field.

Carlota Bernal Shewchuk Department Chair carlota.shewchuk@fcps.edu (703) 714-5550 x5321	Mrs. Shewchuk was born in Beirut, Lebanon and gained her passion for travel and learning languages at a young age. She lived in Madrid, Spain as a little girl and learned Spanish, Swedish and English simultaneously. Her mixed Mexican-American and Swedish heritage has allowed her to appreciate different cultural perspectives and she embraces the Marshall community for its rich ethnic diversity. Mrs. Shewchuk became a foreign language teacher because she believes that learning a language is one of the major gateways to understanding a culture different from one's own and can be the bridge to harmony among all peoples. She majored in Spanish and German at the University of Virginia for a Bachelor of Arts degree along with a Masters in Teaching degree from the Curry School of Education, and she earned her M.S. in Linguistics from Georgetown University, where she also studied Portuguese. Mrs. Shewchuk serves as Department Chair and teaches Spanish 2 for 2007-08. In addition to her Chair and teacher duties, Mrs. Shewchuk is one of the Co-Coordinators for the International Baccalaureate Program. Her favorite quote is: "Two things fill the mind with ever-increasing wonder and awe, the more often and the more intensely the mind of thought is drawn to them: the starry heaven above me and the moral law within me." - Immanuel Kant

Barbara Sicot-Koontz Barbara.SicotKoontz@fcps.edu (703)714-5550 ext. 5436	Born and raised in Paris, France, Barbara Sicot-Koontz earned her master's and Ph.D. in American History from Université of Paris IV- Sorbonne. She also attended Yale University as an undergraduate. Before joining the FCPS staff, she taught at Mount Holyoke College, Yale University and the University of Chicago Lab Schools. Prior to coming to Marshall High School, she taught in the French immersion program at Herndon Elementary School for three years. She has been part of the Middlebury College French School faculty for the past twelve years. For 2007-08, she teaches French 3, IB French, Part 1 and IB French, Part 2 (SL and HL). Her favorite quote is "To teach is to learn twice" – Joseph Joubert

Michael Vargo michael.vargo@fcps.edu (703) 714-5550 x5104	Teaches Spanish 1 and Spanish 3 for 2007-08.

Nancy Walker deLlanas nancy.dellanas@fcps.edu (703) 714-5550 x5604	Mrs. Walker de Llanas graduated with a B.S in Biology/High Honors in Spanish from The University of Michigan and a M.Ed. in Multilingual, Multicultural Education from George Mason University. She is a National Board Certified teacher in World Languages Other than English. During 2007-08, she teaches Spanish 3 and IB Spanish, Part One on red days. On blue days, she is working as a Curriculum Resource Teacher in the FCPS foreign language office. Her hobbies include reading, HOT yoga, exercising, gardening, cooking, listening to music and especially playing with her children, Alessandra and Daniel. Motto: "He who keeps trying, will never be a failure."