Education:  Mrs. Nolan graduated with Bachelor’s of Science degree in Fashion Merchandising from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.  After a brief stint outside of the NYC area as a buyer, she decided to move to the Philadelphia area where she worked for The Philadelphia Interior Design Company in Paoli.  Following this experience, she made a career change into the accounting field and after several years of crunching numbers she decided to return to school to become a teacher.  She graduated with a 4.0 from Immaculata College with a degree in Home Economics in 1999.

Teaching Experience:  Mrs. Nolan worked as a computer lab assistant at Radnor High School while she was at Immaculata.  The following year she was hired by Sandy Run Middle School to work both part time and to student teach at Upper Dublin High School.  She began teaching Family and Consumer Sciences at Wissahickon Middle School in 1999.  Mrs. Nolan has organized several after-school sewing programs at WMS, including “A Case for Smiles” (a program that makes personalized pillowcases for children with cancer at CHOP) and projects for holiday gift-giving.  She has led several spirited study hall groups to create various school improvement projects including making a puppet theatre for the Foreign Language department, remodeling the faculty lunch room, re-covering floor pillows, chairs and benches for assorted classrooms, holding an “Iron Chef” competition and raising money for the annual “Change for Change” fund.  Mrs. Nolan was also a member of the original mentoring program at WMS.  Outside of school, Mrs. Nolan has taught sewing to adults at Hatboro-Horsham Adult Night School and is currently on staff as a sewing instructor with Joann Fabrics in Downingtown, PA.

Personal Information:  Mrs. Nolan is very active in the Norristown community where she lives.  She has volunteered as a tutor in math and English to neighborhood students and uses her fluency in Spanish to translate for members of her community.  She is active at St. Patrick’s Church and has helped to organized several church sponsored events.  Her hobbies include sewing (of course!), genealogy, scrap-booking, baking, home improvement projects, Irish music and culture, antiques, WWII memorabilia, reading, foreign movies, gardening and walking.  

Favorite movies:  "Enchanted April", "Empire of the Sun", "Chariots of Fire", "Shawshank Redemption", "Malena" and any movie about WWII (especially “Divided we Fall”, an exceptional movie from the Czech Republic)

Favorite Authors:  Nevil Shute, Charlotte Bronte, E.M. Forster and Joel Osteen

Favorite TV Programs:  CSI NY, Without a Trace, Sherlock Holmes (on the BBC with Jeremy Brett) and Law and Order (any version will suffice!)

Favorite Bands:  Blackthorn (a Philadelphia Irish band), Gaelic Storm (they were the “party band” in the movie Titanic), Seven Nations (an Irish-Scots band originally from Florida), The Chieftans (an Irish folk band that’s been performing for the past 40 years), Alison Krauss with Union Station (a blue grass band) and Servando y Forentino (from Venezuela).  You get 5 bonus points if you’ve heard of any of them!