By: Jonn

December 15, 2004

Parent – School Communication is very important to both the parents and the teachers here at Immaculate Heart of Mary. Parents can pick and choose from a variety of different newsletters and websites in which they can get a substantial amount of information about upcoming events in our school. They can even e-mail teachers to talk about any subject they want that is pertinent to our school or their child. Looking at upcoming events at I.H.M. should be any easy task for any teacher or student. At any time, the parents can look at different grades and what they are doing in class.

The fascinating weekly newsletter that comes in the Orange, or Thursday, Folder is a very handy and simple way to see what is going on at I.H.M. in the next few days. In the left margin of the newsletter is a smaller schedule of the next couple of weeks. This schedule shows events such as: days off, field trips, Mass times, and other days or events of importance to the parents/students. On the front and the back of this weekly information sheet are small paragraphs on forthcoming occurrences in several grades: field trips, different projects, or something they might be doing that is relevant to the parents. This is actually one of the more important ways to find out what is going on at our school.

There is also the school website to browse daily for articles written by the students themselves! Over three fourths of the website is written by students. This is a pretty impressive achievement for any school. The school’s website is another useful way for all to keep updated on upcoming events happening at Immaculate Heart of Mary. Parents can read about any topic from the Honor Roll to any of the sports the students can play for our school (or sometimes on other sports teams). On this website, there is a link to Mr. Hall’s Assignment Board, which shows you what assignments your child has in computer class.

The most important of all the communication links is Edline. It is an awesome website. The parents can review their child’s progress in school. The students themselves can also check how they are doing in any given class. Most importantly, the parents (and students) can find the teachers’ e-mail addresses. The parents can e-mail the teachers about anything: a bad grade their child received, something that they’re not happy about, or something the child did or didn’t do. Edline is probably the best website from our school to check on anything. Edline has a full schedule of the school year that is very helpful to look at every week.

The fourth and final communication link is the student-run newspaper that is published biweekly. The title of this very

intriguing newspaper is the “Mustang Messenger.” It is a children’s newspaper run by eighth grade boys and girls. It has jokes, riddles, self-esteem boosters, and grade updates. The newspaper also has movie reviews, birthdays, and they add famous quotes that the students give their opinions upon.

Parent - School Communication is not only important to IHM, but to a handful of other schools also. All of these communication links are very accessible to anyone in the area. My parents use these links almost every day. These links are important to any of the parents of the students here at Immaculate Heart of Mary.

(Students working on the quote for the “Mustang Messenger”)

(Click this icon to go to the Immaculate Heart of Mary website.)