Family Newsletter

Dear Families,
We completed our first week at school and it went by so fast!  The kids all seemed so ready to be back again.  They were happy to meet "old" friends again and meet new friends on our team.  We spent the first three days building our classroom community and did different team-building activities together.  Today, for example, we all met in Mrs. Benoit's classroom for a sing-along.  We love to sing together on Harmony.  If your child wishes to access some of those songs at home, I have already linked them for you on our class wiki.  You can access the wiki from the school/team web-site or here. Here are some pictures.

This week, we also started math.  I teach first grade math along with Ms. Gravelin.  Mrs Benoit and Ms Crowley teach second grade math.  This week, the students started exploring the classroom, the materials and rotated through some workplaces that we will be using during the month of September in math.  We will not send home math homework this year, but if your child enjoys math, please know that I have linked many math games on our wiki.  More information regarding math will follow as the school year progresses.

Today, your child brought home his/her Friday folder for the first time.  Inside is your child's own calendar for the year.  Your child has been assigned a special share day once a week.  The share day is an opportunity for all of us to get to know each other better.  Some children like to share something special from home, pictures, or books.  Other children prefer to share something verbally, by telling a story about something that happened, or will happen.  Sharing in our class is really low-key.  It is not supposed to be stressful for your child.  Some children forget about their share day, so they get ideas from their friends in class, or share a picture or writing piece from their folders here at school.  We ask that your child do not share toys, trading cards or electronic gadgets.  Some families also send in pictures via email so I can project them on our smartboard for all to see.  I hope you and your child will use the calendar at home and perhaps even put in other special events relevant to your child's life outside of school.

Your child also brought home a photo-form for our upcoming ABS picture day.  Please look it over at home and return to school as soon as possible, if you are interested in having pictures taken.  Thank you.

I hope you have a great long weekend and get plenty of rest.  The kids all had a great week, but they are exhausted!  See you all again on Tuesday!

Maria