Welcome to the 2012 school year!
February 1st, 2012I am so pleased to be appointed as the Year One Purple Dragons teacher - If the first few days we have had together are any indication, the year ahead looks to be full of fun, activity and discovery!
“Getting to know you”
The primary focus for our group this week is settling back into school life, and getting to know each other a little better in the context of our new class. We have shared what we think our own “special” qualities are, through activities and discussion inspired by the book “I like myself” by Karen Beaumont. We have looked at the unique character of our fingerprints, and created both individual and group art works for our classroom door using our finger tips instead of brushes. We discovered the meaning of the idiom “what gets your goat?”, shared the types of things that really annoy us, and discussed positive ways to overcome these problems. Following on from this, we worked together to create some class guidelines to ensure we are have a happy and respectful learning environment.
Our “getting to know you” activities will continue over the following weeks, in conjunction with a gradual introduction of some of our more formal curriculum tasks with the aim of both helping children settle into their new class group, and creating a solid foundation for this year’s learning.
“Meet the Teacher”
A big “thank you” to all of the parents who have taken the time to come up and say “hello”, and those who are already putting up their hands for classroom help – it is very much appreciated!
There will be an official class information night held in Week 4, where I will be discussing my teaching philosophy, our class routines, and aims for the year ahead. At this time I will also be asking parent’s availability for classroom help, and begin putting a timetable together for this purpose. I hope to see many of you there!
In the meanwhile, if you have any questions or would just like to “check in” so to speak, you can contact me via email at v.a.ritchie@det.nsw.edu.au or just come up for a chat at afternoon pick-up.
I’m looking forward to a fantastic learning year with the children of families of Year One purple dragons!
Kind regards,
Vanessa Gentle (nee Ritchie)