Lemons into Lemonade
5/22/2021
Our 5th and 6th graders are different people today than they were on our first day of school. That’s often the case year-to-year, but this year was something special. “School will be so different”, “We can’t do x, y, or z”, “Something is better than nothing”, and many similar statements were uttered at the start of the year about how this school year would be difficult and disappointing. While some things were inevitably true, our class made the conscious effort to focus on what we could do together rather than what we couldn’t. On the last day of school, I asked all the students to do a written reflection about their year. One of the questions read, “What will you remember about 5th and 6th grade?” I am proud to report, not a single student mentioned anything regarding COVID. Instead they said: "I got closer with my classmates than any other year!" Their answers brought tears to my eyes and affirmed PNA’s goal for this year. We kept students safe and happy, but didn’t settle on “good enough”—our 5th and 6th graders had a “great” year. They ended their year with their capstone PBL project. Students were set out to demonstrate and share how much they had learned about different cultures and global issues. All students chose a country in the African and Asian regions we studied. Their task was more than just to research and report. They needed to create elements/pieces/artifacts that were representative of different aspects of their learning. Students crafted clay models of well-known structures and were able to describe their significance. Students set up mini sport activities (which they played with their “visitors” while they discussed the importance of that sport in their country. Students prepared recipes and tasted food they’d never tried before. They sewed their own country’s flag, wrote poems, made maps, did interviews, and so much more. This project took a lot of time and effort but they crushed it. While this project could have stood alone, the kids wanted to do more. As it was the end of the year, we were lucky enough to get to share our work with the rest of the school. We prepared mock passports for all of the classes, so as each student rotated through, “visiting” each country, the 5th and 6th graders stamped their passport with a stamp they created themselves. The gym was buzzing. The engagement from our students and their peers was inspiring. While they were exhausted after presenting all day, they felt such a sense of pride and value in their learning—accomplishing the goal of PBL. The last two weeks of school were filled with laughter and love. While I’m glad COVID isn’t what they’ll remember most, it certainly connected us in unprecedented ways. This class (and their families) made the sweetest batch of lemonade out of the most sour lemons. Who could have asked for more? Unconventional Assessments
5/1/2021
This year our 5th and 6th graders have learned a lot about poetry, so let’s try out this metaphor: teaching isn’t baking bread, it’s cooking chili. When baking, if I follow the recipe exactly as written, I'll be more likely to yield positive results. While baking bread takes a lot of time and effort initially, I don’t interrupt my bread while it’s actually baking—I cross my fingers and hope that what I'd done will cause the final result to be what I expected. I often don’t know I’ve made a mistake until the bread has cooled and by that time, it’s impossible to go back and remedy. However, when I cook chili, I check in on it constantly. I taste it after adding certain ingredients to check how it’s melding. I stir it while it’s cooking, knowing that it might need something extra added when I wasn’t expecting it. Even when it’s finished cooking, there are always things I can add to improve it. That’s the difference between teaching with formative assessments versus summative. Formative assessments are frequent, informal check-ins. They are designed to help teachers gauge their students. They are not anxiety-inducing, “gotcha” tools. Students feel safe to take risks and be honest during these types of assessments (as they usually do not even feel like "assessments"). Summative assessments are high-stakes, “final” measuring tools. Traditional quizzes or tests have a ceiling on what they can tell us about students’ learning. Formative assessments give us constant feedback about how students are enjoying and comprehending their learning. These activities benefit both students and teachers. This year, we’ve done a ton of formative assessments. Self reflections, check-ins, summaries, peer discussions, and many other low-stake activities all check for understanding. Games are formative assessments, too. Whether's it's a morning meeting, closing circle, or everyday game, we try to combine learning and playing. We end each week with a homemade game of Jeopardy. I create these games based on what we’ve learned throughout the week. There are academic categories and random, silly categories as well. We’ve reached the point where the kids pay extra attention in class to try to “predict” what material I’ll use for the game. We play in teams and, while there is no tangible prize for the winner, the games are always competitive and what they look forward to each week. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much my students have retained throughout the year. I accredit their lasting comprehension to formative assessments. There are times when a student says, “I’m not going to be here next week, can you give me the assessments I’ll miss?” While I probably have an idea of what main concepts we’ll be learning, I can’t (and shouldn’t) pre-determine exact assessments. It’s not in our philosophy at PNA to have prescribed assessments planned far in advance. Every student and every class is diverse in how quickly and how deeply they grasp and retain information. We assess informally each day and use that to help us plan for the next. While baking bread and cooking chili are labors of love and both can be successful, when it comes to strictly teaching, we believe that consistently checking-in with our students nearly always yields the best results.
