Welcome Letter

December 24, 2020

Hello Parents / Guardians!

First, let me state that I hope all of your odysseys and adventures have gone well. My name is Gregory Lenon and I will be your students’ new STEAM teacher. I have an M.A. in English Literature, teaching credentials in Elementary Education, Special Education, Secondary Education: English, and a Middle Grades Endorsement. This is my eighth year teaching in Payson. I have a passion for STEAM, and I hope to impart the same upon your child.

My teaching style leans heavily on Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence scale -- I incorporate multiple styles into most lessons. I believe that education can fundamentally change the way a person exists (for the better). To assist in this change, I believe that technology is important; however, I also am a firm proponent of more traditional educational methods. I believe that education takes many forms – not only do students learn subject knowledge in middle school, they also continue to learn how to successfully interact with their peers, how to deal with stressful situations, learn empathy, and begin to internalize information to develop who they will be as adults.

STEAM is an acronym which stands for Science Technology Engineering Art and Mathematics. In essence, STEAM is an educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking. The end results are students who take thoughtful risks, engage in experiential learning, persist in problem-solving, embrace collaboration, and work through the creative process. Rim Country Middle School uses a hands-on approach to solve problems using experimentation, and refinement.

Grading will be simple; your student will have an assigned due date for every assignment -- if they, after two weeks, have not turned in the assignment they will receive 0% on Infinite Campus. In Google Classroom, the assignment will be marked as "missing."

Please feel free to contact me with any questions, or concerns. I can be reached through email at greg.lenon@pusd10.org, or through notes your student can deliver.

Sincerely,

Greg Lenon