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January 3, 2023

 

Dear Parents, 

 

For those of you who are new to this, welcome to parenting a high school student! I have taught 9th Grade English for over a decade.  Additionally, I have parented 3 previous freshmen.  I want to give you some advice about freshmen.

 

First, many parents realize that adulthood is not too far away.  Your child is in high school.  He or she should begin to be more responsible.  The biggest piece of advice I can give concerning your child's freshman year is to pay attention. Keep up with your child's grades in PowerSchool daily or weekly.  Take your child's phone away from him or her if their grades slip lower than what you expect.  You will be pleasantly surprised at how quickly your child will be sure to make up his or her work if the "distraction" of a phone is removed (or if they know that by doing the missing work they will get their phone back).  Many freshman students are not ready to take on all assignments and grades independently.  They still need a parent to ask them, "Why did you get a zero on this?" or tell them, "I'm taking your phone.  It would be a good idea for you to either talk to your teacher before class tomorrow or email your teacher to find out whether or not you can make up this assignment." I also would tell my own children, "Once your grade has risen to my expectations, show me in PowerSchool, and I will give you back your phone." 

 

By doing these things, you are teaching your children how to advocate for themselves.  I find that students who are paying attention to their own grades tend to do much better than students who are not required to pay attention. This is the year that you are training your child on how to be more independent.  But most freshmen are not ready to do this on their own.  They still need you to pay close attention.

 

Secondly, although it is my goal to help create students who are more independent and responsible for their own grades, if you ever have questions about grades or an assignment please email me or Remind message me.  I am happy to answer questions from parents.  Parent involvement usually creates better students.  It has been my experience that when I let my own children try to fix things on their own, most of the time everything works out.  It is rare that I need to get involved. However, as a parent, patiently waiting for my own child to take care of the situation can sometimes be difficult. If you need to, email me - but also encourage your child talk to or email me.  I am pretty straight forward with my expectations, and I am pretty understanding as both a teacher and a parent.

 

 

Now on to business:

 

I am also writing to let you know some important information regarding your child's English I or English I Honors class this year. Hopefully, with the following information, parents and students together can work with me to ensure that each student I teach is successful in their English class. 

 

All students that I teach will be using computers every day in my class. This benefits my students greatly for many reasons.  First of all, all work is posted on Google Classroom.  Every assignment can be accessed from home, from school, or from any location that has internet capabilities.  Second, all students will also have access to both Google and Microsoft Online products.  This includes Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, OneNote, etc.  Even if these products aren't loaded onto the computers, they can still be accessed online.  Third, all students will receive an email address.  With this privilege comes great responsibility.  I have found that students who have email are able to better communicate with me, they are able to send specific questions about assignments and ask for my opinions on their writing as they progress through the semester.  However, I have also had students get into trouble because they choose to email inappropriate words or content to other students.  Please talk to your child about school email.  The school email is monitored, and even if students delete inappropriate content, it can still be pulled up and accessed by myself and school administration.   

 

If parents are interested in viewing their child's Google Classroom (where I post daily agendas and work students are required to complete), they will need to get with their child to obtain the log in credentials.  Student's login information is relatively easy to firgure out.  For most students it is their first initial followed by their last name and then @livingstonschools.net.  Some students will have a number following their last name. The student's passwords are the first three letters of their first name (with the first letter capitalized), the last four numbers of their social security number, and an exclamation point (!).  For example, if a student's name was Michael Freebug, his login would look something like this:  [email protected] and his password would look like this:  Mic1234! Students may have changed their password.  If this is the case, you will need to get with your student to find out what the new password is.

 

I encourage you to ask your child for their log in information.  Students are often compelled to work harder when they know a parent will be monitoring their activities.  

 

Students are encouraged, and parents are welcome to email me with any questions regarding assignments.  My email is [email protected].  

 

Sincerely,

 

Rachel Gallman

English I/English I Honors/Remedial English

Walker High School