Dear Parents and Students,
This is my 27th year as an educator and my 21st year at Cross MS, where I am very proud to teach. I graduated in 1985 from Ohio State University (yes, I love my football even though this will be a tough season for me) with a BS degree in Elementary Education with a minor in general science. I returned to school at the University of Arizona in the Biology masters program for secondary teachers in 1993 and graduated with a MS in Biology in 1999. I have teaching experience with students pre-school age up through adult education and I am both highly qualified and appropriately certified to teach middle school science, which are two terms used to describe teacher qualifications under the No Child Left Behind Law. In November of 2009, I became a National Board Certified Teacher, the first Amphi science teacher at the middle school level to do so. I am also the Science Department Chair and organize the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI) trip for our 7th & 8th grade students.
My husband John and I have four awesome children. Two are sophomores in college (U of A and NAU) and two attend CDO. Our Beagle "Sally Ride" and our yellow lab "Sage" round out the family. I spend much of my time outside of school hiking, reading, practicing yoga and traveling/exploring other places.
I love teaching kids and am constantly learning about effective ways for middle school students to learn about science. Thus, doing science (called Inquiry-based learning) is the best way to learn about science. Students construct their own conceptual learning in my classroom, so that what they read about (science content) is always reinforcing what they have already actually done, or had modeled for them. Students gain a very solid understanding of concepts by having me summarize what they are learning, rather than by me telling them what they should know.
The rigorous homework assignments I give ask students to either prepare for the next day's lesson by reading a presentation and taking notes or to reflect on their learning and understanding, serving to solidify their knowledge about science. This metacognition is very important for students to remember and build upon what they have learned as they progress through high school and beyond.
I look forward to meeting my students on the first day of school and to meeting parents at open house on Thursday, August 25th from 5:30 PM to 8:00 PM.
Fondly,
Mrs. Fife
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