Kara Stack 1007 S. 3rd Street Champaign, IL 61820 stack.kara@gmail.

com

Dear Parent(s)/Guardian, Hi! My name is Kara Stack and this will be my first year of teaching! I am very excited to work with your fourth graders this year. I just finished up my senior year at the University of Illinois and received my teaching certificate in May. I am originally from Glen Ellyn, Illinois, which is a Western Suburb of Chicago. To share a little bit about myself, my hobbies include sports, spending time with my family and friends, and school. I have many family members that are teachers now or were previously teachers so I have known from a very young age that it is the profession I always wanted to pursue. I went into teaching because I want to inspire a love of learning in my students. I want to help lay down the foundation for all my students future learning. A childs love of learning can be made or broken by the type of teacher they have and I hope to have a positive impact on all of my students, including your children. I see my classroom as a family and you, as parents, will be part of that family. I have no problem with anyone stopping by at anytime during the school day if you ever want to see what is going on in the classroom. To keep you in the loop I will be sending out a parent letter each week with information on what we did during the week in each subject and any classroom/school news that I would like for you to know. I will provide you with a list of upcoming events that Each child will be provided with a desk and a cubby for their backpack and jacket but they will need to bring in supplies from the list of school supplies provided by the school. I will have the classroom set up into different pods for the students. Each pod will be given a number and this will be used largely for transitioning. Each student will also be given a number, based on the alphabetized list. These are tools I will use for organization. I will also have a carpeted area in the classroom. There will be certain expectations that the students will follow during these transitions, at their desk, and on the carpet. These expectations are based upon being responsible, respectful, and safe in the school with regards to themselves, their classmates, and their teachers/staff. My rules and consequences will be largely based upon a reward system. I believe in positive reinforcement and if the students are deserving of a reward they will receive one by signing their name on the Respect Wall. There will be prizes for being allowed

to sign your name on the wall. In regards to poor behavior, I will use a reset system. Asking the students to reset is basically asking them to check themselves and figure out what they should be doing. This can be used on an individual basis or class basis. If I feel that the individual student is not doing a good job of resetting themselves, I will talk to them one on one and ask them to change their behavior. If this poor behavior continues I will ask THEM to call you. I think it is much more effective if they are calling you about what is going on as opposed to me. The students should be prepared for school everyday by showing up on time no later than 7:45 and being packed up for dismissal at 2:00. If they are going to be late for school they will need to stop in the office to get a tardy slip. If there is an alternate form of transportation to and from school please let me know. I am also expecting them to be prepared by having all their work done from the night before and having their planner signed every day by a parent/guardian. Feel free to leave me any notes/comments in the students planner if you need to bring something to my attention. The students will need to also be prepared for specials everyday, in particular on the days they have gym. I will send home a schedule of the specials so you know what days we will be having gym. In regards to my grading policy, each student will receive a grade for Math, Reading, Science, and Writing. Their math grade will be based off of their completion of their math journals and their math assessments. Their reading will entail their reading journals, to demonstrate to me what they are reading and how they feel about it. They will receive a grade for this every other week. Science will be graded by the work they complete in their science journals. We will be doing experiments and research as a class and individually that they will need to record. Writing will be any prompts will respond to as a class and spelling. I hope to excite the students about writing and expressing themselves through written work. I will need your help with reading and writing at home! I am encouraging you to be involved in all of your childs academic work so you know what is going on; be their support system. Feel free to contact me any time via email (located at the top) or through the office at school if you have any questions, concerns, or comments. Attached is an interview for you to fill out so I can find out more about you and your child. Please email me back with your responses filled in. I am really looking forward to this year! Thanks again! Sincerely, Kara Stack

INTERVIEW
Does your child go by any nicknames at home? What is your childs favorite thing to do when you are together? How much time does your child spend watching tv? What time does your child go to bed? Where does your child go after school? Does your child go anywhere before school? What type of transportation does your child take to and from school? Does your child do his/her homework by themselves or with help? Is English the primary language spoken at home? If not, what is? Are there other children living in the home? If so how many and what are their ages? Does your child have any allergies? Are you available to help in the classroom? What is the best number to reach you at? Is there anything specific your child would like to learn about this year in school?

 What characteristics do you think are most important in a teacher? In what way to you feel your child learns best? Is there anything you feel I should know about your child?