Back to School Night 2011

Last night we had an amazing Parent Turn-Out at our Back to School Night. If you were unable to attend, here's what you missed:

• Our amazing teachers introduced themselves and shared all of the fun and exciting things to expect this year. If you didn't get a Back to School packet from your teacher, be sure to let her know!
• Daily Grill offered free dessert at their restaurant, just for our parents. Thanks Daily Grill for another yummy good time!
• Karyn Robertson, Bluff View's Curriculum Director and Reading Specialist had this to share:

Good evening parents. Your presence here tonight is very important to your child’s future. It enables you to be informed about our class programs and in turn, to maximize your support of your child’s education. I encourage you to maintain this level of support throughout your child’s educational years.

Rooms 1 & 2, 3, 4 & 5It is important to understand and remember that each classroom is a microcosm, or ecosystem with all the dynamics found in society. Our responsibility is to help our children navigate in this social ecosystem. We will be helping them negotiate conflict within their social environment. Along with the academic preschool skills that we focus on to prepare our children for kindergarten, there are social and emotional skills that must be mastered.

In order to facilitate the social and emotional adjustment for children we have built-in transition times in our program. The first transition time is at 8:00 when students arrive at school. Early arrival students gather in the library for songs, stories and signing activities. At 8:30 in the classrooms, they sign in and have social interaction time with peers. These transitions involve many different emotions. The separation from their home & parent, the school and classroom environment, the numerous individuals in the room with them, the need to share and take turns, listening, adjusting to new rules, access to new toys but having to share, etc.

During this time, our teachers are busy assisting with sign-ins and greeting each child for the day. There may be situations that take place when the teacher’s back is turned. If you are watching in the window please don’t over react when a child hasn’t transitioned yet. This is a complicated process that our teachers have been trained for and have dealt with many, many times. Teachers will mediate as necessary. Remember that the children are learning to negotiate and are working on their social and emotional skills, including self control, sharing, taking turns, patience, etc. Please be patient, it will take time because this transition encompasses many different emotions. These social and emotional skills are focused on in preschool, but in kindergarten it is assumed that these skills have been previously mastered.

You know your kids from birth to present time, but preschool requires adjustment to a new situation. You can assist your child by beginning transition on the way to school by discussing what he/she can expect at school during the day. You can discuss, letter of the week, numbers, color of the week, Themes of the month, holiday vocabulary, all of which can be found on the teacher’s weekly newsletter that is posted outside the door each week.

We encourage you to take longer to walk into school. Give your child his/her backpack as they walk in, as part of the transition. They can hang it up and walk into the library or class and show you what they are to do.

If your child has difficulty separating from you at the beginning of the year or any time, a great technique is to draw a heart on their hand, and kiss it and tell them that that is to remind them that you love them, and that you will be back to pick them up. Follow with a big hug and walk out saying “see you later”. Occasionally a child who hasn’t had issues will suddenly be apprehensive coming to school. Listen to him/her to determine the issue and provide a strategy to address it. You can apply the kissing hand strategy to get through it.

Our teachers have dealt with these situations before. If you are worried during the day, call the office and check on your child. We can give you an update. Or stay to watch in the window, but please understand that it will take time for everyone to get to know each other and understand requirements.

We want to work with you to ensure that your child has a great experience here at BV. Our goal is to prepare your child for transition to kindergarten when their time comes. We are here to assist you through their preschool years, so please feel free to contact your teacher, front office, or myself with your questions or concerns.

Front Office: hello@bluffviewschool.com

Karyn Robertson: karyn@bluffviewschool.com

Teachers: (lastname)@bluffviewschool.com