Weekly Update

Dear Families,

We are had a wonderful day in our new classroom today, with many opportunities to get to know each other better. We had a Scavenger Hunt in our Team space, which gave the students an opportunity to familiarize themselves with our extended learning community. The students also met our para-educators, Ms. Gail, Ms. Nat and Justine, who work closely in all of our classrooms daily. They also met our fantastic Teachers’ Assistant Ms. Kristen, who, in addition to helping us out in administrative task, also supports the students during lunch and recess. Please ask your child to tell you in his/her own words what else we did during our Scavenger Hunt.

We read two very special read alouds today. The first one was a story about a teacher who thinks the new student joining her class is a dinosaur. It tells a funny story about how easily one can misunderstand each other and what can happen if we do not ask questions if we do not understand something. The students and I talked about how important it is to ask questions, or ask somebody to repeat a statement, when we do not understand something. There are only good questions, because questions tell the speaker that you are actively listening. Learning must make sense!

The other read aloud today is entitled The Kissing Hand. It was written by Audrey Penn. This book tells the story of Chester, a raccoon who is nervous about his first day of school. His mother helps him through his anxiety as she shares a very special family tradition. Please ask your child to explain how she made Chester feel better. We will discuss this story throughout this week as the themes are very real for all of us starting school again.

The students also had a chance to walk around the school today and meet many other important support staff, administrators and teachers. We visited the gym, the art room, the computer lab and met the school nurse. We also ran into some “old” friends and teachers in the hallways! It was great to see them again.

Today, the students had library as their first class of Rotating Related Arts. We will have library time on Wednesdays until early October when we switch to another class. More news will follow. The students enjoyed a lovely book outside with our school librarian. Please ask your child to tell you what book they read. Also, ask your child if he/she thought it was hot today….I certainly think so!

Since the weather is so warm, some children keep a water bottle at their desks. This is fine as long as your child takes this bottle home every day to be washed. Please note that we do have a water fountain inside our classroom and a sink so students have many opportunities to stay hydrated. Thank you all for separating lunches and snacks and for being mindful of our peanut allergies on our Team. The students were very responsible and respectful.

Lastly, I wanted to inform you that my weekly updates/newsletters will be published on the blog on Wednesday nights, early Thursday mornings as the Team will send home Thursday folders. Please empty the folders at home and return it empty the next day. Thank you.


I hope you have a great rest of the week and weekend! Please check the blog periodically as I post throughout the week, but know that every Thursday, our classroom letter will be there. I will send home paper copies for the first few weeks as we are all getting used to a new routine again.

Thanks for your support.

Regards,
Maria McCormack