​Background

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Ms. Jennifer Hanson just graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is delighted to have found such a wonderful community to teach in!  Although Ms. Hanson graduated with an Instrumental Education Degree, she started college as a Choral Education Major and focused a great deal on General Music Education throughout the 5 years that she spent there.  As Ms. Hanson can never truly be happy unless she is too busy for her own good...she was also involved in an A Capella Group, Oratorio Society, the Marching Illini, Black Chorus, World Drumming, almost all of the bands at one point or another, the Marching Illini, Swing Dance Society, and the occasional Musical whenever she could fit it in.

Musicals are something Ms. Hanson has been doing since 5th Grade, so she believes very strongly in what a difference such an experience can make for students.  For information on this year's musical at Washington, please see the Washington Musical Page.



While it may seem that music and the performing arts are all that Ms. Hanson is interested in, this is not the case.  In addition to the normal hobbies such as reading, spending time with family, watching movies, dancing, etc...Ms. Hanson has an unhealthy but quite entertaining obsession with pets and animals.  Over the summer Ms. Hanson worked at PetSmart, which resulted in tripling the number of pets that she cares for.  Currently, Ms. Hanson has a Dog (Trooper - the 2 year old German Shepard/Yellow Lab Mix), 2 Turtles, 1 Dwarf Hamster, 3 Rats, way too many Goldfish, and 4 Beta Fish (one of which lives in her classroom...of course).