One student escaped my portrait efforts today, but I will make sure to get them tomorrow!

A question from Back to School Night that went unanswered: someone wanted to know how best to communicate with the teachers. Email for logistics, phone calls for more substantive check-ins, meetings for circling the wagons with your child’s learning team, sometimes including Stephen, Katherine, Bliss, or whoever is relevant to the conversation. I started calling around last week to new families and will continue my efforts tonight and into the latter part of the week. It’s an annual routine I love, and if I could, I would extend it to a home visit to just connect and communicate how much I value our work together in support of our students’ learning. So don’t worry when the teacher calls after eight. Also, thank you for understanding the mad rush of prep that happens each morning before 8:27 and respecting that it’s not a great time for a drop-in meeting.

In case you were not at BTS night last week, check out all the information in the Back to School Night category on the right side of the blog. You may have heard that Hannah is out due to chronic back pain (3 years chronic), and it is likely that she will not be returning. I have prepared the students for that eventuality, and we are making a book of appreciation for her. I heard one parent express interest in putting together a care basket for her, which I thought sounded really generous if anyone wants to organize it. She loves gardening, audiobooks, and good comestible/imbibables.

Homework

(Tuesday and Wednesday are Yom Kippur, so please enjoy those nights off)

For the other afternoons/evenings…

• Math: 4th grade has a 2-sided worksheet; 5th grade has a packet due Friday, some of which we will complete in class, some of which you will complete at home. Chip away at a page or so a night.
• Read, read, read, read, and read. Your book should travel to and from school each day, so you can make maximum daily progress and stay engaged with the characters and plot!
• Write: a page a night, your choice, writer’s notebook.
• Spell and memorize: the Southern states +Texas. Here’s a link to a Quizlet sort if you would like to try studying online.

Why do people move? This is an interview to be completed by next Tuesday. Students must ask a friend or family member who has moved a list of interview questions by next Tuesday.