Dear Families,
Welcome to the fifth grade! We are very happy to let you know your child will be my student for the 2017-2018 school year. We will be having a fantastic year of growth and independence. We are am excited to be starting fifth grade with your children.
So that we may get to know your child and family sooner, please complete this parent survey, under the parent tab or at https://goo.gl/forms/GsxMd40sBT69q4FC3. There are six questions, so it should take as little or as much time as you put into it. We look forward to reading about your child in the days leading up to school.
More importantly, we hope to have the opportunity to meet in the classroom (A110) on Thursday, August 23rd for the Meet and Treat. You can come check out the classroom and drop off school supplies between 4:30 and 5:00 pm. After doing so, there will be a treat served outside by the play structure. The office staff will also have enrollment forms and other school information for you.
If you cannot come, I look forward to meeting your child on the first day of school, Monday, August 27th, at 8:30 am. In the meantime, you can read about our experience below.
About Us
Rachel Youm: This will be my fourth year with this school and my second year in fifth grade here. Previous to joining the terrific faculty, I lived in Vietnam for three years, where I volunteered with schools serving migrant students. I was also a mom of two teen boys at that time as well as travel blogger and planner. Before living in Southeast Asia, I worked with students in various capacities, k-8th grade, with most of my experience being in middle school. You can read more about my educational philosophy on my webpage: http://mrsyoum.weebly.com/about-me. I am excited to act as a mentor teacher for Mr. Spitler, our fifth grade teacher candidate.
Dillon Spitler: I am so excited to meet you all. I have just returned to the United States after living in Korea for ten years. I had some great experiences with my Korean students but I am happy to be back and excited to begin my work in American classrooms. In Korean classrooms the children clean the classroom every day after school and most students attend small study schools after their regular school sometimes until 10:00 at night. Can you believe that? I am originally from Alaska but my family moved to California when I was young because my mother could not stand the cold and long winters! So, I did most of my education in a small rural town in the Napa Valley. The school was about the same size as the school that you are attending and I have lots of fond memories walking to and from school picking up whatever nature had given me that time of year. Fifth grade was probably my favorite year in school because I was given so much independence to pursue my interests and read books I wanted to read. I also have a four year old daughter who is in preschool. I am working on my teaching credential at Lewis and Clark College nearby. I look forward to meeting and getting to know you all this year.
Dillon’s Experience:
My education experience began as an intern at the Smithsonian Institute in the Asian art and Freer/Sackler Gallery. My University has a building in Washington DC and each quarter they select 25 students to go to Washington DC to live and intern at the many offices of lawmakers. I got placed in a museum because I studied art history in my university. In the basement of the Asian Art Museum I worked at the “Imaginasia Classroom” and helped tourists and local school children learn how to navigate and appreciate the art in the museum. I also got to design children’s guidebooks for the museum. It was a lot of fun. My experience there inspired me to move to Korea where I taught for two years teaching English in rural Korea. It was very different from what I am used to, but the students kept me engaged. I look forward to telling you all about it and being back in the classroom!
We are looking forward to a great school year!
Sincerely,
Rachel Youm and Dillon Spitler
5th Grade
Welcome to the fifth grade! We are very happy to let you know your child will be my student for the 2017-2018 school year. We will be having a fantastic year of growth and independence. We are am excited to be starting fifth grade with your children.
So that we may get to know your child and family sooner, please complete this parent survey, under the parent tab or at https://goo.gl/forms/GsxMd40sBT69q4FC3. There are six questions, so it should take as little or as much time as you put into it. We look forward to reading about your child in the days leading up to school.
More importantly, we hope to have the opportunity to meet in the classroom (A110) on Thursday, August 23rd for the Meet and Treat. You can come check out the classroom and drop off school supplies between 4:30 and 5:00 pm. After doing so, there will be a treat served outside by the play structure. The office staff will also have enrollment forms and other school information for you.
If you cannot come, I look forward to meeting your child on the first day of school, Monday, August 27th, at 8:30 am. In the meantime, you can read about our experience below.
About Us
Rachel Youm: This will be my fourth year with this school and my second year in fifth grade here. Previous to joining the terrific faculty, I lived in Vietnam for three years, where I volunteered with schools serving migrant students. I was also a mom of two teen boys at that time as well as travel blogger and planner. Before living in Southeast Asia, I worked with students in various capacities, k-8th grade, with most of my experience being in middle school. You can read more about my educational philosophy on my webpage: http://mrsyoum.weebly.com/about-me. I am excited to act as a mentor teacher for Mr. Spitler, our fifth grade teacher candidate.
Dillon Spitler: I am so excited to meet you all. I have just returned to the United States after living in Korea for ten years. I had some great experiences with my Korean students but I am happy to be back and excited to begin my work in American classrooms. In Korean classrooms the children clean the classroom every day after school and most students attend small study schools after their regular school sometimes until 10:00 at night. Can you believe that? I am originally from Alaska but my family moved to California when I was young because my mother could not stand the cold and long winters! So, I did most of my education in a small rural town in the Napa Valley. The school was about the same size as the school that you are attending and I have lots of fond memories walking to and from school picking up whatever nature had given me that time of year. Fifth grade was probably my favorite year in school because I was given so much independence to pursue my interests and read books I wanted to read. I also have a four year old daughter who is in preschool. I am working on my teaching credential at Lewis and Clark College nearby. I look forward to meeting and getting to know you all this year.
Dillon’s Experience:
My education experience began as an intern at the Smithsonian Institute in the Asian art and Freer/Sackler Gallery. My University has a building in Washington DC and each quarter they select 25 students to go to Washington DC to live and intern at the many offices of lawmakers. I got placed in a museum because I studied art history in my university. In the basement of the Asian Art Museum I worked at the “Imaginasia Classroom” and helped tourists and local school children learn how to navigate and appreciate the art in the museum. I also got to design children’s guidebooks for the museum. It was a lot of fun. My experience there inspired me to move to Korea where I taught for two years teaching English in rural Korea. It was very different from what I am used to, but the students kept me engaged. I look forward to telling you all about it and being back in the classroom!
We are looking forward to a great school year!
Sincerely,
Rachel Youm and Dillon Spitler
5th Grade