Dear parents, families, and students,

Welcome to sixth grade! I hope you and your family had a wonderful summer and are eager to begin a new school year. 

To share a little about myself, I grew up in Newark, east of New Albany. I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Middle-Childhood Education in 2009 at The Ohio State University, and a Masters of Education from OSU in 2011. Teachers are fascinating creatures who obsessively never stop learning, exploring, and dreaming, though! I’ve enjoyed countless workshops, classes, conventions, community outreaches, and more over the years and have gained so much from listening and sharing with my incredible colleagues.  

This is my fourth year teaching 6th graders, and tenth year overall. Previously, I taught 4th graders across all subjects. This is my third also serving as a Technology Coach assisting students and colleagues. 

When I’m not teaching, you’ll find me doing pretty typical “non-teacher” things with my family and friends. Mrs. Maccombs and I love sightseeing and have been known to take some pretty epic road trips during our summers to visit new cities and hike as many National Parks as possible. Yosemite, Acadia, the Redwoods, and Mt Rainier are a few of my favorites so far! We love to spoil our 2 year old doodle, “June”. I also enjoy running, finding new and fun spots to dine around Columbus, cooking, reading, binge watching Survivor this summer, playing guitar, hiking, and mountain biking. This summer Mrs. Maccombs and I kept busy building a our new house near Bevelheymer Park, and just recently moved in.

I couldn't be more thrilled to work with your child this year as I strive to make math accessible, relevant, and engaging. As a young person who once loathed and felt overwhelmed by mathematics in school, I’m passionate about reaching all of my students - instilling a love and curiosity for math as it applies directly to their lives, their futures. In our class, we value hard work and perseverance, learning from mistakes, and taking risks to become more confident, well-rounded citizens. With CPM math, we’ll learn how to construct arguments and critique the reasoning of others, model our thinking, and problem solve to reach a deep level of understanding in mathematics.  Together, we can overcome our fears and doubts, challenge each other to grow, and become the better version of ourselves daily.   Let’s make this year unforgettable!

       ~Mr. Maccombs (Mr. M)