Week One

Wow - what an absolutely fantastic week!  I am so happy to be on this journey with your family!  It's been wonderful to get to know your sweet second grader over the course of this week! I'm including some helpful reminders and upcoming important dates below the pictures.  Please be sure to take a close look and help your second grader be prepared for next week in case s/he is missing anything.  Thank you for your support and partnership!  I've included some pictures from our time together this week - snuggle up with your second grader and have him/her tell you about our adventures - enjoy! 

Tuesday was wet and rainy, but that didn't stop us from exploring all around our new learning and playing spaces!  

We read the book A Letter From Your Teacher On the First Day of School.  Then the students had a chance to write a letter to me!  

Wednesday was chapel!  It drizzled on us some, but we learned where our "assigned" chapel log is, what to do with our hands, hearts, and minds during chapel, and how to participate.  We also enjoyed time in the forest...not in our rain gear! ;) We learned about "stick play" and "tree climbing" while in our playspace.  And we worked hard inside on some "All About Me" pages. 

 

Thursday was a beautiful, sunny day!  We enjoyed time in the forest with the outdoor kitchen pots and pans!  We spent some time working on our Outdoor Classroom and making it our own! We also decorated our Nature Notebooks are are excited to start taking these on hikes with us next week!  

What a fantastic Friday!  The sun was shining and we had a great day!  We designed our reader's notebooks that we'll use daily during reading workshop.  It's so fun to see personalities shine through their creations!  In math we practiced addition with a partner while playing a dice game.  We had our first Fun Friday, which is when the two classes combine together for an activity during our Outdoor Learning time.  Today we did team work to move some wood chips to create a JOY Rock Garden.  2nd graders then painted rocks to add to our JOY Rock Garden.  It looks SO good!!  

 

For next week:

*Water!  Your child will need a spillproof water bottle filled with water every day. There will opportunities to refill their water bottle during our school day.

*Two quick, easy snacks to eat and a full lunch are needed every day.

*Sign up for school lunch by Monday at 7:00am. 

*Friday folders are coming home today.  Please take a look at the work inside with your child and send the empty folder back on Monday.  

*Remember that we will load the bus at 8:10 and pull out right at 8:15 each morning.  Please have your child to Pine Ridge between 7:50-8:10 - no later than 8:10.  

*If your child has not returned his/her baton, please send it in on Monday.  I will keep this for the school year.

*I'm also looking for some green communication folders, these were passed out at Open House (there is a sticker with your child's name in the top right corner).  Could you please send back the "Getting to Know Your Child" page inside the green folder on Monday?  

*Thank you for all the wonderful classroom supplies.  If you have these and didn't have a chance to drop them off, you can take them to the Pine Ridge office with my name on them and I will get them from there.  We could still use some more sanitizing wipes and rolls of paper towels.  Thanks!!  

*If you did not sign the ointment and topical sprays form at the Open House, please visit the Pine Ridge office.

Clothing/Materials Needed Next Week:

*Inside shoes

*Rain gear

*Rain boots

*Outside shoes

From the Office:  

*For our students’ and teachers' safety, there is a new sign-in document our Forest families are requested to complete if they need to pick up their child early, if the child is dropped off late or the parent would like to volunteer in the class. This QR code will be posted on our classroom door. Please be sure to have your phone with you when dropping off late, picking up early, or volunteering in our classroom so you can scan the code. Thanks so much!

Important Dates:

*Wednesday, August 27 - Convocation at the High School Football Field

*Friday, August 29 - No School 

*Monday, September 1 - No School

*Wednesday, September 10 - Chapel at the Forest K-1 Cabins

*Tuesday, September 16 - Off Campus Trip to Outdoor Discovery Center 8:15-11:00

*Thursday, September 18 - Picture Day

*Wednesday, September 24 - Chapel at the Forest K-1 Cabins at 8:30

*Wednesday, September 24 - Walkathon

*Wednesday, October 8 - Our class leads chapel at Forest K-1 Cabins at 8:30

Please remember that the first week or two of school can present some big feelings.  Spend some time this weekend talking through these feelings with your second grader.  These are all normal feelings and they're all okay to have!  If you're able, stick to a regular bedtime routine, even on the weekend, that will be really helpful.  Some extra snuggles with Mom/Dad are always a great way to help with big feelings.  

Have a WONDERFUL Weekend!