I am excited to meet you all! Fourth grade is full of so much learning, growth and fun. I invite you to embrace this year with open arms and open minds.

I will send most communication via Parent Square. Please make sure your account is activated there.

All Assignments will be posted in Google Classroom. Your child needs to log in with his/her SCUSD account in order to access the classroom.

Our Google Classroom

For the most up-to-date information from the district, please continue to check its website at www.santaclarausd.org. You can find information about our school on the Home page of this website.

Room 15 Mission Statement

Room 15 is a community of respectful learners, where:

MRS. CHANG will:

- Promote excellence and respect at all times.

- Support and cultivate each student's unique talents, interests, strengths, and personalities.

- Empower students to persevere in inquiry, critical thinking, and accountability.

- Teach the fourth grade standards in creative and engaging ways.

STUDENTS are:

- Lifelong learners, taking ownership in and embracing their own education and goals with their best effort.

- Kind, responsible, and respectful citizens who work as a team with one another.

- Explorers, creative thinkers, and problem solvers

About your teacher

My name is Kristy Chang, but a small handful of you may remember my maiden name as Ms. Takei. This is my 19th year of teaching, and my 18th here at Laurelwood. I am excited for the new school year! We have lots of learning fun in store!

My favorite thing about teaching is and has always been my wonderful students. I also love the curriculum for fourth grade, which is why I haven't changed grade levels for most of my career of teaching. I taught my first year at Montague Elementary in third grade.

I spend a lot of time in the classroom, but also enjoy my time outside of the classroom as well. My husband (Mr. Charlie) and I have a 7-year-old son named Matthew, and a 5-year-old son named Timothy. They are so fun and will both be at Laurelwood this year. I am also a Laurelwood parent with you! I also enjoy traveling, spending time with family and friends, cooking, baking, hiking, reading, sewing, crafting, volunteering, organizing, LEARNING and LAUGHING.

I love all children, and have a particular interest in finding ways to mobilize my students to help others and care for our planet. I have spent significant amounts of time in Kenya and Brazil with children living on streets or in orphanages, and I currently am sponsoring my third girl living in Kenya. The injustices of our world are many, but in the classroom, I focus on instilling gratitude for all that we have, and a spark of perspective for what is going on around the world. In October, I lead a school-wide campaign to fundraise for children through an organization called UNICEF.

My second passion (the children in my classroom and family and our world are always first) is helping us all to GO GREEN! I led the Green team at Laurelwood for the past few years, and it is also important for me to live and teach ways to better take care of our Earth. I again focus on being thankful for the resources that we have, and then go further to take care of these resources well. We will be organizing recycle weeks, walking or biking to school, and promoting less garbage on campus.

If you are interested in my background, I grew up in the East Bay, in a city called Richmond, about an hour north of Santa Clara. My parents still live there, and will likely visit the classroom at least once this year. My mom worked with computers in a law firm, and my dad managed all of the parks in the East Bay, likely the reason why I love the green team so much. They both retired last year and are so helpful with my little boys! I grew up in a close community like Laurelwood, which is why I feel so much at home here. I have one younger brother who also lives in Santa Clara, about six minutes away from my home. My sons absolutely adore him, his wife, and their two boys. I received my undergraduate degree in Sociology and Education at the University of California at Berkeley (Go Bears!) and then received my Master's degree and Elementary Education Teaching Credential at San Jose State University. I did my student teaching in Santa Clara, and stayed in this district ever since then!

I am excited to learn about each one of our students, and families. It will be a great year!