Welcome Letter

          Welcome to what will be a challenging and exciting school year at MMS! As an active learner in this class, you’ll identify your strengths and weaknesses in the areas of reading, writing, grammar, research, listening, speech, and critical thinking, and you’ll use self-reflection as a tool to reach your full potential. I realize that the very thought of this might ignite fear inside your heart, your eardrum, or your elbow, but I have faith that you will enjoy this class and, in the process, you’ll acquire skills that will last a lifetime. (Yes. This means that someday you’ll send me a graduation announcement, an invitation to your wedding, and pictures of your first-born. And for those of you who become famous, you’ll give me fabulous swag and VIP passes to your events.)
            But for now, let’s get back to business! This class will afford you the opportunity to learn and apply yourself in a variety of ways. You’re expected to participate in discussions, explore ideas, learn new concepts, and take pride in your work. Emphasis on quality, rather than quantity, is critical: I’d rather read a single page of wonderfully polished prose as opposed to five pages of unedited slop. As an honors student, it’s expected that you’ll be actively involved in your learning; always take the time to contemplate, edit, and revise assignments to ensure that they are your best effort and an honest reflection of your knowledge.
           Examples and rubrics are wonderful tools that you can refer to as guidelines for exactly what you’ll be graded on. Also, if you’re struggling to complete an assignment, please see me prior to the due date so that I can help clarify expectations or simply provide input and feedback. It is your responsibility to have assignments and projects turned in on time; late work is not accepted other than for excused absences as outlined in the MMS Student Handbook. When you’re absent, it’s your responsibility to make up the work that you have missed. This can be difficult when entire lessons and discussions that can never be replicated in the same dynamic fashion have occurred while you’ve been busy bungee jumping in Tanzania or charting new islands in the South Pacific. If you’re gone during a discussion or activity for which no hand-out is available, please talk about the lesson with trustworthy classmates or schedule a tutoring time to meet with me outside of class as soon as possible. 
            Remember that grades are not given, they are earned. If you’re not earning the grades you want, I’m not receiving the quality of work that I expect from you. Each of you will have individual strengths and weaknesses, but if you’re willing to put forth the effort, we’ll be able to identify where you struggle and where you shine. That knowledge will be useful to help me differentiate instruction to meet your individual needs, and it will help you better recognize what activities and projects will take more time to finish so that you don’t procrastinate and do a less than stellar job on your assignments.
             My goal is to help you to be successful, dedicated, and to enjoy the journey. Again, welcome. I’m so happy to have each of you in my class and I know that this year is going to be spectacular!     

Sincerely,

 

Mrs. Gott