Schools
Back to School: Teachers Gear Up Early for New School Year
By Nick DeRatto
Aug 13, 2008 - 4:25:22 PM

With the pools preparing to close, the days growing shorter, and the back to school sales in full force, it can only mean one thing.

With the pools preparing to close, the days growing shorter, and the back to school sales in full force, it can only mean one thing.

Summer vacation is almost over.

Soon, students will once again give up the responsibility-free days of summer as they return to the regular routine of homework and essays, tests, and quizzes. Already, they have begun the back-to-school shopping, picking up new outfits and supplies in preparation for the coming year.

Students aren’t the only ones getting ready. Though the start of the school year is still nearly a month away, teachers have already begun to prepare for the army of new faces on September 2.

“It actually never stops,” says Lauren Smith, kindergarten teacher at O.B. Gates Elementary. “We start getting together with colleagues in June as soon as the school year is finished. Once I know who my students are, I send personalized postcards welcoming them to school and telling them that I can’t wait to see them. I personalize the room with their names and take pictures of them on the first day to display so it feels like their room.”

Smith is hardly the only teacher to begin preparing for students early.

“I always go in during the summer and get my classroom set up and well-organized. I get the student’s names displayed inside and outside of the classroom so that everything is bright and exciting,” says Anne Palisano, kindergarten teacher at Salem Church Elementary. “That way, when parents and students come in for orientation, they are comfortable and get a warm feeling.”

Once the first day preparations are complete and the new batch of students come in, there’s still the task of getting to know the students and getting them comfortable with each other.

“I do a lot of icebreakers and small group activities so they can get to know me and their classmates,” says Palisano. “In kindergarten, their attention spans can be so short, so I will do things like walk them around the school to see it. I had taught first, second and fourth grade in the past, and with them, they are used to the routine. They were able to do things like math and reading games on the first day.”

Along with getting students familiarized with classroom routines, teachers must also use the first day of school to set the tone for the rest of the school year.

“You have to establish your expectations,” says Matt Bland, co-coordinator of the Success program at L.C. Bird High School. “You may have behavior issues, but you have to draw that line on the first day. You also want to make class enjoyable, a class that they want to come to and you have to establish that on day one.”

To help make class enjoyable, Bland offers his students incentives, such as field trips, for good behavior and grades.

“It’s important so the kid has something to shoot for. With freshmen, you really have to start them on the right foot; otherwise, they are hard to get back,” says Bland.

Regardless of any preparations, the easiest way for teachers to prepare their students is to show how much they enjoy being back at school.

“Everyone is so fired up at the beginning of the year; it is a fun feeling,” says Palisano. “If you are comfortable with your students, then they are pretty open.”

nderatto@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421


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