First Day Back

Whew... Christmas Break flew by! It was great to see the students back at school today. I had definitely missed them over Christmas Break. It was exciting to get to see and hear about the students' adventures outside of school.

Today was a day to "get back in the groove" of school. In my class, your students spent the first part of their period "reconnecting" with each other and with me. The purpose of reconnecting is simply to "break the ice" and get comfortable in the learning environment again in the classroom. We shared about what we did over break, what we got for Christmas, and our favorite sports/activities/clubs. I learned many interesting things about your students and their favorite past times and activities. This information will help me when I plan for future lessons. I love to tie in relevant student interests into the curriculum whenever possible!

Students did not have any homework in my class today because we spent the majority of class getting new seating arrangements, behavior charts, and a parent letter to take home to you. Each of your students was sent home with a parent letter. Please sign and return the back page as soon as possible with your student. Many of your children might have mentioned the new seating arrangement in my classroom. Students are now sitting with their desks in "pods" (AKA groups of four). Your child has been assigned a seat specifically so that their learning can be scaffolded in those groups. The purpose of the group seating arrangement is to encourage collaborative work and exchange of ideas in the classroom. In addition to the seating arrangement, we also added a new behavior plan to increase the amount of on-task student time in the classroom. Students have been challenged to work together to be in their seats and quiet and ready to learn when the bell rings. If the class can successfully accomplish this task for 10 days in a row, they will be rewarded with a snack party. for this first challenge, I have promised each class a donut party when they achieve their goal.

Additionally, students were given approximately 20 minutes of the class period to finish working in their groups on their "School Improvement Plan" Projects. Students started working on these before Christmas Break. Tomorrow, students will be presenting their final plans to a panel of impartial community judges. The judges will pick the top 3 projects. The top 3 projects will then be presented to student council and the student council will decide which one of the three should be implemented at McGary, if possible. From there, our 8th graders will work on this project and work to make this plan a reality. Ideally, this plan will serve as the 8th grade project, with a focus on leaving their legacy at McGary Middle School (leaving the school a better place). I will post the top 3 projects on the blog for you to see after they are chosen! Civic engagement and participation is something that I am extremely passionate about. I would love to inspire our posterity to understand the importance of civic virtue and responsibility.

Overall, it was a great first day back to school with the students! I am looking forward to a great semester with your children! :)