Congratulations to all 23 (and Katie) of you for getting through the first week of school! Unfortunately, the real work now begins...
We had a busy and fun four days together in Room 102. Forms were handed out throughout the week, and of note, all of the packages should be handed back in as well as the files on the students with any necessary changes. As well, we have Lunch Lady and Food Orders that can be filled out and paid online at lunch lady.com and gms.hotlunch.net. Students enjoyed introductory assemblies throughout the week highlighting the rules and schedules that our school follows, including our policies on electronics, which were in the form you all *hopefully* read through with your kid. They also took part in eight character education workshops designed to get the students thinking about the things that they will need to use throughout their middle school experience, such as empathy, responsibility and conflict resolution. These workshops were not taught by their homeroom teacher (Ms. Shipley) but instead by teachers from around the school who would otherwise not get to meet the wonderful people in 7/8G! Getting to know the school didn't stop there, though. On Wednesday we had a fun afternoon outside in the gorgeous weather spending the time participating in team-building activities led by fellow student leaders. 2 of the members of our class were part of this leadership team, and led us through activities such as 'ski races' and Bump. And on Friday, we enjoyed an outdoor barbecue and Kiwi Kraze at the school as well as some more fun activities outside against the other homeroom classes. It was a great way to get the school together at the end of an exciting and fulfilling week! The coming week brings the introduction of the rotary schedule, which is new for half of our class. Your child's schedule will indicate a day by day schedule rather than a Monday-Friday schedule. This means that we follow a 5-day format: Day 1-5. On Monday, we start on a Day 5, and on Tuesday we will wrap back around to a Day 1. Periods are in 50 minute blocks, but often your child will have a double block of 100 minutes in either English or Math. As well, they start gym classes on Monday. We ask that students bring a change of clothes with an extra tee and gym shorts or sweats as well as proper running shoes and a non-scented deodorant. We also recommend a water bottle, as it will be pretty hot again this week. I think that's it for now, but be sure to stay tuned to this page for a weekly update of the going-ons in our classroom. A note: many of the kids noticed that we are often selling things in the office and at the health bar. So, we usually recommend for the kids to keep a few dollars in their bag in case they want to purchase something. All of the proceeds usually go to our school, which is great. This week, for example, we are selling ice cream for $1 and $2 as well as popcorn in the office. Thank your kids for being good this week and thank you for waking up early for them (yes, we suffer too) and welcome to a great start to the new year! |