Keep Calm and Conference On

I figured I might as well jump on the "Keep Calm" band wagon...haha. Our Parent Teacher Conferences are two weeks away and we are right in the beginning stages of prepping for Spring Conferences.(and I'm prepping for Spring Break...what?!?)

Get.ready.for.a.really.long.post. Lol.

It can be is really overwhelming getting 22 sets of information ready to go. My team and I have tried to simplify the process with lots (and lots) of forms.

We try to make it as simple as possible. We have a 1/2 sheet form that we send home asking for a.m. or p.m. preference. When we get that back, we start scheduling. I have found that it's easier to schedule all of my parents and tell them their assigned day/time. On my scheduling letter, I give them the option to change the time too - in case it won't work for them.

I keep track of how many times I've contacted them as well - and count paperwork that I send home as a contact too. If I don't get forms back, I send home a flyer that has "URGENT!" at the top.

Usually I get to meet with about 80% of my class and hold 2-3 phone conferences. We are required to meet with parents in both the Fall and the Spring - so it's important for me to have everything together and organized. Definitely involves some bribing encouragement of the kiddos to get the forms back...

***Random side-note: The bribe encouragement is bring back your papers and you will get a small prize/treat. One of the last times I put mechanical pencils (I had several donated with supplies and we don't use them in K...) in a bucket and this was their reward. You would have thought it was Christmas!***

Some of my forms are serious overkill - but I'd rather have everything together on my end in case there is ever a problem!

I am uploading these as a Word Document - so I know the fonts won't all come through. They will probably look a little crazy!

I wanted you to be able to edit them to fit your needs. The fonts are AI Dancing Egypt and ABCTeacher. I don't endorse these sites - but they came up when I did a quick search for the fonts in Google. :)

http://fontarea.com/font-kids1.htmAI Dancing Egypt font download
http://www.fontpark.net/en/font/abcteacher/ ABCTeacher font download

Assessment Tub

File for each student

For conferences I have a container that I keep all assessments in. I add writing samples and the completed conference information form to the file. I don't normally go through all of the assessments with parents - but I have them there in case there is a question/concern.

1st Quarter Sample Work

The conference information form is what my team uses to keep the conference on track and to make sure we are consistent in what we are sharing! It really helps out and serves as a great snapshot of the child's accomplishments and areas of concern. 

Information Snapshot

We change/update it for fall and spring conferences - so it reflects the skills we have worked on as a class. The stages of writing are a combination of many sources. How do you tell your parents about writing?

 

What do you do for PTC's? Do you involve your students at all? Leave me a comment - I'd love to hear about it!