My Class Orchestra...Orchestra Classroom Management Plan Nicole Provost 2014 . Philosophy of Classroom Management In order to create an environment, in which the maximum amount of

My Class Orchestra

Classroom Management Plan

Nicole Provost

2014

Philosophy of Classroom Management

In order to create an environment, in which the maximum amount of learning is

occurring, children must feel like they are stepping into a safe, secure, and sincere environment.

This all starts with the teacher guiding students to create this atmosphere by clearly

communicating to students what is acceptable, appropriate, and appreciated in the classroom.

Before these expectations are communicated, the teacher must mold an appropriate plan together.

The teacher must hold firm to the rules and expectations they have expressed to the class. This

demonstrates to students that the teacher is serious about this atmosphere and the plan is not to

be strayed from. The next step is to watch the plan in action, stand back, and be proud that the

students are no longer misbehaving, but striving to reach the expectations of the class and to

uphold the safe, secure and sincere environment. When this safe, secure, and sincere

environment is created, students will have the confidence, comfort, and capability to explore and

express their opinions and beliefs freely. They will feel loved, cared for, and believed in, and

when that happens, students are able to accomplish anything they set their minds to.

“Our Class is an Orchestra!” This will be my class motto and we will practice and

perform like an orchestra everyday in the classroom. The teacher will act as the conductor:

cueing students and guiding them in the right direction, providing them with extra practice when

needed, grouping students appropriately, slowing the material down if necessary and starting in

different places when appropriate. Each student or musician in an orchestra plays an equally

important role. Every note or comment/opinion holds equal value and benefits the group as a

whole. Every musician in an orchestra also holds individual jobs and is responsible for practicing

on their own. Each musician also comes to class prepared to participate and play their part to the

best of their ability.

I have molded my class theme of modeling an orchestra so that each letter stands for a

specific practice that musicians/students should follow. ORCHESTRA:

O is the practice of ‘organizing themselves’. Each student must be responsible for

keeping track of their work, completing it, turning it in on time, and practicing the

appropriate material when needed.

R is the practice of ‘respecting each other’. Respect is necessary in any type of

environment. It creates friendship, comfort, and trust.

C is for ‘cooperating’. Students must work together, help each other succeed and learn,

and guide each other to success. If this happens, the final performance will be the best it

can be for each student.

H- Musicians in an orchestra ‘hold each other accountable’. They make sure they are all

on time, answer appropriately when called on, follow the class rules, and do their best

consistently.

E is for ‘ears listen to those around them’. In order for orchestras to play beautifully

together and classrooms to learn together, they must listen carefully to each other’s

opinions and ideas.

S- Orchestras also ‘stay on task’. Students must stay focused on the task at hand or the

instruction that is occurring for the content to be mastered and performed with accuracy.

T stands for ‘teaching and helping one another succeed’. Students learn the most when

they teach what they know to other students and help those who are struggling.

R is for ‘respecting the teacher’. In order for a safe, secure and sincere environment to be

successfully created, respect must be mutual between the teacher and the students. In

order to gain respect, one must first give it.

A- Orchestras also ‘attend to precision’. The little things matter, especially when an

orchestra is playing a complex piece. If students miss one step to a math or science

problem, the whole thing will be wrong. Lastly, students must ‘Stop and think’. Hard

problems will be encountered and scholars and musicians always stop and try to find a

solution.

S is for ‘stop and think’. Students will often come upon a problem that is hard to solve.

Instead of giving up and getting frustrated, students need to build the skill of looking at

the problem from another angle and trying again to solve it from there. Stopping and

thinking about words and actions is also an important classroom and life practice.

First Days of School

The first day of school may be both, the most exciting and the most nerve racking day for

the teacher and the students! Both are eagerly waiting to see what the other is like. Both are

excited to make new memories, and add names to the list of people that they will remember

forever. Along with this suspense, and excitement however, also comes seriousness and

structure. The tone set on the first day of school is reflective of the teacher’s personality and

expectations. This tone establishes the foundation for the rest of the year, and sets the tone for

the environment in which relationships will form and build. Having high expectations and setting

goals is also a crucial part of learning and keeping a structured and successful, yet adventurous

and climactic classroom atmosphere.

Present a fun and motivating learning environment

Use all the space you have. Fun, motivational, educational, and interactive

bulletin boards and posters will be on the walls!

