Family Letter

Here’s a sneak preview at the family letter I’ll be bringing with me when I begin home visits TOMORROW (Friday)!!!

Dear students and families,

Can you believe it’s already time to head back to school?! I’m so excited! I have been thinking of you all summer long and can’t wait to see your eager, intelligent faces back in our classroom on September 3!

You might remember that our classroom was chosen to start the Daily 5 and CAFÉ model of reading instruction! That means you won’t switch classes for SFA. You might still receive extra tutoring or special classes outside of the classroom. We’re very lucky because our school is working with the women who created the Daily 5. They just might stop by to visit us if we’re lucky!

While I’m talking about scheduling, our school might be on a 6-day schedule. That means our specialist schedule rotates every 6 days instead of every 5 days. What this would mean is that some Tuesdays you’d have music, but other Tuesdays you’ll have P.E. I wanted to tell you so you wouldn’t be surprised when school started. It’s good because then Mr. Grout would have more time to take on intramural sports. Also, did you know you can join honor choir this year?

This school year is going to be very challenging and I have set high standards both for you as students and for me as your teacher. Here are my goals for myself this year:

1) Call at least 2-4 families each week (with good news!)

2) Read 4 full books a month.

3) Keep my desk area clean.

4) Have papers graded and returned within one week.

We will talk more about your goals once you arrive at school! It’s so important to always be working to improve ourselves.

We will continue to have homework every night except Fridays. Your homework will usually be your Letter to Ms. Houghton or a spiral review math sheet. I will also occasionally have Mathlete problems on the back of your homework. These are problems that are optional, but I’m including them because some students and families have asked me for more practice work.

I’ve been thinking a lot about family volunteers. I didn’t ask for much help last year because I didn’t know how to best use you! I think I have a better plan… make sure you come to Back-To-School night (tentatively set for Sept. 10) so I can tell you more!

I am so deeply grateful for all the love and support you give your families. I consider myself extremely lucky to serve my students and those who care for them. Thank you for trusting your student to learn with me during 4^th grade. We are going to have a blast.

Love,

Ms. Houghton

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