August 2022
Dear 4th Graders and Families,
My name is Mr. Bruff and I’m looking forward to being your 4th grade teacher! This will be my ninth year at the Bowman School and I am so eager to have a great year. Being a part of the Bowman community I have seen what students are able to achieve when they learn in a safe environment. That will be a priority this school year. I will also encourage every student to push themselves to the top of their academic comfort zone and try something new.
About Me
As a child, I grew up in Connecticut with an older brother and a younger sister. My mother and father always encouraged me to try my best at everything I did. So my mantra has always been, "Try your best." I have also loved helping people learn. Whether that was helping someone learn a new sport, a new skill or a new way to think, so becoming a teacher just made sense. After all, now I get to help students learn all day long!
This year I will be entering my 10th year of teaching. I earned my undergraduate degree from the University of Maine. Many of the stories that I tell in class come from learning lessons while I played basketball in college. After graduating from college I worked for a brief time in sales. I went back to college after 3 years to get my masters degree in elementary education. I attended Lesley University and student taught in the Needham Public Schools.
After graduating from Lesley, I taught Writing in the Randolph Public Schools for 2 years. I had the opportunity to teach whole class lessons to students in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 each day. Although I enjoyed teaching writing everyday to a wide range of students, I yearned to have my own classroom where I could teach one group of students all of the core subjects. That led me to teaching the 4th grade at the Bowman School in Lexington.
Goals
In class I plan to push every student to stretch their academic and personal potential. That will happen in a safe environment where students can take academic risks. When every student feels comfortable to share their thoughts and opinions, they will be able to take risks. When you are able to take risks to push your potential, you will grow. If you're wondering how am I going to make student want to push themselves to reach the potential, I'll tell you. In class we will have a "Growth Mindset" which means through hard work every student can achieve their goal.
It is also very important to me that every student has fun. When I was in school I thought school was the greatest place to be. After all, that's where my friends were, the teachers I had left an impression on me and as I mentioned before, I enjoyed learning. As a teacher, I hope to have all my students enthusiastic and passionate about what they are learning.
Sincerely,
Chris Bruff
Dear 4th Graders and Families,
My name is Mr. Bruff and I’m looking forward to being your 4th grade teacher! This will be my ninth year at the Bowman School and I am so eager to have a great year. Being a part of the Bowman community I have seen what students are able to achieve when they learn in a safe environment. That will be a priority this school year. I will also encourage every student to push themselves to the top of their academic comfort zone and try something new.
About Me
As a child, I grew up in Connecticut with an older brother and a younger sister. My mother and father always encouraged me to try my best at everything I did. So my mantra has always been, "Try your best." I have also loved helping people learn. Whether that was helping someone learn a new sport, a new skill or a new way to think, so becoming a teacher just made sense. After all, now I get to help students learn all day long!
This year I will be entering my 10th year of teaching. I earned my undergraduate degree from the University of Maine. Many of the stories that I tell in class come from learning lessons while I played basketball in college. After graduating from college I worked for a brief time in sales. I went back to college after 3 years to get my masters degree in elementary education. I attended Lesley University and student taught in the Needham Public Schools.
After graduating from Lesley, I taught Writing in the Randolph Public Schools for 2 years. I had the opportunity to teach whole class lessons to students in grades 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 each day. Although I enjoyed teaching writing everyday to a wide range of students, I yearned to have my own classroom where I could teach one group of students all of the core subjects. That led me to teaching the 4th grade at the Bowman School in Lexington.
Goals
In class I plan to push every student to stretch their academic and personal potential. That will happen in a safe environment where students can take academic risks. When every student feels comfortable to share their thoughts and opinions, they will be able to take risks. When you are able to take risks to push your potential, you will grow. If you're wondering how am I going to make student want to push themselves to reach the potential, I'll tell you. In class we will have a "Growth Mindset" which means through hard work every student can achieve their goal.
It is also very important to me that every student has fun. When I was in school I thought school was the greatest place to be. After all, that's where my friends were, the teachers I had left an impression on me and as I mentioned before, I enjoyed learning. As a teacher, I hope to have all my students enthusiastic and passionate about what they are learning.
Sincerely,
Chris Bruff