Create math, reading, and science centers around the room.

Place student desks in a U shape for class discussion and in small groups for

collaborative learning.

Welcome each student into the unknown

Meet and greet each student at the door.

Give each student a “Welcome to the Mystery” bag as

they walk in. Develop relationships

Sing “Here We Are Together” and “The Penny Song”

Play Two Truths and a Lie or Never Have I Ever

Pass out and complete a student Questionnaire Respect others and the classroom

Build class rules using a governmental system. The House, Senate and President

etc.

Brain storm and create rules as a whole class

Treat others the way you would want to be treated!

Express and demonstrate that I will respect and care about each student Set individual and class goals

Write goals on giraffe spots. These goals will then be glued onto a life

size giraffe named Geoffery.

Put marbles in jars for each book that was read-Individual/group goals

Understand the importance of and be able to express, orally or through

writing, how a they arrived at a solution.

Hold high expectations

Believe in a child and they will believe in themselves.

Prevent students for settling for something that is less than their best.

Saying, “I give up,” “I can’t do it,” or “This is too hard” is NEVER okay.

Provide students with tough challenges that I know they can accomplish Introduce a routine

Demonstrate Afternoon Circle

Use Weekly Vocabulary word in everyday conversation throughout the week

Take “3 Breaths”- students stop what they are doing, close their eyes and take

three deep breaths. The hope is that they will calm down and refocus.

Write a weekly letter to parents Share my enthusiasm about what’s to come

Explain big projects

Show pictures of fieldtrips

Describe Common Core and the main goals

Introduce books that will be read Explain that growing up leads to responsibility

Do the homework. Do it productively, to the best of one’s ability, and turn it in on

time.

Be responsible for one’s words and actions.

Monitor one’s own learning, organization and time on

task.

Prevention Plan

Former U.S. Senator, David Vitter once said, “I continue to believe that if children are

given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!” These

needs must also be given in a structured, safe, secure, and sincere environment. This atmosphere

is developed in a classroom through early prevention strategies. Students and children need to

know what is appropriate, what is appreciated, what is respectful, and what is unnecessary, in

order to succeed in the classroom, but more importantly in life. Developing appropriate language

and behaviors in students will create more time on task, more freedom of expression, and

successful exploration in the classroom. Misbehaviors will occur, after all, children are children,

but preventing them before they occur will make all the difference in the world when instruction,

exploring, and collaborating are occurring.

Class-running Procedures:

Throughout the day there will be movement in the classroom, without a doubt. This

movement can either be distracting, loud and confusing, or it can be smooth, clear, and quiet.

Distinguishing and establishing the least distractive movement will save an immense amount of

time during instructional hours.

Administrative Procedures: Taking attendance:

I love the idea of students moving their own clothes pin to

distinguish whether they are getting hot lunch or cold lunch. This

establishes responsibility and it kills two birds with one stone. Hot

and cold lunch count can be taken at the same time attendance is

recorded.

Procedures for Student Movement:

Entering the room at the beginning of the day:

Having students line up at the door calmly and quietly sets the tone for expectations once

students enter the classroom. This also makes it easy to greet each student before they enter the

classroom: shake their hand, knuckle bump, hug, or simply look them in the eye. Each student’s

mood can therefore be determined and the type of day the student will have can be predicted.

Going to the restroom:

Creating a silent signal that students can use, and then wait for my nod or shake of the head, is a

great time saver. I also like the idea of having students sign out with their name and time they

left and returned. This way I can monitor who is going all the time and how long they are gone.

Sharpening pencils:

Students constantly are breaking pencils as an excuse to get up from their desks. Having

individual hand held sharpeners at each desk is a great way to cut down on this movement and

unnecessary excuse of getting out of their seats. This is also an easy object that can be taken

away if its use is being abused.

Class Chores:

Assigning classroom responsibilities is a great way to create a

classroom community and hold students accountable for taking care

of their assigned job. Assigning jobs such as paper passers, animal

feeders, classroom cleaners, book shelf organizers, etc. will save me

tons of time and allow the students to feel as if this classroom is as

much theirs as it is mine.

Cleaning desks:

I am a very organized person, and in order for students to be successful throughout their

academic career it is important that they practice being organized as well. Elementary students

often times will just shove papers in their desks without giving it a second thought, and before

you know it, they can’t find the worksheet they were given just five minutes ago. Providing each

student a color coated folder for each subject will allow students to organize their papers and

prevent their desks from overflowing.

