It is an honor to take this time to spotlight Mary Woodson, Kameron Cool, and Joshua Currie, three great staff members at Trenton Middle School.
Mrs. Woodson has been an educator in our district for 27 years. She began as an elementary Special Education teacher for 5 years and has spent the last 22 years as the fifth grade math and reading educator. Prior to joining Trenton R-IX, she spent three years at Grundy R-V teaching Special Education.
Mary, and her husband Warren, have three children; daughter Elizabeth and her husband Tony of Overland Park, and two sons, Sam of Columbia and Ben who is a senior at Trenton High School. Mrs. Woodson enjoys reading and listening to audiobooks, taking walks, doing puzzles, binge-watching crime shows, summer days at the pool, visiting her kids, bargain shopping, and eating Mexican food with her best friends. When asked what she likes about working at TMS, Mary said, “seeing former students succeeding in their lives, helping a student master a difficult math concept, working with a supportive, fun staff and getting to work next door to my best friend for most of my career!” Simply put, Mrs. Woodson is a great math teacher. She creates a positive learning environment for her students and utilizes a mixture of teacher led instruction, guided practice and independent work. She works hard to build relationships and create an atmosphere that is welcoming and conducive to learning.
Mr. Cool is the 6th grade English Language Arts teacher at Trenton Middle School and has been in that position for five years. Kameron also serves as the THS head girls basketball coach and the THS assistant softball coach. Kameron and his wife Kali, who is the director of Sonshine Daycare in Trenton, have two sons, Kannon six and Karter eighteen months, and two daughters, Karigan four, and Kynser who is four months. Kameron enjoys spending time with his family, reading, and playing golf.
When asked what he likes about working at Trenton Middle School, Mr. Cool said, “such a great support system and positive environment. There are some of the kindest and most generous people in this school district. We also love the community of Trenton and love that we get to be an involved part of it through my teaching and coaching.” Mr. Cool does an outstanding job as the 6th grade English language arts teacher. It is clear the love of reading that Mr. Cool has, and he strives to pass that love on to his students in the classroom. Mr. Cool is always looking for creative ways for students to write and express themselves, which keeps students engaged and lessons relevant. When in his classroom, it is clear to see that he takes pride in building positive relationships with the students and sets high expectations for each of them.
Mr. Currie is the 7th grade science teacher. He has been teaching for 7 years at Trenton R-IX. He taught high school chemistry for 3 years and has been at TMS for 4 years. He is married to Trenton native and THS Spanish teacher, Amy Currie and is the proud father of 4th grader Annie Currie and 7th grader Sofia Currie.
In his spare time, Joshua enjoys hiking and backpacking during the summer months, playing bass guitar with friends, riding bikes with family, and traveling. Mr. and Mrs. Currie are also World Strides tour leaders for the DC and Europe trips.
When asked what he likes about working at Trenton Middle School Mr. Currie said, “I love the positive atmosphere at the middle school. Working with enthusiastic co-workers and supportive administration makes the work day very enjoyable.” Mr. Currie has done a great job as the 7th grade science instructor. Mr. Currie has a great rapport with his students, often using his fantastic humor as an engagement tool. He excels at creating exciting, hands on lessons that makes science come alive in his classroom.
We feel extremely fortunate to have Mrs. Woodson, Mr. Cool, and Mr. Currie as part of the TMS Family and hope you have enjoyed this quick spotlight of their educational and personal achievements.