Hello!
Things are progressing quite nicely in our class. This past week was amazing! I hope you don’t find it creepy in any sort of way when I say, I am so in love with our class! What a wonderful group of children. I feel so blessed to be able to spend time with them every day. Thank you for sharing them with me. We started work cycle this week where the children began working more independently. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL to see. They were anxious to get to work and accomplish all of their tasks. They were engaged and focused and enjoyed their work. Amazing! I’m not the only one to notice how fantastic your children are. Our music teacher, Ms. Rachael, was very impressed with how well our class listened, participated, and followed directions in class on Thursday. They were able to do things that the other classes weren’t able to do because of how well they listened. I was so proud of them I almost cried!
Now, I realize that I would be naive in thinking that things will always be wonderful and that your children will always be perfect. We got together as a class and decided on some expectations that we have for each other. It mostly boils down to respect. The students decided that they will respect each other by being kind and not bullying. They will respect each other’s right to learn by speaking quietly and not disrupting the learning process. They will respect the teachers by following directions the first time and listening to all teachers equally. They will respect everyone by being honest. They will respect our environment by cleaning up after themselves, doing their classroom jobs, and taking care of our materials. In the event that they struggle to meet these expectations, they may be asked to fill out a behavior think sheet and contemplate how they can change their behavior. They may also receive a letter home for their parents.
There are lots of things happening this coming week! We will be intensifying our work cycle and increasing our expectations. Hopefully we will get our spelling and reading groups going. Check your child’s planner for a list of their current spelling words. There is a school wide evacuation drill scheduled for Wednesday. I will also be in a science training on Wednesday and will not be at school. Your children will be in the very capable hands of Ms. Petra and Ms. Brittanee. Thursday is the International Day of Peace. Friday is an early out day and school will be dismissed at 1:00 PM. Saturday is our school’s annual 5K color run and pancake breakfast. If you haven’t already registered, please do so! This is a wonderful event and a lot of fun for the whole family.
Many children have been asking to bring in their pets to share with the class for share and teach on Fridays. I would only like to have one animal each Friday, so please let me know if you plan to bring in a pet so that we can come up with some sort of a schedule.
I want to thank all of the parents who volunteered and drove for our field trip on Friday. It got off to a bit of a rough start with all of the rain. I apologize that the departure wasn’t executed as smoothly as I would have liked. After we got going, though, everything was great! Thankfully the weather mostly cooperated and we had a great time! I thought it was very interesting and would definitely take the students again.
Speaking of driving on field trips, I would like to remind our wonderful driver volunteers of our school’s wellness policy. Students should not have candy or soda during school events. If we are on a field trip and will not be returning to school and you have the permission of the parents of the children riding in your car, you may get them treats on the way back from the field trip. Please do not make stops on the way to field trips or provide the students with candy or soda in your car. Thank you!
Don’t forget to sign up to bring snack! The link is on the right side of the blog page.
Enjoy your weekend!
Kirsten