Welcome to Sixth Grade!

Dear Parents and Students,

            Welcome to sixth grade! I am your English Language Arts and/or Reading teacher. I am a nineteen-year teaching veteran, educational author, writer, and National Board Certified Teacher. I have been eagerly anticipating the beginning of a new school with you; one that I am confident will be highly successful. My class is a student-direct learning environment where students have a voice and choice in their learning with the support and guidance from me that each student needs, wherever they are on the learning continuum. Every practice in which we engage is supported by proven research for best practices in promoting the highest level of success for each student.

            Many of the traditional teaching methods that you may have experienced in the past will look different than the practices in our class. Much of our learning will take place with the support of digital tools using digital age literacy to increase a student’s growth, motivation, and enthusiasm for learning. My students will be connected with students from around the world to collaborate, connect, and learn with throughout this entire school year. Although our learning may appear different, students will be held to high expectations and challenged on whatever level they may be on each of the content area standards. In this type of environment, students take ownership of their learning. I feel very fortunate to get to witness how each student blossoms and grows in this type of learning environment.

            In order for our students to have the highest degree of success, I know that we need to build a strong relationship between home and school. I have arranged several different mediums where we can communicate, and you can stay informed of our classroom learning activities. First, we have a class website, http://ramsaysclass.com/. This site contains important information about procedures, routines, and units of study. As school begins, additions will be regularly made. For classroom activities and news, you can visit our class blog, http://ramsaysclassblog.blogspot.com/, where we will post more specific activities, giving you a window into our classroom. I will write the first several posts, but then the students will take ownership in writing and publishing the blog posts, under my guidance. Please take time to sign up for alerts when a new blog is posted by filling in the “Follow RamsaysClass by Email.” I know that you will not want to miss any of the exciting things going on in our class. Also, for a further connection, please consider following our class on Twitter, @RamsaysClass, for current insight into not only announcements, but also insight into the learning that is taking place in our classroom and through our global connections.

            I know that you know your student extremely well. In an effort to increase my knowledge of your student so that I can better plan instructional practices to support his/her learning, please take a moment to complete the following survey: http://goo.gl/3PFF9l

            I am thrilled as we embark on this epic learning adventure together!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Ramsay, NBCT

jramsay@tusc.k12.al.us