Mr. Martin

Hello families, my name is Mr. Martin and I'm thrilled to be your child's first grade teacher! Our awesome classroom assistant is Ms. Butler and she's been here at West Buncombe for 18 years. This is my 17th year teaching at West Buncombe Elementary School. I graduated from Francis Marion University with my teaching degree back in 2002. I became a teacher because I've always connected with kids. One of my first jobs in high school was working at the YMCA after school program. I also have two brother-in-laws that are teachers. I am married and have 3 amazing kids (14, 10 and 7). All 3 of my children are products of WBES! Some of my hobbies include playing soccer, music and hiking.

You will be amazed how much your child grows this year! This is my 9th year teaching first grade and it still amazes me how much the kids grow. Comparing their handwriting from beginning of the year to the end of year always blows me away, and it will blow you away too!! As far as math goes, we call the number 10 our magic number. The faster your child masters his or her combintations of 10, the easier first grade math will be! As far as reading goes, I cannot express enough, the importance of your child reading out loud to an adult each and every night! Your child will always have a nightly reading passage to read for homework. In addition, we have some great public libraries in town and that is a great way to get kids excited about books! Let them pick out books on topics they are interested in and try to build up reading as a cool thing to do! We want your child reading fluently and comprehending what they read by the end of first grade!

If you ever need anything or have questions or concerns, please reach out to us. You can always send us a note or give us a call here at school (828-232-4282). As far as communication goes, we will be using Seesaw and Remind. If you have not accepted the invitation from Seesaw yet, please do so. I look forward to working with you to ensure your child is successful and reaches his or her full potential in first grade.

Sincerely,

Mr. Martin