Hello! My name is Caitlin Garry and I am so excited to become part of the Southtowns Catholic School team and being able to work with your children! I just recently took over for Mrs. Dahmer taking on the role of the 7th grade homeroom, the middle school English teacher teaching 5-8th grade and teaching 6th grade Social Studies. I would like to introduce some information about myself, I graduated from Fredonia State University in the spring of 2017 with a degree in Childhood Education with a concentration in English. I am currently receiving my Master’s degree in Literacy Specialist: Birth until 12th Grade at SUNY Buffalo State. I will be completing my Master’s degree this upcoming summer in 2019. I love teaching and having the opportunity to mold young minds in a positive way. This is my first year as an official teacher in the classroom and I am thrilled to start my career off at Southtowns Catholic School!
In regards to what your children will be learning this year I plan on doing much of the same things that Mrs. Dahmer has already been implementing. Expectations are going to remain the same. Grades will be based on classroom participation, homework, classwork, tests, quizzes and projects. Students should come to class prepared every day. Homework will be given often and taken as a homework grade. Participated is strongly encouraged and expected during classroom discussions. Students should also be reading for about twenty minutes to a half hour every night.
Every month students will have the opportunity to choose their own book to read that corresponds to their grade level. They will be choosing from a different genre each month in order to explore the different variations of literature. After they have finished reading I will assign a graded project that the students will complete based on the book they read. I love the idea of students having the option of choice in the classroom based on their own unique interests and abilities. I will provide different project choices and the students will be able to pick one of those tasks to complete every month.
I strongly believe that parental involvement in and outside of the classroom is very important. I plan on sending home different assignment notices each month with your child. Some of these notices will ask for both the student’s and the parent’s signatures to return back to me. I also will post meaningful notices on the website often and homework will be updated daily. Thank you in advance and I look forward to working with you all! Please feel free to contact me at any time.
Sincerely,
Caitlin Garry
cgarry@southtownscatholic.org
Middle School English Teacher
Southtowns Catholic School