This past week was our first week inputting work into Montessori Manager.  We have a good start, but by no means is it perfect.   Please be patient as we are finding a routine and balance in utilizing this new tool.  If you were already assigned a user name and password for another child in our school, I linked your student to that password.  The passwords are meant to be temporary.  Please change them once you log in.  I will send out an email with your user name and password.  If you have troubles please email me.

I wanted you to be aware that at lunch we have several students who have lunches they are needing to be heated.  We try to limit the students to only 1 minute in order to allow everyone a chance to warm-up their lunch.  If we have 12 kids wanting to heat lunch this cuts into a large portion of our lunch.  The microwaves in the Kiva are being used by the Jr. High this year and the lines are just as long as they are in the classroom at this time of day.  I encourage them to start eating their other food while they are waiting.  It is important for your children to eat a good lunch in order for them to be successful, unfortunately in order for this to happen, we are cutting into our academic time when they are waiting for food to warm.  We have a full 30 minutes for lunch and clean up.  I would like to encourage you to consider healthy alternatives to corn dogs, hot pockets, and such that do not require being microwaved.  This will allow for your child to have more time to eat and we will be able to move on with our academics on time.  We are limited on space in our classroom for another microwave, but I think if someone wanted to donate one we could stack the one we have.  I also want to remind you of school policy of no candy, sodas, and colorful dye drinks.  The children are eating in the classroom and these stain the carpet.  Also,  I am going to ask that you do not send “Flaming Red Hot Cheetos” for your child.  We have had that red dye all over the classroom and kids burning their eyes.  The students are not to share their lunches with each other, but sometimes their curiosity gets the best of them.

We had another full week.  We started Spanish, proved we could follow directions in P.E., began our classroom reading groups and were very excited to start studio Friday.  We are truly getting the feel of what our normal weekly routine feels like.  Reading groups with Ms. Kathy and Ms. Brenda will be starting very soon and with this we should be in the full swing of things.  We have been very busy with individual lessons and understanding the workings involved in choosing work and recording in our weekly work charts.  Ms. Brec is working on getting Montessori Manager up and running.  We hope it will not be too long before we can share this information with our families.

I wanted to remind you of dress code.  We are having several dress code violations within our classroom.  We will have to start writing these violations, and we rather not spend valuable teaching time writing them!  No jeans, except on Friday.  Shorts, skirts, etc, must go to the knee.  Collared shirts must be worn everyday, with the exception of Friday.  Hoods are not allowed anytime during the week.  Shirts must cover the shoulders.  Friday t-shirts can be a bit tricky, no logos, characters, sayings, bands, sport teams, etc.  For example, you can wear a shirt that has a plain bear, but can’t be Winni-the-Pooh.  You can wear shirts that have wording like “Yellowstone”, but not “Bears Rock”.  Clothing needs to be clean and free from holes and tares.  Thank you for your support in this.

I have lots of students ask if they can bring in their pets to visit.  I always ask them to have their family email me and we can make arrangements.  Please let me know in advance of any visitors.  This will allow for us to prepare and plan accordingly.  We are happy to have them visit.

Along with visits, we have several students who have had or are soon having their birthdays.  We would love for you to come and share about your child with our classroom in what we call a celebration of life.  You can bring a picture about each year of their life and share with the class somethings about your child.  This is a great way for us to get to know them better.  We generally can do this at our morning line or our afternoon line.  I do have some flexibility, but ask that you would make prior arrangements with me.  We ask that you not bring in treats, tokens, etc, when it is their birthday, but welcome a book donation to our classroom library in honor of your student.

Reminder about home projects.  We have only had a very small amount of students who have shared.  Remind your student to bring in their project as soon as they are completed.    We hope to see more soon.

We love sharing in your children’s lives and really feel we are establishing an understanding of their unique personalities and gifts.  It is hard to believe we have already been in school four weeks.  We have been incredibly busy and are excited to see the work everyone is now doing on their own.  We expect this next coming week to only solidify the work we have established and to continue to grow as individuals and as a class.

Families this is a great way for you to stay connected to our classroom!  Our blog will allow you to stay current on classroom happenings and important updates.  Please take time to subscribe to our blog by clicking on the subscribe link on the top right (may be below if using a tablet or phone for viewing).  Once you confirm your subscription via email, you will be automatically notified by email when a new post has been made.  Our blog will replace weekly emails and updates.  Please feel free to leave comments as needed, note they are public.  As always, if you have questions, concerns, or celebrations let me know.  Please enjoy and utilize this valuable tool.