Gilpin Elementary Student of the Week

Lisa kunz

05/22/2008 - This week’s featured student from Gilpin Elementary is Jenna Berglund, age 8. Jenna is in the second grade Montessori class with teacher, Patty Aamot. Her teacher nominated Jenna because she “has a hard work ethic and is motivated in school.” She also said that Miss Berglund was a great help to the first graders in the classroom. As is the custom in Montessori based classrooms, the younger students are helped and mentored by the older students. In this specific classroom, there are children from first through third grade. They have more of a “hands-on” learning environment with less textbook work than traditional classes. The whole classroom has more of an interactive learning environment. While having to meet the usual state guidelines for learning, the Montessori program at Gilpin affords the children a chance to learn at the specific child’s own pace with the Montessori curriculum.

  Being the middle child of three, Jenna has had plenty of experience both mentoring and being mentored. She plays the guitar and takes private lessons in Nederland. While not in school or music lessons she enjoys the outdoors and loves jumping on her trampoline. During school she loves math, stating that she likes addition, subtraction, multiplication and division. She proudly proclaimed that she knew what 12 divided by two was - six she answered with a smile of a young girl triumphant in her newfound knowledge of math. Nice job Jenna - work on that division this summer and you will be ready for the hard math in third grade!