Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Book Club orders are due Thursday, August 29th

You may order books online using the link below:

Online Book Order

You may also send back the paper order form with your child.

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Welcome to Team Fleet


Dear 5th graders and families,

Hello to each of you! My name is Megan Fleet, and I am so excited to be teaching a class of fifth grade learners at Gold Rush Elementary. My previous classroom experiences include teaching fifth grade, fourth grade, and a fourth/fifth combination class in Douglas County. I have also taught sixth, seventh, and eighth grades in Jefferson County. My number one priority as a teacher is to create a classroom that is filled with respect, learning, and laughter. 

            I feel so lucky to be teaching in a school district that I attended as a child. I love being able to give back to a community that has given me so much. Following my Douglas County education, I graduated from Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washingtion with degrees in Psychology and Elementary Education. During my junior year in college I studied in Florence, Italy and traveled through Europe including the countries of Croatia, Bosnia, Turkey, and Greece. These experiences have encouraged me to teach all students to be global citizens. After exploring many parts of the world, I decided to move back to Colorado to be closer to my family. Upon my return I continued my education and received a Master’s in Reading and Writing Instruction from the University of Colorado at Denver, with an additional K-12 Reading Teacher endorsement. 

Moving back to Colorado allowed me to meet my husband. Last summer I got married and this summer we moved into a new home. We have two nephews that we love dearly. Our oldest nephew began kindergarten last fall. It has been so enlightening to see school through the eyes of a 5 year old and his parents. 

I look forward to collaborating with you to ensure each student accomplishes his or her individual goals. I believe when we work together we can celebrate students as they grasp concepts that they thought seemed impossible. I believe parents, students, and teachers are the perfect learning team. As the teacher, I will send home student work with feedback to encourage conversations about your student’s learning. I will provide parents a snapshot of our school days through email updates. In these emails a short summary about essential questions and standards we are investigating will be provided along with ideas about how student learning can be extended at home. 

The school day will be filled with targeted lessons that are engaging. There will be times when we work as a whole group, times we work in small groups, with partners, and independently. Our class will come up with agreements about what learning should look like and sound like in the various learning groupings. One thing is certain; students will be active in their learning. 

Right now there may be questions and predictions about fifth grade. These are critical thinking skills and they will guide our learning together. All thinkers have questions and pursue answers. All critical thinkers make and change their predictions as they discover new information.

I cannot wait to discover more about each student as a learner and as a thinker!

Your excited 5th grade teacher,
Mrs. Megan Fleet