Introduction letter to parents?

[littlelauren]

I'm going crazy over here trying to write a letter to my students' parents. I'd like to send a letter introducing myself before the school year starts to get communication off to a good start. I had NO problem writing my letter when I was student teaching. Why am I going crazy trying to do it now?

Does anyone have an example?

[hweber]

Will you be sending this home before school starts? You are probably having trouble now because you are the one in charge! Did you get a full-time position?

[teacher5]

Lauren, First get clearance or permission. Chief administrators do not like anything going out to parents or in public without them knowing about it. Once you've written it, make sure it passes the inspection of this person. Try something like this. (Keep it up beat and positivie) Dear Parents and Guardians, My name is Lauren (last name) and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself because I will be your child's teacher this coming school year. I am a graduate of (High School & location) and attended (Name of Undergraduate School and location). I majored in ... and minored in ... Talk about one positive experience you had with children and teaching, possibly student teaching. If you are going to grad school part time, mention that, too. Be sure to tell them you are going to grad school to stay up with the last trends in order to be the best teacher possible. Tell them in general terms what you plan to teach this year (units of study). Do not get into specifics. There will always be one parent who will hold onto this letter, and if you didn't do something you promised will make you pay for it. Tell them how you want to communicate with them: e-mail, via the phone (Which I persoanlly find the best and safest.), letter, and of course you definitely plan to see them at parent teacher conference time in order to discuss academic progress and social development. If you want to, and are allowed to, you may want to include your school supply list on a separate page. Tell them you look forward to seeing their child on the first day of school and know with their support and cooperation it will be a wonderful and productive school year. Then sign it Sincerely yours. If you want to put a P.S. and remind them you look forward to seeing them on Back to School Night and give the date and time. I hope this helped you. Just prepare your lessons carefully and always come across confident. Although principals tell you, you can come to them for help, they really don't want to see you. They want to know they have hired capable, independent professsionals. If you need help go to a fellow teacher at that grade or next door. Even the school secretary is a great source of knowledge of what to do or what is expected. Make sure she becomes a good friend, and take care of her as well as the custodian/s at XMAS.

[Boxcar]

Keep it really short. I'd state my name, a few goals for the year, and let them know you'll be in touch. Give contact info and you're ready to roll.

Goals for me might be:
We will work on using our words.
We will learn about the world around us.
We will talk about problem-solving and working together.
Exploring science, math, cooking, social studies, literacy, writing, creative art, drama, music, movement and much more will fill our busy days!

[Brit]

I think parents always want to hear that you're someone who cares about their kid, too. I'm posting my start-of-year letter from last year. Sorry it's so long, but I have issues with Vista not working well for other people to open attachments, so here's everything here. Use what you like.

Monday September 10, 2007

Dear Families,
Welcome back to school! I hope your first week of school went as well at home as it did in the classroom. We have a wonderful group of smart and interesting grade twos in our class this year. We are all very excited about all of the fun things we have been doing!

Now that we’re starting to settle in, I wanted to get in touch with you and share some information.

About Me
I am very excited to be joining your child in grade two this September! I am new to ..., but visited often last year as a “supply” teacher. Many of your children remember me from that. Here’s an interesting fact: in addition to my teaching background, I have studied American Sign Language (ASL). We will be using ASL in our classroom sometimes, so don’t be surprised if your child talks with his or her hands more than ever before this year!

About Our Class
We have 20 students at the moment, and I don’t expect that number to change very much. We have students from around the world, and I am very excited to get to know more about each child’s heritage and background. Our classroom culture is built on respect and responsibility. We talk about these two words a lot in 2B.

notes on gym clothes, water bottles, scholastic book orders went here -- specific to school and classroom.

If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or send a note or drop in. You can reach me at the school phone number, which is ..... I am always happy to talk to the families of my students. You are the most important people in my students’ lives! Let’s work together to make sure your child gets everything he or she needs to be successful this year!

[Boxcar]

That's a good letter.

I'm always concerned my parents won't read what is sent home - not for any reason other than I know they're busy. So, I try to seperate it graphically. For example, important phone numbers are typed over a clipart pic. of a telephone.

[hweber]

I try to do mine in a newspaper format. Columns, headings, clip art. That way it is in chunks. Or you could do a tri-fold brochure. Both are different from the regular stuff that is sent home and sure to catch a parents eye.

[Hermione]

I teach middle school and just wanted to add that I require my parent note to be signed by the parents. It's the student's first "100" in class. Then, I make a copy of the note and have the students keep the original in their notebook. Comes in handy during conferences when a parent says "I didn't know they had to keep a notebook" or "I didn't know they were given a take home Spelling list each Monday." I can pull out my little parent note and say, "Well, my parent note explained these things, and you signed it." :)

[coco2]

teacher5 gave you some good advice. I agree that if you give too much information about how you run your class, etc. there will be a family complaining later in the year. I usually give my phone number to the parents and it was never a problem until last year. These people were not happy that their child was "failing" in my class. His grade was a C, apparently a failing grade in that family. Anyway, they started calling me daily with questions. The questions soon turned to complaints, and the complaints soon turned to yelling, and the yelling soon turned to name-calling. I had to start screening my calls. I won't be giving out my number again. I will, however, tell the parents to leave a message for me at the office and then I will return their call.

[littlelauren]

Thank you all for your help!