School-wide Theme for September: Community!!!
First, thanks for an amazing retreat last week-as always, it was so good to spend the day with you sharing our hopes and dreams for our students, and thinking deeply about the ways in which we can impact their lives. I feel genuinely inspired and I look forward to all the great things we will accomplish this year! Here’s to a new year, all fresh and sparkly!
A few notes for this first week:
1) Be sure you have are up to date on the First Two Weeks
2) We will have Community Time on the first day at 9am. Prior to bringing your students down please spend a few minutes (if you can!) setting expectations. Let’s start with the following traits of good audience members (this can also easily transfer to outside performers/experts who come to school). Asking your class what makes a good audience member would be a great way to start the conversation, and they will likely nail every one of these!
Good audience members:
*Sit next to people they feel will also be good audience members
*Quietly listen when the hosts/performers are speaking, singing, or performing
*Let the hosts/performers know they appreciate their efforts by clapping and cheering when they are finished
*Politely ask their neighbors to be quiet if needed
*Leave their snacks and any toys in their classrooms
3) Remember that parents are allowed to walk their child to class in the morning. Here is the after school in-class pick up rotation (all other days you will walk students out to the grass area along the fence):
Mondays: Kinder and Grade 1 families
Tuesdays: Grades 2 and 4 families
Thursdays: Grade 3 families
Friday: Grade 5 families
4) Here’s the Master Schedule! Master Schedule 23-24
5) Attendance: EAs will take care of this each morning. Karima will do Kinder and Grade 5, Diane will do Grades 1 and 4, and Debi will do Grades 2 and 3. Please help them provide reasons for absences if you are in the know. Thanks!
6) As a reminder, Specials (Enrichment, PE) start next week.
7) Afternoon duty help needed first day! Normally we don’t have afternoon Choice Time on Wednesdays, but we do on the first day. Since no one is assigned to duty on Wednesdays I kindly request that everyone try to be out on duty the first day. As a reminder, here’s the duty rotation–be sure to grab a vest and fanny pack, and have your keys and phone:
K-2 Teachers (including Lauren): Monday and Thursday
3-5 Teachers and Haley: Tuesday and Friday
8) You will be provided with some paper work for each student to take home on the first day (including a Camp Amity permission slip). Please be sure it goes home and that you let parents know to expect it and to sign and return forms ASAP. Please collect and track the Camp Amity permission slips as they come in, and keep them in the folder. Please also collect all other forms and pass them along to Patti and she will track them.
9) Please start communicating with parents about your Community Time day. Given that we’ve changed days, the sooner the info goes out the better!
10) Want to get a jump on Invitations next week? Invitations 23-24
11) Meetings this week: No meetings this week!
12) A message about birthday treats went home to parents today (Tuesday). It’s long so I’m sending it to your email.
Upcoming Dates
September 6: First Day of School! Full day, out at 2:30pm
September 13: First SIW and Early Release (1pm)
September 14: Fire Drill, 9:20am
September 14: El Sancho for lunch courtesy of FOA!
September 18-22: Scholastic Book Fair (available to families at Back to School Night!)
September 19: Staff Meeting, 3-3:30pm
September 20: Teacher work day SIW
September 21: Back to School Night, 5-6:30pm
September 25/26: Camp Amity at Shevlin Park! 9:30am-1pm
September 26: Team Collaboration Meeting
September 27: School based SIW
September 28: Lockdown Drill, 9:20am
September 29: Pancake Breakfast, 7-8am
October 4: DIBELS
October 10: Picture Day
October 12: Bus Evacuation Drill, 9am at the Ed Center
October 16-17: Dental Screening
October 20: Earthquake/Fire Drill, 10:45am
October 21: Harvest Festival (tentative, pending parent volunteers)
October 25-27 (likely 25th and 26th, no work 27th): Conversations, No School
Here’s to an amazing first week!
Andy