Miss B buzzing with plans for second grade

SEELEY LAKE – Primarily inspired by the modeling of her then teacher Mrs. Roach, Rachel Bemis decided in second grade that she wanted to be a teacher when she grew up. She never wavered from that career decision. She received her teaching certificate, taught for four years in Missoula, and has now taken the position of second-grade teacher at Seeley Lake Elementary.

Because Bemis did her student teaching in the second grade, she said returning to that level "felt like a really good fit. Kind of like coming home."

Bemis will be SLE's second second-grade teacher. With the unusually large number of 20 students enrolling in that grade for the 2018-19 school year, the decision was made to split the class. The division was based on the student's academic, social and behavioral needs.

Bemis said, "Of course I have a ton of fun activities and a ton of learning [goals] but we're really focused on a lot on social needs at this point with this group. Based on their history and their needs, we're focusing on structure in the classroom, on being consistent with procedures and expectations. We're working on being a community, which is huge for them – learning how to be friends and learning to share and how to explore together and work together."

The two second-grade classrooms are right across the hall from each other and both sets of students have recess, lunch, Physical Education and Outdoor Education together, so they have ample opportunity to interact with their other classmates.

Though Bemis thinks of herself as an "outdoor educator" in the sense of teaching about plants and animals, taking nature hikes and exploring outside with her students, she said the formal Outdoor Education component which is an official part of the SLE curriculum at all grade levels is new for her. She said she is excited to participate in it and anticipates it will be a great learning opportunity for her students.

Bemis said she considers one of her biggest strengths as an educator is her willingness and ability to plan field trips and bring guests into the classroom. She feels that such outings and the inclusion of resident experts bring additional and unique sources of knowledge to her students.

Bemis gave one example: "I go by Miss B," she said. "And I have really embraced the bee theme. I have a friend who is a bee expert from the university and once we are ready for guests in our classroom, she'll be working with me on a whole bee unit with the kids."

Another strength Bemis points to is that she considers herself a great communicator. She said, "I'm really excited to get to know parents and I welcome involvement. I hope everyone feels comfortable with me and feels free to come [discuss any concerns] with me."

She added, "I love the idea of not only being able to know the families of the kids in my class, but also knowing the kids in the whole school. That's one of the biggest things that appealed to me [about SLE], staying within that small community and building those connections."