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Hello North Mountain Huskies!
It is a privilege to get to work with all of you as you grow into our innovators of the future. In our classes are the great inventors, artists, crafters, engineers, entrepreneurs, and professionals of the future (even if you don’t see that yet!). Well I suppose introductions are in order! I have always been into science whether it was digging in mud and tying worms in a knot (I know, I know…), or checking out the gem case at the museum, I have always been fascinated with how the world works. The news is always reporting on new discoveries and those have kept me wanting to know more and branch out into new fields of science I had never explored before. I attended Humboldt State University with a few different majors, including Fisheries Biology, but I kept getting called back to the classroom because I wanted to inspire the love of learning that I enjoy so much. I received my BA in Elementary Education and later a Masters of Education. For the last 5 years I have taught in charter schools in Los Angeles for elementary, middle and high school classes; most recently I taught middle school Integrated Science along with 9th grade Biology and 10th grade Marine Biology. It has always been my goal to immerse students completely in learning and sometimes that happens very literally. In some of my past classes when the students were learning about ecosystems, we analyzed the different ecosystems within the aquariums and terrariums in the classroom that were relocated to student desks for activities. When we were studying the food web, we analyzed the teeth and jaws of animals by passing around the skulls of a bear, coyote, and deer. I took my 10th grade Marine Biology students on a camping trip to Leo Carrillo Beach to use the field guides they developed in class to identify the animals we came across. A favorite past project was developing an interactive curriculum for students on field trips to the Mount Wilson Observatory in Pasadena. I was lucky enough to be the educational representative for my school at the time as we built a partnership with the Observatory and became the main consultant for NGSS integration. For my Masters project I did research on note taking techniques for E.L. students and developed a drawing-based curriculum with language supports for the observatory which is now used for both day trips and overnights. Well enough about me, tell me more about you! I can’t wait to learn more about you and hear your questions. Feel free to say hi or shoot me an email with questions or concerns. We are all in this together! -Mrs. Gardner 7th Grade, Rm #409 North Mountain Middle School [email protected] |
"Take chances, make mistakes, and get messy!" -Ms. Frizzle