Email Beth Emmrich or email her at 262-677-9196 x108.

“As an educator of future generations, I can’t equip children with any tool more useful and precious than God’s Word. Although the trends in education will continue to sway back and forth over the years, God’s Word will always remain constant and it will always accomplish that which God chooses. ‘(My Word) will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.’’” Isaiah 55:11 (NIV) – Beth Emmrich

Beth currently serves as Morning Star’s first grade teacher and extended education coordinator. She is a committee member of the school’s parent group.

Beth earned her Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education degree with a minor in English from Martin Luther College. She keeps current with new education trends and new technology by attending workshops. She earned certification for GPI (General Processing Inventory), a test to identify processing errors. She is certified to administer and score the test as well as give a comprehensive written report with directives to compensate identified errors. Beth is certified to instruct the program called “Great Books,” a program geared toward stimulating the gifted through higher level questioning using selections from the “Great Books” literature lists. She has taken the introductory (level 1) and the intermediate (level 2) Smart Board (interactive whiteboard) classes to broaden instruction in the classroom.

Beth began teaching at Morning Star in 1998, but has taught for over 30 years in either a full time or part time position. Throughout those years she has taught students in grades K-8, as well as worked as an ESL (English as a second language) aide and a reading instructor’s aide. During her years of teaching, she has had the privilege of supervising five student teachers through the education program at Martin Luther College.

Here is a little of what your child has to look forward to in our 1st grade classroom. Research tells us that we should use as many of our senses as we can when we are learning. In so doing, we will better be able to recall and apply what we have been taught. This is especially true at the first grade level because children at this age have a very short attention span. It is also very important that the children are actively involved in their education.

In first grade at Morning Star, our math and science texts are both online. When we combine the online text with instruction on our interactive white board, your child receives not only awesome ‘visual’ and ‘auditory’ (this board can talk to us) instruction but also a truly ‘hands on’ experience. We use the white board for instruction for every class and nearly every lesson throughout day. The children quickly learn to manipulative the board through touch.

Our reading program is called SRA Open Court Reading. This program uses a very phonetic approach to teaching reading. Your child will learn _______ sound/spellings with which to decode and spell words. Each of these sound/spellings has a story to help your child remember its sound and a card to show the spelling which hangs in the classrooms through 4th grade. They will also use the ----- high frequency words (sight words) that are used throughout the nation for reading and writing. These words are also hung in the classroom on our word wall.

The program also identifies and models the elements of reading through the use of ‘big’ books. These ‘big’ books are read aloud and during literature time those elements of reading are modeled and discussed.

We have a teddy bear hamster as a class pet, a huge classroom library from which your child may borrow books, 4 computers for student use in the classroom, and several learning centers at which your child may work throughout the day.

Much of what we learn is also taught through songs that help us remember. The most important thing is that your child will be guided by God’s Word throughout the day. God commands us to “Train a child in the way he should go,” (God promises us…) “and when he is old he will not turn from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NIV)