Welcome!  I’ve been a Kindergarten or Grade One Teacher since 1998.  I have the honour of introducing the wonderful world of education to our youngest students!  My goal is to show each of my students just how fun learning can be.   I grew up in Burnaby and currently live in Vancouver with my husband and our two cats.

My Vision Statement

I believe that children learn best in a safe, respectful and nurturing environment where challenges are presented, risk taking is encouraged, mistakes are viewed as an opportunity to grow, and accomplishments are celebrated.  A respectful classroom, where each child is valued by the teacher and the other students, provides the safety net children require to stretch the boundaries of their risk taking.

I believe children learn best when they become actively engaged in the pursuit of learning.  By providing them with opportunities to explore, discover, experiment, construct and create, new connections are made with the knowledge, skills, understandings and attitudes they already have.

I believe that collaboration is a powerful learning tool and that strong communication and social skills are necessary to enable collaboration to take place.  Therefore, children should be given many opportunities to practice these skills and reflect on their progress.

I believe that all children are unique and come to school with gifts and talents to be developed.  Each child learns in their own way and individual learning needs can be met by providing opportunities to construct meaning and demonstrate learning in a variety of ways.

I believe that to become life long learners children must be given responsibility for their own behaviour and learning.  Encouragement and support are needed for them to feel the confidence they need to accept that responsibility.

I believe that content must be relevant to children’s lives and that preparing students for the future means developing skills that will enable them to be effective problem solvers, and believe in themselves.  Learning to set realistic, achievable goals is also an important part of preparing for the future.

 I believe that at the end of a school year the children in my class should leave more skilled and knowledgeable, feeling more confident, capable, independent, and appreciative of the value of interdependence.

Contact Information:

Class Phone 604.296.9062 Extension: 101

Email:  Deanne.Lawder@burnabyschools.ca