We all survived our first week. Believe it or not, the staff was a little anxious about our start. With our beloved Kathryn off on her new adventures as the Middle School Art Teacher, Amanda and I took on the program planning. And we know we don’t get a second chance to make a first impression, especially with those precious Kindergartners and new students to Bright IDEAS. We wanted them to feel welcome and included. There were a few tears but once we got our day started, those kids perked up and joined in the fun. I was really impressed how well the Kindergartners did this week.
This week we focused on establishing routines and rules, getting acquainted with one another through fun name games and learning about cooperation through interactive games. Here’s what a typical day looks like:
- 2:30- Everyone assembles in the Cafeteria for role
- 2:40-2:55 pm- Snack time on the playground, and play time
- 2:55-3:00- Water and bathroom
- 3:00-3:30- Homework time. K’s will stay on the playground a little longer, then go with Ms Amanda to the AIG room next to the gym to read a story
- 3:30-4:30- Elective Clubs for some, Explorers Club for the rest, where we split into groups by age and have a unit study (Country, Science, etc) for the week through games, presentations, activities, computer lab time, etc.
- 4:30 – pick up from Elective Clubs in the back of the auditorium (if you aren’t picking up now, then you will find your child in the gym or playground after 4:30).
- 4:30- Explorers club moves down to gym/playground to play planned supervised games.
- 5:15- Closing Circle
- 5:25- Dismissal – all children will be brought upstairs to carpool line.
Each week our schedule is posted outside the school on one of the poles, so if you are wondering where to find us, check there. But you can always call us at 513-9223 to find us.
There are a couple of rules we have a hard time driving home with our kids so we would appreciate your help with them. One, bringing a pencil for homework time. We do have pencils that children can borrow but last year they often didn’t come back, so we started asking the children to sign them out but this cuts into their playground time because we ask them to do this before going outside.
Two, no water fountain visits during homework time. It is distracting to others and we feel that many are just avoiding doing work. So we ask them to get water on the way in from the playground. If they have water bottles, they may keep them at their place.
I recognize this may sound a little knit picky but we have staff and volunteers available to help with questions during homework time and we want to utilize their time with homework questions. Giving out pencils and giving permission to get water isn’t how we want to use their time.
Please make sure you always sign out your child with a staff member each time you pick them up. If you come during Circle Time, we ask that you wait for us to dismiss your child from the Circle. And please be here by 5:30. The last thing we want to do at the end of a long day is to hassle you for money. We are pretty gracious about giving everyone one “free pass” for being a few minutes late and understand that occasionally you will get stuck behind an accident. There is nothing you can do about that and we understand that; it happens to us all! We appreciate your respect of our time and if possible giving us a call to let us know you will be late.
I hope I haven’t totally bored you silly. It isn’t very exciting stuff is it? But now we can move on to better topics, eh?
brightideasexplorersclub 