What Every New Student Should Know...

     Right before the break for summer vacation, our lead teacher shared an idea she had for a "welcome book" that would be created by current students for newly registered students to our school.  I loved her idea instantly!  When we first discussed the idea, Terry was reading Nonfiction Mentor Text by Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli, both Pennsylvania educators and fellows of West Chester University's Writing and Literature Project.  I took a class with Lynne last fall that changed my approach to nonfiction in the classroom.  I put my newly acquired knowledge to use and worked extensively with my class regarding nonfiction features and writing informational pieces, giving them the edge they needed to hit expository text head-on, equipped now with background knowledge and confidence.   A "welcome book" sounded note-worthy and necessary to me.

     So, why do we need a "welcome book?"  Let me give you some idea of what we face at our school.  The 2010-2011 school year saw 85 newly registered students between the months of October and November alone, with approximately a 45% transient rate, you can see how our demographics are constantly shifting.  With our melting pot always bubbling, there are inevitably some families who don't understand our culture at school.  By culture,  I am not referring to race, rather the expectations our staff and students are accustomed to year after year.  This culture is often difficult for those families who may have left a district with few expectations for themselves as parents and for their children as students,  only to find our district's responsibility meter off the charts!

     You see, our school  encourages professionalism in both appearance (dress code) and in behavior, with the end result a quality learning atmosphere.  As experience dictates, not all new students buy into our way of doing it.  Enter the "welcome book" idea.  This kid-created guide will serve as a resource for the child as he or she navigates the halls and classrooms of their new school.  It can give a new district family insight into their child's day, with expectations written in kid-friendly terms, using positive and supportive language.  This connection could help cement the all-to-important relationship between home and school, bringing us closer together like the team we were intended to be.

  So, the "welcome book" was introduced to my Summer Reading Club last Wednesday.  The kids at Summer Reading Club are also the same kids who attended my writing club this past school year and they ran with the idea of creating a book!  We spent time brainstorming important topics that should be included and planning several possible alliterative titles.  They assigned different pages to each other and began the writerly life of young authors.  They worked hard on clearly stating our school's standards for behavior, while trying to keep negative words out of the text.  This is a work in progress that will probably be completed during writing club this fall.  I know the kids are excited about the project which speaks volumes about them.  I am encouraged by their spirit and willingness to work diligently during their summer vacation. Children never cease to amaze me!