9-3-13           First Day Letter

Dear Families,

We had a wonderful first day together in second grade.  We spent some time getting to know each other and getting familiar with the classroom through a fun scavenger hunt.  The whole school came together for an assembly to meet new staff and see old friends and teachers.   We read our first poem of the year, “Summer Smells,” and put it in our poetry binder.  We did some skip counting with movement and got in some extra time on the playground, while Mrs. Pols took our pictures.  We read several good books together -  First Day Jitters, Don’t Forget to Write and our first chapter book of the year, James and the Giant Peach.  We practiced how to line up alphabetically (all 23 of them did it with only one practice - amazing!), how to use our new lockers and how to know when I need their attention.  We went to see Mrs. Whitney for our first music class of the year.  

This group impressed me with their work ethic and great listening!  As a class we used sticky notes to decide what type of classroom we want and how we could achieve that type of room.  Common responses were “bully-free, neat, hard-working, polite, kind, fun, caring and happy.”  What great ideas!

As always on the first day there is a lot of paperwork in your child’s folder.  Please return these items to school as quickly as possible.  I have a detailed newsletter for you also, but will give you a little time to digest the other forms first.  Math folders and home-reading folders will come home next week!

I’m looking forward to a great year with your children and look forward to meeting you or seeing you again soon.

Sincerely,

Beth Pols