More Than Math
4/10/2021
Put yourself back into your middle school math class. What do you remember? I remember doing a lot of worksheets—repetitive problems that became a burden rather than an exploration. I remember wondering which concepts I would use when I “grew up”. I remember class consisting of my teachers (as wonderful as they were) doing most of the talking and each student doing individual practice on our own. I wish we could have one of PNA’s signature “Parent Lunches” so we could invite you into our current middle school math classes. If your memories are anything like mine, you’d be pleasantly surprised at what you saw. First, we recognize that students' ages do not always match their mathematical abilities. We group students based on proficiency; this year, our 5th and 6th graders are at a range of levels. We have some students in Bridges 5 taught by head of school, Laurie Hoefer. Some students are taking Core Connections 1 with our 7/8 teacher, Sarah Mariner. I have the privilege of teaching Core Connections 2. While Bridges (our elementary curriculum) and CPM (our middle school curriculum) are different, they have many shared practices and goals. Students work in groups, verbalize their thinking, learn real-life applicable skills, use math manipulatives to create visual representations, and have appropriate in-class and homework problems that challenge and support their developing mathematical brains. We teach the why and the how behind mathematical concepts, not just tricks on how to find answers. We allow students to explore their own ways of solving problems. "Cole's Method" and "Elias's way" make students feel heard and capable. By encouraging this sort of discovery, students see math class more like a puzzle and less of a chore. Students are using their hands and bodies to see how math jumps off the page. Students take active roles in our math classes. Much of the time, the best math students are students who are willing to make mistakes; at PNA, we encourage students to have growth mindsets. When students believe that they have the capacity and potential to learn, they will. “Good math students” and “bad math students” don't exist. Students' success, in math class especially, comes down to our learning environment and their mindsets. To explore our math curricula further, please click on the corresponding buttons below.
Reasons to Celebrate
2/13/2021
This year, more than any other, teachers are jumping on every opportunity to celebrate our students and make them feel special. While many of our non-academic, extra “fun” activities have been cancelled due to COVID restrictions, there are some traditions we’ve been able to modify and continue. The 100th day of school can be somewhat kiddish for 5th and 6th graders. However, I felt that the fact that we’ve been together, IN SCHOOL for 100 days was certainly a reason to celebrate this year. My students walked through our classroom door draped with streamers and were immediately excited to be in school. The morning started out with math. I teach Pre-Algebra, which has students from grades 5-8, so I wanted to do something special for this blended group. We put a spin on some classic “Minute To Win It” games. In small groups, the students rotated between four stations. From picking beads up with chopsticks; to hitting ping pong balls off clipboards; to blindfolded cotton ball pickup with spoons; to throwing balls at a target, the games required concentration and teamwork. The students enjoyed each round, playing for 100 seconds instead of only a minute. After math, I had my 5th and 6th graders back and we switched to our Valentine’s Day celebration. Valentine’s Day can have somewhat negative connotations around commercialism, but our class didn’t buy things for each other this year; instead, we focused on the word “love” and what exactly that means to each of us. We first wrote journal entries about “who I love” and “who loves me”. Afterward, we spent a lot of time writing kind words and compliments to each other. Students had some sentence stems to choose from and produced some sweet, thoughtful comments. It’s always a great feeling when students know they’re appreciated and that their classmates notice the little things about them that make each person special. Coincidentally, our students were celebrating in art class, too. They’ve been discussing Festival in Italy. They worked together using their faces as their canvases. To say they were excited would be an understatement. You can see the smiles behind their masks. In the afternoon, we switched back to 100s day activities. Students started off by thinking about what "100" really looks like. They tested their internal clocks, seeing how close they could come to correctly identifying 100 seconds. They tested their liquid and sand measuring skills, eyeballing 100 mL of water and 100 g of sand. They went out into the hallway and tried to estimate what 100 inches looks like. Teams were impressive with their accuracy on all accounts. Students also used their math skills to figure out how many different mathematical equations that could equal 100. They also shot balls at a numbered target and tried to accumulate 100 points without going over. Once we finished that activity, the kids needed to move, so we headed down to the gym. We tested our physical stamina and counting skills, seeing how many times we could do an action in 100 seconds. We blinked, jumped, clapped, did sit-ups, and did “high fives” with our feet. After lots of laughs and some huffing and puffing, it was time to end our day. Finishing off with one of their favorite activities (a themed Madlib), our day was complete. Even though fun, busy days like this aren’t outlined in any of our curricula, students were still practicing important skills. Having a growth mindset, working as a team, improving their number sense, and simply playing together are critical learning experiences for 5th and 6th graders. Investing a full day to these celebrations is important for students and teachers alike. Despite all the hardship this year has brought, the privilege of spending the past 100 days together is cause to celebrate.
