 You guys. Last week I took 500 photos of Team Awesome. I'm not exaggerating. 500! Even for an avid photographer that's a bit over the top, don't you think? And I am far far from avid (although I have been called rabid but that's not the same thing). My computer, which is about a kijillion years old and makes strange whirring noises every time I ask it to do something (making me sweat that this is going to be the time it conks out, causing me to lose everything) wanted to throw a hissy-fit when I downloaded them so that's how I know it was 500. The almost-defunct computer threw up a notification box that read something like,
"Seriously? Are you kidding me?!?" We agreed that it could take as much time as it needed to download them just as long as it didn't crash in the process. Team Awesome is just so over-the-top cute and I want to share as much of what we do in our classroom during the week as I possibly can. Admittedly, you are soon going to tire of pictures of us reading/ colouring/ cutting/ gluing/ playing but until that happens I am going to continue to take and post tons of photos. Maybe I could work on cutting it down to 200 a week though.
As you know, BEST was part of a cross country recording of O Canada on Tuesday morning and the local media were invited to attend. As it happens, Team Awesome made their TV debut in a few clips that ended up on CFJC-TV that evening. In case you missed it, you can watch us here.
As you know, we have a 12:30 dismissal on Tuesday, Oct. 20 and Wednesday, Oct. 21 due to parent/teacher interviews. We will have been in school for six weeks and I met with you all before school started. I also see many of you once or twice a day. We have mainly been working on routines and social responsibility and getting settled in since the beginning of September. The children have been great and at this time I have no serious concerns. If that changes I will certainly contact you and set up a meeting.
Many of you have returned the interview schedule asking for a conference Tuesday or Wednesday and I am not sure if that is because you have items you would like to discuss with me or if you felt obligated. If you would still like to meet with me next week I would be happy to see you, just confirm with me sometime before Tuesday. If you felt obligated, I propose that we have a bit of an 'open house' on Tuesday and Wednesday. When you pick your child up at 12:30 have them show you around our classroom and explain some of the things that are up on the walls and some of our routines. They will be thrilled to play tour guide and excited to have you at school. If you have any specific questions for me about your child at that time, please ask. I look forward to seeing you! The school is required to conduct two lock down practices during the year and our first one will be Wednesday of this week. During the procedure an announcement will be made over the PA system that just says, "Lock down." Because we are required to keep our classroom doors locked at all times in case this procedure needs to happen for real, all that needs to be done is shutting the blinds, closing the doors and keeping the children as quiet as possible (I usually whisper-read a book). I will be explaining to the children that we need to practice in case there is an emergency in the school that requires us to stay inside our classrooms. Because they are four and five year olds who have active imaginations they will inevitably come up with all sorts of situations in which this procedure might happen. Please rest assured that at no time will I be elaborating on reasons for which we might have to activate the lock down procedure. Mostly the children see it as an adventure but sometimes they become anxious or scared, especially when the door is rattled from the outside to see if it is locked. I try to answer any questions and relieve their fears before/during/after the activity but some extra hugs and explanations might be needed at home. If you have any questions please contact Mr. Hembling at the school.
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