Dear Families, September 7, 2021

Hello. Congratulations on your child finishing his or her first day of school. We are just beginning to learn about everyone in our class through different greetings, games, and other ice breakers. We are establishing routines and procedures for both in and out of the classroom. This will all continue for a number of weeks. It always amazes me what we do get done the first couple days and also what we have yet to learn.

Here’s an overview of our day today. We created ARCHES at our desk before the Pledge and learned how to come to the rug for Morning Meeting. Our greeting was “good morning” in Sign language) and we learned how to say it and greet others. We then did a fun getting to know you activity that led us into learning about the ARCH and created human ARCHES with our classmates. Each of the students received their own special polished stone representing their time in Kindergarten and learned they will be working to polish their 1st grade stone this year. Students receive paper “ARCH stones” when they show “Commitment” to upholding the ARCH and/or for being Accountable, Respectful, Compassionate, or Honest. We read A Little Bit of Oomph! And learned about my work expectations for our year. During snack (after a bathroom break) we did our first page of our poetry book with 2 poems “First Days” and “The Game” and applied “A little bit of Oomph!” They also designed their Super-Star Name Tag. This allowed me to help them organize the materials in their desks. After snack we headed outside for fresh air, play and learning how to come back together as a group. Back inside, we learned 2 Ways to Read a book by looking at the pictures and/or the words as I read The Night Before First Grade. It was a perfect segway into how to meet a new friend and share about each other. This was their line partner and someone to play with outside at recess.

After recess and lunch I read First Day Jitters, by Julie Danneberg. We drew our own picture of ourselves on our first day while I took a photo of each student. We then learned about expectations when we go outside for learning and then went to take a class picture. We had Gym for our specialist today. After PE, We did some pattern partner work with cubes in math and read some number books. Our day was full, fun, and fast.

I hope your child had a fun first day. Please make sure a your child gets a good night sleep. I look forward to getting to know you and your child this year and am excited for the future and all its possibilities.

Sincerely, Mrs. Pilate