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I would like to take this opportunity to welcome you and your child to our
class. I hope everyone had a fun and safe summer. I would like to introduce
myself for those who do not know me. My name is Nicole Huspen and this is my
ninth year teaching kindergarten. I grew up in a small town, Berrien Springs,
which is in the southwest corner of Michigan. I attended Western Michigan
University where I received my Bachelors Degree and received my Masters from
Marygrove College. I spent my first four years teaching kindergarten in Onaway,
MI. I live here in Grayling with my husband and 8-month-old son, Jake, and
three labs. (one of each color!) I have one younger sister who is starting her
third year teaching in Berrien Springs. I am excited to share with you that we
will have a student teacher in our room the first eight weeks of school. Her
name is Lisa Seeley and she lives in Kalkaska with her husband and two
children. She is very excited and we are lucky to have another set of eyes and
hands to help in our classroom.
I would like to welcome you to our classroom and feel free to stop in anytime. I am writing this letter to inform you of some expectations of the coming year. I am looking forward to meeting all of you at our open house. The open house is Sept. 14th from 6pm to 7pm. I hope to see you there!
Friday Folders: All of the students in the school will receive a folder. These folders will also allow you to receive updates on your child’s progress and behavior. It will also contain the work your child did during the week. I will also send home frequent newsletters throughout the year in the folders, which will keep you informed on the happenings in the class. These folders are a great way for us to have an open line of communication all year. The folders will usually be sent home every Friday and should be returned Monday.
Snacks: Our lunchtime is early (11:00 am) and by the afternoon the students are ready for a snack. A snack calendar will be sent home each month and all the children will be assigned a day to bring in a snack to share with the entire class. I will only send you the snack calendar if you are assigned a day in that month. If the day you are assigned is not good for you for some reason, please let me know so that we can make other arrangements. I try to schedule snack dates close to birthdays so children can bring in a special snack. The snack can be anything easily carried to school and we have approximately 25 children in the class. This year we have a student with a severe peanut allergy. Please send in snacks that are free from peanut products. We will be working very hard to keep this student safe and we appreciate everyone’s cooperation. THANK YOU!!!!
School Supplies: Your child will not have to bring any basic school supplies to school. The one item that I suggest you supply your child with is a backpack. This should be brought to school each day to store their belongings. This way, children can keep mittens, hats, etc. in a central location. Please check the contents of the bag each day. I would also like to request that your child not bring toys and treasures to school. Aside from being a distraction to your child and others, they could get broken or lost. If possible, I ask each student to bring in a box of Kleenex to donate to the class. THANK YOU!
Homework: Every month I will send home a “Homelinks” calendar. This calendar is considered math homework to do with your child. Each day there is a quick and simple assignment to do such as, count all the doors in your house. Each time you complete an assignment, write your answer in the box or check it off indicating that you did it on the calendar. I do keep track of completed assignments for the report cards. Other types of homework might be to bring in something from home that has to do with what we are currently studying. Another form of homework is skill based like practicing writing your name or letters and numbers. Homework is not graded but it is checked.
Labeling: Please label all of your child’s belongings that they may bring to school, this includes outerwear, backpacks, lunchboxes. Many children have the same coat, gloves, (etc.) and this will help with any confusion.
Book Orders: Every month I will send home a Scholastic book order form for you to purchase books for your child. The order forms will have the due date on the back and payment for the books must accompany the order. Any checks should be made out to Scholastic Books. Please send money/checks in an envelope as this will help keep it from getting lost.
Box Tops: We will be collecting Box Tops, which you will find on General Mills products. Please cut them out and send them to school. For each box top the school gets 10 cents so we value anyone who sends them in!
Purple Notes: Any note that comes home printed on purple paper means that the note must be sent back to school with a response. Notes for conferences, homework, and field trips are some examples.
Child Pick-up or Change of Destination: If your child is going home from school a different way from their normal routine/plan, you must send a note to school with your child or call the office. If your child does not have a note/call, I am obligated to send him or her home according to the original plan. I cannot accept a child’s word in this situation for safety reasons alone.
Lunch Money: Please send all lunch money in an envelope with your child’s name on it. This will help me a great deal and make it much easier for your child to bring to school without it getting lost along the way. You may also send in the week’s lunch money on Monday if that would make it easier. THANK YOU!
Classroom Parties: We will be having 3 major parties throughout the year. Halloween, Christmas and Valentine’s Day are the celebrations we will have during the year. I will be asking for parents who would like to plan and organize these parties. You many sign up for this job at the open house.
Parent Volunteers: Any and all parents who can volunteer are greatly appreciated. Please let me know if you would like to help in the folders or at the open house. A sign up sheet will be available at the open house.
I know this seems like a lot of requests and information. If you have any questions always feel free to contact me throughout the year. You may contact me at school or via the internet. My email is nhuspen@casdk12.net. I am looking forward to meeting all of you and get ready for a fun year!
Sincerely, Nicole Huspen
Our children are terrific and magnificent!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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