The summer flew by and it is time to embark on another jam packed school year. As we opened our doors on the first day of school, I thought back to my first day of 4th grade. My family moved across town and I started school in my new neighborhood. I missed my old friends and my favorite 3rd grade teacher. I wasn't so sure about the new kids and my new teachers. Luckily, I had teachers, classmates, and a school counselor who helped me to adjust. I know that the first day of school can bring up a lot of feelings including anxiety, fear, excitement, sadness, anger, or confusion. This is true for students, parents, even teachers and school counselors! One of my priorities the first week of school was checking in with our brand new students to welcome them and support them with this transition. Below are some of the ways that I welcome and support new students.
Link Team
Rewind to the end of last school year. I worked with students who had just completed their first year at our school to celebrate successes, learn more about what their first year was like, and invite them to help future new students with the transition. Over the summer, Link Team students came to the school and gave tours to our new families. Throughout the first quarter there will be structured activities quarter
where new students will have an
opportunity to build relationships with and learn from our returning students.
New Student Mail Delivery
During orientations over the summer, there were letter writing stations where parents could write their students an encouraging note for the first day of school. Link Team students also wrote notes to new students and these were placed on student desks to welcome them on the very first day of school.
Week 1 Group Activities
During lunches, I met with small groups of new students to learn names, do activities to get to know one another, and collect initial data on new student transitions. Here are some of the post popular "Would You Rather?" questions from our first getting to know you activity.
- Would you rather be invisible or be able to r read minds?
- Would you
rather only be able to whisper or only be able to shout?
- Would you rather be born with an elephant trunk
or a giraffe neck?
- Would you
rather have to say everything on your mind or never speak again?
- Would you rather have one wish granted today or
3 wishes granted in 10 years?
There will be additional small group activities focused on making new friends, learning about the school rules, and learning how different adults at school can help them. After these group lessons and activities with the link team, the students will retake the initial survey. I will continue to work with families and students who need additional support with the transition.
