Meet the Fifth Grade Team:

I've spent a week preparing for the coming school year with my team and am looking forward to working with them. Here they are:

Mr. VL: 40ish From Chicago, has a son. He is the math teacher for the whole fifth grade. He has the room next to me, poor guy, and has been very gracious when I have a million questions about the procedures in my new environment. His eyes are always smiling and he and Ms. S have an ongoing friendly rivalry about what she assumes his weekend activities include, (though he insists he is trying to watch his health instead.)

Ms. S: >40 matronly Guatemalan lady with a sense of humor. She has several grown kids, one of whom I've met when he came to help her prepare her Spanish classroom. Her dominant language is Spanish, so sometimes she struggles to come up with a quick retort to Mr. VL's quips. She has been very friendly and helpful with my class list information, for which I am grateful.

Mr. H: >25 guy from Canada. He is an adventurer who loves to travel whenever possible. He is always laughing and picking on someone, (usually Ms. S, but anyone is fair game.) He is a super social person who can be found many times walking down the hall playing his guitar and making people smile. With a tactile approach to teaching and learning, I was very appreciative of his help walking me through the routines of a normal fifth grade day.

If you didn't notice, all of them are generally happy folks who enjoy injecting the mundane with humor. I am really honored to be working with them and am looking forward to this year.