Gina Nieves - Theology and Spanish

Ms. Gina Nieves graduated from the College of Mount Saint Vincent with a Bachelors of Arts in History. She then earned a Masters in Teaching in the field of Childhood Education from Pace University, and is currently pursuing her Masters in Education for Adminstration and Supervision from Fordham University.  Ms. Nieves joined the Sacred Heart High School family in 2017 as a Theology and Spanish I teacher, and is the Girls' JV Basketball Coach. Prior to her time at SHHS, Ms. Nieves taught at Good Council Academy.    



Ms. Nieves considers a lesson successful when students "are engaged and actively participating. Student insight takes the lesson to a higher level". This success was evident during a recent 9th Grade Theology lesson on "What is the Church?". What followed was an interactive class discussion about community, compassion, and leadership; followed by group-project work creating 'Wanted" posters. While they collaborated, a few students shared real-life stories about their religion and faith experiences outside the walls of Sacred Heart. Ms Nieves remarked, "It's always rewarding to know my students are making connections from Theology class, and hearing how the material sparks deep conversations with their friends, siblings and parents".  


Ms. Nieves reflected, "What I especially appreciate is when our non-Catholic students participate in these discussions. We have multiple religions and cultures at Sacred Heart, and they offer different perspectives of faith. The conversations between students of different religions enrich the learning experience; and it demonstrates a level of trust and security in their peers when they reveal and speak about the role of faith in their lives."








Ms. Nieves also uses the interactive classroom model in her Spanish I class. While preparing for a vocabulary test, the students reviewed their English to Spanish translations the fun way by playing BINGO! Competion was fierce and spirit levels were high as students eagerly searched for their vocabulary words.



When asked what she loves about SHHS Ms. Nieves replied, "First and foremost I love our focus on service to others. SHHS truly educates and nurtures the whole person. We pride ourselves on the fact that we help develop our students to reach their personal goals. I also love the support I receive from my fellow faculty members. We are a team and it benefits not only the members of the staff, but also enriches the educational experiences of the students in the classroom".

When not in school or coaching the Girls' JV Basketball Team, Ms. Nieves can be found at sporting events, especially basketball and rooting for the NY Yankees.





FUN FACT: Ms. Nieves emphatically believes "coffee is its own food group"!

Thank you for inviting us into your classroom, we look forward to more projects throughout the year!