Mr. Almekinder

Welcome to 3rd Grade and the 2022-23 school year! I am excited for the opportunity to work and learn with you back in Naples. I hope you are ready to learn, grow, question, and explore each day too.

We learn by doing. Central to our classroom is that students will be actively engaged in learning. Learning is not a passive activity and success is tied directly to the amount of effort put into the process. I work daily to encourage this ‘growth mindset’ in each student. Learning how to learn is as important as what we learn. Learning the content of the curriculum is important, but there are also many ‘soft skills’ such as communication, working together, independence, asking questions, building understanding and empathy that will also be aspects of our day to day activity.

I strive to build and maintain a positive, challenging, and safe learning environment. A positive and safe learning environment encourages students to take risks and to challenge themselves. Taking risks and challenges also means there will be failures and difficulties along the way. Learning to deal with adversity and perseverance are building blocks of success.

Our learning environment will not be confined to the four walls of our classroom this year. Place based learning will be a frequent part of our routine and take us out into our community and surrounding environment. Our schedule has been designed to allow for “Forest Fridays.” An outdoor experience may be as simple as doing our math lesson in the courtyard or as involved as hiking the Finger Lakes Trail. Outdoor learning has many benefits. We are fortunate to be able to live and learn in Naples.

‘Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.’ Gary Snyder

Why Kids Need to Spend Time Outside from Childmind.org