Hi! My name is Darcy Zappia and I am the third grade teacher at Southtowns Catholic School! It has been a great start to the year! This school year marks my thirteenth year in teaching. I grew up in Orchard Park, went to SUNY Fredonia for Childhood education, and received my Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction with Integrating Technology from Walden University. My teaching career started Newport News, Virginia. In Virginia, I spent the majority of the time teaching third grade and a few years in fifth grade for a total of ten years teaching. I moved back to the Buffalo area to be closer to my family. Being close to family was more important as the years went by. Once I moved back to the Buffalo area, I taught technology and first grade before coming to Southtowns Catholic. Besides my teaching experience, I have several other experiences working with students. I have worked since high school, for Orchard Park Recreation, where recently I have been running their Character Counts Anti-Bullying Program within all their summer programs. I also have experience working with students with autism and work with a company that provides home services for clients. My Catholic faith is a great reason why I am teaching at a Catholic School. I participate with serving during mass at my home parish, and like to volunteer my time to people in need. These are values that I hope to help instill in our students to understand their faith and to help others in need. I am looking forward to a great year at Southtowns Catholic!