Teaching Philosophy
The role of education is to provide individuals with the tools to be productive in society. School is the conduit which connects an individual to his community. My role as teacher is to provide my students with the skills, the opportunity and the environment to develop their own abilities. To accomplish this, I will teach to the needs of each child so that all learners can feel capable and successful. I will present curriculum that involves the interests of the students and most importantly makes it relevant to life situations. To accomplish this I will utilize many different educational experiences such as, integrated units, projects, group work, individual work and hands-on learning to allow the students to be active learners. Finally I will tie learning into God’s world community which will help students become caring and active members of society.

Goals:
To me, teaching provides an opportunity for continued learning and growth both for myself and my students. One of my goals as an educator is to instill an appreciation and respect for knowledge in my students, as I share my own passion for learning with them. In our competitive society, it is important for students to not only receive a solid education, but to work with people who are aware and sensitive to their individual needs and the challenges that will confront them in the future. After having spent several years in the corporate world and experienced the successes and failures existent in that environment, I have the ability and the working experience to guide my students away from some of the real-world challenges and ultimately toward the road to success. This is accomplished through basic subject curriculum as well as life lessons in organization, self-discipline, initiative and teamwork. In conclusion, my students “real world” success is my ultimate goal.

JANUARY NEWS

2009 is here and a new year begins. The Fifth Grade will start the year by sailing the high seas on “The Lady Washington”, a replica of an 18th century tall ship. The ship may look familiar because it was used as the British ship, “The Interceptor”, in the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. The students will learn to navigate and sail on board this beautiful vessel.

During Math class this month the students will perfect their skills in multiplying and dividing whole numbers and decimals. Science class will provide them the opportunity to focus on the world of plants and our health lessons will guide us through preventing communicable and non-communicable diseases. During Grammar classes the students will master prepositions, objects and of course, prepositional phrases. As always they will continue to work on composition skills. This specifically gets them ready for writing their State Reports during the last Trimester of this year. In Literature class we shall begin reading the exciting novel, SIGN OF THE BEAVER, a story about two good friends who teach each other important life lessons during the French Indian War era of our country’s history. This novel coincides with our Social Studies unit which concentrates on the time frame leading up to the American Revolution.

It is going to be another fun, exciting and very full month in the Fifth Grade. The students are truly beginning to take off. It won’t be long until they leave elementary school and venture on to middle school.

Midge Anunson