Dear
Parents/Guardians,
It is with great
pleasure and anticipation that I begin working with your child. I am especially
excited about this school year because I continue to have the addition of seven
new computers to my classroom. This will be my forth year with a
technology-integrated curriculum and I am certain the year will be fruitful for
both your child and myself.
In order to prepare
my classroom, I attended a two-week training seminar during the summer of 2000.
The main purpose of this class was to give educators the time to develop
techniques geared toward the integration of technology into curriculum. While
planning and working toward a technology infused classroom, I soon realized the
power that these machines will give me toward challenging my students to become
greater thinkers.
As a classroom, we
will be able to:
I expect that the journey towards learning about the
Earth will be rather exciting with this technology at our fingertips.
Furthermore, I am also certain that my students will have much knowledge about
the computer that they will share with me. This endeavor will continue to be a
learning experience for all of us in Room 231!
In addition, I am currently involved in a new
two-year initiative called the HELMSS program. HELMSS is an acronym that
stands for High Expectations for
Learning in Middle School Science. HELMSS builds upon the tremendous
success of Kits in Teaching Elementary Science (KITES). Since 1995, more than 1500 teachers and
13,000 students have benefited form National Science Foundation supported and Standards
based instructional materials for
elementary schools through the KITES program.
HELMSS
is the next phase of science reform in Rhode Island with a primary target of
grades 6-8 as the recipients of Standards based professional
development for teacher leaders and National Science Foundation
supported instructional materials for students.
(I have included a copy of
the Nation Science Education Standards in this welcome packet.)
My science students will
benefit from my involvement with this new and exciting effort because I will
further master my content area and become more familiar with the current trend
of Standards based instruction.
More directly, I will be piloting an innovative kit-based module in the fall of
this school year. This module will enable the students to actively manipulate
and experience Standards based
materials. I am extremely pleased that
I can offer my students this opportunity and I am certain that your children
will benefit by the dynamics of my classroom.
Furthermore, I am
initiating a new science notebook format that evolved from my most recent
involvement with an innovative summer workshop called the Science and Literacy Integration Project (SLIP). As a
result, my students will improve upon their basic scientific process skills and
learn about Earth Science through the collaboration of inquiry and
literacy!
Following, I'd like to encourage parent- teacher
communication by offering my web page and
e-mail address to you. By
utilizing the web page, you will be able to keep up with your child's homework
and project due dates on a daily/weekly basis. It also gives a nice preview of
some of the topics we will cover this year.
Please feel free to visit my web page at www.geocities.com/rid24696. It is a
work-in-progress and will be updated as needed.
Please note:
All work assignments will be posted on the School
Notes link.
If the web page cannot answer your questions and/or
you have other concerns that need my immediate attention, please contact me at 233-1930
ext.2779 or e-mail me at [email protected]. I look forward to
communicating with you and am eager to begin a rewarding school year.
Sincerely yours,
Mrs. Saul