Happy New Year and Welcome Back! I hope you enjoyed a restful, relaxing break–time to disconnect from work thoughts, time to enjoy family and friends and to just enjoy time to relax. It is amazing how refreshing the holiday break can be to come back to start an amazing 2018! I know our students will be SO EXCITED to see you all on Monday morning!

If you’re feeling any trepidation about getting up early for the first day in 15 days, I completely understand! It’s hard for adults and kids to get back into the swing of things after such a long break. This is a great time to re-connect with students and let them do so with their classmates by giving them time to talk about what they did over break! Keep in mind, it’s a great time to review classroom management basics as we embark upon a new calendar year at Kennedy, where our students are blessed to receive quality instruction on a  daily basis in safe and orderly classrooms. Here is an article from Responsive Classroom that might be helpful to revisit this week, as behavior expectations and classroom routines are revisited. I appreciate your efforts with reinforcing behavior expectations. Here’s a great post from Pernille Ripp on this topic: Ideas for Working with the January Slump.

Have you heard about Jon Gordon’s “One Word” that gives meaning & focus to your life?Jon suggests coming up with one word instead of list of resolutions.

“A single word can be a powerful thing. It can be a ripple in the pond that changes everything. It can be sharp or biting or rich and soft and slow. A single word can be a catalyst for enriching your life!”

I challenge you to choose one word this January–a word to focus on, reflect upon as one goes about daily life. Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2018? It can be something tangible or intangible…it could be a thought or a feeling or an emotion. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. Donna, Stephanie and I look forward to re-connecting with you all, hearing all about your Winter Breaks, and reflecting at our faculty meeting on Tuesday afternoon! Be prepared with your “ONE WORD”.

Here’s our week at a glance:

Monday, January 8th
School Resumes! Welcome Back!
*Welcome Back to Amanda (Peterson) Quinlan, Annie Weinthaler and Michelle Sosa, who return from maternity leave!
*Please give a warm Kennedy welcome to Anne Planek, who will be taking over in Michelle Howlett’s 2nd grade classroom! We wish Michelle the best of luck as she transitions over as the Principal of Washington School for Tiffany Leiva’s maternity leave. Michelle will begin her transition towards the end of this week.
*Brittany Biedermann will be taking over as the SPED resource teacher, and Michelle Morgan will be returning to the Reading Room!
*If you haven’t met Maureen Doran yet, please be sure to say hello! She will be the Music Teacher, while Kaitlin Teater is on maternity leave! 
Reading Room Plan with 1st Grade @ 2:35pm

Tuesday, January 9th
Faculty Meeting @ 2:50pm (Presentation Space)

Wednesday, January 10th
Common Plan Time

Thursday, January 11th

Friday, January 12th
PreK Screening
5 by Friday! Keep those positive connections with families going!

(01/14) Happy Birthday Jen Fullone 🙂