Lesson-running Procedure:

There are so many lesson-running procedures that should be discussed with the class, and

listed below are only a few. Students need to know what is expected of them during instruction

to reduce the need for intervention. If students know what is expected of them the likely hood of

them acting out or misbehaving decreases. When students know what is expected, transitions can

be smooth and quick. However, if students do act out, procedures for intervention must be in

place and must occur right away.

Morning routine: Students will come in the classroom knowing that a daily warm-up awaits

them. Not a cliché warm-up that assigns them a math problem to work on,

but a question that allows them to reflect, predict, or one that challenges

them to think. I will also share a fun fact of the day, or introduce an

intriguing vocabulary word. We will also go over the agenda for the day so

the students are fairly warned about what to expect.

Homework: Turn it in, and pick it up baskets make life easy. Whether homework is

assigned on a weekly or nightly basis, requiring students to place it in the turn it in basket when

it’s due prevents me from taking time to collect it, it also holds students accountable for

remembering to do this. Instructing students to pick up their own graded work from the basket

also saves a lot of time that it takes to pass back papers. Labeling this basket on a per student

basis, allows for confidentiality, and students won’t feel uncomfortable with other students

seeing their grades.

If a student missed the homework:

If a student is absent they will be directed to the missed assignment and missed homework

baskets. These baskets will be labeled by subject, and by date, so students can easily transfer the

work into their appropriate desk folder.

Getting and putting supplies away:

These tasks will be practiced several times at the beginning of the year to make sure it doesn’t

waste any time. The students will have until the end of a song to collect all the supplies that are

listed on the board (each student will have an assigned supply to retrieve). The students will then

have until the end of the song to put all supplies away (each student will put away the same

supply they gathered).

How lesson begins:

Each lesson will begin with a call and response in order to get the

students attention. A review of what was learned yesterday will be gone

over and the new objective, that will be visible for all students to read,

will be gone over before instruction of any kind begins. It’s important

for students to know the objective so they can be thinking about it

throughout the lesson and be able to self assess if they are obtaining the

planned knowledge.

What to do if you finish early:

Students will know that if they finish early, no matter what subject is being currently taught,

reading silently, in the reading center or at their desk, is always an option. I will do my best to

also have a problem of the week or even problem of the day that students will work on when

finished early. Having students conduct an ongoing research project, on a topic of their choice, is

also a great way for them to spend their extra time when finished early.

Interaction Procedures:

Group and class collaboration are great learning techniques. However, noise level and

movement can get out of hand fairly quickly. Establishing rules about group and whole class

interaction before giving students freedom to partake in these tasks will create increased learning

and sharing opportunities. Time should not be wasted explaining and reminding students about

what is expected, they should already know.

Talk between teacher and students:

During whole-class lessons:

Teacher will check for understanding by asking for a thumbs up to clarify who is grasping the

concept. Students will be seated as close to the teacher as possible so it’s easier for me to keep

them focused and on task. All students will be expected to participate. Those that are outgoing

and willing to participate out loud will be encouraged to do so. However, those students who

aren’t as comfortable talking out loud will be responsible for recording their thoughts and

answers on paper and turning them in at the end of the lesson. This way each student is

responsible for participating and I am able to asses each students understanding and not just

those students that verbally participate.

Signal when the teacher needs the group’s attention:

Call and responses are fun and easy ways to gain the students attention. However, a variety of

call and responses must be used. This requires students to listen closely and respond correctly.

One that involves hand motions is preferred. That way, students must drop what is in their hands

in order to participate. Musical instruments are also a fun attention grabbing tool. Again, a

variety is better than one so the students don’t become unresponsive and adaptive.

During independent work:

Students will be given three laminated pictures that can be placed one at a time on the top of

their desks to represent their comfortableness and understanding of the material. One picture will

be a rock rolling down a hill and will say ‘I’m on a roll’ on the top. This will indicate that the

student grasps the concept and is carrying out the task at an efficient pace. The second picture

will be a picture of someone pushing a rock down a hill, and will say ‘I need a push’. This will

indicate that the student needs help starting the task, or needs guidance in the right direction. The

last one will be a picture of a rock that was rolling down a hill, but was stopped by another rock.

