Respect

It's an exciting time of the year when our students are showing their amazing growth in reading, writing and math! It's also a time when kids might become a bit stressed about the changes that are about to occur: completing kindergarten, summer vacation,  going to first grade in the fall.  Somehow this impacts kids in the classroom and this year is no exception. During this past week, kids who normally get along have begun to have conflicts about sharingKids are saying unkind words to each other like, "I am not going to be your friend if you don't do x, y, or z. " Many students have been interrupting Miss Harrington and I when we are talking, and even more frustrating, interrupting other students who have raised their hands to speak.  When asked to clean up after an activity, some students have disregarded our instructions or even refused to comply. Even if you think this does not apply to your child, please have a conversation about how things have been going at school. Many times your child will not voluntarily offer up information, but if  you ask, in general, if they have been following expectations they will offer up the truth!  We try to get around to our "self-reports" each day but sometimes the day gets away from us and we run out of time.  Sometimes we also decide instead to have a class meeting to discuss successes and challenges of our day in an attempt to make plans for better days! 
As always we appreciate your support in helping your child understand the school-wide expectations of respect, responsibility and safety.  Thanks so much for all you do to contribute to a positive learning environment.