Welcome to 2nd Grade      

Dear Rustler Family, 

      My name is Eric Dennard and I will be your child's second grade teacher this year. I have a bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology with a minor in International Politics from the University of California Santa Cruz and a master's degree in Teacher Education from Claremont Graduate University. In addition, I have a daughter who will begin a Master of Science program in marriage and family therapy at the University of La Verne this fall, so I understand education from the perspective of a professional and a parent.  

     I started my educational career by working with children at the Chaffey College Children's Center while going to school. After graduating from UCSC, I worked with students, teachers, principals, and community leaders to improve the quality of three elementary schools in a South African village as a Peace Corps volunteer. Upon returning to the U.S., I became a substitute teacher for a year. I have taught kindergarten as well as third grade, and this will be my nineteenth-year teaching second grade. Additionally, this will be my thirteenth year at Howard Cattle. Altogether, I have about twenty-eight years of experience in education. 

    School starts Monday, August 5. I have attached a student school supply list as well as a classroom donation list that I recommend you purchase before the first day. If you need help purchasing these materials, please let me know. Thank you in advance for your help in making sure your child is prepared with all their materials on the first day of school as well as for any items that you’re able to donate for the class. If you can donate classroom materials from the list provided, please put your child’s name on the bag so I can thank you.  

      Make sure to mark your calendar for Thursday, August 22nd, between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM, as we will be having “Back to School Night” to go over our second-grade program. From 5:30 PM-6:00 PM, PFA will be having a meeting in the MPR. For our Back to School Night, you may choose between 2 sessions. The first session will be 6:00 PM-6:40 PM and the second from 6:50 PM-7:30 PM. 

     I look forward to working with you and your child to ensure they maximize their potential and take the next step in reaching their education goals. 

You can contact me through: 

Class DoJo 

Email: eric_dennard@chino.k12.ca.us 

Sincerely, 

Eric J. Dennard 

more about Mr. Dennard: 

• Birthday Month/Day: 04/10 

• Favorite Colors: Navy Blue/Black 

• Favorite Places to Shop:  Target, REI, Amazon, /https://www.evo.com/shop/outlet/surf,  

• Favorite Restaurants: Lucille's Smokehouse Grill/Ono Hawaiian BBQ/Casa Victoria Cocina Mexicana/Cannataro's/Wood Ranch BBQ Grill/Dog Haus 

• Favorite Snacks: Cheeze-Its/BBQ flavored almonds/peanuts 

• Favorite Candy: Reese's Peanut Butter Cups/Lemonheads 

• Favorite Pie: Pecan 

• Favorite Cake: German Chocolate 

• Favorite Sports: football/rugby 

• Favorite Sports' teams: Dodgers/Lakers/Steelers/Bears/New Zealand All Blacks/South Africa Springboks 

• Favorite cartoons: original Scooby-Doo/Avatar: The Last Airbender/SpongeBob SquarePants/original Voltron/Mobile Suit Gundam 

• Favorite movies: Star Wars:The Empire Strikes Back/Black Panther/Lord of the Rings/Spawn/Pacific Rim/Red Tails/Hero/Fearless/The 36th Chamber of Shaolin/Escape to Victory/Cry Freedom/Sarafina/Invictus/Once Were Warriors 

• Hobbies: reading/camping/watching Shaw Bros.' Kung Fu Films/learning different languages/learning about space travel/mountain biking/learning to surf/ hopefully starting mma (grappling/striking) classes soon. 

• Retirement dream: "Pura Vida" in Costa Rica