Theme: My School, My Classroom and My Teachers

Letter: A

Number: 1

Colour: Red

Moral Conscience theme: School and Classroom Rules

Welcome to the Playful Pups Class of 2021! We are so excited to meet you all and be back at school for this academic year. This is a very big year in your life and the life of your child – a momentous occasion! And we are so happy to be along for the ride with you.

We have spent the week settling in and getting to know your child. We have had such a lovely first week! It has not been without its tears and sad moments – this is all a learning curve for them and for you – but we can confidently report that ALL of them are doing so well! Tears (especially in the mornings) never last long and in a few minutes they are chilled and content and get along with the important business of socialising and playing. We love this time of they year, when we get to meet all “our” new kids and see how different they are and what makes them tick. They are all such sweet little souls and we have a very good feeling about this year – it is going to be great!

In our classroom, we like to let the children play and have as many child-led, authentic experiences as we can. We love getting dirty. We love running around with no shoes on. We love jumping in muddy puddles and picking fruit and flowers. We love finding bugs and bunnies and then drawing and painting pictures of them. We love gardening, climbing trees, collecting sticks and stones and lying together under the trees to watch the clouds go by. We love being authentic and if that means that maybe our plans change course due to other interests that may arise, we embrace this willingly! At this stage of your child’s life, PLAY is thee most important tool that we can use to teach them, so that is what we focus on.

Just a few “housekeeping” things:

• Please continue to label everything
• Please trim nails regularly every weekend to avoid unnecessary and usually accidental scratching accidents
• When dropping off and collecting your child, you may drive all the way up to the building. The gate is only closed during times when the children may be outside.
• Please drive SLOWLY on the driveway and in the parking lot – accidents can happen in a second
• When dropping off and collecting, please clearly identify yourself at the gate by saying your name and the name of your child. Please speak LOUDLY – sometimes it is very loud in here . We DO NOT open the gate if we don’t know who you are. Safety first!
• Please note that school starts strictly at 7:00. Teachers get to school a few minutes early to open the school and do a few things before the start of the day but please do not come into the screening room before 7:00.
• Please remember your compulsory screening slip EVERY morning. The easiest is to print a stack and leave them in your car with a pen so you can fill one in every morning quickly before school.

Thank you all for a lovely first week. Remember that Jules and I are always here for you so please communicate with us! Have a lovely weekend and stay safe!

Love Teresa and Jules, Thandeka and Thandy