Mrs. Litchfield  

Clara: Hello everyone. Today I’m talking with Mrs. Litchfield, who is the new Testing Coordinator of Landon. Hello ma’am! I’m glad you were able to join me!

Of course! Thank you for having me.

Out of all the schools in Duval County, why did you choose to work at Landon?

I chose to work at Landon since a great opportunity presented itself for me to join the Landon team because I wanted to use a skill set that I’ve I acquired with teaching in different capacities over the years, I thought Landon was a great fit for me, and my son is going to Douglas Anderson so we are close together and I just love it!

If you could describe your overall experience at Landon in one word, what would it be?

One word? Let’s see, probably calming.

What is your favorite part of working at Landon?

The people, the students, and the school spirit.

If you could change anything about this school, what would it be?

The courtyard. I would love to redo the courtyard to let people have access to it and have students be able to read a book, do their homework, or just sit outside. I would like to make it a working courtyard.

I agree; it is very beautiful there!

Yeah, it’s like a secret garden and my goal is to redo it and clean it up!

Time for some fun questions! Are you a morning person or night owl?

Night owl for sure!

Do you listen to any music? And if so, what genres do you prefer?

I listen to music all day every day. It helps me concentrate! I listen to anywhere from country to pop to oldies. I do not have a particular genre I love; it’s just what I feel in that moment.

Are there any artists you particularly like?

The new artist Izzy Escobar is one of my new favorites. I like Olivia Dean, Riley Green, Ella Langley, Chris Stapleton, and old school country too. I like 80’s and 90’s music. Theres so much!

Do you have any favorite books, movies, or T.V. series?

I am an avid reader, so I usually read like 3 books at a time, one paperback, one on my iPad, and then I listen to one while I work out. When I listen, I like to do medical books like the ones on improving health, when I read at night its any kind of fantasy and for fun I’m reading now the Sarah Moss series, Court and Mist of Fury. Love that series. For T.V shows I like things like the Real Housewives, I don’t know why, it’s silly, but I do love The Voice and Lioness.

What is or was your favorite school subject?

Definitely history. I am a huge history buff, I’ve taught all the histories, and I love it so much.

Do you watch any sports? And if so, then what teams do you like?

We watch them all! I played soccer in college, so I loved the World Cup this summer. We are a big football house. I love FSU and the Jaguars. But we watch pretty much everything!

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

If it were somewhere tropical then probably Tahiti or the Maldives. Realistically thinking of things I would like to see historically, Ireland, England, Scottland, and Croatia. I love the history associated with those places. If it has history attached to it, then I want to go see it.

What is something about you that not a lot of people know?

That I have taught for 20 years, I have been a dean and a test coordinator before, that I played soccer in college and that I play pickleball now. I’m a big pickleball person.

Do you have any advice for the 8^th graders that are leaving for high school next year?

As a former high school teacher, your time management is key. So is advocating for yourself. No longer should you have your parent’s emailing teachers, you should be communicating with them yourself. Honestly, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Always be a part of something in high school, whether it’s a club or a group, make sure to find your tribe. Highschool is going to be some of the best times of your life.

Is there anything else you would like to say to the students at Landon?

Just that I love being here and that I would be happy for you to come by and meet me and help me out!

Now it is time to interview Ms. Ingraham! She is our new assistant principal, and we are so happy to have her! Thank you so much for accepting my interview request.

Ms. Ingraham

First question is: Out of all the schools in Duval County, why did you choose to work at Landon?

When choosing to take these next steps (I came from LaVilla School of the Arts where I was a 7^th grade English teacher), I had heard amazing things about Landon and I loved that it combined academic excellence with leadership development because those are two things that I’ve always prioritized and sought out in my own personal experiences. I enjoy helping others, specifically students to be able to develop and be the best versions of themselves holistically and academically, so I felt that my values personally and professionally aligned really well with what Landon had going on. I also set very high expectations for myself and for my students, so I feel that stepping into a school like Landon, where high expectations are the bar for students and staff, would be a good match. I was very excited about it! .I knew that I wanted to work at a middle school, and I believe that I hit the absolute jackpot being at Landon and I’m grateful to be here every day!

