Your child
will have a week during the year to be the Classmate of the Week.
Each Classmate of the Week will bring a poster of pictures to
display all week long and will present a short autobiographical
talk to the class on Tuesday. It helps if you and your child plan
out the presentation and display items in advance.
The poster
of pictures and a small number of display materials should be
brought to school and arranged on Monday morning by 8:20 a.m.
Captions with the pictures are recommended. Your child may also
wish to bring a small sampling of his/her hobbies: artwork, crafts,
collections, sport equipment, etc. The display area is small,
but there is room for about three to five items. (Please leave
valuables at home.) The poster and other possessions must be taken
home on Friday afternoon in order to make room for the next Classmate
of the Week.
Help your
child prepare a well-organized talk, including information about
where he/she was born, places of residence, special trips, family
ancestry and history, hobbies, likes and dislikes, and any special
accomplishments. The presentation will be scheduled with the teacher
and will last about 20 minutes total.
Parents
are encouraged to share, too. If you would like to share something
with the class (a hobby or a skill, or a lesson about something
you are interested in or knowledgable about), please let me know.
Children love having their parents in front of the class. Most
children ask their parents to be present for the presentation
to watch and to tell the class about what they do.
Most Classmate
of the Week presentations will be scheduled to coincide (as closely
as possible) with the students' birthdays.
We have a
special request for treats. In order to share birthday treats
with the class, we ask that you choose a food that represents
your family history. This correlates with our social studies unit
entitled People Who Make a Difference. The unit has a grain
theme as well as a family history theme and the recipes allow
the children to experience a variety of ethnic foods while studying
geography.