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TWS 10 Communication

A. Family Communication:
In order to have successful parent involvement in my classroom I will communicate with
my students guardians on a weekly basis. However, one of my formal communications
would be my introduce letter to the parents telling who I am and little bit about my
education and myself. I will send the introductory letter out at the beginning of the year
so that if any parents or guardians had any questions or concerns they can contact me
early in the year. The second form of communication would be parent conferences. I
would first send home letters saying that it is that time of year and ask them to sign up for
a time to meet. I think face-to-face meetings are beneficial because the questions,
concerns, and comments can come out in a conversation and can easily be resolved.
During the parent conference I would start by tell the parent or guardian what their child
has accomplished so far and then if anything needs to be worked on or if I have any
concerns I will address them as needed. For the parents that have no way of getting there
or simply does not have time to meet at the school I will be more than willing to make a
home visit whenever the time is appropriate because I think it is very important for
teachers to have some kind of connection with the parents or guardians of their students.
The third form of communication would be a sheet that I would send home every day for
me to either write a good note or bad note for the parents to see. There would be space for
my comments and the parents comments and signature. I would explain at the beginning
of the year that I will not always write things on each childs sheet everyday but only if I
feel like they need to have a sad note or if they have had an exceptionally great day. I will
encourage the parents to check this sheet each day because if I have written something
than I want them to see it and recognize it by a signature or comment. There may also be
times during the day where I get a few minutes to call or email the parents or guardians
and tell them if they their child has had a good or bad day. I believe communicating with
the parents for good or bad behavior is important because I want my parents or guardians
to know I care about their success and what they do good just as much as what they need
to improve on.

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Introductory Letter

Dear Parents/Guardians,
I would like to take the time to introduce myself because I will be active in your childs
classroom this year. I am currently a senior at Lander University pursuing my Bachelors degree in
Early Childhood Education. I am a South Carolina Teaching Fellow at Lander, which is a
scholarship that allows me the opportunity to develop my skills in education through experiences. I
come from a family of teachers and leaders. My brother is a history teacher and football coach at
Wade Hampton High School. My mother has been teaching for over 26 years and is currently the
P.E. teacher at Greenwood High School and my father is a supervisor at Velum Skylights.
I am completing my clinical hours in Mrs. Davis classroom on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I
will be planning and teaching lessons with Mrs. Davis throughout the semester. I will also be taking
photos and videos of me teaching and interacting with the students for my educational
development purposes only. I have attached a photo/video consent form that must be returned in
order for me to do so.
I am looking forward to being apart of your childs academic success and having the ability
to bring new ideas into the classroom. In this opportunity I know I will get the experience I need to
develop as a future educator. If you have questions or concerns please feel free to contact Mrs.
Davis.
Thank you,

Ms. Randi Rhodes

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Daily
Behavior
Name:

Work Day

Teacher Comment

Parent Comment/Signature

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday
B. Communication/Collaboration with Colleagues
My first formal form of communication with colleagues would be around the time that
students experience career day. I would email or call either the local police department or

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fire department to see if they would come speak to our class about their jobs because
younger children are interested in authority figures that they do not see on a regular basis.
In the email or phone call I would ask kindly if there is any way to get a police officer or
fire fighter to come speak to my students about safety and what they do to better our
community. With hopeful back and forth communication I will set up a time and day for
our speakers to come and have the students do something nice for them such as sign a
thank you card in advance. My second form of communication would be a face-to-face
meeting or email to the resource teacher (if I had any resource students in my class). In
the meeting or email I would ask for advice on what I need to do during my lessons to
help them better understand the material. I would also ask what he or shes progress is
during their time out of class. My last form of communication would also be a face-toface meeting or email to the schools guidance counselor. I would ask him/her to come
speak to the class about student characters and the appropriate behavior for school. I
could bring in the guidance counselor if we are not having a good week with behavior
and being friendly to everyone. It would be beneficial for the students to hear
encouraging words from someone else they are not too familiar with.

Email

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To: Greenwood County Police Department

Greenwood County Police Department
Cc:

Subject:
Career Day Visit

Hi Greenwood County Police Department,

My name is Randi Rhodes. I am a Kindergarten teacher here at
Merrywood Elementary and next week we will have our Career Day.
The students will be learning about different jobs that adults have in
our community and I thought it would be great for them to hear from
people that protect us such as policemen. Is there anyway to get
someone to come speak to our class next week. We are flexible and will
be willing to do anytime and any day from Monday through Friday and
8:00am to 2:00pm. Please email me or call me at 864-874-6948.
Thank you,
Randi Rhodes