For Shandy Holmes, stepping into her kindergarten classroom at St. Marie feels like the fulfillment of a lifelong calling. School was always more than academics for her—it was home, stability, and belonging. “I didn’t grow up in a great home environment,” she explains. “So when I went to school, the teachers were like my home.” That sense of refuge shaped her dream to one day provide the same comfort for others.

Holmes’s path to the classroom wound through psychology courses in college, years as a paraprofessional at Olney Elementary, and her first full year of teaching kindergarten in Lawrenceville. But the hour-long commute tugged at her family life. With her daughter Emma in third grade and son Emmit just beginning daycare in Jasper County, she longed to teach closer to home. When the opportunity at St. Marie opened, it felt like everything aligned. “It just makes it a lot easier,” she says. “And they are great here. I have never met such friendliness. I always tell them, you guys are so kind here.”

Her classroom is a small but lively group of 13, well short of the more typical size of around 20. But a perfect size for the mix of energy and needs that define kindergarten. Every morning begins with routines—tracing names, a bit of play, circle time, and calendar. Soon enough, lessons turn to the essentials: letters, letter sounds, numbers, and early sight words. But Holmes sees her role as bigger than academics. “Yes, they need to learn to count to 100 and know their sight words,” she says. “But the main thing is for them to feel safe, to know their teacher is there for them.”

That focus on belonging shows up in simple ways. When discussing friendships, she asks her students how they would welcome a new classmate. When lining up for water, she laughs at how they all prefer the fountain with the step stool—“even though there’s another one right there!” The quirks make kindergarten fun, but also revealing. “They’re funny, they’re rules-based, and they surprise you every day,” she says.

Holmes delights in the personalities that emerge: the color-loving group that insists on daily coloring sheets, the shy ones slowly finding their voice, and the ever-active children who need brain breaks throughout the day. “Kindergarteners move a lot,” she says with a smile. “So we do a lot of up and down, sitting and standing, learning through play.”

Games like “Letter Bang” or “Number Bang”—where students race to collect cards but risk losing everything if they draw a “bang”—blend fun with skill-building. “To them, it’s a competition, but they’re learning their letters and numbers at the same time,” Holmes explains.

The transition to St. Marie has been more than just professional. Each day, colleagues greet her warmly, checking in and making her feel part of something larger. “That’s not something you see everywhere,” she reflects. “It’s very nice. You don’t see that in today’s world.”

Holmes also carries perspective as a mother. She’s watching her daughter edge closer to junior high, reflecting on how fast the years move. “I told my husband, she’s in third grade already. She only has a couple more years before junior high, and it hit me,” she says. Balancing her professional role with parenthood deepens her empathy for students and families alike.

Ultimately, what she hopes her students take from kindergarten isn’t just the basics of reading or math, but something deeper. “I want them to carry with them the knowledge that school is a safe place and that they can always go to their teacher,” she says. For some children, like herself years ago, that sense of security may be the most important lesson of all.

In Jasper County, teachers like Shandy Holmes aren’t just laying academic foundations. They are building havens where learning and belonging begin together.