The Best Parts of the First Week of School!

Welcome back to the 2010-2011 school year! I am so excited to be back at school! If you are new to my blog, I hope you enjoy the best parts of my week! At the end of each week, I write about what was great about the past week. It's a way for me to share funny stories, kid's quotes, and teachable moments, and helps me to focus on and share what is good in every week. Sure, there are challenges to face each week, but I believe that focusing on the positives helps me to appreciate all that is good about teaching! This week was the first week of school and teachers and students alike were happy to be back! There was an electricity in the building that is unlike any other beginning that I have experienced. I feel privileged to be able to be a part of this excitement every year! The smiles and hugs were endless when the bell rang and students arrived on Wednesday morning. I met several new students during the day, including some of our new kindergarten students. One student arrived for PE in the afternoon and upon entering the gymnasium said "Are we playing basketball today?" When I replied that there were many fun activities in store for him, but basketball was not on the list yet, he replied "Then what are we doing here?" It struck me that at five years old, he already had a preconceived notion as to what PE was all about. How does that happen???? I guess one of my challenges will be to teach him that PE is more than just basketball! One of the first day activities that I provide for my students is a slide show of last year's PE activities. The objective is to remind students of activities that they enjoyed and show students activities that they can look forward to this year. It also reminds me of how fortunate we are at North Park. We have so many wonderful opportunities! At the end of the week, I had the good fortune to be greeted with smiles and hugs from two former students. It is so gratifying to realize that you have made a difference in the lives of your students! It was a great week! I hope you enjoy this blog! Feel free to e-mail me the best parts of YOUR week! - northparkpe@yahoo.com