During the first few days of school, we engaged in activities aimed at fostering a safe and welcoming classroom community. After listening to the story "Our Class is a Family" by Shannon Olsen, the students collaborated to create our own "3A Class Promise." As a final activity, we made friendship bracelets, with each colour of bead representing a specific promise made to the class.

Our Back to School activities also involved reading "A Letter From Your Teacher" by the same author and illustrator as "Our Class is A Family." This story is written from a teacher's point of view, giving students the message that their new teacher is someone they can trust. Their teacher is not only there to help the academically, but also to cheer them on and provide a caring, safe learning environment. After reaching the book, the students were given the opportunity to share more about themselves by writing a letter back to their teacher.