About Mrs. Vander Laan

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Seventh Grade Science! My name is Natalie Vander Laan and this is my first year teaching. I am so excited to be beginning my career in Dearborn Schools. You are part of a supportive and welcoming community and I am thrilled to be a part of it.

To start off I would like to tell you a little bit about myself both personally and professionally. My husband and I recently moved from Grand Rapids to Livonia. My husband, Jonathon, works at Livonia Chrysler Jeep. We got married in June 2017, and are enjoying settling into sharing our life together. We purchased our first home and have spent the past six months making it our own. My family and friends are very important to me and I love spending time with them any chance I can.

I graduated from Calvin College in December 2017 with a degree in Elementary Education, a major in Integrated Science, and a minor in Language Arts. Following my graduation I filled multiple long term substitute teaching positions. One of these positions was a seventh grade science class in Belleville. My education and substitute teaching experience has prepared me well to teach your student.

Science has always been a favorite subject of mine. I like that in science there isn’t always a right or a wrong answer. Science is exploratory in nature, and requires problem solving. Learning takes place when we have genuine curiosity, and this happens a lot when tackling science topics! I hope that my passion for the subject will be contagious so that we can all come to class excited to expand our knowledge.

Due to the exploratory nature of science, some of our learning will take place in the science lab. For the safety of everyone it is extremely important that students abide by the safety protocol in place. Please talk to your student about the importance of making safe choices in the lab. I will do my part by setting clear expectations and holding students to those expectations. I am confident that we can have a great year if we can all agree to follow rules and procedures.

Please feel free to contact me at any point during the school year. I am here for you and your student. Together we can find the best ways to support your child so that they are able to find success in my class.

I consider it a great privilege and responsibility to be your students teacher this year, and look forward to meeting each of you.

Sincerely,

Natalie Vander Laan