Hannah Collison

Letters of Communication
2/19/17

Letter to the Principal:

Dr. Meyer,

My name is Hannah Collison and Im an eighth grade social studies teacher here at Andersen
Junior High School. Im excited to share my passion for history with my students.

As a social studies teacher, my goal is to teach students how to become critical thinkers by
helping them to analyze sources and make connections. I will also work to help my students
build effective arguments through research. By doing this, students will be able to argue their
position more effectively and have facts to back up their position and make their argument more
convincing. Lastly, I strive to create a safe and collaborative classroom environment by teaching
students skills such as respect and responsibility. I will do this through a learning environment in
which students work in groups often to complete tasks and projects. This will help create a safe
and collaborative environment because it will build trust between students. When students work
together often, they begin to trust one another and they begin to want to collaborate because they
trust the people they are working with. They begin to respect one another and understand that
everyone needs to do their part when working in groups.

I understand that parents are valuable partners in ensuring their childs success. Therefore, I will
ensure that parents feel comfortable contacting me with questions or concerns, and that they can
do so without difficulty. I will also help parents understand that I, too, want whats best for their
child and am more than willing to work with them to make sure that their child succeeds. I will
do this by updating parents on their childs progress and, when appropriate, working with them
to determine consequences for their child.

Thank you for your time. If you need to contact me, I can be reached at hcolliso@asu.edu or
(208) 249-5995.

Sincerely,

Hannah Collison
Dear Parents,

My name is Ms. Collison and I will be your childs social studies teacher this year. Im looking
forward to sharing my passion for history with your child, as well as working with you and your
child to ensure a successful year! In my classroom, I will teach my students to be critical thinkers
and push them to do their best. I believe that every student can succeed and I will give them the
tools they need to do just that. These tools include critical thinking and problem solving. I will
teach these by helping students analyze primary source documents and asking them to
brainstorm possible solutions to modern-day issues. Students should be prepared to do their very
best, not just the bare minimum thats required to pass the class.

I expect students to come to class prepared and to turn their homework in on time. Students
should also be respectful of their classmates and myself, even when they dont agree. I also
expect students to work with and help their peers. As a teacher, I want my classroom to be a
space in which students can collaborate with and help one another, and I will do my best to foster
such an environment through teamwork and modeling how to respect each others opinions and
ideas.

I believe that parents are very valuable in their childs education. Please dont hesitate to contact
me with any questions or concerns that you have. I can be reached at hcolliso@asu.edu, (208)
249 - 5995, or the Edmodo website for parents. We both want whats best for your child, so lets
work together to make sure that they succeed.

Im looking forward to working with you and your student this year.

Sincerely,

Ms. Collison
Mr. & Mrs. Smith,

I am writing to discuss Johnnys behavior in class. Several times this past week, he has been
caught using his phone for non-academic purposes during lectures and group work. I told Johnny
twice to put his phone away, but despite these warnings, he continued to use his phone for non-
academic purposes. After the third warning, Johnnys phone was taken and he received a lunch
detention. Per classroom policy, if this happens again, Johnnys phone privileges will be taken
away.

I believe that we can work together to ensure that this doesnt happen. Johnny is a hard worker
and has consistently demonstrated his ability to improve, and this situation is no different. He has
the ability to improve his behavior. I would like Johnny to be able to keep his phone privileges,
as I often have students use their phones for classroom purposes, such as online quizzes. Is there
a time we can meet to discuss Johnnys behavior and possible solutions? If having this discussion
over the phone is more convenient for you, please let me know. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Ms. Collison