5th and 6th graders are still getting used to the transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”. Too often, kids start to feel burdened by obligatory nightly reading assignments and disengage with the idea of “reading for fun”. Collaborative reading is the perfect remedy for this common issue. When reading is a shared experience and students are able to discuss, reflect, and read books with their peers, they’re more likely to ask questions, show ownership, and be more interested in reading overall. Our class has done two types of collaborative reading this year: Battle of the Books and book clubs. Both of which, have been even better than I hoped. I had never heard of “Battle of the Books” until I moved to Alaska. On the Alaska Battle of the Books homepage, I learned the interesting history of how Battle came to be: The Alaska Association of School Librarians (who sponsors and organizes this event) says that, “The goals of the program are to encourage and recognize students who enjoy reading, broaden reading interests, increase reading comprehension, and promote academic excellence.” Book lists are compiled each year and students across the state, of various age groups, immerse themselves in new texts. At PNA, grades 3-6 participated. Participation is completely voluntary, as kids took time out of their free periods to meet as a club. Our 5/6 team met twice a week—eating snacks, reading aloud, playing Kahoot games with comprehension questions, and essentially just socializing while talking about books. We had a blast! This past week the teams competed in the city-wide battle. Due to COVID restrictions, the entire battle took place over Zoom. The teams did an excellent job—one 5/6 team placed in 8th place and one 3/4 team took 3rd! While our students were excited for the competition, they all enjoyed the process along the way— gaining experience as collaborative readers and having fun with their friends. While only 9 of my students participated in Battle of the Books, all of my students have been involved in book clubs. First, we read books with specific themes (all involving social issues, empathy, or advocacy). They flew through those books and wrote impressive thematic essays about their learning. We just began our fantasy book clubs where all students are reading fiction novels in small groups. This week, our classes were jam-packed. Currently, ELA starts with a mini-lesson. We discussed the habits of “sophisticated readers of fantasy”. Our first two habits were to “research the setting” and “ask about power”. After the mini-lesson, students break out into their book clubs and discuss how the content they just learned (setting, for example) is present in their own book. The students work together to create a visual, organizing their thoughts. Afterward, each group presents their ideas to the rest of the class, no spoilers of course. The book club members choose their own nightly reading assignments; everyone must reach a consensus on the amount of pages per night. When students have a say in the direction of their learning, they are more apt to enjoy it and become invested. They know their peers are counting on them so they are more likely to follow through. Both Battle of the Books and these small group book clubs have been very successful at reaching students across the board. From reluctant readers to avid readers, both of these collaborative reading opportunities have been super successful for my students. These collaborative reading book clubs perfectly align with our creative writing workshop, which is our other current focus. However, that is a story for another day!
