Pam Keys

Grade:

6th Grade

School:

Bay Christian School - Concord

Years teaching:

4 years

Birthday:

August 29

What I love about teaching:

I love the relationships I am blessed to have with my students and their families. I love those Ah-Ha moments that my students experience when lessons are making sense and the dots start to connect in their heads. I love hearing their perspectives and being able to learn from them and their fresh new ways of interpreting life.

Best teacher moment:

Any time during our bible lessons when I realize that God is not only speaking to me but also through me to His precious children. That moment is humbling and makes me step back and appreciate this amazing opportunity that I’ve been given. I love to open my heart to my students and show them that they are blessed and chosen and created for a great and perfect purpose and that I have felt exactly how they are feeling and they are not alone.

Teaching philosophy:

I try to provide a solid foundation for my lessons and then have meaningful and rich discussions where we can unpack a topic, learn together and apply it in a simple and fun way.

What I would like to instill in my students:

I would like my students to learn the importance of organization, self-confidence, and perseverance in their learning process. These skills were so vital to me in my educational journey, and I feel that these fundamentals are starting to get lost in the bustle of technology. I also want my students to know that they are loved, and important to God and His kingdom! He sees their struggles, understands their frustrations, and cares about them. As middle schoolers, it’s difficult to grasp the rate at which things around them are changing. I want them to know that standing firm on Jesus, and learning to trust Him during all of life's valleys is one of the most valuable tools to living a life of Joy!

My story:

I was born in Guatemala and came to the United States when I was 6 years old. We moved to the Bay Area when I was about 9 and have lived here ever since. I graduated from the Art Institute in San Francisco in 2009 and fell in love with design. I met my husband Anthony when I was 12 and then in 2004, we were reunited and have been inseparable ever since. We got married in the spring of 2007 and have been blessed with 2 incredible little ladies. Khloe (9) and Karina (6). After 8 years of being home with my children, God had some big plans. I joined the Bay Christian School family in the summer of 2018 as a substitute and was officially hired on as the 6th-grade teacher in the summer of 2019. I have been a Christian all my life, thanks to my grandmother. I remember that she would take me to her “Ladies Prayer” lunches and bible studies between the ages of 3-5. She instilled in me a love for Jesus that has sustained and protected me through life. Since the beginning of my time at BCS, I have felt that God was guiding me and preparing me to settle in and begin to experience the joys of teaching. This new chapter in my life has changed me so much and has been the answer to so many questions and prayers. To say that I feel blessed to be a teacher at this school just doesn’t even begin to express my heart. I will be forever humbled and amazed at this opportunity and will cherish every year to come and do my best to serve God by serving His children.

Hobbies:

Besides teaching 6th grade, I enjoy many things outside of my classroom! I love to travel and see new things. I like to spend time with my husband and two daughters. We like to act like tourists in San Francisco and find fun new things to do and eat delicious new food. We are crazy Disney people and try to visit Disneyland as much as possible. I love designing and helping my husband and his clients create beautiful spaces within their homes. I love to be outdoors, and l enjoy working out and spinning on my Peloton Bike.

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