Hello, nice to meet you.
I'm very excited to have your child in my class this year. Please read this page to get to know me a little better.
I am originally from Fairfax, Virginia (close to Washington DC). I attended Furman University in Greenville, SC, and graduated with a Bachelor's in Elementary Education. After graduation I taught for three years in Greenville, SC, and then decided I wanted to see more of the world and began teaching internationally. I moved to China and taught fifth grade for two years and worked in administration for a year at Dalian American International School. I am delighted to be at EAC and am looking forward to a great year!
Outside of school I have lots of hobbies. I love to read, play sports, travel, and do photography. My favorite books are historical fiction and mystery. In my opinion there's nothing better than laying on the beach with a good book. I played basketball in college and still love to play. This year I am the assistant coach for the EAC boys' varsity team (Go Giants!) and coach the elementary girls basketball. Traveling is a passion of mine, I love to experience different cultures and see as much of God's creation as I can. While traveling I can often be found snapping pictures of the beautiful things around me.
I have a huge family, and it just got bigger last summer when I married Mr. K, an upper school math teacher! I am the youngest of five children and am a proud aunt of ten nieces and nephews. I am biased, but I think I have the cutest nieces and nephews in the world. My parents are amazing and will hopefully come visit us in Brazil. (Interesting fact--my dad lived in Sao Paulo for five years of his childhood!) Mr. K and I are enjoying Brazil so far, exploring new places and meeting lots of new people.
I am originally from Fairfax, Virginia (close to Washington DC). I attended Furman University in Greenville, SC, and graduated with a Bachelor's in Elementary Education. After graduation I taught for three years in Greenville, SC, and then decided I wanted to see more of the world and began teaching internationally. I moved to China and taught fifth grade for two years and worked in administration for a year at Dalian American International School. I am delighted to be at EAC and am looking forward to a great year!
Outside of school I have lots of hobbies. I love to read, play sports, travel, and do photography. My favorite books are historical fiction and mystery. In my opinion there's nothing better than laying on the beach with a good book. I played basketball in college and still love to play. This year I am the assistant coach for the EAC boys' varsity team (Go Giants!) and coach the elementary girls basketball. Traveling is a passion of mine, I love to experience different cultures and see as much of God's creation as I can. While traveling I can often be found snapping pictures of the beautiful things around me.
I have a huge family, and it just got bigger last summer when I married Mr. K, an upper school math teacher! I am the youngest of five children and am a proud aunt of ten nieces and nephews. I am biased, but I think I have the cutest nieces and nephews in the world. My parents are amazing and will hopefully come visit us in Brazil. (Interesting fact--my dad lived in Sao Paulo for five years of his childhood!) Mr. K and I are enjoying Brazil so far, exploring new places and meeting lots of new people.
In Our Classroom I ...
Build a strong community
Each student can be successful
Link learning and connect with others
Inquiry-based and collaborative approach
Enlighten students on how to learn
Validate students' ideas
Everyone in our class is a learner
Build a strong community
To have a truly effective classroom it is important for my students to feel safe and included. I work very hard at creating a positive learning environment for all students. By building relationships with my students I can learn more about each student as a person and will gain their trust; which will allow me to put them in successful opportunities. I think clear and open communication is important to building relationships and a strong community, and this occurs weekly during our class meetings. I also believe our class community is not confined to the walls of our class, it also depends on and grows from support at home. Families bring so many different perspectives and aspects to our class and I welcome the opportunity for my students to learn from them.
Each student can be successful
As your child's teaching it is responsibility to lead each child to personal success. This may look different for each child, but is attainable for all children in my class. Every child has strengths and weaknesses, it is important for students to be aware of theirs. It is my job to ensure each student feels confident and to help them to capitalize on their strengths and improve their weaknesses. I try to differentiate lessons, assessments, and instructional approaches to meet the different readiness levels, interests, and learning styles of my students.
Link learning and connect with others
I believe learning needs to be authentic and embedded into students' lives. By linking students' learning to their lives and across subjects they make their own connections, which creates a stronger understanding. Students retain more if it is relevant to their lives and they can apply it in the real world. Not only do I strive to link learning to daily life and across subjects, I think it is imperative to connect with others--in our class, school, or across the globe. We participate in many activities (blog, Mystery Skype, email buddies, collaborative projects with global classes, literature circles) that stretch students' comfort levels and broaden their thinking.
Inquiry-based and collaborative approach
An old saying says, "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand ." Involving students in the process makes learning more meaningful and individualized. Through an inquiry-based approach learning is driven by students' questions and interests. I believe my role as a teacher is to open the gates for students to question, seek, and solve. I try to use a variety of teaching strategies and let students' interests guide our activities, while remaining on course with the curriculum. Through mixed group work students gain valuable interpersonal and group skills. I believe students learn about themselves and gain confidence in their strengths as well as identify weaknesses by working in a constructive group.
