WELCOME LETTER

September 14, 2009
Dear Parents and Students,
Welcome back to the 2009-2010 school year! I hope that you all had a restful, safe and enjoyable summer. I am very excited to be starting up a new year with your child.
Let me tell you a little bit about myself. I have been teaching for 11 years, I'm starting my fourth year at Pacific Way Elementary. I have a 6 year old little boy starting Grade One, I play French Horn with the Thompson Valley Community Orchestra and I am a triathlete training for the Vancouver Half-Ironman in July, 2010.

We will be having a teacher candidate (student teacher) in our classroom this year. Miss Staruiala will be joining us until September 25th and then she will be back after Christmas until Spring Break. Please see her letter of introduction.

Along with the school goals, a couple of classroom goals that I would like to set for this year would be as follows:
1) ORGANIZATION – one of the ways students can be successful this year is to stay ORGANIZED. This means that effective use of the agenda is very important, keeping their desk and locker areas tidy, as well as keeping their binders/notebooks in order.
2)Leadership – the students will be required to participate in a variety of leadership roles throughout the school.
3)RESPECT, RESPONSIBILITY, and (positive) RELATIONSHIPS – I expect the students to be respectful to others, responsible for their own actions and to build healthy and positive working relationships with others in the classroom, school and community.

I will be communicating with you in many ways regarding your child’s progress. It is imperative that we work together to ensure that your child has a successful year. The following are a few things that will help your child off to a great start.
1.Pack up backpack the night before to ensure that AGENDA and HOMEWORK are complete and ready to bring back to school.

2.AGENDA will be filled out at the end of each day by your son/daughter. I will then initial their entry when it is written neatly and completely. I encourage you to ask to see this agenda on a nightly basis to help ensure homework is being done. Agenda needs to be signed everyday by a parent/guardian.

3.BE ON TIME. Bell rings at 8:20am. Punctuality is extremely important as we start our learning at 8:30am sharp.

4.Ipods/MP3's/Cell Phones – these items are NOT allowed to be on during school hours. It is best to keep these items at home to prevent theft. In emergencies, students are permitted to use the office phone.

5.LUNCH TIME – students are permitted to go home for lunch (please provide a note, which will be good for the year). Students are asked to go straight home and return to school before the bell at 12:50pm.
If you are allowing your student to go to a friend's house for lunch or a different destination other than your home, please send a new note with your permission for the day of this visit, as the school is responsible for your child's whereabouts. We want all student's to be safe when travelling off school grounds.

6.SIGN IN/OUT – students are asked to sign in/out at the office ANYTIME they leave the school grounds. Provide your student with a note (doctor/dentist, etc.) in the agenda and I will do my best to have your child ready for pick up at the office.

7.LOCKERS – students will be assigned a locker to use for the year. Your son/daughter may be required to share this locker with another student from the class. Student's may bring a lock to put on their locker. They must record their combinations with me in case of an emergency. Student's are asked to remove school items from their backpacks and store their backpack in their locker with their coats and gym strip.

8.MEDICAL CONCERNS. Please make sure that all files are up to date at the office.

9.WEBPAGE – I have built a webpage to let you and your child know what is happening in our classroom and school. There are links to other interesting websites for both students and parents throughout the year as well as an area for assignments, criteria, and due dates. This webpage is a work in progress and I would appreciate any feedback you may have about what you would like to see included on it.

http://www.pacway-robertson.blogspot.com



Organization
As organization is a key area that we want to work on this year, I would like to request that all students buy a 2-inch binder and 3 sets of subject dividers. If this is a problem or concern at all, please do not hesitate to contact me at the school (250-851-0632) or by email: barobertson@sd73.bc.ca. I will provide students with paper and notebooks for the binder.
As we had quite a few problems with school calculators being broken last year, I would also like to request that you buy your child an inexpensive calculator (Wal-Mart has some for @$7.00).
I understand that in previous years, some students have had weekly reports done by their classroom teacher to update them and their parents on how they were progressing, what a fabulous idea! Part of our goal in Grade 7 this year is to prepare for Grade 8. However, after talking with the class, the students (unanimously) have requested to not have weekly reports. We feel that the webpage, emails, and phone will be enough to help them stay “on top of the ball”.
I believe that if used properly, the agenda should be sufficient. I also send home interim reports mid-way through the term. However, sometimes people need a little bit of extra help. If you feel that there is any cause for concern at all, please do not hesitate to contact me and we can privately set-up a weekly report through your child or through email.

Snacks

Your child should be bringing nutritious snacks to school every day. Please do not send pop, energy drinks, ice tea, flavoured drink crystals (kool-aid or crystal light), candy, donuts, chocolate or similar foods otherwise known as “sometimes foods”. During Health and Career Ed., we talk about different foods and their nutritional value. We encourage students to bring snacks with reusable plastic containers and fabric lunch bags. Some suggested snacks include raw vegetables, crackers, and fruit! Suggested drinks include water, milk, chocolate milk, or 100% juice.
Please send in a box of kleenex as it is nice to have kleenex in the classroom.
Your support in the above areas will be of great value to your child and myself. I look forward to working with you and your child this year. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at the school (250-851-0632) or email me at: barobertson@sd73.bc.ca


I find it is sometimes easier in today’s society to contact people through email. If you do not mind being contacted by email please provide your address below:

Name: ___________________________________________________

Child's Name: ___________________________________________________

Email ___________________________________________________


Sincerely,
Barb Robertson
Pacific Way Elementary
Grade 6/7/Band