Dear Families,
Today was a huge success and I feel lucky to have such an amazing group of students. Thank you for sharing your child with me and for all your support!
Before I get to some important school information, I’d like to introduce myself. This is my eighth year at Miller. My family moved to Bend the summer of 2018 after living in Costa Rica, where I taught 4th grade for three years. I am a native Oregonian and was born and raised in Portland. Previous to Costa Rica, we lived in Portland for ten years where I worked part-time as a one-on-one math specialist, and before that, six years in San Francisco where I taught 3rd grade. We have two sons: Miles just graduated from Caldera HS and is taking a GAP year before attending Gonzaga University in the fall of 2026 and Bailey is a sophomore at Summit HS. I love to hike, run, read, spend time with my family and friends, and cuddle with my cat, Panda and dog, Lily.
I am thrilled to announce that Mrs. Richardson and I will be team teaching this year. Our classes will rotate and I will teach math to both classes and she will teach English Language Arts (reading and writing). Your child will spend one hour each day with Mrs. R. This is a great opportunity for your child to get a small taste of what it will be like to be a middle schooler with more than one core teacher. If you don’t already know Mrs. R, here is some information about her:
My name is Mara Richardson and this is my 13th year at Miller and my 26th year in education. I have been in a variety of grade levels and classrooms at Miller and can honestly say that I have loved them all. I am thrilled to be back in 5th this year! My husband and I moved to Bend in 2006 and have loved raising our girls here. I am originally from Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and I have taught in a variety of locations including Costa Rica, Washington DC, Bellingham, WA and June Lake, CA. My daughters are 14 and 16 and both will be at Summit High School this year. Additionally, this year I will have a third teenage daughter as we are hosting an exchange student from Madrid for the year. She will also be a Summit student. When I am not at school I enjoy spending time with my family, traveling, camping, gardening, running, hiking, reading and most recently sewing.
A black folder was sent home today with your child (first day packets). Please review the information enclosed and return any necessary paperwork. The folder will be used as your child’s “Take Home Folder”, so please return the folder to school in your child’s backpack.
iPads will be distributed this week. iPads will stay at school. Families do not need to purchase iPad insurance for this school year.
You can expect a brief weekly email from me on Fridays with classroom updates and important information. All newsletters will also be posted on my website. The email address you provided in ParentVue is the email address to which I will send all communication. I am sending this letter home via hard copy and email. If you did not receive an emailed copy of this letter, please check your junk folder. If it’s still not there, please send an email to me and our secretary, Ms. Andrea (andrea.groves@bend.k12.or.us) so Ms. Andrea can update your information and you can receive communication from me. If you do not have access to email, please let me know and I will provide hard copies of school communication.
Email is the best way to get in touch with me. I check email before school, during lunch, and after school. I will always respond to emails within 24 hours during the school week and hours (7:15-3:15). If you email me over the weekend, I will respond on Monday.
We have PE on Monday and Wednesday, Music on Tuesday and Thursday, and library on Friday. Click on this link for our weekly schedule: 2025-26 Weekly Schedule (this is also posted on my website). I will allow students to eat a snack in the classroom in the morning. Please make sure it is finger food and not messy (appropriate snacks include: bars, yogurt or applesauce squeezes, carrots, crackers, dried fruit, etc.). Also, please send your child to school with a reusable water bottle.
My website is up and running. All weekly correspondence is archived here as well as a link to the math homework log and math homework answer key. You will also find links to parent letters for each module with information about our language arts curriculum. Please bookmark my website for easy access! Please visit my class website
Reading: Your child should read for at least 2 hours per week. Please make a plan with your child for the best time for independent reading (After school? Before dinner? Before bed? Are certain days of the week better than others). Consider your family's schedule. This reading should be FUN, have VARIETY, and at your child’s reading level. Ask questions about what your child is reading and tell them what things you are reading too!
Math: Students will be given a math packet for each unit. They will be assigned weekly math pages to complete as homework. This should take no more than 10-15 minutes a night. The students will write the weekly page numbers down on a homework log each Monday and it will also be posted on a Google Doc in my weekly newsletter. Math homework packets will be turned in at the end of each unit.
If your child will be absent for any reason, please email me (kenan.macomber@bend.k12.or.us) AND our attendance email (miller-attendance@bend.k12.or.us). I do not provide daily assignments in advance of absences, but I will help with any makeup work when your child returns to school.
If you need to pick your child up early from school, please send me an email letting me know what time you will be picking them up. I will have them ready and waiting for you in the office at your requested time. OR you can show up at the office or call when you are on your way to Miller, and the secretary will call my classroom.
If you need to make a last-minute change to your child's after-school plans, please contact the main office. I can't guarantee that I will see your email at the end of the day if plans change last-minute.
Phones and watches
All phones and smart watches (anything that can send and receive phone calls or text messages or connect to the internet) should be “Off and Away” at school. That means silenced and in student backpacks between 7:45-2:15. If you need to get in touch with your child during the school day, email me or call the office.
School Counselor
Ms. Parker is our school counselor again this year. Please click on the link to find out more about Ms. Parker and her services: school counselor letter (If you would like a hard copy of this, please let me know.)
This was a lengthy letter and I appreciate you taking time to read it. Please let me know if you have any questions. I will also go more in-depth with curriculum and expectations at Curriculum Night (date to be determined). As I said before, I am excited for this year and looking forward to getting to know all of you. I aim to make it a meaningful and positive experience for your child. I can’t wait to work with you to make this an awesome 5th grade year at Miller!
Warmly,
Kenan Macomber
(she/her/hers)
5th Grade Teacher
Miller Elementary School
Please visit my class website