Mrs. Miller 4th Grade - Rm 14 656-6438 ext. 41314 Send Email

Welcome to the 2007-2008 Year!

Dear Parents,

This will be my first 4th grade class at Harvey Green School. The last 6 years have been dedicated to the 6th grade curriculum with one of those years as a 5th/6th grade combo teacher. I truly look forward to this change. I hope you and your child are well rested and looking forward to a year of hard work sprinkled with fun and laughter.

I don't have a rigid agenda at this time but the curriculum and district requirements will guide our daily activities. The first few weeks will give me an idea how rigorous we will pursue our academic goals at least for the first trimester. I will try to keep parents/guardians updated on projects and individual progress/concerns. Please feel free to leave me a phone message, an email through this website, or with a note at the office. I will try to get back ASAP. If you don't hear from me within a day or two, please call the school and leave a message and I will promptly get back.

During the Back-to-School Night meeting, I will discuss field trips, possible major projects, and other important topics that you may want to discuss. Your ideas and support is very important to your child and to me. I have some plans that could utilize the help of parents so if you want to see your child in action or just want to help out, come to the Back-to-School meeting later this month!

Every year, I try to go through the curriculum as much as possible. That goes for every subject. I think that Social Studies and Science are extremely important. And, this year we are studying California history. How lucky we are to be in the Bay Area, where we can take field trips on public transit in many instances. Get those good walking shoes on because we will be doing some walking!

I will discuss and expect personal responsibilty in my classroom. The big word is RESPECT. I hope to model that as much as possible. You can help develop your child's sense of responsiblity at home by assigning chores( if you haven't done so yet ) and giving your child a greater voice in those small decisions you have been doing on their behalf. For example, if you go to a restaurant and typically select the food for your child when the waiter takes the order, let your child speak up for himself/herself. May seem so insignificant, but kids need to start making decisions and speaking up in appropriate situations. Go to the store with your child? Have him/her estimate the cost of items and keep track of the overall cost if it's a short list of items.

I will have music in my class. We will play the recorder and I have ordered one for every child - they'll be green!. In addition, we'll learn rhythm on drums and other percussive instruments. Anybody want to learn simple guitar chords to go along with the singing or recorder playing? Why all this non-academic stuff? Kids need an outlet for their emotions. And as they get older, the need to express themselves in acceptable ways will become more acute. Some kids will write profusely, some will be drawn to drama, others will excel in sports, and some will play a musical instrument.

I believe in a well-rounded education, so along with the rigors of reading, writing, and applying math concepts, I hope to help expand your child's pool of experiences and knowledge as well as promote emotional growth. See you soon....

Sincerely,
Mrs. Miller