October 20, 2015
Dear Families,
Conferences begin tomorrow and I am very excited to share your student’s progress with you. Conferences for me are a very emotional time. I spend the weeks ahead thinking about your kids, holding them up and asking some important questions. I wonder about how they are “fitting in”, are they making friends, are they comfortable with the routines of the classroom? I have goals for them, academic and social. I’m figuring out how to help them achieve them. I want the best for them, just as you do. I know that I have taught third grade many times but, it is your child’s only year in third grade. I want it to be memorable, challenging, and ultimately satisfying.
When we meet we’ll go over a fair amount of data. We’ll look at reading scores, math scores and what their writing looks like. I’ll show you the tools we use to reinforce the skills they are acquiring. But I want to take time to hear your hopes for your student, what you think they need this year. While I’m sure that we will agree about most things, there may be some we have to figure out together. Above all, our goals are the same - we both want your student to thrive at Laurelhurst.
One of my former students wrote a poem that began,
Mrs. McKenzie’s really great,
She doesn’t like it when we’re late.
Please be on time for your conference, I want to honor our time together.
Thanks for all you do,
Valerie McKenzie
