Hello families, It has been an exciting first full week of school. The first week was filled with many activities including creating our own expressive dots for Dot Day 2.0 (we were on strike the International Dot Day), running wild with an idea (inspiration from What Would You Do with an Idea? ), and drawing self portraits. We have also been steadily working through our class routines and agreements in order to have a safe and fun learning community during class meeting. Class meeting is part of our Positive Discipline social emotional curriculum. It is a small block of time each day to discuss classroom routines, and any social emotional topics and conflicts that may arise throughout the day. If you would like to find out more about Positive Discipline you can visit http://www.positivediscipline.com/. If anyone hasn't brought a picture collage to school, we will start presenting them next week, so make sure to get one in! It's been a pleasure getting to know all of your students and I look forward to an exciting year. Enjoy some photos of our first week as a class. Kate
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Hello families!
It has been a great start to the year. I plan to write a more extensive email containing pictures and descriptions of our classroom activities later this week. For now, I have some projects in the classroom (writing folders, math and writing labels, and writing guides) that I could use some help with this week. I have a spot outside the classroom, and I am happy to accommodate to your schedule. I have most of your volunteer forms and I am starting to organize them so that in the future I can send out more specific requests. You may email me at [email protected] if you are able to volunteer. Thank you and look for our first newsletter soon! Kate Thibault Welcome 2015-16 second grade students and families! The beginning of the year has been a whirlwind and an adventure. Thank you for all of the support throughout the strike. We could not have done it without you. I look forward to finally starting the year, welcoming everyone into the classroom and to start learning! Below is some information on the nuts-and-bolts of the classroom.
Parent/Family Communication: Stay connected! We are embracing technology as a means of communication here at QAE. In order to get the most out of your student's second grade year, keep up with the new posts on our classroom website under "CLASS BLOG." This is where I will post reminders, photos, videos and student comments regarding what we are up to in class as often as possible. www.qaethibault.weebly.com Parents have homework!: Included in a welcome packet that will come home the first day is some paperwork for you to complete and return to school by the following Monday. CLASS WEBSITE: Visit and sign up for our blog feed. This is also a great way for other family members to follow what we’re doing. TELL US ABOUT YOUR CHILD: I refer to this regularly! VOLUNTEER FORM: A regular volunteer schedule will be accessible online at volunteerspot.com the week of October 5th after our classroom community has been established. PICTURE COLLAGE: First homework assignment! Please help your child collect pictures that will be included in his/her writing folder. The students will share the collages as a way to get to know one another and will keep them in their writing folders to help spark story ideas. It’s nice to have two-sided collages either taped onto paper or created digitally and printed out. Please make sure this collage will fit inside a sheet protector (8.5 x 11). Homework: Our school-wide focus on reading includes a nightly reading-at-home. Soon, our class will begin our “Book Baggie” routine in which your child will be given books that he/she will read at both school and at home. It is important to maintain involvement with this program; we ask that your child reads for at least 100 minutes a week (about 20 min/night). Until the Book Baggies come home, choose books of your choice from home or the library. Orange Folders: Every day your child will bring home an orange folder and must return it to school EACH DAY (even if there is nothing that needs to be returned to school). Important notes and work may be sent home through your child’s folder. Papers on the “return to school” side will need to be filled out and sent back to school. Please take the time to go through your child’s folder and empty out what’s on the “keep at home” side. Feel free to send notes to me and/or the school on the “return to school” side of the folder. There will be a designated location in the classroom where students are expected to put their orange folder each morning. Before & After School: The first bell rings at 9:25 and the tardy bell at 9:30. There is morning playground supervision starting at 9:00. I may be in and out of the classroom until the start of school day, and welcome students into the classroom at 9:25. They can walk themselves directly to class (we won’t be lining up outside). Please let me know how your child gets home after school and when there is a change in your routine. School ends at 3:35. Breakfast/Lunch: If your child gets school breakfast/lunch please help them memorize their pin number. Please contact me if you need your child’s pin number. Snack: Your child will need to bring a daily snack to school. I find that fresh and healthy snacks keep us best energized. I suggest foods such as fruit, cheese, yogurt, etc. Please do not bring in juice, sweets, or chips. I will keep snacks at school for kids who forget. Celebrations: At QAE we love to celebrate birthdays, and believe it is an important part of elementary school. We also believe that we can celebrate them in a meaningful and fun way without filling our kids with sugar. Therefore, if you choose to celebrate your child’s birthday at school, you may do so by donating a book in their name to the classroom. We will sing happy birthday, read the book and celebrate without treats, snacks or gifts. Teacher birthdays will be celebrated the same way. Does your student have a summer birthday? Don’t fret! We will be celebrating all summer birthday's in class on his/her half birthday. |
Ms. ThibautOne of the second grade teachers at QAE. Read this blog and stay up-to-date on classroom activities. Archives
March 2017
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Ms. Thibault's 2nd Grade | Class Blog |