Communication Materials

Introduction Letter (English):

Dear Families,

My name is Jessie Kurth and I am honored to welcome you to first grade! It is my pleasure to have your child in my classroom this year. This will be a wonderful year filled with academic, social, and emotional growth that will be amazing to watch. I am eagerly awaiting the first day of school.

First, I would like to share with you a little about myself. I was born and raised in West Chester, PA which will always hold a special place in my heart. I grew up with dogs, love animals, and worked on a farm all through high school and college. I attended West Chester University where I majored in Early Grades Preparation and earned my PA teaching certification for grades PreK-4. This is my first year teaching in my own classroom, but I have experience teaching preschool and first grade.

I would like to express how strongly I feel when it comes to keeping two-way communication with families. You are your child’s first teacher and I believe the best education is a partnership between the school, the home, and the community. I will be setting up our ClassDojo page in the coming days and will send home information on how you can sign up with your child after the first day of school. I will regularly send reminders and announcements through ClassDojo and home with your child in their Take Home folder. In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to email me at jkurth@school.net and I will try to get back to you within one business day.

Please remember that our Open House (“Sneak-a-Peek”) will be on Wednesday, August 22^nd from 4:00-7:00. This is an opportunity for you and your child to meet me and preview the classroom prior to the first day of school. I look forward to seeing you then.

To wrap up, I would like to thank you for trusting me with your child this year. I am truly excited for my first official year of teaching! Your patience and cooperation is much appreciated. I hope to see you soon!

Thank you,

Jessie Kurth

Introduction Letter (Spanish):

Queridas familias,

¡Me llamo Jessie Kurth y me honra darte la bienvenida al primer grado! Es un placer tener a su hijo en mi clase este año. Este será un año escolar maravilloso lleno decrecimiento académico, social, y emocional qe será increíble ver. Estoy esperando con impaciencia el primer día de clases.

Primero, me gustaría compartir con ustedes un poco sobre mé. Nací y crecí en West Chester, Pennsylvania que siempre ocupará un lugar especial en mi corazón. Crecí con perros, me encantan los animales, y trabajé en una granja durante la escuela secundaria y la universidad. Asistí West Chester University donde estudié Preparación para los Primeros Grados y obtuve mi certificación de enseñanza de Pennsylvania para los grados de preescolar a cuarto grado. Este es mi primer año enseñando en mi propia clase, pero tengo experiencia enseñado en preescolar y primer grado.

Me gustaría expresar lo mucho que siento cuando se trata de mantener una comunicación bidireccional con las familias. Usted es el primer maestro de su hijo y creo que la major educación es una asociación entre la escuela, el hogar, y la comunidad. Crearé nuestra página de ClassDojo en los próximos días y le enviaré a casa información sobre cómo puede inscribirse con su hijo después del primer día de clases. Enviaré recordatorios y anuncios con regularidad a través de ClassDojo y a casa con su hijo en su carpeta Take Home. Mientras tanto, si tiene alguna pregunta, no dude en enviarme un correro electrónico a jkurth@school.net e intentaré responderle en el plazo de un día hábil.

Recuerde que nuestra Jornada de Puertas (“Sneak-a-Peek”) abiertas tendrá lugar el Miércoles 22 de Agosto de 16:00 a 19:00. Esta es una oportunidad para que usted y su hijo se reúnan conmigo y tengan una vista previa del aula antes del primer día de clases. Espero verte entonces.

Para terminar, me gustaría darle las gracias por haberme confiado a su hijo este año. ¡Estoy muy emocionada por mi primer año official de enseñanza! Agradecemos mucho su paciencia y cooperación. ¡Espero verte pronto!

Gracias,

Jessie Kurth

Questionnaire:

Teaching Video

Rationale

I plan to communicate with parents, guardians, and caregivers through the methods I feel are the easiest and most convenient for the modern world. By communicating through email, the teacher and caregiver can speak one-on-one in a professional manner, can continue a topic of conversation on a single thread, and can respond on their own time in the way that phone calls do not allow. I would also like to utilize ClassDojo in order to communicate what is happening in the classroom to all caregivers at the same time while also allowing the teacher and caregivers to speak one-on-one and on their own time. ClassDojo also includes a feature that allows for text to be translated - a huge help when there is a language barrier - so that caregivers who may not speak English can communicate with the teacher and have a better understanding of what is happening in the classroom.

A mentor teacher I had in the past spoke very highly of ClassDojo. She said that it helped caregivers see what was happening in the classroom, made communication between school and home quicker and easier, and that the translation feature was very useful when speaking to caregivers who know little to no English. Educational theorist Alfie Kohn stresses the idea that classrooms are communities (Charles, 2008, p. 84). If classrooms are to be viewed as communities, then the caregivers who, like the teacher, are responsible for their student in the classroom and therefore should communicate to and receive communication from the teacher as to the student's progress and how to best support them.

Rationale

Charles, C. M. (2008). Building classroom discipline (9th ed.). Pearson.