Bittersweet

To the Parents and Students of Room 318,

I am writing this letter to inform you that I won't be returning to UPA next school year. I have accepted a position as an Assistant Principal for a school in Ypsilanti. I am so excited to pursue a life-long dream of mine (SWEET), but I will miss each and every one of my students and parents (BITTER).

I will continue to write Summer Reading Club letters that are posted on Edmodo. I know I have been late responding, but a lot has been going on this month, as you can imagine. I would love for you to keep in contact with me(embryjd@yahoo.com) because I cherish the relationships that were established and built last school year with both students and parents.

I wish you and your child nothing but the best in future endeavors.

Educationally yours,

Mrs. Drain

End of the Year Buffet, Summer Reading Club, and Happy Summer

Parents of Room 318,
Sadly, it's the end of the school year :( But, we went out with a BANG!!! All of the academic and social success that each student obtained was phenomenal! In addition, the relationships that were built and maintained between myself, you, and your child was something that every teacher dreams about. I cannot express how proud I am of all of the students and how grateful I am to all of the parents of room 318. 


It was great to see Mr. & Mrs. Nolen, Ms. Lewis, Mrs. Goss, Mr. & Mrs. Martin, Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, Mrs. Harrell, Mrs. McLin, Mr. Lang, Ms. Coffey, Ms. Stewart, Ms. Scott, Ms. Howard, Ms. Smith, and Mrs. Wells at the celebration. Thank you for all of your help, I could not have done it without you...as always.


I wanted to give a HUGE shout out to all of the parents who contributed to the end of the year buffet, and I mean ALL because every single student brought in something to share! For those parents who were not able to attend because of their schedule, I've made a video slideshow just for you...check it out!







Have a fabulous summer, but don't forget to write your three letters to me for the Summer Reading Club. Below is all of the details just in case your original copy gets lost over the summer. :)


Create wonderful memories this summer!!!


Love,
Mrs. Drain 



Into Letter Blog SRC Reflection Options SRC Parent Guide

Thursday

Parents of Room 318,


As the end of the school year draws near, I am excited that I will be able to spend majority of Thursday with you. Just a reminder...

• 4th Grade Award Ceremony         11:00 a.m.
• End of the Year Buffet                 12:00-1:30 p.m.

I look forward to seeing you at both events and concluding this school year they way that it begun, as a collaborative effort from you, your child, and myself! 


See you on Thursday,


Mrs. Drain

Black History Month Program

On Wednesday night at our Black History Program, it was nice to see…

·      Mr. and Mrs. Nolen

·      Mrs. Goss

·      Mr. Hayes

·      Mrs. Harrell

·      Ms. Thompson

·      Mr. Anderson

·      Ms. Lewis

·      Ms. Lawrence

·      Mr. and Mrs. Carr

·      Ms. Stewart

·      Ms. Howard

·      Ms. Smith

·      Mrs. Wells

·      Mr. and Mrs. McLin

Edmodo

Last week I registered the students of Room 318 on Edmodo. We will be using Edmodo in our classroom, especially for Weekend Writing. I feel that this is a great way to expose the students to the types of requirements that are offered in higher education (college). We will be using Edmodo to enhance our educational experiences in and out of the classroom.

Please read below for a more detailed explanation.

Edmodo Parent Letter

Happy Holidays

Wishing you and your family a 

Happy Holiday and a prosperous New Year!

I look forward to seeing you on Monday, January 9^th

Quarter 1 Progress Reports

Progress Reports – 11/14/11

This is our first try with the new progress reports.  There are a few glitches that I’m already aware of.  First, many of us did not know that the advisory section of the report would show up, which is why it still blank.  Second, I don’t believe the attendance is correct for many students.  I’m trying to get to the bottom of it.  Third, progress for science and social studies didn’t print on the report.  Please let me know if you have any questions, and I will contact you if I have any new concerns.  Please sign this note acknowledging that you’ve seen and read your child’s progress report.

Snacks

We have are in need of snack. If you could donate healthy snacks to the class, it would be appreciated. Thanks!

A Reflective, Thank You!

I had a conversation Thursday morning with one of my classroom parents. She came up to check on her son’s progress and to get my perspective on how I thought the year school was going thus far.

She stated that she would ask her son every afternoon how was his day and he would reply, “Good!” She said it seem too good to be true, that everyday, everything was going well!

