To the parents of the new Grade 2 class here at ISN Gojo, hello!  Nice to meet you!  My name is Josh, and I am beyond excited to work with you and your children to make an AWESOME year together.

First, let me introduce you to the room in which your kids will be exploring many new topics and following their interests.  I admit, I am a bit into sports, and one of the ways I like to think of my class is as if they were a team.  It encourages them to work together, and to accept that different members have different strengths that, when added together, create a whole that is so much stronger than each individual.

At the very least, it gives them an easy way to see why it’s important to work together and support each other, and to discourage in-class disputes, you know?

But to that end, we have a small nod towards the design of sports teams:  the colors, the lettering, and the framing.  But just a hint!  Not everyone is into sports, and that’s perfectly fine as well.  I don’t want anyone to feel alienated or left out because they have other interests.

We have some brand new puzzles and simple games to give the students a chance to use their brains in a different, refreshing way between lessons.  (Now, of course, the hard part is to remind them of our agreement to put everything back properly!) We also have our Chill Zone, for when things become a bit much and a student wants to take a minute to keep things cool and copacetic.

Our extra classes have kicked off as well!  We’ve begun learning the joys of throwing a disc around in PE class.  (You may have noticed from one of the photos above that I have a bit of an interest in frisbee sports!)  We’ve also had our first tastes of music class, in which we learned the classic English children’s song “Old McDonald,” and got exposed to some of the unusual sounds animals make in English.  Do you know what horses say in English?  How about pigs, or turkeys?  If you’re not sure, ask your child!

And the students’ eyes absolutely lit up when they had their first computer-based creation class!  They had, for many, their first exposure to thinking like a programmer, which will be another tool in their growth as problem-solvers.

Speaking of computer classes, if your students are interested in learning how to type properly and quickly, and get some writing practice in while doing so, I’ll be teaching a typing and writing club on Friday afternoons after school.

I’m looking forward to an excellent year with everyone. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me either through Toddle or via the office. Thank you!

–Josh