It will say ‘I’m stomped’ at the top. This will indicate that a student is stuck and doesn’t

understand the concept at all. They may need a

review of the material or also may have not been

paying attention during instruction, it’s important

to differentiate between the two.

During center time:

Centers are great. They provide exploration,

cooperation, and responsibility. However, the

noise level during this time can greatly deter from

the activity that the students should be doing.

Providing students with an appropriate noise level from 1-5, 1 being silent and 5 being the noise

level at recess, provides a way to hold students responsible and allows students to hold each

other accountable for not going above the assigned noise level.

During transitions:

After a lesson or activity is done and students have been sitting for a long period of time, it is

unreasonable to ask them to shift to the next task without noise and chaos. Having students do a

quick physical activity before asking students to transition to the next activity will make the

transition itself faster and will give students an opportunity to get their wiggles out before having

to sit for another extended period of time. The Brain Break book has great short activities that

involve a limited required amount of space, but are energy relieving.

Effective Teacher Praise/ Discourse:

Providing students with constructive praise and encouragement shows that you care about

them and their learning. It also establishes self confidence and leads students to try their best at

everything they do. When praise is given it should be specific and sincere. This gives students

confidence that what was said was meant, and shows that teachers are taking time to pay

attention to and notice certain aspects of student work. “When I get stuck, I ask myself what I do know and what tools might help me.”

“You are capable of doing anything you want if you put your mind to it.”

“Look at what you just accomplished.” “Figure out what you want to know/understand, then explore it on your own.”

“I have high expectations for you.”

“I appreciate the way you are working hard and staying on task.”

“You did it. You kept trying and you did it.”

“Let’s treat each other the way we want to be treated- with kindness and respect.” “We are all different and have our own unique strengths to offer. As a group, we can accomplish

more as one united whole than we can as individuals.”

“I saw a lot of teamwork today.”

Relieving energy:

Students are children, and often times I think this is forgotten. Because we hold high

expectations for our students, we often forget that they cannot sit and accomplish these

expectations for long periods of time. I often have a hard time sitting still during long class

sessions so I am very sympathetic to my students’ struggles with this task. Giving students ample

opportunity to get up and moving will increase the amount of effective learning, concentration,

and on task behavior.

15 seconds of careful chaos!

Simon Says

Rolling dice for energy (tape six simple physical activities onto a

dice and roll to relieve energy)

Untangled fun (Call a student one at a time to the middle of the

classroom and have them link hands, do this about ten times and

then challenge the students to untangle themselves-do this activity twice so all students

get a chance to be in the middle)

Leader of Movement (Sit in a circle and have one student step outside, assign one student

in the circle to be the leader. That student will pick a small movement and everyone else

will copy that movement. The point is for the leader and everyone else in the circle to

change movements without pointing out who the leader is. The person who stepped

outside must find and uncover who the leader is)

There’s a Penny in this Land (Sit in a circle and have one student step outside. Pass a

Penny around the circle while singing the ‘Penny song’ when the song is over the person

with the penny keeps it. The person outside then comes in and stands in the middle of the

circle with their eyes closed, they then can ask three times who has the penny, while the

person with the penny disguises their voice to lead the guesser off track).

Intervention Plan

The prevention aspect of behavior is the most important to any classroom setting.

Establishing clear rules and expectations helps keep a classroom running smoothly and allows

for maximum instruction time. However, these rules and expectations may be broken and it’s

also important to implement a plan to deal with these misbehaviors. It shows students that you

mean what you say and the rules and expectations aren’t suggestions, they are to be followed,

and if they aren’t, there will be a consequence.

General Guidelines

Stay Calm- It’s important to show students that what they are doing doesn’t make you

mad or disappointed. Students will test you and it’s crucial to pass their test. If they know

that their misbehavior gets under your skin, they are much more likely to misbehave on

purpose.

Assume the best in your students- All students want to succeed, and all students want to

feel proud and responsible. Setting high behavioral expectations and giving students

opportunities and guidelines to reach these expectations gives them a sense of

accomplishment.

Preserve student’s dignity- It should never be a point to embarrass or put down a student,

no matter how much they are frustrating you. The clearer it is to the student that you are

on their side, the more likely it is that they will be on yours.

Minimize disruption to time on task- The behavior should be addressed right away so it

doesn’t disrupt instruction or work time anymore than is necessary. Predict when the

behavior will occur and act fast to stop it, or prevent it from happening all together.

