Back to School Letter

July 18, 2007

Dear Explorer Parents,

I am absolutely delighted to be your child's teacher this school year! For those new Explorer parents who may not know me, gifted education is my passion. I have been teaching for nearly 22 years. This year marks my 14th year teaching at Seabury. I have a Masters in Education, but consider myself a life long learner. I enjoy sharing my love of learning with my students. My classroom environment is positive and nurturing. I strive each day to focus on your child's individual social, emotional and intellectual needs by providing educationally enriching, academically challenging and enjoyable learning.

Seabury has a two year rotational, thematic curriculum. This year the theme is "Systems". I have planned an extensive, enriching, interdisciplinary curriculum complete with numerous exciting, stimulating activities, projects and field trips for Language Arts, Science, Math, Social Studies, Geography, Technology, Current Events, Philosophy, Community Service, and Global Awareness. My goal is to make this an exceptional, educational year for your child.

This summer I was very taken by a quote from Mother Teresa: “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person” and also by Bill Gates’ commencement speech to the Harvard University 2007 graduating class. You can read it in its entirety at http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/06.14/99-gates.html. This year Explorers will have numerous Global Awareness opportunities to globally “make a difference” in a person’s life. I have arranged for my class to sell popcorn every Pizza Friday for a minimal amount. This will tie into my math curriculum of economic “Systems” with emphasis on profit and loss. With our net profit we will be purchasing a goat through the international Heifer project to help poverty stricken children in Africa receive nourishment. I invite you to go online to their website of http://www.heifer.org/ or specifically: http://www.heifer.org/site/apps/ka/ec/product.asp?c=edJRKQNiFiG&b=477887&ProductID=164806 to learn more about this organization.

Another curricular goal is to help make learning history exciting and relevant. The first trimester the Explorers’ Social Studies “Systems” units will focus on Pacific Northwest History and Washington State History. The second trimester we will learn about the Middle Ages and the third trimester we will study the Renaissance. I have arranged for a field trip each month as it relates to your child’s curriculum. These additional enriching educational experiences will help me fulfill my goal of making history come alive for your child.


The study of scientific "Systems" is also a vital part of our Science and Technology curriculum. An exciting component of this theme is our upcoming Olympic Peninsula Institute field trip. This year the O.P.I. field trip will be from Wednesday, October 10th, until Friday, October 12th. Both the Navigators’ and Explorers’ classes will attend. We will have an exceptional 3 day adventure full of learning hands-on science. The focus this year will be on stream studies and the key components to maintain a healthy watershed. Permission slips and additional information will be sent home the first part of September.

The O.P.I. field trip will provide critical hands-on scientific information the Navigators and Explorers need in order to continue our commitment with the Dash Point State Park stream study. Mr. Gonzenbach and I have coordinated our schedules so that we will be able to take our students to the park each Friday. Your child will take water samples in order to monitor the health of the stream and its watershed. Our desire is to tabulate and graph the scientific hands-on chemistry experiments and data. In addition, my desire is for both the Explorers and Navigators to create a field guide in conjunction with the Washington State Park guidelines. I am very excited about our year-long scientific commitment. Last year our inclement weather forced the park service to close Dash Point State Park for a series of months. Even after the park opened in the spring, many of our stream sites were inaccessible for the majority of the school year. I am very excited that the park is now open and that our continuation of the stream study will grow and prosper this year. Please keep in mind that we will need drivers in order to make our weekly Friday stream study field trip happen. If you are available from 12:30 until 2:30 on Fridays, please let either Mr. Gonzenbach or myself know as soon as possible.

Whether it is a field trip away from school grounds or a day of discovering in the classroom, each child's daily Seabury experience is of utmost importance to me. One key component for your child's educational, social, emotional growth and developmental success at school is to keep the lines of communication open. I am a firm believer in active parent/teacher/student communication. My door is always open. So, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me either at school: 253-952-3111, or via my school e-mail: bgseabury@yahoo.com. Please also view my classroom website so that you are kept abreast of the Explorers’ classroom activities. I plan to send home a newsletter every two weeks so those of you who do not have access to a computer will also be kept up to date.

I am looking forward to seeing your exceptional Explorer on the first day of school, Tuesday, September 4th. I start class promptly at 8:15. This will be a wonderful year in the life of your child. I intend to make it the most positive year of your child's educational experience. Thank you for allowing me the privilege of teaching your child this year.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

All my best,


Betsy Gellert
Explorers’ Teacher



EXPLORERS’ SUPPLY LIST

EXPLORERS’ SUPPLY LIST

· One 3 ring, 2” binder. (If your binder comes with subject dividers, then please disregard the next item).

· Subject dividers for your binder.

· 1 designated homework folder with pockets (Pee Chee type folder)

· 4 folders with pockets (Pee Chee type)

· 1 package wide-tipped water soluble markers (12 count)

· 1 box colored pencils (12 or more colors)

· 1 small bottle of hand sanitizer


Please put your child’s name on these supplies and bring them on the first day of school.

All additional school supplies will be provided by Seabury.