Back to school and the first two days have been a great success!
Getting to know everyone has been a lot of fun, I can already get a sense of interests, likes, and learning styles. We spent these last two days do many getting to know you games, team building activities, and discussing the expectations and routines of the classroom. I was so pleased to see everyone jump right in and participate!
Those new to HFS really impressed me with their courage and confidence. Starting a new school can be nerve wreaking, however, I am proud to see such positive attitudes and behaviors – welcome and thank you.
Those students returning to HFS have also blown me away with their support of new students. From being tour guides of the school, offering language support, or just a friendly face in the hall or play yard, you have made these first days special.
I am so excited to learn more about you all and teach you this school year!
So what have we done?
On Thursday we designed a hoodie that showed off who we are and what we like, we then brainstormed and wrote down what rules and behavioral expectations best suited different areas of the school and classroom. Together, we crafted our classroom rules and expectations and all signed in agreement.
To lighten the mood, small groups played a fun dice game where students answered questions all about themselves. Students liked it so much we played again after lunch with new groups to get better aquatinted with everyone. Student’s learned about the classroom jobs they will take turns being assigned to starting next week. A mix of business and games made our first day fun but productive.
Friday, we went over our class schedule and talked a bit about what to expect for next week. Notebooks were prepared to be filled up starting Monday! We practiced transitioning from carpet to desk, and using our white board etiquette. I read out loud ‘First Day Jitters’, a book about the first day of school – with a twist!
The main event of the day was an engineering activity; students attempted to build structures with spaghetti and marshmallows! It was tricky, but everyone was on task and doing their best to get some towers up. Teams for this activity were a little different than our table groups, but everyone was hands-on and able to work together as a team! We did a little math with our building materials numbers, and took a quick visit to the library to stock our classroom shelf for reading materials for Monday.
Whew!
On Thursday September 8th I will be holding my Parent Open Afternoon. Starting at 2:45 I will talk about our curriculum and be taking any questions you may have. It would be great to see you!
I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and I will see you on Monday!
Mrs. Leah
