“Hey, Hey, we’re here to say hello and good luck! We’re here to cheer for the Knights new teachers. The black and silver! We welcome you to Kingsland. And wish you the best!”
New hires at Kingsland Public Schools include 5th grade teacher, Theodore Haddad and choir/music teacher Jonathan Miller.
Haddad graduated from Caledonia High School and earned is undergraduate degree at St. Mary’s University.
Haddad taught briefly at a private school in Rochester and worked as a substitute teacher, but this is his first year teaching full-time in a public school.
So why Kingsland? “I live in Spring Valley with my wife and three kids and want to teach close to home. I also strongly agree with the school’s educational philosophy and have always been impressed with the teachers and administration when I substitute taught here in the past,” explained Haddad.
Haddad shared his teaching philosophy. “This year, it is challenging to implement my educational philosophy, but I believe in problem-solving/inquiry-based learning with a cooperative and collaborative approach. I also like to use classroom discussions to bring multiple perspectives into the subject matter.”
How has COVID-19 impacted your classroom management style? It is hard to summarize the impact that COVID-19 has had this early in the year. We are currently in a hybrid-learning model with some students doing full distance learning. As educators, and as a district, we have been applying our creative problem-solving skills and providing the best learning environment that we possibly can.
First year teacher Jonathan Miller is welcomed to Kingsland as the new choir/music teacher!
Miller has a range of classes he teaches from kindergarten and 3rd-5th grade general music plus Junior and Senior High Choir.
Miller graduated high school from Buffalo High School in Buffalo, Minn. He completed his undergraduate degree in Music Education at the University of Northwestern-St. Paul. Outside of University placements and student teaching, Miller has no professional experience as he just graduated college.
Miller accepted the job at Kingsland for multiple reasons. “I decided to move here because of the staff I had met through the interview process. Joshua Hogberg, the band director at Kingsland Public Schools, met with me at a music teacher’s conference in February, asking if I would be interested in a job in Spring Valley. Josh himself is an alumnus of the University of Northwestern-St. Paul, so he inquired some of his past professors for a new grad that would be willing to work at Kingsland. We met, and I immediately felt drawn to the school district. After interviewing, I felt a strong calling towards the area. A second reason I am working at Kingsland is because of the range of classes I teach. Coming out of college, it is rare to say I taught all three levels of music – elementary, junior high, and senior high. It seemed like a great place to continue developing my personal teaching styles and philosophy of music and to teach students who love music.”
What is your teaching philosophy? “My philosophy of teaching is each student that comes into my room is important. They all have a different story and reason for the way they are who they are. My job as an educator is to create a safe space that is tailored towards the individual learner. At the same time, I need to create an environment of learning for music. My goal is to create a safe place where every student feels like they are supported in their learning. Most importantly, as long as the students are improving themselves, I am satisfied.”
“COVID has impacted my classroom in many ways. The most significant changes have been social distancing with the choirs. We have had choir in the cafeteria and the choir room. The choir is already split in half because of the hybrid version of learning (half the students every other day). So we can only have a little over 30 students in the choir room at one time. Another significant change has been the masks. When we are singing, we have to keep masks on unless we are 12 feet apart from each other. The only way we can do that is if we hold choir rehearsal outside. The distancing and masks are tough to maneuver around, but we have found ways to continue to sing together!” shared Miller.
Message to the new teachers. The community is here to assist and support you. If you need anything, anything at all, do not hesitate to reach out and ask. Welcome!
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