Start of Year Letter to Parents

10th Grade Composition Class August 20, 2009
Teacher: Arwen Councill

Dear students and parents,

I am so excited to be teaching this writing class. I love writing. It requires effort but once you produce something, it is entirely your own. That sense of accomplishment and ownership, a pride in one’s work, is what I want to instill in the students this year.

I plan to structure this class around the concept that clear, interesting writing comes from a developed “love of language.” My goal is to help students learn to love vocabulary by opening their understanding to the many wonderful words which abound in the English language. My goal is to help students learn to love grammar because they will see grammar not as some boring rules that must be followed, but rather as tools that enable them to design increasingly complex sentences and thereby express themselves with greater sophistication. I want students to learn to view writing as another extension of themselves, another form of communication that comes naturally.

I have chosen an innovative and exciting curriculum designed by educator Dr. Bruce Saari. You can view this online at www.Topschools.com. The curriculum is designed to turn the classroom into an intensive writing laboratory. As a new concept is taught, the students are given immediate opportunity to practice and internalize what they have learned. Some of the stated goals of the curriculum are as follows:

-significantly raise the students’ awareness of language structure and function;
-develop high levels of precision in language use and word choice;
-write, read and understand increasingly complex sentence patterns;
-design richer, more varied sentences that naturally elicit higher levels of evidence
and supporting detail;
-expand the students’ vocabularies;
-develop confidence and skill in oral participation;
-dramatically improve the students’ language decoding skills in all their classes.

In class we will regularly be using a dictionary and thesaurus. Your student needs to have access to both at home.

During the first semester of this class there will be weekly vocabulary homework. Every Wednesday and Friday I expect each student to come to class with a “word of the day.” This needs to be an appropriate vocabulary building word. Your student must be able to spell the word, pronounce the word, know its part of speech (noun, verb, adj, adv., etc.) know its etymology, know the definition, and also have the word used in a sentence. Generally speaking, I will give the students a vocabulary test every Monday on the words from the previous Wednesday and Friday. Avuncular, magnanimous, and copious, are examples of appropriate words.

During the first semester we will focus primarily on “skill building.” Homework, when assigned, will not involve long, written work.

I expect students to bring to class each day the following materials: two compositions books (one for vocabulary, one for grammar notes), a pencil, paper, and some type of folder or 3-ring binder for storing class handouts. On Monday August 25th I will have a book check to make sure students have all class materials and have properly recorded the required information in their vocabulary notebook. This book check will be a graded. August 25th will also be the first vocabulary quiz.

If you have any questions or concerns at any time during the school year, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone (cell 556-9500, home 562-5138) or by email acouncill@southamptonacademy.org or arwencouncill@yahoo.com. Please do not leave messages for me on the school voicemail, I will not check it.

I am really looking forward to getting to know all of you. I had a blast last year and expect this year to be even better.

Sincerely,



Arwen Councill


Classroom Procedures:
1) Every Wednesday and Friday, as soon as you come to class, write your word of the day with its definition, part of speech, etymology, and pronunciation (if your word is hard to pronounce) on the board. Then begin to copy down all other words into your vocabulary notebook.
2) Plan to pay attention the ENTIRE class period. I jam as much as possible into each class period.
3) DO NOT bring homework for other classes. You will NOT have time to do anything but Composition.
4) If you are absent it is your responsibility to find out what you missed and come prepared as if you had never missed at all. Call me if you need help getting caught up. I will always be happy to help you.

Grades:
1) Your term and semester grades will be derived from tests, vocabulary quizzes, homework, and word of the day. I grade on straight point value. The more points you have the higher your grade will be. All points are weighted equally---tests count more than quizzes only because they are worth more points.

2) LATE HOMEWORK: if your homework is late one day there will be a 25% deduction, two days late, 50% deduction, and so forth.

Student Name: _______________________________

Parent Name: _______________________________


Parents, please sign below indicating that you have read the above letter. Students must return this signature page as a graded assignment. This signature page is due August 25th.


Parent/Guardian signature ______________________________Date ____________




Parent’s cell phone: ___________________Parent’s home phone: _____________

Parent’s email address: _______________________________