May 2022 Panther Spotlight – Skye Oliver
Ms. Oliver’s dad worked a job teaching at military course campuses, so she grew up in Carlisle, Pennsylvania before moving to Newport, Rhode Island when she was 12. As a kid, one of Ms. Oliver’s favorite memories from middle school was being a part of the school musical. While she may have not been a lead, she was part of the ensemble and said that she “had a really great time working with the people.”
As for high school, one inspiring teacher Ms. Oliver had was her art teacher , who always allowed her to stay after and study art history, even though the official course was not available. She also remembers her high school Spanish teacher who was always making connections with his students, “I could definitely go to him, not just for Spanish questions, but if I was having a really hard day.”
Ms. Oliver was a camp counselor for several years, and that was really where her love of working with children grew. She taught the campers all about the plants and wildlife in that area. She really enjoyed her job, and wanted to do something like that all year long. “I just loved all the conversations that I would have with my campers, and I was like, I think I could definitely see a profession in this. […] So teaching was the only logical option.” She ended up going to West Virginia University to be able to become a teacher.
When Ms. Oliver taught 5th grade, she said that her experience teaching science helped her choose the science subject here in middle school. When she saw that there was a position open at Glasgow, she texted her co-teacher saying, “Oh my goodness there’s a science position open at Glasgow!” With encouragement from her co-teacher, she then applied to that position, and the rest is history.
Once she came to Glasgow, Ms. Oliver’s favorite moments were the first few weeks of school. Since she teaches 6th graders, she sees how her students change in real-time. “I love watching them grow from where they were, because they come in as an elementary student and leave, then as a middle schooler.” She also mentioned how she loved seeing them become more independent.
Outside of school, Ms. Oliver loves hiking and enjoying nature. She brought up the fact that Northern Virginia has lots of parks and that she loves going on hiking trails. “I love to do that with my friends and fiance. I still love to go on the old trails that I did as a camp counselor.”
All in all, Ms. Oliver is a teacher that cares for her students and loves to connect with them. She helps nurture their interests and uses role models from the past to help guide her forward.
Brianne Nguyen (she/her) is an 8th grader at Glasgow Middle School. She was born and raised in Northern Virginia, but both her parents were born in Vietnam. She loves to write and read, and her favorite book is Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo! She’s in Chamber Orchestra and plays the violin and the piano.
