September 2014 Moms

Any teachers??

Ok ladies....my dues date is Sept 10th however as of now I am scheduled for either Sept 3rd (2nd day of school) or Sept 5th. Ideally I'll make it this far...but all of my doctors (OB and high risk OB) are saying the likelihood will be mid August.

I'm completely starting to freak out. My maternity leave is a dear friend and we have been working together all summer to plan. She will also stay on as my TA when I return in late Nov. if baby comes in mid August I am going to try to make an appearance on morning of first day to greet kids and parents and I will definitely attend back to school night in mid September.

My question.... We are required to send welcome letters home to parents and kids prior to first day. How do I address in letter that I may not be there to start the year but will be returning? Does anyone have experience or a letter they have used? Suggestions? I know parents are going to be unhappy.....but 30 kids have to be in my class! Hoping they will understand. I think I am more stressed about this than the actual arrival of my LO!
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Re: Any teachers??

  • I am not addressing it in my welcome letter, but I have a slide in my Open House and first day PowerPoint. Our Open House is tonight, and kids report Monday. I am due Sept. 2. I teach 7th grade Language Arts. I am jealous that you have been able to plan. We got new textbooks that I just had training for yesterday. I still haven't received my copy. I agree with you about being more stressed about leave than the baby. We have had a very haphazard start to the year due to some things going on in the county, plus we are starting a Fine Arts Academy, which I am a part of. Everyone is being so wonderful and supportive, but I'm still panicking.
    Team Blue!!!
    Due Sept. 2nd
  • Most of my parents already know I'm pregnant and won't be there. I'm due September 29 so I plan on going back for a couple of weeks. I put it in my welcome letter, introduced the maternity leave replacement and told them my return date.
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  • I'm addressing my leave at Back to School Night, but our kids start back August 4th. If I were you I would just say something like "I'm so excited for the new school year. I'm also looking forward to the arrival of my new LO. I will be taking a short time off this semester, but Mrs..... Will take good care of you." And maybe you can leave her contact info. This way they know you will be leaving at some point, but you won't be stressing them out with all the dates and details.
  • nilveronilvero member
    edited July 2014
    I'm due September 15 and our first day is August 18. We have a meet the teacher the Friday before school starts so parents will see me there (as long as everything's good!). My sub is our permanent sub from last year, so many of the students will know him.

    I'm planning on saying something similar to what rlyttle said and give them information on both the sub and when I will be back.

    I've been working on a binder of information for my sub and luckily my team plans together so they will give him what he needs.
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  • We start Aug 14th and my maternity leave starts Sept 15th (if I go that late) so I'll teach (3rd grade) for about a month and return right before winter break. I have a lot of students of siblings that I've had in the past so I'm hoping that'll help this year run smoothly since I already have good relationships with them. I still do not know who my long term sub is and it is really frustrating...I have no say in it so I'm just trying to be as prepared as I can. I would maybe mention in you welcome letter how excited you are to meet/work with your students when you return and maybe a few words about how capable your sub is and what a great relationship you have with her. I'm trying not to worry about it too much, this is our baby and he takes priority over my class. 

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  • Last year, DS was born the Friday before school started and the day before I would have met the parents. He was 8 weeks premature. The parents were not mad at all. A lot sent me emails saying Congrats and that they were praying for DS. I know it's hard not to worry but you're probably worrying about something needlessly.
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  • I am also jealous you got to plan! I am due 9/2, too. We go back August 4th, kids come back Aug 11th.  I will have three weeks with the kids assuming I go on time.  The worst part is, they haven't said whether they will be getting me an interim or not! I am a counselor for grades K-8, and I am in the classroom all day, every day. I am SO stressing about whether or not they get me an interim, and if so, what the heck are they going to teach? Because I have create my curriculum from scrap, I really don't want to end up with overlap! UGH.

    As for the parent letter, try to remember that they are all parents...just like you. They are going to be totally understanding because they've all been in your shoes! No stress needed for that!!
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  • I am a teacher, as well, but I have chosen to take the year off with our first little one. Even though I'm not in your situation, a close "teacher friend" of mine was last year and was totally freaking out about it, especially because she was teaching mostly honors-level courses. She was very open about it with parents from the start and actually garnered their support because of that, not their criticism. I should add that this was in a district that is notorious for "helicopter parents," so if drama should have happened to anyone, it should have happened to her. ;) LOL  

    She did address the issue in the parent letter she sent home, but she was teaching high school students and was concerned that some of the parents would skip Open House. It sounds like you are teaching elementary school, so your case may be a little different because most parents do attend that evening when their kids are small. 

    Like you, she worked with her sub in advance and had a part in planning all of the lessons that were to be in place during her absence. She felt that being transparent with parents about her involvement in developing the curriculum and acknowledging the fact that switching teachers mid-semester wouldn't be ideal won their support. They seemed to respect that she had considered the challenges of the situation and addressed them in advance. 

    I really think that most parents will understand that you're in a tough situation and doing the best a person can possibly do. Any crazy mamas who give you a hard time would probably have stirred things up anyways, regardless of whether you were going to be out for a while. ;) Good luck, and try not to stress!
  • jg1011jg1011 member
    Thanks all. I will incorporate it someway into my welcome note....perhaps indicating my excitement to return and knowing they are in excellent hands.

    Last go around I was much less prepared having DS at 35 weeks and having NO planning time together, but at least I started the year with them. I guess that's what has me most unnerved.....I won't start until Dec 1st. We did survive and all went well. Hanging on to the fact that my leave is also my TA so she will be with me all year. Should help with consistency. I will plan on being at open house in late Sept.

    I know from experience last time....I won't be thinking about school once baby arrives!
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  • Think about what a parent might want to hear:
    -you have faith in the sub. (that they are knowledgable & are completely capable of the task)
    -reassurance that you are coming back (some teachers don't)
    -you are ,or will be, in communication with the sub about the learning schedule. And/or that the sub will have a good support system at the school (other teachers of the same subject/grade).
    -as a parent, I'd want to know who to contact if I think there's a problem (the sub? Another teacher? An administrator?)

    I think addressing parents' concerns will help. I like the idea of mentioning it at open house or in a slide show.

    Good luck! I know it's going to be scary, but just remember that this is about you and your baby! Be healthy & do what's best for you & your baby!
    Didn't your mother teach you, "If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all." Let's all (me too) try to remember this. Thank you.

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  • My teaching partner was out from Aug-Oct last year. In our welcome letter, we introduced her supply teacher and let families know that "Mrs. X recently welcomed her daughter into her family and would be returning on Oct. XX. We are excited to have Ms. W with us until then."
  • armylove240armylove240 member
    edited July 2014
    Update: I had Open House last night. It was AMAZING. There were several kids and parents that told me how excited they were about the baby. There were a lot of teacher-parents, and they just kept saying they had been in my shoes and to let them know if I needed anything. They asked about the sub (which I found out yesterday), and I told them about the wonderful woman who asked if she could be it, and the male sub who I am also really close to who said he wants to be it too. These are both people the kids LOVE, so the parents definitely seemed reassured. I had multiple parents worried that I was standing the whole time and that the air wasn't working properly in my room. I feel so much better now, I can't begin to explain.
    Team Blue!!!
    Due Sept. 2nd
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