Mrs. Mikelson's 1st Grade News!

It was so wonderful to sit down and visit with you last week! I really appreciate you taking time to come to conferences. I feel like I know your children even better, now that we've had a chance to chat!

Please sign and return your child's brown report card envelope. We will use this for each report card throughout the year. Thank you!

Have a wonderful week!

Diane Mikelson

dmikelson@stmattsaint.org

Please make sure your child has a coat everyday. I had a few students on different days last week without one. Luckily, we had friends that had a spare.

A few words about winter gear:

• When it becomes snowy and wet outside, please send your child with a dry pair of shoes to wear inside. NO BOOTS ALLOWED in the classroom (we keep them in the hall). Our classroom is carpeted, and wet shoes and boots make it miserable to sit on the floor!
• Please remember to LABEL ALL OUTDOOR GEAR. Children often have the same boots, gloves, or coats, which can make for chaos if it is not labeled! THANK YOU for taking the time to do this!

Do you need volunteer hours? Do you like to cut, fold, and staple? 😄 I have some leveled reader booklets that I need assembled and activities that need to be laminated and cut out. These are both projects you can take home to do. If you are interested, send me an email. (And I'm sure I'll have more throughout the year, too.) Thank you!!

Thank you so much to those of you who sent me a letter! If you haven't, no worries, but I'd love to hear from you, if you have time.

You are your child's first teacher! I know first grade, but you know your child best! I would like to invite you to take a couple of moments to write me a letter or note about your child. It can be as long or as short as you like. It can be hand written on a scrap of paper or sent as an email - whatever works best for you! The more I know about your kiddo, the better the classroom teacher I can be for him or her! I am getting to know each of the children pretty well, but there is always something that a parent will share with me that I didn't previously realize.

What are your child's likes and dislikes? What motivates your child? What do I need to know about your child's home life (i.e. schedules, siblings, parents, etc.)? What are your child's strengths and challenges (not necessarily at school, but in general)? I would love for you to share anything you think I should know. Think of this as a chance for you to gush about all the wonderful things that make your child who they are! Thank you in advance, and I can't wait to learn more!

Thank you to all who have connected with me through Remind. If you haven't done so, you haven't missed anything yet. Please take a moment to follow the instructions below. You will have to download the app to your phone. I would like to have everyone connected for future whole-class communications with families. Please let me know if you have questions. Thanks!