Mrs. Hallgren's English II

Dear Guardian/ Parent,

Welcome! I wanted to write you a note to introduce myself to you. My name is Betty Hallgren, and I will be your student’s English teacher this year. At Bowie High School we have department policies about late work, extra-credit work, project deadlines, and cell phones.  Please read, discuss, and sign the attached sheet with your student.   

During English class, students build academic and social skills--- getting to know one another, learning how to be more successful in school, and building a sense of community with their peers and teacher.  In order to be effective at this, I know there will be times when I need your input.  Please feel free to reach me at my school phone number (841-4177) before or after school---or during my preparation periods*.  If you have questions about homework, please go to my website at www.schoolrack.com/bhallgren.  Should you want to e-mail me at school, please feel free to do so at bhallgre@austinisd.org. 

As your student’s teacher, part of my job is to support your child in feeling good about him/herself by building self-esteem and self-motivation. Current brain research reminds us of what we already know:  motivation to learn relies on a student’s self-confidence and his/her interest in the subject matter. I believe that working with parents is an essential way to meet these goals.  You are the expert when it comes to your young adult, and I would appreciate your support, and want to support you as we work together with your student during the 2010-2011 school year.

I am interested in hearing anything you think would be helpful for me to know about your child. I would appreciate it if you could write a brief note, letting me know anything you think would help including learning styles or any health- related issues.

I look forward to getting to know both you and your child this year. Here’s to a successful and fun year at Bowie!

 Sincerely,

­­­Betty Hallgren

Check out this great blog for getting our young men to enjoy the "outside reading" required of them every six weeks this year: http://guysread.com/books/month/

All students receive booklet from the College Board explaining the purpose of the PSAT.  For sophomores, many will have the first opportunity to take a test with SAT-type questions.  This can serve to stimulate their interest in vocabulary growth, analytical reading and grammar rules.  Ask them about this and work through some of the questions with them.  The answers to the sample questions can be found at the end of the sample test on the last page.  Good luck on the math section, too!!!