Dear First Grade Families,
I hope your summer is off to a great start, and I look forward to seeing you on Zoom this week for the Introduction to First Grade Coffee! I have often remarked how we always want parents to be partners with the school, and that has been the case more than ever this spring. Thank you!
We have all learned so much. Preparing for a return to school in August, we have begun to make plans on how to do so while following health and safety guidelines. Although we expect additional information over the summer that could cause us to shift our thinking, the good news is that our plan is to have your first graders on campus each day.
To accommodate a return of as many of our elementary students as possible—and to maximize support as they continue to develop academic skills—we are restructuring our early years program. Beginning in August, we are going to open with three kindergarten classrooms and three separate first grades. Within each of those classrooms, there will be two cohorts, each in separate rooms. Students will spend part of the day with the lead teacher and part of the day with the associate teacher. These two groups will be in separate classrooms so that we can keep the groups at or around 10 students.
The decision to separate the Kindergarteners and first graders came from the fact that the groups will be very small. It will be in their best interest to be able to mix with same age peers—those same peers that they will continue through with in the upcoming grades. It will also allow for focused academic work on the skills they need to learn and/or deepen.
Crystal, Clarissa, and Sophia will be teaching first grade. We are still working out the schedule and classrooms of associate teachers. The children who were with these teachers in the Seals, Pelicans, and Sea Otters will remain with that teacher. Children who were in the Whales or Dolphins for kindergarten will be introduced into these groups. We will definitely make sure there are familiar classmates for everyone in these new classes. Teachers are very excited about this new model and are looking forward to the opportunity to teach their returning students, while also welcoming new ones into their classrooms.
I'm confident that once everyone is back on campus, students will soon feel like this new model is "their" class. That said, there will be feelings around this move for most. For this reason, I hope to have your class lists available earlier than the other grades. If you need help talking with your child about any of this, please feel free to be in touch with me or Chris McKenna, our counselor.
In the meantime, here are some messages to share with your children, if it is helpful.
Please, as always, be in touch with any questions. I look forward to seeing you on Zoom on Friday morning!
Warmly,
Katie Wildwood School |