Sunday, August 23, 2015

Starting School


Greetings as we begin our 2015-2016 school year!

For those of you that have students in my class for the first year, my name is Mrs. Julie Brown and I am very excited about the opportunity to be the Kindergarten through 2nd grade teacher again at the Walter Northway School this year. This will be my fourth year with the Alaska Gateway School District. I have a genuine passion to teach children of any age, and I honestly do "whatever it takes" to see children succeed.

For the next two weeks, I will be teaching about six key things we need in our classroom to have a successful year. This week I will address four topics:

Each day I will introduce a new key by reading an age appropriate story that is connected with the focus key. We will then talk about what that key could look like in our class. The next step will be to create a symbol that represents that key and do a craft that shows a picture of something relating to that key. Finally, the students will have a special little treat that symbolizes the key. The basic examples of the symbols, treats, and books are:
1.) Safety- The book to be used is a humorous book called Never Ride Your Elephant to School. We will then discuss what it means to have a safe class and things we can do to help each other be safe. For a symbol, we will cradle our arms like rocking a baby. The Kindergarten will make a craft that is a golden key with a safety ring attached to it. The 1st and 2nd grade students will draw themselves doing some of the safe things we discussed, then they will draw what it would look like if they broke the safety rule. Life Savers will be the treat because we can help each other stay safe.
2.) Love and Belonging- The book we will use is Rainbow Fish. The focus is that fish school and stay together to create a caring community. We will discuss what it looks like to have a feeling of love and belonging in our classroom.  For a symbol we will cross our arms as a hug, and younger students will create another golden key with a rainbow fish on it.  The 1st and 2nd grade students will again make a compare and contrast page of respecting the key, as compared to breaking the rule. A Hershey’s Hug will be the treat because we love and care for each other.
3.) Freedom and Independence- The book to be used is All By Myself.  We will talk about how the little boy in the story is learning to do things on his own. The more we can do independently, the more freedoms we can have in our classroom. Then we will reflect on how we can model that in our class. For a symbol we will use waving our arms to fly like a Superhero, because they are all super students with lots of potential. Each group will do a similar craft to remember the key. To celebrate the lesson we will have a Starburst fruit treat because each student is bursting with star power.
4.) Fun and Enjoyment- The book we will read is Amazing Grace. Using Grace’s fun loving experiences, we will talk about what it looks like to have fun and be happy in our classroom. For a symbol we will use big smiles, and each younger student will create another golden key with a smiley face. The 1st and 2nd grade students will continue to make a compare and contrast page of respecting the key, as compared to breaking the rule. A Twizzler treat will be twisted into a smile as the treat because when we have fun we smile and are happy.
When we finish all six keys, we will revisit each key and discuss everything the students remember about what every key will look like in our classroom. Each student will have their own key book to help them remember what is needed for a successful year. Then I will read The Hare and the Tortoise, and discuss never giving up despite how impossible something may appear. Each student will make a school promise that is recorded on a worksheet with a picture showing themselves keeping their promise. The promises will be posted on the Commitment Wall in the hallway and displayed all year.

Next week I will teach about the last two keys, Valued Purpose and Success. I will have more on that in my next blog post. Also next week, I will be starting to send home nightly homework on Monday through Thursday. Please remind your child to return their homework bag daily.

Everyday, I will be sending home a ‘GO FOR GOOD BEHAVIOR” card. Please be looking for it daily. 

On the first day of every week, I will be sending home a letter explaining important events taking place in our classroom. In addition, I will be posting the information on a blog on the internet at: www.k12wnsnews.blogspot.com.

Furthermore, I would like to post pictures and attached a permission form with the parent letter sent home on the first day of school. I would like it returned by the end of the week, if possible. On the same page as the Internet release, and the district will be sending home a more involved form for you to sign too. I have added a local outings permission slip for the school year. If we will be going beyond the Northway village area, I will send home a specific permission slip at that time. On Sept. 4 we will be going out to the Long Lake burn with Peter Talus from the Tok forestry department, so please get these to me as soon as you can.

If you have any questions, please contact me at the school or email me at: jbrown@agsd.us. I am looking forward to an amazing year with the students of Northway!

Kind Regards,

Julie Brown

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