Dear Students and Parents,

I am so very excited about the start of a new school year! I consider it a huge blessing that I absolutely love what I do every day and I cannot wait to get to know you all and work with you all!

A few things of note that I just want to make sure you understand about me—First, I am a busy mama! I have 4 kids who are all busy and involved. So, I try to make our evenings about family time. While I will inevitably end up working in the evenings many nights, please know that sometimes things might take a little longer for me to get to because I have softball games, ballet rehearsals, soccer practice and church gatherings happening too.

Another thing to note is that I love trying new things. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t. Last year, I tried a lot of new approaches to teaching and some were amazing and others were flops. My hope going into this year is that I will be able to incorporate some of those amazing new ways to do something with some of the old-school things I know work. So, please know that if something doesn’t work out the way we thought it would, we are still learning and that’s ok. Bear with me while we all figure out how this year is going to work best for everyone, because we truly have no idea what will happen next!

One thing that I want to make everyone aware of right off the bat is that I will be out for an extended absence for the month of September. On September 1st, I will be having a fairly invasive surgery and will be required to take it easy for a few weeks afterwards. I will check in from home periodically as my health allows because I don’t want to lose out on that important time of building relationships with the students. While I am out, the administration is working to find a consistent substitute in the classroom. We will work closely to make sure the kids are getting what they need until I can return to school. If you have any questions about this, please let me know!

I’m looking forward to a GREAT 6th grade year for all of the students. Language Arts is important because the skills we learn in my class can be applied to all of the OTHER classes your student takes. Please know I am ALWAYS available if you need anything--I’m your child’s teacher, but I am also a parent in the district, so I am in this with all of you!

Mrs. Kerr ☺