Welcome!

Dear SPARK Families,

Welcome to a new year! I am thrilled to have the opportunity to serve your child in the SPARK program. This will be my second year teaching SPARK and my 11th year teaching in the district. I am originally from the midwest where I received my B.A. from the University of Missouri. I moved to South Carolina in 2008, attending graduate school and receiving my MAT from Columbia International University. I love being in the classroom, doing craft projects, and relaxing at home with my husband and two sons.

SPARK is a program for students that have shown potential for rigorous work through aptitude or achievement test scores. The priority of SPARK is to meet that need in a direct way. Our mission is to provide students with experiences and foundational skills necessary to pursue knowledge, develop character, and strengthen personal motivation in order to engage and persist in more rigorous academic challenges.

I am looking forward to sharing an incredible curriculum with your child. This year students will be focusing on the 6 C’s of the 21st Century Learner. These skills, Collaboration, Communication, Content, Critical Thinking, Creative Innovation, and Confidence, are the basis from which we have built the SPARK program. Everything we do can find its foundations in building these abilities in our students. We will also be utilizing the Jacob’s Ladder reading curriculum, do an integrated thematic unit researching medieval times and the game of chess, and building strategies for problem solving and logical reasoning in mathematics. Students will also participate in targeted projects and activities to help build a growth mindset.

Communication is the key to a successful year. Each student will be given a take home folder as one way to keep information organized. Any notes, papers, and assignments will be placed in the folder. Please take the time to check your child’s SPARK folder each week and use it to return any correspondence. I will also keep families informed by the use of a classroom blog that you may check for a glance at what we have been up to in class. You can find the link to your child’s day of instruction at https://rtespark.blogspot.com/.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or email me. Email is usually the best form of communication. My address is jhoft@richland2.org. I look forward to getting to know you and your child as we work together to make this a great year in SPARK!

Mrs. Jessie Hoft
Gifted Specialist