The Power of "Welcome!"
The Strangest Fall in 100 Years?
I can’t think of a time when the start of the school year has felt so different, can you? Like most parents, we are experiencing a mix of emotions as our district’s start date draws near. This year, it feels like a mix of the usual excitement and optimism blended with some uncertainty and even trepidation. Luckily (and, truly, as always), we have great teachers to welcome our kids - and us - back to school this fall. It makes all the difference.
The Check-in Was in the Mail
After flipping through and discarding the usual junk mail late last week, I came upon two postcards from our oldest child’s third grade team. They were “get to know you” postcards and were customized scratch-off cards (see below). It was awesome. What a terrific way to welcome my son to his third grade team. He was so excited to receive them and he had so much fun scratching them off and reading the “favorite things” provided by the teacher. For us, as parents, simply seeing “I can’t wait to meet you!” at the bottom of the card made all the difference in the world. As all educators know, simple check-ins and other nods to the social emotional aspect of school are worth their weight in gold. This fall, before the Chromebooks are powered up and before we can even think about the third grade reading guarantee, we needed to know that a caring environment awaits our children. This was such a simple and effective way to do it. These teachers hit it out of the park.
One of two “Get to Know” postcards sent to our third grader the week before he returns to school. Shout out to Heritage Elementary!
How Will You Welcome Your Students Back?
Receiving this postcard led to some serious web searching on my part. Scratch-off postcards are available from many places, including several educators on Teachers Pay Teachers and via other sources. In the midst of a pandemic and an uncertain return to school, how you choose to say “Welcome!” is incredibly powerful. How are you saying “Welcome!” to your students and their families this year? How will you continue to check in with them and surprise them as the year progresses?