Dear Parents, 

My name is Katelyn Hecker and I am so excited to be your child’s teacher this year! This will be my second year teaching in the Hays district and my first year teaching here at Roosevelt Elementary School. I even attended Roosevelt as a young student and I am so excited to be back! Last year I was fortunate enough to teach second grade at Lincoln Elementary School within the Hays district. I grew up here in Hays, Kansas with my three younger brothers – which you would never guess that they’re actually younger than me! I graduated from Fort Hays State University with my bachelor’s of science in elementary education in December of 2016. I’m getting married next April and will then become Mrs. Schmidt just a few weeks before sending our students off to middle school! My fiancé and I have two furry children, Kirbie, who is a very ornery beagle and Alba, who is a very nervous German shepherd.  

The fifth grade team will continue to departmentalize several subjects this year to help prepare our students for middle school next year. We will rotate students for math, science, social studies, as well as language arts. Of the trades, I will be teaching one section of math and all three sections of science for each fifth grade class. Our home room students will stay within our rooms for Reader’s Workshop as well as Writer’s Workshop. We will continue using the GoMath series for our math curriculum as well as Mystery Science for our science curriculum. 

Within our classroom I will be implementing several CHAMPS strategies and routines to guide our classroom management. CHAMPS is a positive behavior program that focuses on conversation, help, activity, movement, participation, and success. We will specifically focus on a good behavior bingo board and expectations for transitions and student work time. I will also be implementing a growth mindset culture within our classroom. This means we will be focusing greatly on the word ‘yet.’ We might not understand a particular subject or concept, yet, but with time and practice we will all achieve the outcome we seek. Another aspect of our growth mindset culture will be recognizing failure as still learning. If you don’t first succeed, there will always be other options to experiment with to achieve the outcome that we seek.  

I am happy to talk with you about your child at any time, please always feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you might have. I am available by email, khecker@usd489.com, by phone (785-623-2520) Monday-Friday, between 7:30-8:00 AM or after 3:05 PM, or of course within our classroom during the same times! I look forward to watching your child explore, learn, and grow this year through all of the fun activities we have planned! 

Sincerely,  

Miss Hecker 




 

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