Welcome to Grade 6/7

                                                                                                       September 3, 2013
Welcome back

 It’s hard to believe were back for another school year! I feel like I was just saying good bye to my previous students. I have been teaching for six years, that thought in itself is scary. When presented with the opportunity to teach at the intermediate level, I jumped on it. I mean I’m still just a big kid at heart.  Having taught most of you already, I am ready to further our relationship and continue to lead you on your learning journey. Although I must admit I didn’t even acknowledge the word “teaching” over the summer, I am now ready and determined to making this year great. We will make mistakes together. Mistakes are a part of life. I love making mistakes. It’s what we learn from our mistakes that is the important thing. A colleague once told me I don’t want my students to achieve good grades, I want them to IMPROVE! Welcome to grade 6/7.

 Since I am going to be learning so much about you, I thought that it would be only fair to share some information about myself. I was born in Woodstock, which is about 30 minutes east of London. At a very early age I moved to a rural town called Princeton. As crazy as this sounds, there are more students in this school then people residing in that miniscule municipality. The public school that I attended was located in the middle of the town. It looked vastly different from Highview. There was one hallway in the school and a gym that was so small the NBA three point line would have been one half of the gym. Although it was a tiny school, I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and I have very fond memories of my fellow classmates and teachers. In grade 9, my parents decided to move back to Woodstock so that our house would be closer to Huron Park Secondary School, the High school I spent five years at. Have you lived anywhere else other than Aurora? Where could you see yourself living in the future?

 After five years of high school (Yes, I went to grade 13 which was called OAC), I was faced with one of the hardest decisions of my young life; where would I attend University? My options were Western or Brock. I chose Brock University and I still believe today, that was the best decision I ever made in my life. Not only did I meet my future wife there, I met a bunch of friends that I’m still very close with to this day. After receiving an Honours Bachelor of Physical Education, I decided that I was going to travel across the globe and pursue my Masters of Education in the land down under “AUSTRALIA”. After studying abroad, I completed my practise teaching in Ontario and applied for a position at the York Region District School Board. I was very fortunate to become a teacher at Highview in 2007 and have been happy ever since. Have you given any thought to your future career path?

For most of my life I have been involved in sports in one form or another. My wife Ashlee says that I’m sports obsessed. It is true that the first thing I do in the morning is turn on the television and watch Sports Center. It is also true that I am known to sit on the couch and watch countless hours of sports. Sitting in my comfortable nest chair, it is very common for me to be surrounded by my iPhone, iPad, and sometimes even my computer as my eyes are glued to the big game. As a child, I played numerous sports including rep hockey, baseball, basketball, golf, soccer and even karate for a couple of years. To be honest, I played almost every sport growing up in some facet or another. Now in my older age, I play about 40 rounds of golf in a summer. It is one of those games that can be so frustrating but at the same time can be so rewarding when you hit a good shot. For those wondering, yes I have scored a hole in one. The hole was number eight at Tangle Creek, and it was playing 177 yards with the wind at my back. I will never forget that day when that little white ball went rolling onto the green and in the cup. What do you like to do in your spare time?

Another activity you may be surprised that I love to do is read. In my opinion, reading is much more then novels. I like to read internet articles on my iPad, magazines, and newspapers. This summer I read a book called “Boys in the Boat”. This book was about nine university of Washington students who overcame many obstacles to win the gold medal in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin, Germany. Currently I’m reading "Steve Jobs" biography by Walter Isaacson. Have you read any good books lately? Did anything you read really make you think or wonder about something?

Usually our weekend adventures took us to one of two places. Ashlee’s parents have a cottage in Huntsville on Lake Oxbow (Camp Olympia is located on this lake) and my parents have a trailer and boat on Lake Scugog in Port Perry. I love to fish at both locations and wakeboard! Unfortunately this summer, while wakeboarding, I injured my already metal plated shoulder, landing awkwardly on it. I'm still recovering! In my old age, my body doesn't recover like it use to. The most exhilarating week of the summer was our trip to Punta Cana. The turquoise water, white sand, and steamy hot temperatures made this location so memorable. It was a week I will never forget. What did you do over the summer? 

We are all now back for another school year. Work hard, get involved, and have fun! I’m looking forward to spending around 200 days with you.

                                                                     Sincerely B. Kaufman