Dear Parents,
I am very excited to be starting a new school year at Mark Twain! I look forward to getting to know the most important people in your life! I hope your children will enjoy coming to school each day as much as I enjoy coming to school each day. I look forward to a fun-filled year of learning.
I am posting a copy of a letter that I will send home with the students on the first day of school, and also a letter that I wrote to the students that tells you a little bit more about me. This is a post only blog, so if you have any questions regarding the blog or any information on it please e-mail me at rzirczy@houstonisd.org
See you on Monday!!
Mrs. Zirczy
Parent Letter:
Dear Parents,
Welcome back to a new school year! I am very excited about working with your children and hope to foster their love of learning.
I use a blog to post announcements, spelling words, general info, upcoming items students may need, and upcoming events. Please check posts weekly at www.zirczysclass@blogpot.com.
There are a few items that I ask the students to bring that were not on the school supply list. I realize that the first week of school is a busy week for all, so if the items are at school by Friday of this week that would be just fine. I am asking for a three ring binder that has a soft cover that zips closed. In the fourth grade we work on teaching organizational skills and this binder is a great tool for that. Students will put their agenda, informational sheets, homework, etc. in this binder. Although these binders are a bit pricey they will be able to use them in fifth grade as well. Any binder will do, but the zipper binders are much more durable and have space for students to put their folders, etc.
Another item I recommend is a flash drive of any kind. We do a great deal of power points, research projects, etc. where this will come in handy. We will not be using them for a few more weeks, but if you have one on hand you might want to set it aside for classroom use. It is not necessary that they bring one to class at this time. I will let students know when they need to bring the flash drives to class. Again, this is only a recommendation.
There will be several forms coming home on the first day. Please try to return them as soon as possible. There is a parent survey and information sheet coming home specifically from me as well as the regular first day packet.
We will not have spelling words the first week of school but will have light homework assignments. These assignments will be written in the student's agendas each day. Please sign the agenda nightly so I will know that you have received the day’s homework and announcements.
Please pick up students in the cafeteria after school if possible. It helps the flow of traffic and allows me to make sure I know where each student is going and with whom.
I look forward to the 2009-2010 school year and working with you and your children!
Sincerely,
Rebecca Zirczy
Student Letter:
Dear Student,
Welcome to the fourth grade! Fourth grade is a very exciting grade and we get to learn about many interesting topics! I am looking forward to getting to know you and learning from you as well!
I want to tell you a little bit about myself. When I was growing up I moved around quite a bit. I lived in Houston, Midland, San Antonio, Cody Wyoming, Lexington Kentucky, and Vincennes Indiana. There were some great advantages to living different places, but at times it was tough. However, now I have friends all over the United States!
My parents live in Houston as well as my younger sister, Rachel. Rachel and her husband Dan have a 2 year old boy named Payne. I try to see him as much as possible. Do you have any brothers or sisters? My grandparents and aunts and uncles live in Kentucky. I enjoy visiting them about once a year and I love to see the beautiful horses that are raised there. Does any of your family live outside of Texas?
Growing up I really enjoyed school. My favorite subject was music. I started playing the piano and cello in elementary school and continued through college. What subjects do you enjoy? I graduated from the University of Houston in 2004. Since then I have taught second, third and fourth grades. This will be my sixth year teaching! I have to say that fourth grade is my favorite so far. This will be my third year at Mark Twain. I love teaching at Twain because the students here are very enthusiastic and committed. What do you enjoy about being a part of the Mark Twain community?
I had a very exciting summer. I started the summer with a trip to Toronto, Canada. I had french fries with gravy and cheese! It is a very popular dish there. I also got to go to the top of CN tower! It was very high and had a wonderful view of Toronto. Next, I spent 3 weeks teaching at the Summer Creative Writing Workshop at the Shlenker school. Teaching writing there was a wonderful experience for me, and I learned a great deal from the other teachers and my students. I cannot wait to teach again next summer! I also went to Miami, FL and Lexington, Ky. There were a few days left for reading and playing with my 20 year old cat, Holly. Right before school started my husband and I got a chocolate lab puppy name Mac. He is extremely cute, but a real wild man! What did you do this summer?
I am looking to fun filled year of exploring new things! Thank you for being a part of our class!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Zirczy