On the Teacher-Student Bond
1/16/2021
Being a teacher at PNA means I have the privilege to fully invest myself into my 16 students. We have developed an incredibly strong relationship in the five months we’ve been together. We know things about each other; I know their academic strengths and areas for growth, but I know much more than that. I know where and how they learn best, what makes them tick, and what makes them laugh. I know the kids who doodle while thinking, or perhaps prefer to have something in their hands. I know what my students are looking forward to and what causes them stress. I know their pets’ names and their weekend traditions. I learn new things about them every day and the combination of all these facts help me see them fully—why they do the things they do and who they are becoming. When I first started teaching someone told me, “Don’t let them see you smile until Christmas.” Meaning teachers need to be tough and can’t open up too much or the kids won’t see us as superior. I’m relieved I did not follow that advice. I allow my students to see “me” right away. I share things with them that humanize me and hopefully make me feel like their ally or mentor or someone they can relate to and trust. Yes, I’m their teacher and the leader of our classroom but I’m also a person with my own strengths, areas for growth, and experiences that have made me who I am today. My Peace Corps service changed my life and shaped my perspective. The 27 months I taught in a rural Tanzanian village influences my current teaching every day. Being able to share what Tanzania taught me with my students has been the best part about teaching in the US. I am able to transport American students to a tiny Tanzanian village they probably never would have known existed. Through pictures, videos, and stories, we fetch water, we cook, we speak Swahili, we play, we work, we increase our awareness about another culture, and we learn just how big the world really is. In addition to our class discussions, our PNA students wrote letters to Tanzanian students and asked insightful questions and explained a bit about their lives here in Alaska. This cross-cultural, international learning exchange is invaluable. Teaching “world regions and cultures” is important curriculum in every classroom. I feel exceptionally lucky to be able to offer first-hand experiences instead of simply reading from a textbook. As we focused on East Africa, my students curiosity was piqued and they asked endless, inquisitive questions. They were open-minded with my answers and empathetic toward my challenges. My Peace Corps service made me cry more than I ever had and it brought me more joy than I’d ever known. I met some of my best friends and the love of my life. I have a flag on the wall of my classroom, alongside a photo of a roaring lion that I took. Peace Corps provided daily challenges that amounted to me becoming a much stronger, independent, compassionate person. By sharing all this with my current students, I try to model our PNA values of independent thinking, having the courage to try new things, and the integrity and vision to do good in the world. As I shared my experiences, my students learn why I am the way that I am and why we do some of the activities we do in our classroom. We do word puzzles and think about language so intensely because of how complex I learned English really is. We play games and value laughter because Tanzanian students taught me how much better students learn when they’re having fun. I don’t make jokes about teachers hitting students and I get frustrated when students waste resources without thinking, and now they understand why. I’m proud when my students ask about things bigger than themselves and are curious about the billions of other people on the planet. PNA allows me the discretion to take the time to answer a hundred of my students’ questions instead of saying, “We don’t have time. We need to move on to the next chapter.” I hope years from now, if one of my students hears Tanzania in the news or it comes up in conversation, they are transported back to 5th and 6th grade and I hope they smile, remembering all they learned.
The Value of Art
12/12/2020
At the beginning of this 2020 school year, PNA had to make the difficult decision to put some of our “specials” on hold. At that time we were navigating how to best keep our students safe. Thankfully, we found ways to safely integrate art education back into our curriculum. The day the 5th and 6th graders were told they were going to have a “real” art class, was a very joyful day. Since then, our students have learned several different mediums and have been reaping all of the benefits art education provides kids. Art is often described as an "extra" and not something vital to kids' education. On the contrary. Art offers learning opportunities that are invaluable. Each day students are asked to push their creative thinking, while maintaining a growth mindset. Students are problem-solving and persevering when things don't go the way they initially planned. They're developing their interests and have started to take pride in their work. At the end of every art class, students spend another 10 minutes showing off their products--excited about their learning and progress. Laura Bruni, our wonderful art teacher, has taught the 5th and 6th graders four different mediums in the short time she's been their art teacher. She started off by using a papier-mâché medium (of sorts) and taught the students how to create 3D "monsters" around Halloween. Students used balloons to shape their creation and then painted and incorporated ping pong balls to embellish. Next, the kids worked on perspective and did some sketching and shading practice. These kids love to draw. Their work, both formally in art class, and informally in their everyday doodles, is impressive. Finally, just in time for the holiday season, our students used simple pasta to create elegant ornaments and soda cans to create lovely candle centerpieces. Many of the students were especially excited to gift their creations to their families. PNA kids are almost always excited about learning but being excited about creating adds a whole additional layer to their education. It's that time of year...
