Family Newsletter

Dear Families,
The first three days of school went by so fast!  The students are great together and seemed so happy to be back at school.  We had wonderful days together.  If you did not get a chance to check out the pictures I posted earlier this week, scroll down below this post to see pictures from our first two days together.  For some children, transitioning back to school can be challenging.  This is common.  If you notice that your child seems hesitant or nervous about school, let me know and we can work together to make the transition as smooth as possible.  I am here to help!  I hope everyone will get the opportunity to "catch up on some sleep" as some of our young learners stated this afternoon!!

I usually post weekly newsletters on Friday afternoons, or over the weekend.  I try to keep it brief and to the point; often organizing the information according to academic subject so your convenience.  Additionally, I try to keep an updated online schedule in the right sidebar with upcoming events at our school.  I also include a section called news and reminders for the upcoming week.  Since we're primarily focusing on building a new community of learners in our class in the first few weeks of school, these sections will not always be included.

Your child brought home his/her Friday folder today.  This folder can stay home until next Friday when it comes back to school emptied.  This week, your child brought home paper copies of our weekly schedule, the ABCs of the classroom (a "cheat-sheet" of routines/contact information in our classroom), as well as a special picture for mom and dad.  We hope you like it:)
Your child also brought home a special "All About Me' project.  Please follow the directions on the brown paper bag and fill it with items so we can get to know each other better next week.  Ms Kendal and I are also finishing this project this weekend!  If your child want to share something special about him/her but it cannot fit inside the bag, ask your child to draw a picture of it, or take a picture of this item.  In class, we talked about how we cannot fit a soccer ball inside the bag for someone who is really interested in soccer, but we can draw a picture of the ball, or a picture of a soccer game.  Be creative and have fun!!  This project is due on Tuesday when we come back to school again.

Next week we will start with a short math class.  This means that the children will have snack at the normal 10:30 am time.  Some of you might know already that we were able to have an earlier snack this week to help kids transition back to school.  Next week, however, we cannot change our schedule to accommodate this.  What this means is that the morning will be very long for our young learners before we have time to eat.  I strongly encourage you to either have your child eat a hearty breakfast at home before coming to school, or, if your child cannot eat so early in the morning, send in an extra morning breakfast snack for the classroom.  Your child can then eat this morning snack in the classroom before starting explore time.  In my opinion, it is vitally important that the children are well-rested and well-fed before they are ready for learning.  Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help your child transition back to school.  Thank you.

Lastly, your child also brought home a parent volunteer sheet.  I am always looking for volunteers in our classroom.  I understand parents are very busy with work schedules and other commitments, but if you are able and willing to help out every once in a while, just let me know.  Thank you so much for considering.  4 Winds, our parent-run nature program, is also looking for volunteers.  They meet once a month and teach a class, once a month. Let me know if you are interested in supporting science at ABS.  Thank you!!

News & Reminders:

• There is no school on Monday, September 4th due to Labor Day.
• Our first rotating related arts class will be Art.  This class will be on Tuesdays for a few weeks.  If your child did not bring in an art smock yet, please consider sending in a large T-shirt for Art class so their clothes can be protected if needed.
• Please consider keeping an extra change of clothing for your child in his/her locker.