Dear Families,

My name is Mrs. Taylor and I am very excited to be joining your child in Kindergarten this September! Let me start by telling you a little bit about myself. This summer I got married, so just for the heads up, you may hear some staff and students call me by my old name Ms. Diaz. I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago where I attended Chicago Public schools all the way through high school. From high school I then attended the University of Chicago where I received a Masters degree in Teaching. This will be my second year at Erie Elementary Charter School. Last year I taught the end of a K-1 loop, first grade.

Well, now that I shared some information about myself let me share some information about our class. We are Depaul Kindergarten! We are named after Depaul University. At the moment we have 25 students in our class. Don't worry that is the most students we will have all year. I really believe in building a strong classroom community where the students and I learn about each other and learn how to care, respect and help one another. We will be working on that all year long. I truly love our school and feel very fortunate to be at a school that cares not only about a child academically but also about how they develop socially and emotionally.

If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach me at the school phone number 773-486-7234 and ask for Mrs. Taylor. I am always happy to talk to the families of my students. You are the most important people in my students' lives! Let's work together to make sure your child gets everything he or she needs to be successful this year!

Remember that the first day of school is September 6, 2011. On the first day of school you will be allowed to join us on a quick goodbye activity which at the latest should end at 8:30 a.m.. After that we will ask that you say goodbye and wish us a great first day in Kindergarten! Make sure that during these next few days you think about how you will say good bye (I know it will be hard to say bye to your babies!). We hope to see you then!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Taylor