Enlighten students how to learn
In our world today we need to be able to search, find, evaluate, and reflect upon new information daily. I agree with Marc Prensky in that the youth today are digital natives, and although technology is second nature to them, they need to be taught the skills and implications of working in a digital world. Teaching students the value of being a global citizen with good digital citizenship is important for their future and simultaneously improves their learning experience. It is necessary to give students the tools and skills to become independent learners. In our class we will work on critical thinking, organization, time management, and self-reflection.
Validate students' ideas
A student needs to feel what he/she has to say is important, whether it is correct or not. I believe it is my job to help students navigate through their ideas and determine ones worth developing and others that need tweaking. I strive to foster each student's voice and encourage everyone to share their opinions in a respectful way. As a class we learn from each other when everyone participates and speaks frankly. Our class has open communication and shares ideas, thoughts, experiences, and feelings at our weekly class meeting.
Everyone in our class is a learner
Even though I am the "teacher" I learn from my students each day. I want my students to know that I continue to learn everyday of my life and am passionate about feeding my brain. I try to model and share what I am learning in both my personal and professional life with students. As a professional, I strive to stay current on best practices, innovative ideas, and educational research. I do this through discussions with my PLN (Personal Learning Network), both face to face with colleagues and online via Twitter. I am also currently pursuing my Masters in Educational Leadership. Personally, I am learning new hobbies (crafting, coding, painting, and baking), as well as continue to improve upon my favorite hobbies (photography, reading, basketball, running, and blogging).
Build a strong community
Each student can be successful
Link learning and connect with others
Inquiry-based and collaborative approach
Enlighten students on how to learn
Validate students' ideas
Everyone in our class is a learner
Build a strong community
To have a truly effective classroom it is important for my students to feel safe and included. I work very hard at creating a positive learning environment for all students. By building relationships with my students I can learn more about each student as a person and will gain their trust; which will allow me to put them in successful opportunities. I think clear and open communication is important to building relationships and a strong community, and this occurs weekly during our class meetings. I also believe our class community is not confined to the walls of our class, it also depends on and grows from support at home. Families bring so many different perspectives and aspects to our class and I welcome the opportunity for my students to learn from them.
Each student can be successful
As your child's teaching it is responsibility to lead each child to personal success. This may look different for each child, but is attainable for all children in my class. Every child has strengths and weaknesses, it is important for students to be aware of theirs. It is my job to ensure each student feels confident and to help them to capitalize on their strengths and improve their weaknesses. I try to differentiate lessons, assessments, and instructional approaches to meet the different readiness levels, interests, and learning styles of my students.
Link learning and connect with others
I believe learning needs to be authentic and embedded into students' lives. By linking students' learning to their lives and across subjects they make their own connections, which creates a stronger understanding. Students retain more if it is relevant to their lives and they can apply it in the real world. Not only do I strive to link learning to daily life and across subjects, I think it is imperative to connect with others--in our class, school, or across the globe. We participate in many activities (blog, Mystery Skype, email buddies, collaborative projects with global classes, literature circles) that stretch students' comfort levels and broaden their thinking.
Inquiry-based and collaborative approach
An old saying says, "Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand ." Involving students in the process makes learning more meaningful and individualized. Through an inquiry-based approach learning is driven by students' questions and interests. I believe my role as a teacher is to open the gates for students to question, seek, and solve. I try to use a variety of teaching strategies and let students' interests guide our activities, while remaining on course with the curriculum. Through mixed group work students gain valuable interpersonal and group skills. I believe students learn about themselves and gain confidence in their strengths as well as identify weaknesses by working in a constructive group.
Enlighten students how to learn
In our world today we need to be able to search, find, evaluate, and reflect upon new information daily. I agree with Marc Prensky in that the youth today are digital natives, and although technology is second nature to them, they need to be taught the skills and implications of working in a digital world. Teaching students the value of being a global citizen with good digital citizenship is important for their future and simultaneously improves their learning experience. It is necessary to give students the tools and skills to become independent learners. In our class we will work on critical thinking, organization, time management, and self-reflection.
Validate students' ideas
A student needs to feel what he/she has to say is important, whether it is correct or not. I believe it is my job to help students navigate through their ideas and determine ones worth developing and others that need tweaking. I strive to foster each student's voice and encourage everyone to share their opinions in a respectful way. As a class we learn from each other when everyone participates and speaks frankly. Our class has open communication and shares ideas, thoughts, experiences, and feelings at our weekly class meeting.
Everyone in our class is a learner
Even though I am the "teacher" I learn from my students each day. I want my students to know that I continue to learn everyday of my life and am passionate about feeding my brain. I try to model and share what I am learning in both my personal and professional life with students. As a professional, I strive to stay current on best practices, innovative ideas, and educational research. I do this through discussions with my PLN (Personal Learning Network), both face to face with colleagues and online via Twitter. I am also currently pursuing my Masters in Educational Leadership. Personally, I am learning new hobbies (crafting, coding, painting, and baking), as well as continue to improve upon my favorite hobbies (photography, reading, basketball, running, and blogging).
Contact Me
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I strongly believe in open communication with parents. Feel free to email me or write a note in your child's agenda.
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: meganholbrook22
Class Twitter: EAC5AMrsK
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: meganholbrook22
Class Twitter: EAC5AMrsK