Back to School

We recently got a letter in the mail from Jonah's school.

 
Killing me.  Someone forgot that the principal is your PAL.

Jonah's first day of first grade is tomorrow!  I can't believe it.  But he's ready, and I'm very ready to have him back in a more structured routine again.

Tonight we went over to the school to see the class lists posted up on the office door and to find his new classroom.  It's not at all what I was expecting!  At our school, you can request a teacher so last spring, I briefly toured each of the three first grade classrooms and met the prospective teachers.  In the end, I really didn't have the foggiest idea who I should request for Jonah so I just put down the teacher that all of the other parents were requesting.  And I kinda believed that we were going to get her (wishful thinking or presumption?).  But, we found out tonight that we did NOT get the teacher we requested.  They added a fourth first-grade classroom because of high enrollment and Jonah is with the new teacher.  It feels a little strange to have NO idea who my son is going to be spending 7 hours a day with for the next 9 months.  But, the good news is that his class only has 21 kids in it!  (last year, he had 29 in kindergarten).  I'm sure that number will go up over the next few weeks, but it sure was nice to see tonight.

I was also thrilled that he is going to be in a real classroom, rather than a dinky portable (the other three first grade classrooms are in portables).  I am hoping this means that he will have a little bit of room to move around and be creative.  As strange as it sounds, physical space is one of my main concerns for Jonah in regard to school.  So, tonight's information was not at all what I was expecting, but I'm hopeful and excited to meet the new teacher tomorrow.   

Kindergarten is long gone, but at some point, I'd still like to sit down and write about last year and what it was like for us to enroll Jonah in our neighborhood school.  There were many highs and many lows and they both came at unexpected turns.  I fully intended to write about our experience that first year, but it seems that the things that are closest to my heart, such as education, my kids, and my neighborhood, take the most time for me to sit down and process.  So, maybe soon....

For now, we're looking forward to a new year with new friends and new opportunities to use our gifts as a blessing to others.  Maybe this year, I'll volunteer to proofread the letters that go home from the office staff.