August 31, 2018

Good Afternoon,
  What a great first week and start of the year.  We have spent the week getting to know each other and some of the classroom expectations and routines.  We had a great discussion about why we come to school and what we can learn at school.  This conversation will help each student devise a Hope and Dream for the year and also guide us in the rule making process.  This work will continue next week.

  This week we have read a variety of books regarding the start fo the school year and books that celebrated our differences. Two of this week's favorites were We Don't Eat Our Classmates by Ryan T. Higgins and The Name Jar by Yangsook Choi.

  I appreciate so many of you coming out to the potluck the other night.  I hope you had a chance to meet the two new families (new to our school).  I think it is great to meet everyone before the year gets going.

NOTES:
*A reminder that the book orders are due 9/14/18.  This is the last book order until November. Remember you can order online or send in the forms and a check.

9/7 School Photos, 8am
9/14 All School Hike
9/20 Open House, 5:30-6:30pm
10/5 Inservice-no school for students
10/8 Holiday-no school
10/24 & 10/25 Family Conferences, 2:30-7pm

I hope you all have a great weekend.  

Peace,
Tommy

August 27, 2018

Good Morning,
  I hope this finds all of you excited for the start of the school year.  I always like the prospect of the fresh start, the new challenges, and the opportunity to develop a new classroom community.  We had a great day today.  The morning started with a whole group assembly in the gymnasium.  Ms. Korb talked about the terms community, newness, and inspired and how they relate to our job as a learning community.  This afternoon the class had French class and PE class.

Most of our day was spent on introductions and the beginning stages of developing shared expectations.  We read three different books today.  The first book was First Day Jitters by Julie Danneberg.  The second was This School Year Will Be the Best by Kary Winters.  The final book was Skin Again by Bell Hooks.  This book addressed the idea of their skin just being a covering for whats inside a person and that what's inside is who the person really is.  The students then wrote "I am ..." statements and helped create the bulletin board as you enter our classroom.

Your child has a plastic Ziploc bag in their backpack.  Please go through all of the information and return it asap.  The Ziploc bag should come back each day.  It is my way to make sure items you need to see are in one spot for you and are easily found inside the backpack.

  There are book order forms in your child's bag.  There is also a note that explains the process.  Please take a look and let me know if you have any questions.  The due date for orders is 9/14/18.  I will send out orders in September, November, and May this year.

  The potluck is scheduled for this Wednesday at 5:00.  So far 9 families have signed up.  I would love to get everyone there.  Here is the link if you still need to sign up  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/12Oc-XoMWV_UJhAt-Dm2x6EGUA76fkMAWum0s65n00FA/edit?usp=sharing

I hope you all have a great evening and that your child had a wonderful 1st day.

Peace,
Tommy