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Until further notice, rely on your GoogleClassroom for homework. Parents, if you have any questions regarding your student's homework, don't hesitate to get in touch with me at gholyoke@breweredu.org

Mr. Holyoke

Mr. Holyoke

Grade 8 Reading

September 3, 2020

Introductory Letter

Dear Student:

Welcome to your final year at the Brewer Community School, and welcome to a new-look reading class. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself and to explain a few things about how I expect reading class to operate.

Believe it or not, I have a real life outside the classroom. I spend time during the summer camping in my motorhome, and over the years my family and I have traveled throughout the country. While my two sons are now grown up and out on their own, I have awesome memories of the summer that we spent entirely on the road. We traveled 11,000 miles in 50 days as we drove to California and back. My sons might not admit that they enjoyed the experience, but they still tell stories about hiking in the Grand Canyon, body surfing in the Pacific Ocean, and surviving waist-deep rapids on a hike in Zion National Park. We ran in over 30 states, meeting the challenges of the 11,000 foot elevation of the Rocky Mountains, the incredible stench of the Great Salt Lake, and the 110 degree temperatures and the black widow spiders of the Texas desert.

Running is another love of mine, and I’ve been a distance runner for over 40 years. You’ll often see me running on the streets of Brewer, and I’ve run thousands of miles on those streets since I was a Brewer High School freshman in 1977. I love to coach running as well, and I’ve coached middle school cross country for over 20 years. I’m always interested to hear about your activities, athletic or not, so don’t hesitate to tell me about what you have going on outside the classroom. Remember though, I’m more interested in hearing how well you played instead of whether or not you won or lost. Sometimes we play our best games but still come out on the short end of the score, and other times we might scratch out an ugly win over weak competition.

This year we’ve all been presented with a challenging situation(to say the least), and I’ll need you to be flexible and patient as we make our way through uncharted waters. An important characteristic that you’ll need to demonstrate in order to be successful this year is responsibility. While you’re in school(or tuning in remotely), the class sizes will be small and I’ll be able to give you lots of individual attention. While you’re at home, however, you’ll be responsible for completing assignments in order to prepare for your next class time. I know that homework isn’t anyone’s favorite thing to do, but it will carry more importance than ever this year.

Together, we’ll rise to the challenges set before us and have a great year. I’m excited to get things started, and I hope that you are, too.

Sincerely,

Mr. Holyoke