Collaboration and

Communication
with Families

Open House / Back to School

Night

Fill out the piece of paper I am handing out or record your

answers on the computer.
I will come around to collect this.
Name:____________________
1. Relationship to the student: Parent Grandparent Aunt/Uncle
Guardian
Other: _______________
2. Email: _______________________
3. Phone Number: ____________________
4. Best Time to reach you: Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday
Friday
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Night

Back to School Night

I will give out to the parents my classroom rules, policy sheet, discipline plan,
and my information. This will include my email and my website. (See handouts)
Remind me App I will talk to the parents about this app where they can get
reminders for the homework that is due. This will keep the parents involved in
the students education.
Website - I will explain to the parents that I will be posting on my website to
update them on what is going on in my classroom throughout the week.
News letter - Every Month I will send out an email to inform the parents on
what we will be doing this month and what is coming up.
Miss Danielle Valasiadis
dvalas3@gmail.com
http://valasiadisd.weebly.com

Open House / Back to School

Night

If you are wearing blue or purple, please stand up. We are now going to learn more about each
other. The left side means you are an expert at this and the right side means you struggle with this.

Driving
Singing
Dancing
Sports
Math

As you can see, we are all good at different things. However, there is room to grow and improve. By
the end of the year, we will all be on the left side for math! This is what I will tell my students so
they can see that everyone is at a different readiness level, but we will work hard to succeed. Your
kids will grow tremendously in my class!
Doubet, K. J., & Hockett, J. A. (2015).Differentiation in middle and high school: Strategies to engage all
learners. ASCD.

Back to School Night Rationale

Open-House is the perfect opportunity to talk with the parents and let them know that
communication and collaboration is important to me. I am having the parents fill out an
information sheet so I can contact them all easily. This will make it easy for me when I need to
reach out to the parents. This contact sheet is language friendly because the parents have to
circle their answers. Along with this, the parents have the opportunity to orally record their
answer on the computer. This will be helpful for parents who do not fluently speak English. I am
also informing the parents about the remind me app, my website, and the monthly newsletters.
These three things will keep the parents involved and they will know everything that is going on
in my classroom. Keeping the parents involved is so important because they can help out with
the student and make sure their work is done. Chapter 3 - Personal, Social, and Moral
Development, written by Eggen and Kauchak, talks about Bronfenbrenners model of human
development. The first stage is microsystem, this is who and what directly affects the child. The
second stage is mesosystem, this is two micros coming together. It is important that the parents
and teachers collaborate together to help the student succeed. Studies show that parents
involvement is directly correlated with student success, "Parents and other caregivers are
perhaps the most powerful influences on childrens personal development" (Eggen & Kauchak,
2007, p. 63). This is why it is so important to keep the parents involved in the students
education. Along with this, the activity I have planned will show the parents that I understand
every student is different, but I will hold them all to a high expectation and we will work hard
together to succeed.

Culture Project
Every culture is important! So we should
celebrate all cultures
Once a week we will celebrate a different
culture. You will discuss your background,
what your culture is, how it has shaped you
You should bring in food, props, pictures, and
important items that represent your culture!
Write down on an index card your name and
your culture. I will then create a calender of
the culture being celebrated for each week.

Culture Project Rationale

The culture project is a great way to celebrate diversity in the classroom. Each student
will have the opportunity to share about their culture and why it is important to them.
This will demonstrate that I value all types of cultures and the students in my classroom.
Creating a positive and strong relationships with my students is very important because
it leads to success, "...developing positive healthy relationships with students not only
encourages academic success, it also prevents discipline incidents" (Erwin, 2004, p.47).
This project will allow me and the students to get to know each other and build healthy
relationships.
Celebrating a culture every week will help the students get to know each other and find
friends who are similar. Giving the students the opportunity to connect with their
classmates will promote success and positive relationships, "When students can make
friends and get along with others, they feel better about themselves, feel more
connected to school and their classmates, and have opportunities to practice and
develop social skills" (Eggen & Kauchak, 2007, p. 75). This project will bring my class
together and help build a diverse and strong classroom community.

References
Doubet, K. J., & Hockett, J. A. (2015).Differentiation in middle and high
school: Strategies to engage all learners. ASCD.

Eggen, P. D., & Kauchak, D. P. (2007).Educational psychology: Windows on

classrooms. Prentice Hall.

Erwin, J.C. (2004). Classroom of choice: Giving students what they need and
getting what you want. ASCD.