#SOL16 Letter to My First Kindergarten Class


Letter to my first kindergarten class, upon their high school graduation

Dear Graduates,

We first met each other in 2003, when you were 4 and 5 years old and I was 24. Your first official year in school was my third year of teaching and my first year as a kindergarten teacher. You were so little, full of energy, and eager to learn. The letter people were friends in our room, including Mr. B with his "beautiful buttons" and Mr. M with his "munching mouth." We celebrated the wedding of Mr. Q and Ms. U in style and you even brought in quarters as wedding gifts! We had teddy bear tea parties and ate green eggs and ham. We built blocks, painted, and danced. Olivia, the pig, traveled home with you for the weekends. We sang "What a Wonderful World" in June before you moved onto first grade.

It's been quite some time since I've seen most of you! I hope your journey through the years as a student has been rewarding and I hope you are just as curious and enthusiastic about life as you were back in 2003. 

Much has changed for me since you were my students. I'm not Miss Neagle anymore- I'm Mrs. Sokolowski and have been since 2009. I have two children- Alex, who is starting kindergarten in September and Megan who wishes she was! She is three and likes to do everything her big brother does. I taught kindergarten until June 2014 and I've been teaching third grade for two years now. While I loved kindergarten for a long time, the move to third grade has been very renewing and I'm really enjoying teaching these students. 

As you leave Farmingdale High School and start the next chapter in your life story, I hope you know I'm proud to have been your kindergarten teacher. What I've always wanted for you is that you know you are a person of value, that you treat other people with kindness and respect, that you read to enrich your life and become more knowledgeable and that you write to express your ideas and your heart. I hope you follow your passion and do what you love. I hope you dream big and see nothing but possibilities in front of you. I hope you still believe, that even on the worst days, it really is "a wonderful world." 

I would love to hear from you and learn about your next steps after high school. I am wishing you luck and love always.

Yours truly,
Miss Neagle (Mrs. Sokolowski)


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

#SOL16 Lesson From Piper

Image
Have you seen the Disney Pixar Short film Piper ?  If not, go watch...I'll wait. :) I watched this movie today with a few of my students who stay after school for "Club Success" (formerly called "tutoring" but this feels way more positive for the kids who are asked to stay). After we watched Piper , we wrote about the movie and then shared our writing. Each of the three students who wrote touched upon the idea that Piper had to learn how to get the food for herself. Some students mentioned the pride she felt after she learned how to survive the big waves and find food.  We talked about the mistakes she made and how they helped her to learn.  I think this video is a MUST WATCH for a few reasons.  1- It really makes you think about the process of learning and how uncomfortable it can feel when you move to trying something new for the first time.  2-Piper learned by her failed attempts and eventually by finding a mentor and trying his strategy. 3-When
Read more

A Working Mom's "I am" Poem #sol15 Day 16

Image
Disclaimer: I have nothing but respect for moms who "stay at home." It is the hardest job.  In my brief stints being a stay at home mom while on maternity leave and on summer vacations, I know that the days are exhausting and challenging.  This poem attempts to capture how I feel about life at the moment, being a third grade teacher and a mom to 2 kids under the age of 5. I am a Working Mom I am exhausted and never done.  I wonder how to find the elusive "work-life" balance  I hear my alarm go off at 3am and trudge downstairs to do the work I couldn't do when the kids were awake I see my work bag,bulging, begging me to finally pay it attention. I want 5 minutes to myself. I am exhausted and never done. I pretend I can do it all I feel the need to eat lots of chocolate I touch my children's soft little cheeks and hug them. I worry I am missing important moments with them. I cry when I feel like I am drowning from it all. I am exhausted and n
Read more

#SOL16 Ditch the Dojo?

Image
Last week, Dr. Mary Howard posted this on Facebook. My initial response, which I wrote as a comment, was this:    I also dislike public shaming systems but I've used Class Dojo and don't find it to be like that. I don't publicly display the points. I've tied the dojo dollars into a class economy where kids get paychecks and can purchase brain break coupons or the  right to sit in the rocking chair at reading time. Paychecks were given privately so students weren't aware of how many points the others received. I did give a certificate to the high dojo scorer of the week and many times it was a student who put forth a lot of effort, despite academic challenges. Class dojo makes it easy to be in touch with the parents and send them pictures and class happenings in real time. They also have a great video series on growth mindset that my students enjoyed and sparked good discussions. There is no public shaming in my classroom and class dojo has been a positive  wa
Read more