Sixth Grade Team

I am entering my 7th year teaching at Benchmark School.  I started in the Makerspace in 2018, and then was brought onto the 6th Grade Team the following year where I've remained ever since...I LOVE teaching 6th grade!  Both of my children went to Benchmark, and the education they received set them both on the path of excellence (both are now aerospace engineers), so it's no wonder that my wife and I both came to Benchmark to teach...it is, simply put, the best elementary school out there, in my honest opinion, and my commitment to our school and students is unwavering!

 

Some background information about me:  I was born in South Laguna, California, but my parents moved to Phoenix when I was but 2 weeks old (young?), so I consider myself an Arizona native.  My college career began with a focus of 3 years in architecture, and 2 years of landscape architecture at the University of Arizona, and then after taking a year off to gain in-state tuition, completed my college career over the next 2 years at the University of Oregon with a shift to computer graphics, initially with a focus on the film industry.  As there were no degrees for this at the time, I created one with my advisor, and so have an official "Bachelor of Science in Fine and Applied Arts, with a focus in Computer Visual Design" and a double minor in architecture and landscape architecture.  While I did work in film during one of my internships, I was quickly picked up by Digital Artworks, a small computer graphics company in Eugene, Oregon a full year before I graduated, and then was hired by Dynamix in Eugene, Oregon directly after graduating from U of O, where I began a long career developing video games.  I worked in video games for 17 years, at which point I transitioned to Project Management (PMP, AgCP) and then teaching for both The Art Institute of Phoenix and Learning Tree International.  I left the corporate world in 2018 as I truly got tired of working with adults that behaved like children in a professional workplace (if you know, you know...), and decided that working with CHILDREN that acted like children would be a breath of fresh air, and in no uncertain terms, it has been!  I'm a big kid at heart myself, and sometimes in the head, and absolutely LOVE working with this age group...they're amazing small humans and most definitely our future!

 

My interests include, but are not limited to:  playing the drums (since I was 11 years old; still playing in 2 bands to this day), building models and miniatures (many are in my classroom), 3D printing (I design and 3D print many of my models), hiking, kayaking, traveling, running a small computer graphics company on the side, and spending time with my family.  NONE of my interests or extra-curricular activities ever take over my focus on the kids, however. I am very good at balancing my time and getting everything done efficiently and accurately.

 

Please take a moment to stop by the 6th grade and say hi! I'd be glad to chat with you!

 

Best,

- Mr. Rheinfelder

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Welcome! I am so glad you're here!
I am new to Benchmark, but not to teaching, coaching, or kids, and I am so honored to get to now work with the awesome sixth-grade adults-in-training of Benchmark! First, though, a little about me. I fell in love with school and books and words with their power and libraries and bookstores and bad puns and all things written at an early age and my love affair has never faltered. But I was also a total tomboy -- growing up playing baseball, soccer, softball, volleyball and basketball -- back before it was "cool" for girls to do so. (So thankful things have changed!) From a crazy love of reading, to teaching fifth grade (for four years in MN) and coaching (girls' and boys' basketball, softball, volleyball for 25+ years), to raising my four active kids (now a family of eleven, with two grandkiddos!) to a career of proofreading/editing (15 years), to building our sign making/small business (10 years), I've never strayed from that love of learning, discovering, exploring, and growing! And now, whenever we're not playing with our grandkids (being their Mimi is THE BEST!!), my husband and I get to fill our "spare" time with family, friends, book clubs, hiking, our two crazy pups, and traveling.

 

One thing I learned early on, for good and for bad though, is that words have power. They are potent. They can speak hate and fear and disrespect, thus tearing down, or they can speak life and love and honor, and thus building up. Mother Teresa said wisely, "Words which do not give light ... increase darkness." My mission and my goal for my classroom, students, parents and every school day, always, is to use our words -- whether written or spoken -- to lift and learn and grow and encourage and give belonging and hope. Because words are potent. May all of ours this year speak life and light into each other, our awesome Benchmark community, and the world!