Hello everyone! I am very excited to be joining the Jackson family. I am a graduate of the University of Iowa and will be entering my 9th year in the classroom. I previously taught in North Carolina and Florida. I am enthused to be back in my home state. I am the proud mother of a newborn baby boy Langston. I enjoy spending time with my family and friends. I love watching and cheering on the Iowa Hawkeyes! Looking forward to a great year at Jackson! Go Hawks!

“A person’s a person no matter how small.”
Welcome to our 4th grade class where everyone belongs! In our classroom we will strive to build a community of leaders while celebrating our differences. Using the Growth Mindset model we will use positive thought to cultivate positive results. Students will set individual goals and develop plans to reach those goals. I am committed to highlighting PBIS and rewarding students regularly.
Cooperative learning groups will be the cornerstone of our classroom as we actively engage in hands-on learning experiences. Our classroom will be project based incorporating all of the standards. Oh the places you’ll in 4th grade!

Greetings from Daniel Cubit! To say I am excited to be a part of the Jackson family is an understatement.    I grew up in Oskaloosa (about an hour south of here) and spent my weekends with my father in Des Moines.  I know the Southside pretty well and only occasionally get lost now! I attended the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls and taught one year of fourth grade and four years of third grade at Highland Elementary in Waterloo.  My wife of four years recently received her Masters degree in Public Policy from UNI so we decided to make the move to the Capital City for new opportunities for the both of us.  We have two cats, which my wife lovingly refers to as her “fur children”.  I am a pinball fanatic and love the Chicago Cubs.  My door is always open so stop in and say hello!

My classroom encourages students to understand the practicality of the things they learn.  I do not want students just to read because they were told to.  I want students to discover how reading and help them dig deeper into subjects they love or take wild adventures in both the fiction and nonfiction realm.  I want students to see reading not as a chore but as a chance to learn more about themselves and the world they live in.  The same can be said for math.  My philosophy is that students must truly understand the why as well as the how.  Conceptual understanding is first and foremost!

My classroom is about more than academics.  It is about learning how to be a contributing member of a community.  Very little is more important to me than manners.  I want students to say “thank you” when someone holds the door for them or be the one who holds the door for others.  I also stress the importance of learning from mistakes and winning or losing gracefully.  As adults, we know how important it is to bounce back after we get knocked down and why we should not let ego corrupt us when we are successful.  It takes love and understanding to make it in this world, and we want to instill these characteristics in our Jackson students!

Hello!  My name is Daphne Ingram.  This will be my tenth year teaching in Des Moines.  Nine of those years have been spent teaching 4th grade.   I have a B.A. in Elementary Education with endorsements in  English/language arts, reading, and social studies.  I also have a B.A. in Human Services.  I have three children.  Eli and Elena are in their second year of college, and Isabel is a sophomore in high school.  We live in Ames, and love to follow the Cyclones.  In my free time I enjoy reading, cooking, and attending my kid’s events.

In fourth grade we will develop a classroom community where all students can be successful.  We will spend the majority of our day focused on reading, writing, and math.   We will be using many skills and strategies to become stronger readers.  We will also spend time developing vocabulary and working on our reading fluency.  In writing we will continue to grow as writers.  We will examine examples of good writing, and then use the skills we discover to improve our writing.  In math the main focus is multiplication and division, we will also spend time on other areas such as geometry, measurement, and fractions.  Making sure students know their facts will help them as we move toward more challenging math.  We will explore areas of science through experiments and study the Midwest region and focus specifically on Iowa in social studies.

Welcome to 4th grade, room 1022 with Mrs. Newell!  I have been teaching with DMPS for 10 years.  I have taught 1st grade, 3rd grade, and 4th grade.  I was born in Des Moines and was raised on the Southside where I graduated from Lincoln High School.  I then earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and worked in the business world for several years before earning my Bachelor’s in Elementary Education at Upper Iowa University and pursuing my lifelong dream to teach.  Leaving the business world to become a teacher is the best decision I have ever made.  I love my job!  I have been married for 6 years and I have a 4 year old son named Max, who is the light of my life.   He is constantly entertaining and is the sweetest little boy.  I am so lucky!

In my 4th grade classroom we will spend a majority of our day reading, writing, and doing math.  In reading we will work on fluency and comprehension strategies in whole group and small group instruction, and students will practice these skills during their independent time during literacy stations.  Students will be expected to practice reading at home as part of their homework each week as well.  Students will also have opportunities to work with other students in small groups or in pairs to practice their reading skills and learn from each other.  In writing, students will learn how to be a part of a writing community and they will learn how to listen to good writing, get ideas from others, add to their own writing, and edit their writing before writing a final copy.   In math we will be learning about place value, multiplication and division, fractions, time, measurement, and geometry.  We will also do a lot of problem solving (CGI).  Homework will be handed out each Monday and will be due on the following Monday.  If you ever have any questions about homework, curriculum, or how your child is doing in class, please email or call me.  I look forward to working with you this year!