This month we are shining our Staff Spotlight on Mrs. Mary Kathryn Whittle.  Mrs. Whittle has been on staff at Mt. Salus on and off for the past few years.  Mrs .Whittle will be joining our team full-time in the 2019-2020 school year in an Administrative role as the MSCS Dean of Students. Having previously taught and coached girls basketball at Mt. Salus before taking a leave of absence to pursue a MA in Marriage and Family Therapy and Counseling from RTS Jackson, returning to MSCS “feels like coming home.”

As a Mt. Salus alum herself, Mrs. Whittle says that MSCS has always felt like home to her. She chose to return to Mt. Salus as a staff member because she believes in the vision and mission of the school and wants to impact the next generation of students for Christ.  

Mrs. Whittle enjoys interacting with students and teachers and looking for ways to better serve and grow the school. When she is not engaging in her counseling duties, Mrs. Whittle serves as Alumni coordinator and plans various events for our students and families. She sees this as an opportunity to reach out to the Mt. Salus alumni to help keep them connected and plugged into the life of our school.

In her new role as Dean of Students, Mrs. Whittle hopes to be a resource for students and families at Mt. Salus.  “I want to display the love of Christ while coming alongside my Mt. Salus family to assist and encourage them in all areas of life. I hope to continue to help to get our Mt. Salus students involved in service in our community. Additionally, I hope to help the school to continue to grow and excel in providing quality Christ centered education.”  

We are thrilled to be shining our faculty spotlight on our Elementary and High School Art Teacher and one of our Technology Coordinators, Mrs. Brittany Davis. Mrs. Davis, a MSCS alumni, is in her fourth year of teaching at Mt. Salus.  

“As a Mt. Salus alum, this school holds a special place in my heart. It was during my time at MSCS as a high school student that I fell in love with learning, and began to discover my passion for Art. I had wonderful teachers who taught me about History, Literature and Art.  It was through those lessons that I began to sense my place in the kingdom. When I began to feel the Lord calling me to become a teacher, I knew I wanted to teach at the school that meant so much to me.”

-Brittany Davis

As a teacher, Mrs. Davis’ goal is not to produce a class full of aspiring artists, but rather to use art to help each student become more engaged with the world around them through working with their hands, developing their creative sensitivities, and using art as a tool examine cultures both past and present.  When she is not engaging her students in a classroom setting, Mrs. Davis is busy working with both staff and students on all aspects of technology. Whether troubleshooting technological issues for students or teaching new and innovative ways to use technology in the classroom to teachers, she is a hardworking member of the Technology team.  

In addition to her work at Mt. Salus, Mrs. Davis is actively involved in music ministry, and youth ministry with her husband at their church, Providence Presbyterian Church. She pursues fine art film photography in her spare time, and is an active member of the Mississippi State Chapter of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. Through this organization, Brittany gets to use her gifts of photography to connect with and promote other female artists in our state.

We are shining our Teacher Spotlight this month on Mrs. Kim Crosby, one of our High School Science and English teachers. Mrs. Crosby is beloved by staff and students alike! Mrs. Crosby is also our school’s Newspaper Sponsor, and is in her fifth year at Mt. Salus.  Her favorite moments as a teacher are what she calls the “ah-ha moments.” When a lesson “clicks” with her students is what Mrs. Crosby says keeps her going as a teacher.

Mrs. Crosby is strong in her conviction that Christ called her to be a teacher, and it is a calling that she gladly accepts. Her number one hope for her students is that they would see Christ’s love for them through the lessons and materials she implements in the classroom. In her Science classes, she hopes that her students will come to the understanding that God is the ultimate creator and orchestrator of life. In Kim’s writing class, she hopes that her students will learn how to communicate with others, as communication is the key to outreach.

In addition to her work at Mt. Salus, Kim and her family are active members at Providence Presbyterian Church. At Providence, Kim enjoys serving on the Ladies Mission Team and teaching every summer at Vacation Bible School. Kim feels that the most important job Christ has given her is that of motherhood. She and her husband are excited for their own little one to be apart of the Mt. Salus family one day.

We are shining our faculty spotlight on Mrs. Elaine Weis this month. Mrs. Weis is our new K3-K4 teacher with nine years of prior teaching experience. As a former Mt. Salus graduate, Mrs. Weis returned to teach here because of her own experience as a student. When asked what she enjoyed most about being a teacher, Elaine stated that she “loves the ability to get her students excited about exploring the richness of God’s creation.” She loves seeing those “lightbulb” moments when her students make connections and create something unique.

Elaine’s goal as a teacher is to lay a foundation for future learning by providing her students with interactive things to think about, read, experience, create, listen to, and be excited about. She also hopes to help her students develop their character more in the image of Christ through learning to be kind, empathetic and recognize their unique talents and abilities.

When not at Mt. Salus, Elaine is taking care of her four children, all of whom attend MSCS. She is active in her church, Immanuel Presbyterian, where she ministers through showing hospitality to friends and family. Additionally, Elaine is developing a website that provides natural living and education ideas that work in real life.  Mrs. Weis has been a rich addition to our elementary program.

We are shining our Staff Spotlight this month on our 1st Grade teacher, Mrs. Jessica Gregory. Having taught for 8 years (2 overseas!), Mrs. Gregory first came to Mt. Salus after sending her son here. On her experience as a parent first, Jessica said, “My son had a wonderful experience at Mt. Salus, so I knew it was a great place. It seemed like a good fit for me to join in when the opportunity became available.”

On what she hopes to accomplish as a teacher at Mt. Salus, Jessica says, “I hope that my love for the students will show, and that I can teach well for the glory of God.  I pray that my students will love Jesus more because they were in my class.”  Her vision in how she hopes God will use her gift of teaching is that her students will see her love not only of teaching, but also of learning, and that her love of both will pour over into her students, and they will in turn enjoy learning and growing.