Spotlight on our Academy Literature Teacher

We at ODE know that a well-educated, thinking person needs to develop a life-long love of reading. We have always had such wonderful literature teachers and, quite honestly, when our last one gave notice, I found myself wondering if that spelled the end of our program. It was unneeded worry (as most worry is) because Amy Ropinski stepped up, not just willingly, but with enthusiasm and ideas. She will be a fantastic addition to the program, bringing experience and wisdom, and her bubbly personality and infectious laugh will win the hearts of her students for sure! We are so looking forward to this year with Amy Ropinski. Here is her message of introduction to our community.

Message from Ms. Ropinski

I have been married to my husband, Joe, for 26 years. We have 3 daughters…Maria (25), Mikayla (22), and Ava (14). Ava is the 3rd we will homeschool through high school.

I helped develop a high school group at a homeschool co-op we were involved with when my older girls were in jr. high. Prior to that, the group hadn’t had any students that continued homeschooling once they graduated 8th grade (or chose to move on to a different group). Since we had students that were hoping to continue with the co-op, another mom and I were able to help tailor their high school experience to what they needed. As we pooled our resources together, we were able to offer a variety of classes taught by parents that had a particular interest or skill set. I am always amazed and absolutely impressed with the resourcefulness and dedication of homeschool families!

For fun, I love to read anything! I often have 2-3 books at a time that I have on my nightstand that I am reading. Joe doesn’t understand how I can concentrate on more than one book at a time and still retain the info. As long as they aren’t the same type of book I am good! We have a wonderful understanding…as long as he doesn’t count the number of books in the house, I won’t bring up all of the wood in his workshop. 

If I have a day to myself, I would love to find a used bookstore with a great coffee shop nearby. Or, get together with friends to see a movie, find a new restaurant, and talk for way too long. 

As a family, we love to discover new walking trails, forest preserves, and parks. We tried geocaching for a while and it was fun! I have a tendency to enjoy going off trails, which has resulted in making a few of our own (my kids say we get lost a lot…tomato, tomahto!). We also enjoy going to concerts (all kinds!), plays, and museums.

We are very involved with our church and enjoy serving as a family. It has been such a joy seeing each other discover, and use, our gifts to love and serve others.

This year, I am anticipating some lively discussions over literature, and I always challenge my root words students to find words that will stump me! My hope is that they will come to appreciate the beauty of words, continue to dig deeper in reading, and develop their voice in writing.