Opening Days!

Welcome to first grade!  A new school year has begun!  We will be engaged in a wide variety of learning experiences throughout the year.   I’m looking forward to learning more about your children as we move through our first few weeks of school together.

We made it through our first few days of first grade in great shape.  The children are doing a terrific job with all of the new routines they are learning.  Thank you for sending your children to school so well prepared.  And thank you also for your generous donation of supplies for our year together.  They are appreciated and will be put to good use! 

As you know, your child has received a Home/School folder for the year.  These folders are intended to help the children get important notes, papers and notices back and forth from school.  If you have a note for me, please put it in your child’s Home/School folder.  Your child will bring the folder back and forth to school every day so that new materials or information come to me or to you on a daily basis.

Please be sure to check your child’s backpack each day to help keep track of notices and papers.  I will send more detailed information about home assignments and/or projects as I introduce them to the children.

 

As parents, your input and participation will be very important to the success of our program this year.  I will let you know about the different ways you can get involved in the classroom at Parent Information Night on Tuesday, September 17.  While I do invite parent volunteers into the classroom, please keep in mind that I do not get my volunteers up and running until I feel that the children and I have had enough time to establish strong classroom routines and have begun to come together as a cohesive learning community.  This “settling in” period is a big priority for me because it is so important for the children to feel secure and confident with their new classroom, peers and teachers.  I tend to get volunteers started towards the end of the fall.  I will give you a more definitive timeframe after some weeks have passed.

Each week we will have a special Kid of the Week (starting this Tuesday).  This child gets to be our line leader, to decide the morning greeting, and to bring one special possession to school to share on the first morning of his/her special week.  The child will tell why he/she brought this item and why it is special.  The other children in the class will then have an opportunity to ask questions and make comments about the share.  When it is your child’s turn, please help him/her choose something other than a toy.  It could be a photograph, a favorite book, a letter or postcard from someone special, an item from a collection, a scientific experiment, an award, a drawing, etc.  Please know that it is perfectly fine if your child would rather not bring in an item to share.  Each Friday, we will draw the name of the next Kid of the Week so the child can be prepared to share on Monday if he/she chooses.  A note will go home when your child is chosen.

Each child will need an art smock for the year.  Old t-shirts, or men’s or women’s collared, button down shirts work well.  Obviously, the shirts can be old and worn as they will be used for messy art projects.  Please send a smock in for your child as soon as possible - and if you have an extra one (or two) we can put them to good use!

You may find your first grader quite tired (and/or hungry) after school.  This is very normal for the first few weeks.  Our days are busy and they are taking in a lot of new information each day.  We will settle in slowly and take our time to adjust to our new schedule.  Please be in touch anytime with questions you may have.

Enjoy the week ahead!

Kathy Ravinski