Dear Parent or Guardian,

I want to welcome your child to my language arts class this year.  I am excited about beginning my fourteenth year teaching language arts.  I still remember my 8th grade year.  Enjoy the picture from way back then.  I have lived in Jennings County in southern Indiana for the past nineteen years.  I grew up in eastern North Carolina.  My husband is the District Forester at Selmier State Forest.  We have a daughter, Anna.  In addition to our daughter, we also have a dog named Trixie.  When I am not teaching, I enjoy reading, hiking, and playing games.
I had a very busy but relaxing summer that spent many days on the road.  I vacationed with my husband’s extended family on the North Carolina Outer Banks.  We visited the site of the Lost Colony, the Wright Brothers Memorial, and several lighthouses.  I even got to take hang gliding lessons off of Jockey’s Ridge.  I also led the youth group from our church on a mission trip to western North Carolina.  We did lots of painting and cleaning. We have enjoyed much produce from our garden, but I am getting tired of canning tomatoes.

This year of language arts will be full and productive.  You will read and write more than you ever thought possible!  Each grading period we will focus on writing and reading as well as listening and speaking skills.  My writing instruction follows the format of Writing Workshop.  In Writing Workshop, students are expected to work as real writers.  They will choose the topics they want to write about and work to complete a piece of writing each grading period that they will “publish” or share with a wider audience.  For reading, students will choose books to read independently.  I expect every student to read 40 books by the end of the year.  They will also read and discuss books together in small groups.  I also lead the Survivor Book Club.   Look for more information about it coming soon.

I hope this will be a successful year for your child.  Please feel free to contact me at any time about any concerns you have about the work your child is doing in my classes.  You can reach me at school (346-4940) or by email (kmcgriff@jcsc.org or kaymcgriff@gmail.com).  You can keep up with your child’s assignments on our class blog (www.kaymcgriff.edublogs.org).

Your child will also have a blog page this year to publish writing and share thoughts about reading.  Please feel free to join in our conversations.  You can find your child’s latest posts under the blogroll on the right.  Click on the period you child has me in class and scroll through the reader to find their latest post.

Below is the vision statement I wrote as part of my work with the IUS Writing Project.  I hope it captures what I would like for our classroom this year.

What I See

I see a room
where students overflow with words,
where books are passed from mind to mind
and writing spills across every page.

I see students
who devour book–
poetry and stories,
biographies and memoirs,
how-to guides adn graphic novels,
magazines and websites–
who read during every spare moment.

I see students
eager to take about what they read:
to questions and challenge deeper truths,
to connect with the spaces in their lives.
They invite their friends and family
to read and talk, to celebrate books
at Survivor Book Club.

I see students
who discover that writing has meaning for their lives,
who discover that words have power to challenge injustices
and change their lives.

I see students
who share their writing–
entering contests,
submitting works to magazines and websites,
giving gifts of writing,
plastering the school with their words–
who are not afraid to be heard.

I see a community
where we are free
to share our words,
to think new thoughts,
to try and fail, then try again.

I see colleagues
who value time together–
to share ideas and build on successes,
to share problems and brainstorm solutions,
to read and research together–
who continually seek to stretch beyond
and make ourselves better.

I see my life
where reading, writing, teaching
come together
to point the way.