A letter to my students

Tonight is our annual Honors Night when we celebrate the soon to be moving on fifth graders. Each student is given a golden folder which holds a variety of writing samples from past grades and all writing from this year.

I just finished stuffing each folder with a pennant, their fifth grade writing and the following letter.

(Please forgive the weird blogger lack of indenting and spacing.) June 4, 2009

Dear 5Sers,

In this folder you should find at least one piece of writing from each of your Louise White School years and all of your published writing from this year. I figure since I’m the last teacher to have her hands on this special folder, I might as well fill it up with good stuff!

Last week I spoke with you about this. If you keep anything from fifth grade, besides some good memories, keep much of your writing. Keep writing you think is good. It will be a window to who you are when you read it when you’re older. Keep writing that you think stinks, because you will use it to measure how you improve as a writer.

You are a writer. Remember the best thing about writing. When you write, unlike when you speak, you can edit and revise until you get things just right. Writing lasts, the written word stays on the paper indefinitely, while spoken words often float off in the wind.

This letter is my gift of writing to you enclosed with your gift of writing to yourself. Think of how fun it will to come across this folder when you finish 8th grade, when you’ve graduated from high school, when you and your kids are cleaning your basement some day…They will want to know what you were like as a kid, and your writing will be a treasure to them. You’ll laugh at how sweet you were, and you’ll be touched by what mattered to you as a fifth grader. You’ll be reminded of things you haven’t thought about in a while, and your own writing will stir your heart. Add to this folder each year so you can mark your growth as you travel on through school.

Love your words,

Miss Stewart