Dear Parents and Guardians,

Wow, the summer has just flown by and the first day of school has quickly arrived!  I am very excited that I have the opportunity to work with your child.  Third grade is a very exciting year, where the students really learn how to work with one another, as well as independently.  It will be an eventful journey as you watch your third grader grow over the course of the year.

I want to take a moment to introduce myself to you.  My name is James Dutch and this is the start of my third year at Myron L. Powell Elementary School.  I truly feel that this is a great place to learn and teach! In addition to teaching third grade, I also coach the boys basketball team, flag football, and am an advisor for the safety patrol. I also serve on several academic committees here at our school.

I also have my own classroom website that is a great communication tool and I hope you will find the contents of the website informative and helpful.  Please be sure to check out my classroom website at www.myronlpowell.org and find my name under faculty websites.  I will work to keep it updated as much as possible with events, activities, and pictures.  If you have any questions, or need to contact me, please feel free to email me at [email protected]. 

Please be sure to mark your calendars for Back to School Night on September 22nd.  This is a great opportunity for you to meet me, see our classroom, and learn about the exciting year that I have planned. I look forward to working with your child and hope that together we can make this an outstanding year!

Although I will only have your child in class for a short time, I want to make a contribution that will last a lifetime. All children are unique individuals with their own learning styles and interests.  To help your child feel at home in our classroom and to help all the children become a community of learners, I am interested in how you see your child as both a learner and as a person.  Would you help me by taking a quiet moment to write me about your child? What is your child like? What are things you, as the parent, know that would be important for me to know? What are your child's interests? I know your lives are very busy, so please write as much as you have time for. Feel free to send this via email or a note sent to school with your child. I would love to have all of these letters by Friday, September 10th.

I look forward to hearing from you.  Thanks for being such great parents and guardians!

Sincerely,
James Dutch