If you could describe your overall experience here at Landon, what would that word be?  

I would say exciting!

What is your favorite part of working here?

The people are my favorite part. Getting to know how strong of a staff and students that we have makes me happy! Everyone is so uniquely talented, bringing so many great things to the table. I’ve only been here for two or three months, but I’ve already seen amazing things here! Just getting to see everyone excel in what they do and be so passionate about it whether it’s Coach B who oversees athletics and cares about it so much, Mr. Smith who does speech and debate and chess and is always telling me all the awesome things that they’re doing in clubs and class, and Ms. Moyer with cheer shows so much school spirit. It’s really cool to see how much ownership and care people bring to this job in not only their everyday work but also those extra things that really make Landon special.

If you could change anything about our school what would it be?

That’s really hard since everything here is amazing. This is a personal preference since I sang in a choir. I grew up with athletics in my life but wasn’t a sports minded person and while it’s been so cool to get to learn about all our athletics, I would love for there to be a choir class. I think that attending a choir concert would be something that I would personally enjoy. I know that we’ve had that in the past, so bringing it back would be something that I would look into potentially doing in the future. I love that Mr. Rivers is doing a musical this year and that Ms. Witt is doing fantastic work with Pep Band, but my heart still goes out to choir.

Time for some fun questions! Are you a morning person or night owl?

Night owl through and through. This job is hard since I have to be here so early but I’m absolutely a night owl!

Do you listen to any music? And if so, what genres?

Yes, I love listening to music! I listen to jazz and soul a lot. I love jazz! I’m a singer so I grew up listening to jazz and soul music. If you find me in my office, if I’m ever in my office, I’ll be playing soft jazz. When I was a teacher, my students always knew that I would be playing soft jazz. It brings me to ease and it’s very calming! And I just love soul music so much.”

Do you have a favorite book, movie, or T.V. series?

I probably have all three! My favorite book that I have taught for school is Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson. My favorite movie, I have a lot, would be Kiki’s Delivery Service, it is one of my favorites, and the Disney movie Soul I’ve recently watched! I love soul so I love that movie too. My favorite T.V. show is Big Brother, it’s a reality show. My guilty pleasure is that I love game shows!

What is or was your favorite school subject?

I’m going to give you a bit more than you were asking! My best subject in school was math, my favorite subject was science, and now my favorite subject is ELA. I was an ELA teacher, I oversee ELA here, and I think reading and writing are both incredibly important!

Do you watch any sports? And if so, what teams do you like?

Yes I do! I am a huge Florida State fan, so I watch a lot of it. Football and Basketball but I have ventured into Volleyball, they have great Volleyball, Softball, and Baseball programs. So Florida State all the way, I went to FS for my undergrad, and I’m currently there for my grad degree. I also love the Jaguars!

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

I would go everywhere, I love traveling! Would it be somewhere I have or have not been.

Have not!

My number one place on my bucket list is Greece and Japan. That’s internationally. Nationally, I love national parks, and I would really like to go up to the Northwest region of the United States and do a lot of the national parks that are up there in like the Washington, Oregon, and Idaho region. I would just couple all of those and do a three-week road trip with a van there. And then Banff, which is in southwest Canada. I would go there in a heartbeat! I would love to go anywhere.

What is something about you that not a lot of people know?

Something a lot of people do not know about me is that I love to camp! I’m not a beach person, even though I was born and raised at Jax beach. If I’m choosing to go on vacation, I’m choosing somewhere mountainous and snowy! I would rather go white water rafting than relax on the beach. I love sleeping on the floor of a tent and exploring and adventuring in areas that I haven’t seen before.

Do you have any advice for the 8^th graders that are leaving for high school?

My biggest piece of advice for our 8^th graders going to high school is to make the most of their experience. I encourage them to find a way to engage and be active in their school whether it’s through athletics, arts, performing, or community engagement.  I also encourage students to do their absolute best in their academics because that will make a difference in whatever you choose to pursue after school. Always lead with kindness and empathy. In every interaction that you have with people, try your best to leave them feeling better about themselves