August 25, 2014
Dear Student,
Welcome to North Dallas High School and your English class!! I am very excited to be your English teacher and look forward to working with you this year. I want to start by telling you a little about myself and how I came to be a teacher. My name is Kate Kairies, I was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and I moved to Tokyo, Japan when I was three years old. I lived in Tokyo for many years, until I came back to the United States and moved to Dallas, Texas, where I went to high school. I have lived in Spain and Italy, speak Spanish, and love learning about new cultures. I have one younger sister named Ali who is married and lives and works here in Dallas, and I also have a mother, Bridget, and a father, Jim, who both live in Dallas and I am very close with. I love to read books and magazines, write, hike and camp outside, paint, travel, take photos, listen to music and spend time with my friends and family. I especially like to paint portraits, practice taking pictures and cook meals from all different countries for my friends.
I went to college at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, where I studied Spanish and International Studies, and I also studied for one year on a scholarship in Madrid, Spain. I later went to graduate school and received a Masters degree in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, and after I graduated I worked as a journalist for the TV news group CNN.
Because I grew up in many places, in school I had many friends from all different backgrounds. While in college and graduate school, I met many of the friends I have now who are very important in my life, and they are from Mexico, Colombia, France, El Salvador and England .
I have become a teacher because I believe that every student can succeed in school and can enjoy learning, and I want my students to have the skills and education, and therefore the opportunity, to choose their own future. I want to create a school experience for my students where they are excited to learn, can learn about things valuable to their own lives, and feel safe to take risks and express themselves in class. That is what we will work towards this year. But this takes hard work, and a serious commitment from you. I expect that you come prepared, ready to challenge yourself and support your classmates. I expect each of you to respect me, as your teacher, and I will respect you. Remember, we are all in this together.
Being good writers, readers and communicators are skills necessary to go far in life. Reading and writing at home are necessary and also finding a way to enjoy them will help you improve. This year I am going to push you to be the best students and people you can be. It will not be easy. You will work hard. Do not settle for anything less than your best, because I will not. I promise that if you work hard, as hard as you possibly can every day, you will succeed. I will try to teach to your individual needs, but you also need to let me know if there is something you do not understand or if you need to be challenged more. If you ever have a problem in or out of school, please feel free to talk about it. I still remember how hard and stressful being your age is, and all the responsibilities and pressures you have. I am here to help you do your best and I want each of you to have a great year, not just in my class but in all your classes. Having a good year is up to your teachers, classmates, and most importantly, it’s up to YOU-only you have the real power to succeed.
Sincerely,
Kate Kairies
Letter to Ms. Kairies:
For this assignment, you will write a letter to me, just as I wrote one to you. This letter is your chance to tell me about yourself and tell me things that you think I should know as your teacher. I want to know who you are so I can meet your needs as a teacher. This letter will be the first writing assignment for class and a way for me to see how you write so I know how I can help you. Your letter must be at least one full page of loose leaf paper and written neatly. Don’t stress about spelling or grammar, just write how you usually do and include anything you can, phrases, words…just do your best!
There will be 2 parts to your letter. In each part there are specific questions for you to answer. Try to answer with as much detail as possible and be honest.
- Tell me about yourself
- What are your interests?
- What is your family like?
- What makes you happy?
- What makes you angry or sad?
- What are some things I should know about your personality or attitude?
- Who are some important people in your life?
- Tell me about reading and writing and your teachers
- Do you like reading? Why or why not?
- Do you like writing? Why or why not?
- When do you like to write and what do you like to write about?
- What are some of your interests you would like to learn more about?
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