Respond appropriately and consistently- Similar behaviors should be handled in similar

ways. This shows that each student is held on an equal level and students become familiar

and aware of the consequences to their actions. The consequences should also match the

behavior. For example: if a student is constantly tapping their pencil on the desk, it is not

appropriate to send them to the principal’s office.

Minor Misbehavior

Minor behaviors are actions that occur very seldom, and don’t have a significant impact

on the instruction or learning that is occurring. Some examples of minor behaviors include:

daydreaming, chewing gum, eating during class or coming to class late. These things don’t

happen on a regular basis and students may just need a gentle reminder about their choice.

Ignore- Often times, students act out to receive negative attention. It’s important to recognize when this is happening and ignore the misbehavior that is occurring.

Use proximity- It is amazing what standing right next to a student can do in regards to their behavior. Students are less likely to act out right under your nose.

Give non-verbal response- Giving students ‘the look’ communicates that you are serious and reminds the student to get back on track.

Narrate positive behavior- Acknowledging students good behavior demonstrates what

you expect from students and motivates other students to receive recognition for their

good behavior.

Lightening quick public correction- Sometimes the minor things only take saying the

student’s name to bring them back on task. This takes little time away from instruction

and demonstrates to all students again, what you expect from them.

Chronic Misbehavior

When misbehaviors start to happen on a regular basis and begin to disrupt the learning

and instructional process of the class, they become chronic. Examples include: always coming

late to class, shouting out answers every day, never participating, and constant teasing. When

these actions start to occur, things may need to be reevaluated. In order for correction to occur,

students may need a harsher reminder and consequence or the teacher may need to reevaluate

their method or procedures.

Establish a new routine- When misbehavior occurs consistently and during the same time during the day or during the same transition, it’s time to reevaluate! Not every routine will be perfect or successful, and recognizing that and changing the method will most likely solve the misbehavior problem.

Self-evaluation- To save time and energy, it’s important to teach the misbehaving student

how to self correct their own behavior and recognize when and what they are doing

wrong. The student will never be able to fix their behavior in the long run if they can’t

realize what and when they are doing something wrong without someone’s help. Self-

evaluation charts and behavior contracts are great for this.

Give private correction- Often times misbehavior can be attributed to something that is

occurring outside the classroom. Pulling the student aside and discussing these problems

and difficulties, shows the student you truly care, and allows the student to orally let out

what is wrong instead of physically letting it out.

Serious Misbehavior

Behavior that causes harm to the individual or those around them is serious misbehavior.

When property is being destructed, and major disrespect is occurring, the student-teacher

relationship may need to be reestablished. Something is definitely going on and action to solve

the problem needs to occur quickly and appropriately.

Give appropriate/logical consequences- The principle can handle behavior problems, but

only when it is crucial and necessary. Calling a student’s parents can also solve serious

behavior problems if the atmosphere at home is equipped for handling such things.

Re-establish a positive relationship- Pulling students aside and reminding them that you

are on their side and here to help them succeed may be necessary. Like said above,

students want to succeed, and some may just need an extra reminder that they are cared

about and the importance of being the best version of themselves that they can be.

Discussing consequences- Depending on grade level and personality, the dictatorship or control from the teacher may be what the student is rebelling against. Misbehavior could

decrease by allowing the student, with teacher approval and cooperation, to establish their

own consequences for various behaviors.

General Consequences Students need to know that they are being held accountable for their actions and decisions

on an everyday basis. These behaviors should include those that are both bad and good. These

general consequences below are a great way to keep students on track, and show them that they

are always being monitored for both appropriate and inappropriate behavior. It is also

communicated that one person’s actions affects all those that are around them.

Correct Behavior Coconut Trees- Each student will have a coconut tree with their name

on it. Ten coconuts will start off the tree and for every appropriate or helpful behavior

performed by a student they will get to move one of their coconuts onto the tree. When

all the student’s coconuts are on the tree they will get to participate in 10 minutes of

Physical Education. Depending on the grade level, free art time, computer time, puzzle

time, or bean bag time during silent reading may also be motivating.

On Track Class Train- There will be a train track going around the room and depending

on the whole classes’ behavior the train will move forward. Each section of the track will

represent minutes for P.E. and three times a week students will participate in the amount

of minutes they earned.

