Sixth Grade Teachers

Mrs. Paula Berven  Mrs. Berven has taught fifth grade for 11 years and sixth grade for two years.  She graduated from Snow College, Utah State University, and has a Master's Degree from Southern Utah University in Education Administration.  She loves her students and watching them learn.  Mrs. Berven loves to travel and spend time with her family and friends.




 

Mrs. Jennifer Boehme  Mrs. Boehme grew up in Sandy, Utah and was an honor student at Hillcrest High School. She graduated from BYU,  and after teaching several years, she earned her Master's in Business Administration from the University of Utah. Mrs. Boehme loves music and is an accomplished pianist and organist. She loves teaching music, and every year looks forward to having her students perform in a musical production that celebrates the cultural differences of many countries.  She has been married for 18 years and has enjoyed traveling with her husband.  Mrs. Boehme has taught sixth grade for 22 years in Riverton, West Jordan, and South Jordan. She loves to teach sixth graders and was recognized as West Jordan's Teacher of the Month.  Mrs. Boehme is a natural-born leader and has served in many education and community leadership positions because of her diplomatic and organizational talents. She is serving as the Jordan Education Association (JEA) President and is currently in her third term.  She is also running for President of the Utah Education Association (UEA).

Mrs. Kirsten Goff   Mrs. Goff was born in Seattle, Washington.  Because her dad was a dentist in the Air Force, the family had the chance to live in Arizona, Idaho, Texas, and Utah, before settling in Kennewick, Washington.  Mrs. Goff graduated with honors from Kennewick High School.  She attended Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho), Utah State University, and graduated with honors from Washington State University.  Mrs. Goff has been married to her husband, Paul, for 21 years, and loves being the mom to their 5 fantastic kids!  She loves to read, run, play tennis, go to Disneyland with her family, sew, paint, design, be creative, and encourage others in their own creativity.  She has loved being in the classroom as a mom helper for many years, as a substitute teacher for the past 2 years, and is thrilled to be in her second year as a part of the amazing Elk Meadows 6th Grade!

Mrs. Laura Packard  Mrs. Packard grew up in Provo and Ephraim, Utah. She is married and has three children. She graduated from Rick's College (now called BYU-Idaho), and then graduated from Utah State University with a BA in Elementary Education. She has taught 4th and 6th grades in Idaho, California, and Utah. Mrs. Packard was an accomplished dancer and continues to love dance and music. Every year she attends the UMEA Conference for music teachers and brings her learning and expertise to the sixth grade. Mrs. Packard enjoys spending time with her family, attending plays and musicals, traveling, music, reading, and collecting (Christmas books, Boyd's Bears, key chains, and magnets to name a few). She is an excellent writer herself, and she loves to teach young people how to be better communicators by improving their writing and speaking skills. She has been teaching for 23 years. She was also a teacher for the Sylvan Learning Centers for 6 years.  In 2011, Mrs. Packard was named as the Jordan Education Foundation's Outstanding Educator of the Year.

Mrs. Cindy Park  Mrs. Park grew up in Riverton and graduated from Bingham High, earned a bachelor's degree at Utah State and a master's degree at Southern Utah.  She has taught Kindergarten, third, fourth, and fifth grades for 18 years.  She likes to garden, camp and do crafts.  She has 3 children from 13 to 26 years old.

Mr. Andrew Ridge   Mr. Ridge is a proud Delawarean by birth, but has deep roots in Utah. His father is from Provo, and his mother is from Magna.  When he and his wife emigrated here in 2010 when she was offered a position as a professor at BYU, it was a kind of homecoming. Mr. Ridge has a BA in psychology from the University of Delaware and was a  founding member of the UD Ballroom Dance Team. After graduation he served a number of years in the retail and banking industries as a manager, coach, and educator. Seeking a career that offered both spiritual and professional growth, he left those industries. This pursuit lead to a tenure as a ballroom dance instructor at the Academy Ballroom of Wilmington and a volunteer at Reading Assist, a tutoring program that helps hundreds of students overcome learning deficits in reading every year. Through these experiences Mr. Ridge discovered a passion for education that continues to burgeon. Taking a position as a substitute teacher, Mr. Ridge was soon teaching students of all backgrounds and grades all throughout northern Delaware while pursuing his Master's Degree at Wilmington University. Upon his arrival in Utah he resumed his service as a substitute and was called upon to fulfill many challenging and wonderful positions in the Provo, Nebo, Alpine, and Jordan School Districts. He continued to fulfill this role on a more limited basis while enjoying the privilege of being his newborn son's primary caregiver this past year. Mr. Ridge is delighted to bring both his wide body of experience and passion and join with the fantastic team of educators at Elk Meadows.

Mrs. Melanie Thomas   Mrs. Thomas grew up in Southern California near the UCLA campus.  She attended Saint Monica's Catholic High School and graduated with honors.  She then attended Brigham Young University in Provo where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education with an emphasis in the social sciences.  She taught 8th and 9th grade History/Geography at Payson Junior High school before starting her family.  She has been married for 24 years and was blessed with one daughter and two sons, all who have attended Elk Meadows Elementary.  Mrs. Thomas returned to the classroom as a substitute teacher and then as a job share partner with Mrs. Berven beginning in 2009.  She received her Elementary Education Endorsement to go along with her BS in Secondary Education as well as her ESL (English as a Second Language) Endorsement. Mrs. Thomas has taught 5th grade at Elk Meadows Elementary for four years and loved every minute of it.  She has enjoyed teaching 6th grade the last two years.  Mrs Thomas loves reading, quilting, skiing, camping, movies and traveling.  She has traveled to Europe, the Caribbean and Mexico as well as many of our 50 states.  Learning the history and culture of other countries and regions has always been a love of Mrs. Thomas and she looks forward to sharing that passion with her 6th grade students.  Spending time with her family is time well spent and so "family fun time" is a must.  She enjoys laughing at the Desert Star Playhouse, attending all sporting events for her very active boys and just roasting s'mores and playing games with her family late into the night. She is a true blue BYU fan and attends all of the cougar football home games - Go Cougars!