For this activity, please read my letter to you, and write one back to me using the same format. The phrases in bold need to be in your letter to me, but feel free to add whatever other information you’d like to share! (I understand that you may not have a sister or a dog, but please do tell me about your siblings and pets if you have them!)

August 17, 2010

Dear Dartmouth Scholars,

I am so excited to be your homeroom teacher this year! I can’t wait to get to know each and every one of you individually. In order to get to know each other better, here is a little bit about me. I was born in Charleston, South Carolina. My birthday is October 11. I have a sister named Caroline who is a senior at the University of Virginia. My parents live in Newport News, Virginia, which is where I grew up. I have a dog – a white golden retriever named Maddy. My favorite color is green and I love to travel. I was lucky enough to study abroad and work in different places in college and grad school, so I’ve gotten to live in places like Senegal, India, Peru, Ghana and the United Kingdom. I went to college at Tulane University, which is in New Orleans, Louisiana. I love New Orleans, and I miss it all the time so I try to go back as often as I can. I lived there when Hurricane Katrina hit, and I had to evacuate to Houston, Texas for a while, but I moved back to New Orleans after the storm. After I finished college, I got my Masters degree in public health at Harvard, so I moved to Boston, Massachusetts. After I graduated from Harvard, I moved to Atlanta for a job with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC. I worked in HIV/AIDS prevention before I came to teach at Ivy Prep. I love Mexican food, and would eat it every day if I could. I also love coffee, and you will probably see me with a cup every morning. Obviously, science is my favorite subject. When I’m not at school, I like to run, go to concerts, read, cook, and play with my dog.

I am really looking forward to this year. There are a few things I expect of you. I expect you to be respectful of yourselves and one another and of the school and space that we share. Above all, I expect you to be kind to one another – if you are ever in a situation where you don’t know how to act, act with kindness. In addition to all of the other things that Ivy Prep expects of you, I expect you to think for yourselves. In return, I promise to do some things for you. I promise to always be here to listen, to respect you as a scholar, and to do my best to be fair. I’m going to ask you to be prepared for class, and you can expect me to be prepared for you!

Let’s get the school year off to a great start!

All the best, Ms. Petters