Dear Parents and Guardians:

 We hope this message finds you and your family well! We want to begin by thanking you for signing up to speak with us about your child’s progress.  We value your partnership!

 Parent Feedback

We also want to thank you for your constructive feedback about how remote learning has gone for you and your child. 

 We will implement the following feedback immediately:

• Fridays will now be Independent Work Days, which means no new work will be assigned.  Students may choose to use this day to catch up on previous assignments or extend their learning.
• We will no longer assign work in No Red Ink or Membean; however, these platforms are full of perfect extension activities for anyone looking to extend their learning. 

New Unit Starting May 4: Personal Narrative!

In this unit, students will write a Personal Narrative, which is an essay about a specific occurrence in a writer’s life. We ask that students please prioritize the Live Google Meet on Thursday, May 7th, so they can receive important information for our new unit.  

Why did we choose this unit?

• Students will exit 9th grade with a polished narrative they can later revise as a personal statement for college applications and/or scholarships. 
• In addition to identifying and analyzing elements such as theme, characterization, and word choice, students will create them in their own writing.    
• Creative writing can have a significant impact on our mental health; it has been found to boost mood, enhance well-being, and reduce anxiety. 

Weekly Overview

You mentioned how much you appreciated that our curriculum followed a predictable structure each week. 

With that in mind, here’s how we organized the weeks of this unit: