Our first week is in the book! It felt so good to back in the classroom and to be back with students in person! Thanks you all for your gracious welcome! The Elmore School has such a wonderful vibe and I am so happy to be part of this amazing community!
In our first week we began to develop a routine. During Morning meeting we focused on learning about each other. On the first day of school I read the book First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg, Which had a funny twist at the end when we discovered the main character, Sarah was actually the new teacher, not a students as many of us thought while reading the story. Students shared how they felt on the first day of school and then wrote about it for a first day writing assignment.
We also began learning about the Zones of Regulation .
"The Zones is a systematic, cognitive behavioral approach used to teach self-regulation by categorizing all the different ways we feel and states of alertness we experience into four concrete colored zones."
We read This is the Way We Go to School by Edith Baer. We graphed how students arrived at school on their first day. Then students conducted a survey of their family members to find out how they got to school when when they were children. The Gold Cohort discovered that their parents and grandparents most often road the bus or walked to school. In our class most students were driven to school in a car. We will have discussions about why there has been a change over time.
On our second day of school (yet to happen for the green groups) we introduced Writers workshop, and math journals, and each grade had a brief math lesson. Mrs. Boudreau came for our first Library class. Library books will be due back:
Gold Cohort: Friday, Sept. 25
Green Cohort: Monday, Sept. 28
Evan Nigro and Aiden Speers and their mothers come on Friday afternoon to plant the blueberry bushes given by last years 3rd grade class. They had been planted on the side of the flag pole. Ann Marie Dryden would like to donate to the school some plants she is thinning out of her gardens. While we have to be careful about creating a "crowd", if there are a couple of parents who would like to help us get them in the ground, we are going to pick one day this week afterschool (or possible Wednesday afternoon) to plant them. Let me know if you would like to help! I'm excited about adding more color around the school!
Physical Education begins this week. Gold Cohort is Tuesday. Green Cohort is Thursday. Please arrive by 7:50 on these days as PE will begin at 8:00 am.
Reminders:
- Students must return their work folders, completed work, and completed remote menus for their attendance on remote days. If your child does not return their work, they will be marked absent on their remote days (until iPads go home).
- Work Folders, book bags, and (eventually) iPads need to come to school EVERYDAY with students.
- Keep in mind, we are easing back into the school year. We will increase the work expectations as we go.
- Next week, students will be getting a "take home" folder. These will be green pocket folders. They will go home at the end of the week with completed school work and any school notices. Please empty these and go through the work with your child. Students should return them on their next school day.
- Returning students should return their Summer Reading Ice Cream Cones. We will be celebrating with an ice cream party once they are all returned.
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