11/21/2020
Despite sounding cliched, every single day I wake up feeling thankful to work with our PNA 5th and 6th grade students. Here are eight of the reasons why: Transformative developmental time. Ages 10-12 are pivotal years for physical, mental, and emotional development. These students need an atmosphere to feel comfortable being uncomfortable. It has been my goal to create a safe space for my students to ask questions as they experience so many life changes. I am thankful to have students who are open and honest about their thoughts. Hands-on teaching and learning. While this isn’t as literal as is used to be, PNA has been able to maintain our “hands-on” teaching and learning methods to the best of our ability. Students are able to “do”, instead of just watching and listening. Every day I am thankful for the privilege to physically go to school and be with my students. Awareness and Advocacy. Now, more than ever, I am thankful to teach about things that matter. Learning about global issues, human body health, diversity and inclusion, and positive relationships—students are becoming more knowledgable about real-life topics. My students are honing their empathy and determination to make positive impacts on the world around them. Nurturing environment. Our classroom management program, Responsive Classroom, is a student-centered social and emotional approach to teaching and discipline. I am thankful to work at a school that supports engaging, collaborative intervention techniques instead of punitive methods. We strive to create a safe, joyful, and inclusive classroom climate, where all students have a sense of belonging and value. Kids being kids. While my students are learning about serious topics, there are still plenty of opportunities for them to just be kids. Communicating through banana phones at snack time, building snow-forts during PE, or teaming up and playing our weekly review game of Jeopardy, our classroom is full of laughter. I am thankful for our inside jokes, our Swahili code words, and the social, joyful buzz of our classroom. Family. Students spend more waking hours in school than out of school. Our class is becoming a family. Each student has a role and a purpose; kids are continually learning new traits about their classmates. I feel uniquely connected to my students’ families this year. I couldn’t be more grateful to have such an understanding network of parents supporting my role in their child’s education. Understanding and flexibility. During a time of instability and stress, I am thankful to be surrounded with understanding allies. Administrators, colleagues, and parents all have become increasingly patient, providing extra appreciation and grace. While every day is different and we are simultaneously building the bridge as we walk across it, the kindness being given and received has not gone unnoticed. Love of learning. PNA prides itself on having a student body full of kids who love learning. My 16 students are the epitome of this. Even through the most complicated, gross, emotional content, my students have persisted with their curious nature and hunger for learning. Our class discussions are always vibrant and insightful—something I am grateful for, each and every day. The Power of Read-Alouds
11/7/2020
“A child who reads will be an adult who thinks.” By 5th and 6th grade, many students have made up their minds about reading. Either they see it as a fun, leisure activity OR they see it as a chore, something adults make them do. There are many reasons as to why students make their choice one way or the other. Do students have access to books? Are they reading the "right" books? Have their parents been reading to them since infancy or never at all? Is reading more difficult for them? Reading is challenging for many kids, whether related to processing or comprehension issues, or a diagnosable learning disorder or something unknown. It’s up to teachers and parents to help support kids with reading as they form their opinions at such a young age. My educational specialization is in English; I love teaching ELA. However, even I didn’t like reading when I was a kid. My parents read aloud to me from ages 0-8. It wasn’t a coincidence that once they stopped reading to me, my interest in reading took a nose dive. As I got older I used the classic, “…but there are so many other things to do…” excuse as to why I wasn’t reading during my free time. I didn’t see them reading in their free time, so why should I? In Middle and High school, we were assigned to read on our own but teachers rarely read to us in class. “The Transforming Power of Reading Aloud”, is an interesting article from the International Literacy Association. My favorite quotation from that article reads, “The most effective way to cultivate a love of reading in children is to read to them.” It seems so simple. Many studies have shown academic benefits to daily read-aloud. In our 5/6 classroom at PNA, we do read-alouds every single day. Our most recent novel was Front Desk by Kelly Yang. It’s a relevant, relatable, powerful book based on true events. The kids rave about it. Here’s how our ELA class is structured: we have ELA after snack time. The kids settle in and a few students summarize the previous chapters to refresh our memories, or in case someone was absent. I turn off the lights and project a set of vocabulary words that are about to be read in today’s chapters. Students volunteer to pronounce, define, and give an example of the context of the word. The wiggling, hand stretching, passion that some students exhibit—wanting to be called on so badly--is incredible. Words are selected based on their definition unfamiliarly but also due to their spelling. Some verbal learners know what words are based on conversational use, but cannot recognize them from their spelling alone. Often kids don’t think they know a word just by looking at it, but they understand the word once we pronounce and define it. Our words are posted on our word wall, in hopes that students will retain the vocabulary they learn throughout the year. Once everyone is comfortable with the daily word list, I read. Some kids doodle, others have their eyes glued to me. They all, however, are listening intently. Sometimes we take breaks during the reading to discuss events or make predictions. I could not have asked for better engagement with this book. Every single day the kids contend with me when I put the bookmark back in the book as we finish. Front Desk is full of cliff-hangers that kept the kids eager for more. After the read-aloud, students get out their writing journals. They write for about 10 minutes about a given prompt inspired from the reading that day. Sometimes it’s an analysis of the text; other times they make personal connections, relating to the characters in the book. Often they apply the “fictional” scenarios in the book to real-life issues they observe in our world. Most prompts are multi-faceted and kids choose which aspect they want to write about. These journal entries are kept between the student and me. I read and assess them at the end of each week, writing personal notes to each student and sometimes we have a conversation back and forth within the confides of their journal. This technique allows for differentiation and helps builds my personal relationship with each student. Our daily read-aloud has been an integral part of our classroom. Front Desk has connected to our social studies and science curriculums. It’s provided us discussion points about current human rights issues as well. As we finished this book, several students' comments made my eyes water. “This book has made me actually want to read.” or “When you read to me, I understand books so much better.” Even though we finished this book, I just informed the kids that I obtained a copy of its sequel! We’ll be switching gears with our ELA period next week, but we’ll find a chunk of the day for a simple read aloud, just for enjoyment. In our next ELA unit, we’ll be using a small-group book club approach. Students will be analyzing themes in realistic fiction novels, with special focuses on social and personal issues, and reading for empathy and advocacy. Students ranked their book choices on Friday and we’ll dive into that next week. A new opportunity for us to continue reading aloud, together.
