Teacher Name: Melanie Southard
Position: 6th Grade Teacher
Phone: 907-438-2311 Ext. 2
Email: ghebisen@smcsd.us

Welcome

In our class we work to exemplify the idea that learning is fun.  Our class equation is:  Self Control (Respect + Kindness) = Happiness times Infinity.  Everyone is included and involved in all of our learning activities.  Good questions are as important as good answers.  One of our most exciting activities is Robotics where the students get to build motorized cars, demonstrate pulley systems, use magnets and batteries for power and use mathematical skills for designing.  We are learning how to Code and compete with other schools in Alaska with Prodigy, ranking 1st last month.  The 6th grade reads together, in small groups and independently.  We read fiction and non-fiction and learn how to enjoy both.  Throughout the year, we study Geography and HIstory to understand not only Yup’ik culture but also how other cultures around the world have developed and evolved.  The students not only study English vocabulary, they also teach Ms. Southard Yup’ik vocabulary.  Through Science, we are learning about the Sun, the Solar System and the cycles of water, food, energy and life itself.  The more we learn, the freer and happier we become each day.

My early college education was in Mathematics and Philosophy.  I went further in post-graduate studies in Education as well as Family Counseling, Childhood Development and Psychology.  While continuing my education, I began teaching 4th grade in Brooklyn, NY in 1984.  I have taught 4th through 8th grade in New York, Arizona, Florida and now Alaska.  Traveling has always been an important part of my lifelong educational journey.  Through traveling, reading and listening, I have learned that the world revolves around different perspectives.  Alaska is the 11th state I have lived in and I learn something new here every day.

I love hiking so I spend a lot of time out on the Tundra.  For several years I taught horseback riding and competed in Dressage at the Grand Prix Level.  Skydiving is another hobby of mine and I have 202 skydives.  I have two full bookcases in my home and I read every day.

Teaching at St. Mary’s has been the most rewarding teaching experience of my life.  The students here are the kindest, most eager to learn, most free and most appreciative students I have ever met.  The views here are breathtaking and the community has been very welcoming.