Three Rivers High School
Dear Students, Parents, and Guardians:
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you. My name is Natalie O’Rielly and I will be teaching your son/daughter’s math class this year. I am elated to begin my second year here at Three Rivers High School. I graduated from Michigan State University in May 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. Before TRHS, I taught at J.W. Sexton High School in Lansing as well as summer school for Kalamazoo Public Schools. I grew up in Lake Odessa, MI, where I graduated from Lakewood High School in 2007. Growing up, I was taught to value education and see its immense, positive influence on both my life and society. With that said, I am very excited to be able to teach your children and be a part of their lives for the coming year(s)!
I strongly believe that in order to achieve, one must be goal-oriented. Frequently in this class, I will ask your student to make goals for themselves, showing responsibility in their learning as they track their progress. Please talk to your child about their math goals, encouraging them to push themselves in achieving and growing mathematically. Along with being goal-oriented, I believe students should feel comfortable, safe and respected in my classroom so that optimal learning can take place. I strive in every lesson to make learning enjoyable, exciting, and meaningful.
Along with this letter is a copy of the syllabus for this semester. Please review this with your child, making sure they understand what is expected of them for this class. Also review with them the section on Educreations.com. This will be a valuable resource for your student when they must be absent from class (all of my notes and discussions are here). Two objects I am requesting each student to have is a spiral notebook, where they will learn how to organize their notes in a logical way (and they may use these notes on assessments!) as well as a folder to keep classwork. In class, I will have a folder for students to keep old work until the end of the semester. Notebooks and folders are available upon request (if ya need one, ask me)!
If at any time you have questions or concerns regarding your child’s progress in this class, please feel free to contact me by phone at (269) 279-1120 ext. 32144 or by email at [email protected].
I am very much looking forward to working with your son or daughter, as I am sure I will learn just as much from them as they will learn from me.
Sincerely,
Ms. O’Rielly