Global Perspectives
10/23/2020
10-12 year olds are beginning to navigate their place in the world. Their scope is expanding and they are starting to see the “big picture” forming around them. Our social studies content aligns with this developmental change; our curriculum is called World Regions, Cultures, and Global Issues. Produced by National Geographic, this curriculum is current and expansive. We’ve been getting our feet wet with a general overview of geography and global issues to ensure students know the basics before we fully dive into individual regions and cultures. We began by doing a comparing/contrasting, small group, discussion activity. Students read an informational summary about current global issues affecting our lives (water resources, migration, climate change, human rights, etc). Each student practiced their reading, analyzing, and debating skills as the groups discussed every topic through the lens of state, nation, and world views. How does the issue of “food supply” look different in an Alaskan village, versus the Bronx, versus rural Tanzania? It was impressive to see each group independently working and collaborating about such complex topics. Hearing words like, "People really should care more about this because..." makes me proud to be in education. We shifted to a lighter note and began talking about creating communities. How do you set up a town? What are the most important factors to consider? Students were placed into pairs and given the challenge to create their own community. First, they needed to prioritize their decisions. Do you want public transportation or would people need a car to get around? Do you want everyone to have individual homes or are apartment complexes more efficient? Is there an advantage to putting the school next to the library or should it be near the park? This was a creative assignment, so along with the “city planning” students also added their own special touches (an acidic monstrous lake, a strip mall, a communal giant strawberry, and much, much more). Each team presented their creations to the class; we've continued to make strides to becomes more and more comfortable with public speaking. They're doing great! Maps were our next focus. Students now know the geographical locations for all 7 continents and 5 major oceans. Students learned about the nine components of maps, map projections, political maps versus physical maps, and thematic maps. Many students were surprised there were so many types of maps and that all maps distort the earth in some way. We all sketched our own maps of Anchorage, incorporating symbols for our favorite places around town. Google Earth was a tool that got everyone excited. Not only did we hop around Anchorage but we traveled to Panama, Idaho, Hawaii, China, Tanzania, and Maine (of course). Students wrote insightful reflections using a “Before I thought ____. Know I now _______” template. Their learning was contagious! We do many short activities to reinforce learning. We played an active game in the gym where students were in pairs and one person had his/her eyes closed, while the other had to give directions to a hidden object. The caveat was the clue-giver could only use cardinal points for their directions. Students became human compasses! They also completed differentiated written assessments as well as an online, interactive assessment. However, their favorite way to demonstrate their learning is during our weekly Jeopardy battle, but that is a conversation for another day. Learning Social Studies is invaluable and especially critical for today’s world. Studying geography, history, economics, civics, culture, and global issues will expose our students to many new details about the world they live in. I feel lucky to be a part of their exploration. Through a range of activities, their ideas blossom and their global perspectives broaden as they learn about things that matter to them and the other 7+ billion people with whom they share the world. Our 5th and 6th grade students truly are exceptional learners who are becoming independent thinkers of vision, courage, and integrity.
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Elizabeth FerryMs. Ferry's experiences include teaching with the Peace Corps in Tanzania, teaching high school English in Maine, and this is her second year at PNA. She loves moose, outdoor activities, and being with her students. Archives
April 2021
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