DMS Open House

Inside: DMS Open House. This blog. A bit about your teacher (me.)

Decorah Middle School Open House is on Wednesday, August 21st from 5 - 7:00pm.

If it fits into your schedule, please do stop by on Open House night. Come any time that is convenient. There is no set schedule of events. You will be able to do the following stuff that evening:

• drop off any school supplies you might have;
• say "Hi!" to me and let me greet you, too; 
• show off some of the adults in your life;
• find your locker; AND 
• look around the classroom, 5th-grade floor, and the DMS building.

I'm looking forward to meeting you! And I promise the classroom won't be as messy as it is as I write this ... (I moved down the hall from my room last year and I've been unpacking and rearranging in my new room!)

THIS BLOG
I'm hoping to post about 1-2 times per week during the early part of the year with the hope these posts will help you get a better sense of how things work in 5P this year.

I'll probably post fewer times as the year goes along, but I'm hoping to use this as a way to get into greater depth about topics in Science, Reading, and Writing. I'll probably also post interesting things I've run across that I think you might be interested in learning about. Finally, I'll also use this space to share some of the work that we create throughout the year.

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ABOUT ME
Here are a few tidbits about me.

In early August, my wife, Beth (a biology professor at Luther College) and I took her niece, Amelia, on a canoe trip in the BWCA. We found a really cool cliff on a lake we canoed. In the photo below, I'm sitting in the back of the canoe appreciating the little ferns and lichens on the rocks, trying to imagine just how a white cedar tree can grow in such a place.

Below, Amelia and I enjoy a simple breakfast on the shore of Winchell Lake.

A rainstorm came up while we were portaging our canoe between lakes. We used the canoe as a roof and we ate lunch under it.

I love to be outside, and I love our dog, Kelso, who also likes to be outside. He is really nice, but also kind of goofy. When he sleeps his tongue sticks out of his mouth. 

Kelso is named after a lake in the BWCA. He likes to explore this big, beautiful world. His curiosity and his enthusiasm for learning are ... inspiring!

We had another dog, Kiska. She died last year. I still miss her and will probably talk about her. She was kind of crazy, as in a little neurotic, but there never was a better, more enthusiastic cuddler in the Entire History of All Dogs. 

And here is a cute, short video of Kiska (the older, patient sister) trying to deal with young and brash Kelso, who has a hard time keeping himself focused. :) I shot the video soon after we got Kelso.

So, I'm looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday if you can make it, and for sure on Friday when school starts back up again. I know that we will have a really good year!