Meet our Teachers

My name is Jennifer Gibbs and I am the first grade teacher at Holy Family Catholic School.  I have been in the teaching profession for fifteen years and at Holy Family for four years. Throughout my career I have had the opportunity to teach in multiple grade levels within different school districts. I have gained so much knowledge throughout my career and have met so many wonderful colleagues, families, and students. I have been in a handful of school buildings, but consider only one “home”....Holy Family Catholic School.

HFCS allows me to use my plethora of skills and experiences throughout the school building. HFCS gives me the opportunity to involve families in their student’s school life. It also gives me the openness to drive first graders to do their best and show me what they are capable of in all subject matter. My classroom is full of learning opportunities, amazing discoveries, wonderful discussions, loads of AHA! moments, dancing and singing, lots of technology, and more!
The best part is I can open a student’s mind, build their imagination, their confidence, their social skills in every topic from Religion to Science, Social Studies to Literature, Reading to Writing, and Language Arts to becoming an author! HFCS has given me the chance to use what I have and show my students what I am capable of doing for them and with them within our learning environment. The greatest thing is God’s gift….kids! I love that I have the chance to help shape His children. I wouldn’t trade “my kids” for anything in the world!
 

I am very happily married to an amazing husband, Andrew.  We met through friends in Nebraska about 10 years ago and have been married for almost 8 years.  We are the proud owners of 2 spoiled pound puppies named Bernie and Bandit- we love sharing our lives with adopted animals.  Mr. Osborne and I are also a very proud aunt and uncle to 3 beautiful little children, Nora, 6, Gabriel, 6, and Noelle, 2.  We love spending time with our families!   

What do you like to do in your free time?  When I have free time, I love being in nature.  It makes me feel closer to God.  Mr. Osborne and I love to go hiking, camping, and exploring.  I also enjoy art and history.  We try to visit museums whenever possible and I like painting, drawing, and doing other creative things. 

What else would you like readers to know about you?  Apart from adventures outdoors, I enjoy reading, Bible study, music and movies.  My husband and I love to watch movies together and study our shared faith.  We both love learning new things.  I am also passionate about education and truly enjoy tutoring and volunteer work in our community.

What are you passionate about?  Like many Catholic school teachers, I am passionate about my faith.  I chose to be a Catholic school teacher because of my deep desire to share the love of God and the Gospel message with all.  I view teaching not as a career or a job, but as my vocation-and I am honored to be a teacher.  I am also very passionate about my family.  Although my parents live in Ohio and Mr. Osborne's parents live in Iowa, we always keep in touch and get together as often as possible.  Our family time is very special to us.  Finally, I am very, very, passionate about teaching young children.  I know God called me to be a teacher because my heart overflows with joy and love when I am able to introduce a precious child to new information or help them reach a goal.

Tell us about your family:  I was born and raised in Kansas. I attended Sacred Heart grade school and Highland Park and Washburn Rural High School. I graduated from Washburn University.  I married my high school sweetheart. We have been happily married for almost thirty years and we have been blessed with three amazing boys.  Our oldest son, Michael graduated from Missouri S&T and is married. Our middle son, Matthew graduated from Washburn University and works for the newspaper.    Sadly, our youngest son Nathaniel passed away almost two years ago at the age of nineteen. Our hearts are still very heavy with sadness.  

What do you like to do in your free time?  I enjoy walks, hikes and bike riding. I also enjoy gardening and learning about flowers. I love sitting on my porch swing reading a book and listening to the birds. Baking is also a favorite activity.   

What else would you like readers to know about you?  My husband and I love to travel and experience new things. I am a huge Disney fan! I am very family oriented and have a strong relationship with my boys. Our faith is important to us and we pray together and go to mass as a family.  

What are you passionate about?  I am passionate about my calling, to teach the little ones. I have been teaching preschool for about twenty years and it has brought me such joy.  Teaching the little ones is very inspiring, to see everyday through the eyes of a child is a gift!  The wonderment in teaching them about God.  The awe they have in learning the Bible stories. It makes my heart sing!

What is something that most people don't know about you?  I love to ride my bicycle! It is a wonderful stress reliever! It allows me to listen to my inner voice.

What do you love most about Holy Family Catholic School?   That our shared faith brings us together as family! It allows us to work together and accomplish great things!  

What do you love most about teaching preschool?  I have always wanted to teach preschool!  As a child I would make my own tracing pages for younger neighbors to work on. I love teaching the little ones because they are full of awe and wonder.  Having the opportunity to interact with them daily is a gift.  

What do students get at Holy Family that they won’t get somewhere else?  The support and encouragement of an amazing faith based community that wants to see all the children succeed in achieving their goals. 

Tell us about your family?  I am married to my high school sweetheart and best friend Richard.  We have 4 beautiful and bright daughters, named Carolyn, Holly, Haylee and Valerie.  We also have two dogs (Felicity and Gator) and two cats (Crazy and TP).  My husband and I live in Topeka, Kansas, with our girls, and we both graduated from Washburn University. GO BODS!

What do you like to do in your free time?  During my free time I like to go hiking in the woods near the Governor's Mansion, bicycling through Gage park with my family and reading inspirational and faith based books.

What else would you like readers to know about you?  Besides spending time with my family, I enjoy volunteering and serving my community.  Before COVID, I volunteered for iCare at Most Pure Heart of Mary.  It was an adaptive mass for individuals with special needs and their families.  It truly was the highlight of my weekend and I hope it will be offered again to the community!

What are you passionate about?  I am passionate about my faith, my family and my job! I love God above all things, so I feel fortunate to be able to praise him at work without fear of being judged by my colleagues.  Secondly, I love my family and I enjoy spending time with them. They are the reason why I push myself to work hard at everything I do and I can't imagine life without them.  Lastly, I am passionate about my job and the students I serve everyday at HFCS.  My students are the reason why I work late hours everyday and strive to improve on my teaching skills.

What is something most people don't know about you?  Something most people may not know about me is that I am currently pursuing a Master's degree in Special Education.  

What do you love most about Holy Family Catholic School?  What I love most about HFCS is that it has a really strong sense of culture and faith! Families here are dedicated to making sure their children know about their heritage and faith, which I think is important for children to know.  

What do you love most about teaching 4th grade?  What I love most about teaching 4th grade are the students! I learn so much from them! They are so inspiring and filled with creativity. I love the way their young minds work and how they always ask such great questions. Lastly, they are the future of our community! I am so blessed to have this opportunity to prepare them for life outside of the classroom and help them develop a strong relationship with God.  

What do students get at Holy Family that they won't get somewhere else?  Students at HFCS get to learn about their Catholic faith in a diverse and caring environment.  They are surrounded by educators that truly care about them and want to see them grow up to be productive members of society, who desire to improve our community.  Also, there is a strong sense of family here that I don't think you can find anywhere else.