our teachers
Setty A. Attias, Spanish
Setty is a native Spanish speaker with 25 years of teaching experience. With her degree in Elementary Education, Setty worked in private and public elementary schools before creating and implementing a fun and dynamic bilingual program for 1st through 9th grades at Colegio del Bosque, a very distinguished private school in Guanajuato, Mexico. She also created and implemented a very successful and fun Spanish program for two year olds through 14 year olds at a Montessori school in Largo, Florida.
Setty has now made Minnesota her home, and we are thrilled to have her at HedFex!
meet our teachers...
Krista Boos, Family Yoga
Krista has been practicing yoga for about 10 years and has completed her 230 hour certification at the Yoga Center of Minneapolis. She practices yoga with her children regularly and believes that yoga is a wonderful way for families to connect and have fun. The many benefits derived from a yoga practice can be seen in children and adults alike bringing a sense of calm and focus which can help in all aspects of life. As a homeschool mom, she finds yoga to be essential to staying balanced amidst the business of the homeschool life.
Cassandra Monson, Art
Cassandra Monson is a professional artist and a freelance art teacher. Cassandra has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the College of Visual Arts with a focus in education. She has been teaching for years at local community based organizations such as ArtStart, Intermedia Arts and Minneapolis Community Education. Cassandra works with many area art centers such as the White Bear Center for the Arts, Walker Art Center and the Bloomington Center for the Arts. She also teaches after school and summer programs for many area school districts around the Twin Cities. Cassandra works closely with the Kids Philosophy Slam and the Art Car Parade. She combines quality art materials with reusing and recycling to enhance her student’s creative problem solving skills and promote environmental consciousness. Cassandra shows her artwork in galleries regularly, which provides a rich opportunity for her students to learn from a working artist.
Amanda Gonsalves, Handicrafts
My name is Amanda Gonsalves and I am a homeschooling mother of 3. In my spare time, I enjoy making and doing whatever interests me at the moment! The things we'll be doing in the “Handicrafts Seminar” are a combination of either projects our family has enjoyed or things I have been dying to try out!
Barb Hurley, Science
Barbara Hurley has a BS in Entomology from University of Arizona, and is Middle School and High School Education certified in Arizona, Iowa, and Minnesota. Barbara taught 7th and 8th grade for 6 years in Arizona, and 2 in Iowa and at Shattuck-St. Mary's campus before coming to River Bend Nature Center four years ago. She coordinates the 3rd - 12th grade school programs at River Bend and the in-school 3rd - 12th grade programs, provides intermediate and middle school pedagogy instruction and modeling for intern naturalists, and coordinates River Bend's extensive home school programming. Barb says she loves teaching at HedFex.
Stages Theater Company, Drama
Stages Theatre Company is devoted not only to producing theatre and educating youth about performing arts but also to making theatre come alive by demonstrating how the magic of theatre is actually accomplished. They believe that theatre has the potential to inspire, educate and entertain, while being an effective vehicle for personal growth. Stages Theatre Company calls upon the richness of the Twin Cities professional theatre community by utilizing some of the finest teaching artists in the metro area. As experienced professionals working in their field, Stages' teaching artists bring their artistic excellence as well as their respect for and love of children to HedFex.
Laurie Pappenfus and Cristine Patlan, IEW
Teachers Cristine Patlan and Laurie Pappenfus have been home educating their children since the beginning. Cristine has 8th, 5th and 4th grade students. Laurie has a sophomore in high school and a 6th grader. Both are passionate about learning and look forward to sharing their experience with other students.
Laurie has a marketing/communications background and has been in sales and marketing positions for many years.
Cristine comes to us with a background in youth development working with all ages of kids and their families. Her emphasis is in youth empowerment and leadership.
Dodge Nature Center, Preschool Science
The teacher for this class will be from the staff of the Dodge Nature Preschool. Teachers at Dodge Nature Preschool are required to have a four year degree in education or a related field such as psychology or environmental education. Teachers have extensive teaching experience and on-going training in environmental education, gardening, and animal care.
