End of School Year Letters

Dear Parents and Families,

Wow, what a year! To better state that- what a GREAT year! We have covered a lot of material and participated in many fun
and exciting projects. We started to develop skills needed for the fourth grade. We made many new friends along the way too.

Each of your children has brought such joy and happiness to our classroom. I was so fortunate to have such a wonderful group of children this past year. My friends and family often laugh at me when I refer to your children as “my kids”. They are like my own children. They all have touched my life and this school year in very positive and rewarding ways. I hope as the years go by that they keep in touch. Today’s technology can help us continue the relationships we have built. I encourage and welcome correspondences from you and your children.

It has been my pleasure getting to know not only your child, but you as well. Having parental support and open lines of communication is an essential part of any successful school year. Thank you for all you have done to make our year so fulfilling and memorable.

As your child moves from third to fourth grade, there are some very important things you can do to help them succeed. Engage in meaningful conversations with your child everyday. Take time (if only a few minutes a day) to really listen to what they have to say. Read to and listen to your child read. Ask questions, make predictions, make life to text connections as you read. Practice those multiplication facts as a way to really be ready for fourth grade math. Help your child develop a sense of working and solving problems independently. Talk about ways and start practicing getting and staying organized. Encourage your child to write often! Writing stories, letters, journal entries, etc are great ways to get thoughts organized and put onto paper. These little things will lead to big successes next year.

Please enjoy the slideshow I have prepared for you and your family. There are directions for use on the inside of the CD case. As mentioned in the case, some fonts, transitions and music clips may be deleted or altered coming from my computer to yours. I have made every effort to avoid these issues, but with older computers and different systems, you may experience some changes in the show; however the pictures will remain in tact.

Again, thank you for a wonderful year. Have a fantastic summer and see you in the fall!

Sincerely,

Mrs. MacDonald

I teach 3rd, but I'm sure you could use my letter and change a few things to make it fit 1st grade.

Here is a letter that I have used:




Dear Parents,


Well, this is it! Here we are at the last day and a half of school for your kindergartner! It seems like just yesterday when you were dropping them off for the first time!


Over the summer vacation, I strongly encourage you to read to your child every day, practice handwriting in both upper and lower case, and practice counting—both orally and in writing, and to review the sight words that we have been working on all year.Doing one or two of these activities each day over the summer vacation will help to keep your child’s skills sharp.


The Wilmington Library will have its Summer Reading Program. It’s a great way to keep your child reading. Also, try to visit museums and zoos, too. They can be lots of fun and you get to sneak in some learning too! Summer vacation is too long of a time to go without any study time! (Statistics show that children who do not study at all over the summer vacation, can lose about 80% of what they have learned over the course of the school year!) Please do not let that happen to your child.


Thank you for being such good parents to your children! It has been a pleasure working with you and I have enjoyed teaching each and every one of your children! May God bless and watch over you and your children this summer and always.


Sincerely,

May 20,2005

Dear Parents,
I am writing you one last time to thank you for sharing our children with me this past school year. It seems like only a few weeks ago when Mrs. XXX and I were introducing ourselves at PTA Curriculum Night. I believe we all managed to pull through very nicely. I hope that along the way the children have gained a bit more knowledge, helpful tips on organizing themselves, accessing information and, of course, flexibility!
I encourage you to set aside some time this summer to review reading and math skills, especially the multiplication tables. I’m including some suggestions and tips to keep some basic Language and Math skills fresh. I hope you will find these helpful. Don't forget the AKS (Academic Knowledge and Skills) booklet that was handed out in the beginning of the year. This little book contains all the skills covered in fourth grade. All these skills can also be accessed on the Internet at http://www.gwinnett.k12.ga.us/.
I have also included an individual booklist for each child. This list was chosen to encourage your child’s reading over the summer. I have starred and made notes about my favorites (that I read as an adult and/or child!). Please note that I have NOT read all the books on this list and PLEASE preview any books before your child reads them.
I hope each one of you have a safe and restful summer.

Sincerely,

Mandy Gregory

Hope this helps!
Mandy

I vary my summer suggestions depending on my class. Some years I send a copy of the activity book Set Sail for Summer Grade 1 Review Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company, Inc. (Copyright permission is given to the teacher to make copies if they purchase a copy.)

Other years, I send the following letter:

Dear Parents,
Summer vacation is almost here! To keep skills strong and learning fresh, try some of the following ideas...

Join the San Antonio Public Library summer reading program.
Read every day...this summer would be a great time to choose a chapter book and read aloud each evening as a family.
Keep a vacation journal if you travel this summer. Ask your child to write about and illustrate a journal page for each day of your vacation.
Bake cookies together (great way to practice reading and math skills!)
Start a collection...baseball cards, bugs, dolls, coins, marbles, etc. Check out a book from the library to learn more about your collection.
Practice addition and subtraction facts using fact cards
Write a letter to Mrs. Miller to tell her what you are doing over the the summer.
Have a family game night on Friday and play board games and eat pizza.

Why not have the kids come up with a list of what they've learned this year, and have them help you write the letter telling about all they have done and learned?

Another suggestion is to write individual letters and brag about all the things their child has accomplished this year. This will probably take a bit longer than you expected to spend on it, but it's the kind of thing that they will LOVE. What parent doens't like to have their child bragged about, especially when they don't have to do it themselves?

I would send a letter or email that list the children and one things about each child. The parents like to see this about their own child but also about their child's classmates. For example - Bob was very helpful this year, Emily was a great encourager to her classmates, Jill was very creative in all her projects, etc. Hope this helps you end the year with a positive thought about each child.

I'm interested to see what others use. I've always used the following:

I’m glad I was your teacher.
I've come to love you so.
I can't believe the end is here.
I hate to see you go.

Remember all the fun we had
in all the things we did
But most of all remember...
You're a very special kid!

I do an ABC acrostic of events that have happened through the year and put each of their names in it. For example

A is for Alex and Art class every Wednesday
B is for Battle of the Books winners
C is for Cara, Carly and caring for each other

etc.