January 27, 2005

Teacher of the Month Ms. Jonas poses with Sammi Mielke, the fifth grader who nominated her with an essay to the Almaden Times Weekly.

Teacher of the Month: Ms. Jonas
Simonds Elementary School, fifth grade

By Justin Petersen
Staff Writer

Simonds Elementary School teacher Robi Jonas has been selected as January’s teacher of the month, based mainly on her contagious enthusiasm for fifth-grade curriculum.

“She’s great,” said 11-year-old Sammi Mielke, who nominated Jonas with an essay submitted prior to Christmas. “She is very enthusiastic about everything she does and has a funky personality. She gets excited over the little things and stuff I wouldn’t normally get excited about.”

According to Jonas, the energy detected by Mielke, is a result of the teacher’s desire not to repeat her own fifth grade experience.

“You always hear about the teacher that changed lives,” explained Jonas. “But I never had that teacher who was a spark in my life. I found more often than not, that teachers focused on the negative aspects in my development. My goal is to find what is positive with the kids and focus on that.”

“Robi puts a tremendous amount of time working with students at the recess and lunchtime hours to help them master the concepts she is teaching,” commented Simonds Principal Linda Kakes. “She desperately wants every student to succeed.”

One portion of Jonas’s method implements a unique reward system, “Go for the Gold,” designed to encourage positive strides taken by students. The practice singles out kids who follow directions properly as opposed to those who don’t.

In years past, teachers scribbled the names of rabble-rousers on the blackboard for the entire class to witness. It is her opinion that there is more to gain by highlighting the good deeds students perform, rather than the immature rumblings tested by the exception. On Ms. Jonas’ watch, students receive recognition for demonstrating citizenship in the classroom and on the playground, succeeding in academics and extending complements to their fellow students. Space on the chalkboard is reserved for the most well behaved students who make an effort to get along, in addition to fulfilling their responsibilities in academics.

“Everybody wins when you are focusing on the positive,” said Jonas. “We all love positive strokes.”

Students are summoned to “Go for the Gold” when Jonas perceives extraordinary effort. Awards—tangible and intangible—are issued based on the number of “Golds” accrued by a child.

Language arts and social studies are Jonas’ forte in academics.

“Writing is my favorite subject, despite the fact that it is probably the kids’ least favorite,” said Jonas, a San Jose native and 1995 graduate of Presentation High School in Willow Glen. “It’s amazing to see students progress from beginning to end.”

She also serves as the liaison between Simonds and the Language Arts Task Force at the San Jose Unified School District.

“In that capacity,” said Kakes, “she really improves writing instruction for all of the staff.”

Jonas feels that the most difficult barrier for students to overcome in learning is to sit down and write and not feel overwhelmed.

“I just try to encourage them and let them know that they can become good writers,” said Jonas. “Not only is it a great creative outlet, but writing well will lead you to bigger, better opportunities in life. It opens doors.”

Students love to hear the expressive teacher bring a story to life. Following lunch, the third-year teacher gathers students to read stories together. Most recently, the class finished Kate DiCamillo’s “Tale of Despero.”

“It was the best book that I ever read,” said Mielke.

“Reading together is a great way to wind down at the end of the day,” said Jonas. “And the kids love it. It helps get their imagination going and helps their writing.”

In addition, students are exposed to new vocabulary.

When asked how the teacher of the month prize might affect her career, Jonas responded, laughing, “I’m really not sure!”

“I am definitely flattered for now. I’m not really the type of person to bring that sort of thing up to anybody and I feel so lucky to be here at Simonds right now. I have a really good group of kids that all care for one another, and the staff is tremendously supportive. I guess I was just in the right place at the right time to get hired at Simonds.”

As for Mielke, the same writing skills developed in class caught the attention of the Almaden Times Weekly staff and touched the heart of mentor Jonas.

“I think it is such a delight that Sammi would take the time to say such nice things about me,” said Jonas. “She’s a great kid.”

To nominate your teacher for Almaden Times’ Teacher of the Month, write approximately 200 words describing why you think your teacher deserves the honor and e-mail it to newsroom@timesmediainc.com Include your name, address, phone number, school, grade and the school and grade where the teacher works.

ESSAY:

Ms. Jonas
by Sammi Mielke

My name is Sammi Mielke and I am a fifth grader at Simonds Elementary. I just wanted to tell you about the best teacher on earth—my teacher, Ms. Jonas! She is the nicest, most wonderful teacher in the world!

She is a great teacher for many reasons. If we are really good, and we have time, we read books together out loud in class. For example, one book we have read is The Tale of Despero. During the fall Walk-A-Thon, Ms. Jonas was there in the hot sun, cheering kids on. Then at our Halloween parade, she and another teacher made costumes and dressed up as two peas in a pod. They were so cute!

Ms. Jonas is also very supportive. When I was having trouble with another child in our class, she helped to solve the problem. She is always quick to give compliments when we are doing good work and is very patient when we have questions.

I feel very lucky that I get to have Ms. Jonas as my teacher. She taught third grade before this year and I am very glad the school picked her to move to fifth grade. I hope everybody gets to have a good teacher like Ms. Jonas!