Student Contract:

Students need to learn how to properly monitor and assess their own behavior. Children

will also respond better to consequences if they are set by themselves. Creating and having

students fill out and sign a behavior contract is a great way to do this. Including the parents in

this process communicates to them what is going on in the classroom. It may also point to

problems occurring at home that are having an effect on the student at school. Parents are also

then able to hold their children accountable at home to expectations that the student is

responsible for at school.

Student:

Date:

What I did:

How it affected the rest of the class:

The class rule my misbehavior broke was:

My parents and I decided that next time I will:

If my behavior does not improve:

Student Signature:

Parent Signature:

Teacher Signature:

Parent Connections The value of school should never be underemphasized, but maybe more important than the

instruction occurring at school is the instruction and environment of the student’s home life. It’s

important that the student’s school and home life have as many connections as possible. This

makes the transition from home to school every day easier on the child and allows the parent to

better help their child with school work. When parents are more involved in their child’s life, at

school and any other area, children are provided with support, encouragement and motivation to

succeed. This connection with parents is critical to create, so you as the teacher know what is

happening at home so you can better help the child succeed at school. This relationship I will

build in five ways:

Students will write letters home to their parents about what they are doing and learning about. This will create conversation at home about the topics being learned and will let the parents see a piece of their child’s work at least once a week. It’s a fun way to encourage student writing and saves the teacher from spending the time to write a weekly news letter.

The teacher will contact parents when good behavior occurs as well as bad. Often times,

teacher-parent contact only occurs when a child is misbehaving. Communicating when

their child is succeeding or improving their behavior is equally and maybe even more

important. Parents and students will be proud and encouragement and motivation for the

good behavior to continue can then occur.

A list of games that parents can play with their students can be sent home. This provides

parents a way of spending quality time with their children, while at the same time

learning with them or teaching/helping them learn. Sometimes parents don’t know how

to help their children, but sending home some options for them to choose will be very

helpful.

Greeting parents individually in the morning or afternoon when they pick-up and drop-

off their children. It’s important to check in with how parents are doing as well as with

how their children are doing. The moods and emotions of parents often times affects the

student and this casual conversation in the morning shows sincere care and provides a

clear picture of how the student may be being affected.

Communicate one’s goals, rules and visions for the class with parents. Parents need to

know that their students are learning in a safe, secure, and sincere environment as well

as their children believing and feeling it happening. This also provides parents a better

idea or maybe a heads up about possible behavior problems that could occur and they

may be noticed about. It may also encourage parents to instill these rules and goals in

their own homes.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Children are full of surprises, growth, and discovery. Their thoughts, jokes, laughter,

smiles, tears, struggles, and successes are all unfolded miracles that make me love teaching. Erik

Erikson, a developmental psychologist, once said, “There is in every child in every stage a new

miracle of unfolding.” Every day contains a surprise that I can never wait to have revealed. In the

classroom these discoveries are made through exploration, cooperation and learning from one

another. Unfolding these mysteries together may require vulnerability, but I strive to create a safe

and respectful classroom atmosphere. I recognize that “not every student learns in the same way

or on the same day,” but every student’s role is equally important. Every contribution is needed

and must be attended to, we must listen to one another, learn from one another, help each other

reach our full potential, be patient with one another and recognize that we are all different. When

I include myself in this list of things that must happen, I sincerely mean it. I learn something

about myself, about life, and from your children every day in the classroom, and I love the

ongoing growth I experience as a teacher.

Playing in the orchestra at Westmont College, where I received a Bachelor’s Degree and

credential in teaching in the year 2014, led me to view education as an orchestra. Each person

involved holds an equal and integral part in the playing and performing process. Sports and being

active in general, is also something I’m very passionate about. Children have so much energy,

and I love incorporating movement into the classroom atmosphere! Westmont strives to instill in

students a love for learning, becoming a compassionate professional and developing a reflective

spirit. These are things I hope to instill in my students and continue to grow in myself.

Most importantly, your children are who they are because of you. You are role models to

them and they look up to you. Continue to model a love for learning and show an interest in what

they are learning. They will be excited to share with you, what they are learning. Be sure to set

aside time to listen. Just because it’s last in the letter, don’t make it last in your child’s life. Read

to and with your children. If they can read, they will be able to learn anything!

Looking forward to the year ahead, Miss Provost