Donna Zvonar

I was raised in Elmhurst, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. I have 2 sisters and one brother. My father is still alive and active at 89.

I attended Immaculate Conception Catholic Grade School and York Community High School. I graduated in the top 3% of my class and received an Illinois Teaching Scholarship. I attended the University of Illinois in Urbana and graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Special Education with Highest Honors and teaching certificates in Special Education-EMH and Elementary Education. I completed my Master’s Degree in Special Education at Illinois State University with a 4.0 grade point average. I also qualified for teaching certificates in Behavior Disorders and Learning Disabilities. I have endorsements in Language Arts and Social Studies. My passion is Science. I have 22 hours of post-graduate work, maintaining my 4.0 average.

I am a member of the Illinois Science Teacher’s Association and the Environmental Education Association of Illinois. I am currently involved in a spider study through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and have enrolled my students in a challenge sponsored by NASA which will involve designing an environment to grow seeds that have been out in space and comparing them to identical seeds which have not had space exposure.

I taught at Pontiac High School for four years in a self-contained special education classroom. I applied at St. Mary’s School and was hired for the 7th grade position for the fall of 1978. I felt at home as soon as I walked into the building for the first time. I believe that this is where God is calling me to be. This year is my 30 th year teaching at St. Mary’s School.

I have taught all subjects at St. Mary’s School since I started. I currently have an 8th grade homeroom. I teach 7th & 8th grade Religion, and 5-8 Science (my favorite!). Mrs. Bassie and I are leading a school choir to try to share our love of music with students.

For the last 5 years I have been involved with the PRISM program through Illinois State University. This is a program funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. Its goal is to match ISU graduate fellows in math, science and technology with local teachers to help develop curriculum and provide technical support. We have developed many new lessons. They also have been a great help in organizing some of our major projects and field trips.

A couple of years ago I became interested in grant writing. I have been awarded a digital camera, $1,500 for lake studies, and $1,000 from the Capco Science Challenge for the development and implementation of a unit using milkweed as a bio-indicator of ozone. Due to a grant from Corn Belt, we now also have 3 newer digital cameras and a photo printer. So far, I have brought in over $10,000 in grant money. We have a lot of new science equipment including insect nets, dissecting microscopes, graphing calculators and Vernier probes. I also finally got my SMART board and projector! This year Home & School has made my dream come true: I finally have a document camera!

For the last several years, I have served as an on-line mentor for beginning teachers through the Novice Teacher Support Program through the University of Illinois.

I am a member of St. Mary’s Parish. I am a lector, cantor, member of the 11:00 choir, Eucharistic Minister, and Minister of the Altar. I help provide meals for bereavement dinners. Five years ago I became a professed Secular Franciscan.

I am married with 2 daughters. My husband, Michael, works at Mitsubishi. Christy lives in Chicago and works for Northern Trust Bank. Tricia is working full time and attending Heartland Community College part-time. She is studying for her Pharmacy Tech certificate this fall. My granddaughter, Alyssa is 4 years old and attends St. Mary’s pre-school. She is the light of my life!

For fun I read lots of books, especially detective novels and science fiction/fantasy. I also volunteer as a dog trainer for Town & Country Kennel Club. I love to walk my dog and to be outside. And, as any one of my students can tell you, my favorite color is still green.