Welcome to 5th Grade at NCSA!
Gary has been teaching 5th Grade at NCSA since 1999. He attended college at the University of California at Santa Barbara, receiving there a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology, and a master’s in Comparative Religion. Gary began his teaching career in Mountain View, CA, where he taught for nine years before moving to Grass Valley with his wife and daughter. His daughter graduated from NCSA in 2011. Early on he developed a passion for mountains and wilderness, backpacking the John Muir trail at the age of 13, and eventually trekking in the Alps and Himalayas. Gary has lived for three years in Europe, traveling extensively and residing for periods in Austria and England. He is known to speak bits of German, French, Greek and Sanskrit. Artistically, Gary loves to write nature poetry and sketch from life in the outdoors. Botany and birding is also a passion as is back country skiing and kayaking. Musically, he plays guitar, soprano and tenor recorder, and the high and low whistle. Teaching at NCSA gives him the chance to bring art, music and nature together every day and be inspired by the joy and enthusiasm of children.
5th Grade is a year of exploration, completion and transformation.
Welcome Letter | Download
School Supply List | Download
Thematically, we make a number of historical and cultural ‘journeys’ through the course of the year — as Americans coming together from diverse backgrounds on the eve of Revolution, as visitors to Ancient India and Classical Greece. Our Science focus is the study of water and watersheds as part of a larger watershed study spanning the 3rd through 5th grades. Integrating all of this is a series of exciting field trips and events that make learning memorable and alive.
Throughout the year, students continue to build habits of mind and patterns of learning that build community in the classroom and prepare them for the middle grades. They also develop a special buddy relationship with the 1st Grade. Academically, they work to deepen their love of reading, master fundamental math skills and become more proficient writers. Inspiring all of this are the Arts — the singing that fills our days, the visual art that fills our nature journals and brings our historical explorations alive, the folk dancing and the drama.
Some highlights of the year —
- Climate and Weather
- Astronomy
- Chemistry
- Forest Ecology
- Birds
- Early America
- Ancient India
- Classical Greece
- Sierra Buttes Climb
- Crocker Art Museum
- Winter Revels
- Stories from Williamsburg
- Snowshoeing and Snow Study
- Greek Play
- Greek Pentathlon
- Sierra Summits Overnight
So, welcome once again, to a rich and trans formative year. I love being with these students transitioning from childhood into adolescence, with their energy for new things and their expanding hearts and minds.