Wow! One week of school down already. We have had a lot of fun getting to know each other this week. The students are learning the classroom routines and expectations, and they are learning how to be part of a team. They  have all decorated their name tags, gotten to know our class library, learned how to have snack and lunch safely in the classroom, and filled out a variety of "getting to know you" sheets. We will EASE into academics next week, and hit the books in earnest right after Labor Day weekend. We will start next week with some fun science so that we can learn the scientific process -- lots of messy fun will happen!

Thank you all for sending in photos of your children for our Cheetah Den bulletin board. If you haven't had a chance to do this yet, feel free to snap a photo over the weekend and email it to me. I will print it here at school and make sure it gets hung up. The same goes for the foot photo!

I am noticing that students are leaving the classroom frequently to go to the water fountain. I never want to say no to thirsty kids, but it does cause a disruption. Sending in a water bottle with your child would solve this problem. Please try your best to get one sent into school. I will buy some plastic disposable ones to have on hand, but I don't like using them unless absolutely necessary.

We got out our chromebooks for the first time today, and made sure everyone could get logged on and use google drive and gmail. All went well! Many of the students complained that their track pads did not work well. Unfortunately this is a reality with our school-issued chromebooks.... I do have a few external mice here at school, but feel free to send one in for your child to use if she or he complains about the "glitchy" mouse.

Finally, I wanted to let you know that many students have fidget toys with them, and these are also causing a distraction. Additionally, the students tend to want to share them, and that concerns me in the midst of a pandemic. Please ask your children to leave their fidget toys at home. If you believe your child really benefits from using one, contact me and we can make a plan.

I am really enjoying all of your children! I hope they are enjoying school so far, and that they are coming home happy and ready for more. Please feel free to be in touch with any feedback so that we can work together to make sure this is a successful and fun year for everyone. We are a team!

Enjoy your weekend!