Parents,
The first week of school was a success! The kids were amazing and all conducted themselves like model students. We are going to have an amazing year!
I’m not sending out a newsletter this week, but I am adding a couple updates along with pictures below.
The Most Important Assignment of the Year!
You may have noticed the bulletin board with curtains drawn and a sign posted that said, “The Most Important Assignment of the Year!”
Disclaimer: I built this up a little bit bigger than it actually is, just for fun!
Pay it Forward is inspired from the book, Pay it Forward, by Catherine Ryan Hyde. In the book, the social studies teacher gives this assignment to his class. Trevor, one of his students, does the assignment and actually changes the world!
In the book, Trevor gives his paper-route money to a homeless man, who uses the money to buy new clothes for a job interview. He gets the job and then ends up paying it forward by giving to others himself. As a class, we have been talking about random acts of kindness, and how they might attempt this assignment. I did tell the kids to choose something that DOES NOT require giving money away, but if they needed money, they must get permission from a parent.
They have the entire year to complete this assignment! And, like the picture says, whether or not the world actually changes is NOT part of the assignment. They already have a bunch of great ideas. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about this assignment.
As Mr. Saint Clair, the social studies teacher says in the book, “What I want is for the students to reexamine their role in the world and think of ways one person can make a difference.”
Classroom Expectations
We had fun going over classroom expectations, getting to know each other and our new students better, and discussing how we are going to interact with each other this year. Pics below show the headband game and the rock, paper, scissors challenge. Ask your child to explain the pictures!
