meeting new teacher

[elvenbread]

I meet my new class on Friday. I've been teaching a fair while. As a parent what would you hope your child does with their teacher at a 'meet the new teacher session'? My class are lower key stage 2.

Something fun and inspiring which makes them look forward to the coming year and a chance to tell them how to spell their surname. So far only 1/8 teachers have spelt it correctly on class books written over the summer, although the better ones have insisted on correcting it. Our surname is one that you probably think you know how to spell but most people make mistakes. I realise that it is specific to us but I think that most children have one fact about themselves which they want their new teacher to know.

Thank you. Appreciate your thoughts.

DD made a passport in preparation for moving up to Y3 with her new teacher today. You can find out quite a bit about them with a passport - name (including spelling!), birthday etc and if you make it fun like DD's teacher did they can put in favourite colour, family members, place I would most like to visit etc (whatever you think would be appropriate and tell you something interesting about the members of your new class). Also, the whole afternoon was themed around Y3 being an exciting new journey for them so a chance for the teacher to talk it up to those who may be nervous. I thought it was an excellent activity. DD really enjoyed it.

reassurance!

my eldest is quite nervous (wouldn't let it show but will then worry a lot in quiet), worries about things like is there whole class discipline (BIG issue as she thinks it is unfair), will they have reading records still, is there a reading challenge and how will it work, where will she hang her coat, where are pencils kept. all things you would think could wait until September but by then she will have worked herself up about it.

She likes to know a bit about her teacher - show that they are human not monster and scary, so what the teacher likes (she is going into yr2 so by that she means what chocolate does she like!), just things that make you seem friendly, normal, caring etc

DD2 in her meet her new teacher day was asked to draw a picture, write a bit about herself and what she liked doing (going into Yr1)

Thanks.

I think it's important to get off to a good start with the children - my dd had been hoping for a different teacher for next year, but she came home really happy after a day with the teacher that she'll actually be getting, because she said the new teacher was really smiley! :)

They did do some quite challenging work with her on the day that they spent with her - clearly trying to set the expectations from the start - but the teacher made sure that it was really good fun as well.

One thing that was good was getting the kids write any questions about the new year on bits of paper that then went into a box, and the teacher answered the questions a few at a time at different points during the day. She stressed that there were no silly questions and the kids didn't have to write their names, so good for dealing with anxieties etc.

ooh I like the questions in the box thing Jinsei - my daughter would have felt very happy about that.