First Week Fun

Hello families and friends,

The first week of the school year is in the books and what a great week it was. Never before have I felt as energized heading into a school year and this week our little learners set a high standard for themselves. Students were engaged in the process of learning and getting to know their community. We created self portraits, sketched one of our favorite parks, held our first class meeting and started to discover and re-discover the mediation process. If only all the weeks could go this smoothly.

Homework
Remember, homework is always optional, but it is important. I don't want to force home battles about it but instead aim to make it fun and relevent to our learning.
1) Finish your All About Me Posters so we can get to know you more.
2) Have students write their full name, address, and phone number. Please review this information with your students. It is important information for them to know.
SHARING: On Friday students can bring in a special rock that they have found or received.

CLASS PICNIC
Our first class gathering will be this weekend at Blue Lake Park. We will be having a potluck picnic in the park and everyone should bring a dish to pass. there is more information outside the room. The picnic will be on Saturday, September 20 from 10-1. If anyone has a badmitten set, crochet, volleyball net or a good solid kickball then please let me know so we can plan. It would be great to get a little old fashioned ball playing.

THEME - Space
This week we designed our rockets to blast off to outer space and this week we will be starting our journey through time and space. As we travel through the solar system we will begin to explore the unique qualities of the planets it encompasses including our own home, Earth. We will be taking a look at the sun and what power it provides for our planet and how it affects everything in the solar system. Start talking to your kids about projects they may want to do for the theme. We will have a project option during each theme this year and space presents a lot of opportunities for us to get off to a great start.

Sleep Over Spaceout
Our first big event of the year will be on Thursday, September 25th at 5:30 pm. Parents are encouraged to chaperone this event but it is not a requirement for attendance. The students will be involved in games and activities encompassing our Space thematic unit. We will also have a movie option that will be space related. If any parents have an issue with this just see me so that we can make arrangements. Students will sleep at the school and wake up to have breakfast. The other students in the school will be on campouts and we should have the whole building to ourselves on that Thursday and Friday. It should be a really awesome experience for the kids.

Business
All of you should have received a class schedule. If you didn't then just ask me and I will get you a copy. Many of you have turned in all your forms. Thank you. Many of you signed up to drive but we still are missing insurance information from most. If you have this you can copy it at the school and turn it into the forms box on top of the entryway shelf. I would also like to thank everyone for really making an effort to take kids stuff home. If anything is in their blue or red bins it can go home. Their drawers are for mostly unfinished work and student organization like journals and folders. Please help your kids keep their drawers organized by picking a day of the week to go through and clean out work that won't be completed. This helps the students stay focused on things they should be completing. Thanks.

Class Meeting
Our first class meeting was short but good. I could tell some of the new students were learning what the meeting is all about. Class meeting is a way for students to use the democratic process to make their learning environment work for them. The first proposal was brought to the group by yours truly.
Proposal: I propose that we keep stickers on our book boxes and every session of reading workshop that students who do the "work" of reading will receive a sticker on their box. Every 10 stickers allows for a day off during reading workshop time. Passes 11-6
The work of reading is defined as reading a book at or close to the student's level and trying to work through the text. We have older student helpers and myself to assist students during this time and they can read in partners if need be.

Conflict Resolution
Over the next few weeks we will continue to focus efforts on Trillium's conflict resolution mode. This will mostly entail the use of mediation and other structures within the community. We will be developing a strong community by helping kids work with a wide range of classmates on different activities to build kinship in the community. I encourage you to ask your students about mediation and ask them if they worked or played with anyone new that day.

Pictures
I will be posting pictures as soon as I find an acceptable host. If anyone has experience with good sites please let me know.