That put a smile on my face because I can say sincerely say that the beginning of this school year has been absolutely WONDERFUL!!! I love the students of Room 318. They are engaged, respectful, and truly a joy to be around.

Then to add icing on the cake, I am so fortunate to have you as my classroom parents! You are receptive to my phone calls, supportive of the learning/homework, and you provide/donate any and everything that I ask for. I am grateful. If this is what the beginning is like, I cannot wait to see what the next two years bring us. Thank you for making the start of this school year so great! 


Okay, okay, I'm done being sentimental...

Fall Celebration NOTICE

PEANUT ALLERGY!!!!

I forgot to mention in the Fall Celebration letter, that we have a student that is allergic to peanuts. So when you are making/purchasing candies or snacks for the Fall Celebration, please make sure that it DOES NOT contain peanuts! Thank you!

Reading Groups Have Begun

Last week we started reading groups. Some students are going to other fourth-grade teachers for reading (Mrs. Wagner, Mrs. Tiggs, or Mr. Wetherbee). The school is trying something different to determine if students will show more academic growth this way. We know that the students are not used to having more than one main teacher. With that in mind, all of the fourth-grade teachers are in constant communication and will be aware of any pertinent information. If you would like an academic update based on your child's reading you will need to make an appointment with your child's reading teacher. Below is a list of the reading classes. 


Mr. Wetherbee
KeyShawn
Sharnay
JeRon


Mrs. Tiggs
Kamayah
Charity
Miranda


Mrs. Wagner
Joshua
Michale
Trinity


Mrs. Drain
Toni
Asia
Jordan H.
Chaderra
Alyssa
Jordan L.
Na'Zyia

October's Brag Board

The brag board will be changing for the month of October. Please fill out the pumpkin with the sentence starter,

“(Child’s name) is my pumpkin because…”

I will be keeping each of the brag board templates to make a small book at the end of the school year as a keepsake for your child. The children love reading your words on our board every day. Thank you for taking the time to complete them.

Important Dates

Milestone 1: Thursday, October 20th

Milestone 2: Thursday, November 17th

Milestone 3: Thursday, December 8th

*Detail information for each Milestone will be in your child’s Friday folder on next Thursday, September 29^th!

HOMEWORK FOLDER

We have had an excessive amount of missing assignments in Room 318.


So today, I have provided your child with a GREEN homework folder. Inside of your child's homework folder are planning sheets where they write down their homework, along with the correlating worksheets that need to be done. Your child is expected to bring their folder home every night. Your assistance is needed to ensure that they return the folder with the assignments COMPLETED to school the next day.


Thank you for all that you do!

CORRECTION

I recently posted that there will be no school this Friday, however, I was incorrect. There will be no school on next Friday, September 30th! 


I apologize for any confusion that this may have caused!

Back to School Night

It was nice to see...

Mrs. Goss

Mr. and Mrs. Hayes

Mrs. Nolen

Ms. Fells

Mrs. Carr

Mr. Coffey

Ms. Lewis

Mrs. Wells

at "Back to School Night!"Thank you for spending your evening with me.

Missing Item

A student cannot locate his BLUE watch that he brought to school on last Friday. It is an expensive watch that belongs to his father. I am asking all of my families to look around your homes to see if your child accidentally brought it home without realizing it. No questions asked upon return. 


Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

First Day of School

Check out a few pictures from yesterday!

BRING A LUNCH

Hot lunch service will not start until the second week of school. So every child must bring his or her own lunch the first week of school. Please be sure that lunches include healthy foods (100% juice, baked chips, granola, pretzels, fruits, vegetables, etc.).

Welcome to Mrs. Drain's 4th Grade Class!

Hello, my name is Mrs. Drain and I am excited to be your child’s 4^th grade teacher. This is my eighth year of teaching and my fourth year at University Preparatory. I taught two years as a fourth grade teacher in Georgia and two years in Eastpointe, MI where I taught a fourth/fifth grade loop.   

I have earned a master’s degree in Educational Leadership from Eastern Michigan University and a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University in Elementary Education, thus making me a highly qualified teacher.  In my free time I love to read, shop, fish, ski, and be surrounded by those I love.  This will be a year of learning, growing, and exploring new things for all of us.  So let’s get ready for a wonderful school year together.

Please read my Welcome Letter below to get an overview of my classroom procedures and expectations. In addition, I have also included a classroom supply and wish list!

Welcome to 4th Grade