Thank You and Welcome!

Hello, 1st Grade Parents!

A HUGE thank you to those of you able to attend Open House and/or Back to School Night! If you weren't able to attend, I will send home a folder with all pertinent information on Thursday.  I am excited to get to know each of you this year as we work together to help your sweet kiddos be successful.

First things first...if you were directed to this post by a link in an email, please kindly take a moment to subscribe to my blog.  I use this blog to communicate all school and classroom news, information, and dates.  You can follow my blog by typing your email address in the box to the right that says "follow by email". After you input your email address, you'll receive a message to verify your address.  Simply click the link in the email to verify your email address, and you'll be subscribed forevermore with no worries about missing important information!  *Please do not skip this step.*   My blog publishes each day between 3:00 and 5:00 pm.  This means that if I have content to share, you will automatically receive an email between 3:00 and 5:00 pm that contains the new content.  If you don't receive an email, I don't have anything new posted. I typically post new content every Friday, and on other days as needed.  

Have you signed up for the Remind text messaging service?  If not, please take a moment to download the Remind app (look for the white text bubble on a blue background) from the app store and join my class.  After you download the Remind app, you can join my class by texting @jlombardo to 81010.

I have to say....I love the energy and excitement of both Open House and Back to School Night, but I do NOT like how fast they go!  There never seems to be enough time to address the myriad of questions, comments, and emotions running through the kids, you, and me.  So, I'm sorry if I spent less time with any of you than you were hoping.  I promise the 10,000 blog posts and emails I send over the next 9 months will MORE than make up for it. :)  

Meantime, I'd like to tell you that the next couple of weeks will really be about getting the kids used to a full school day, and introducing them to the rules, routines, and procedures of both our classroom and our school.  We'll start off slowly on the academic side in favor of both building community, and solidly knowing the rules, routines, and procedures before we jump into the heavier academics.  This will be especially important as I begin to introduce the flexible seating choices in our classroom.

I shared with some of you yesterday, but it's worth repeating...I really just want the kids (and you!) to know that a "nice lady" will be at school to take care of them Thursday.  (Bonus points if they remember my name!)  Thursday is about getting to school, making sure everybody eats lunch, and making sure everybody gets home safely!   (And then maybe taking a nap.)

On that note....please be sure you have acknowledged your child's back to school forms in your ParentVue account.  THE ABSOLUTE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR ME TO KNOW IS HOW YOUR CHILD IS GETTING HOME EACH DAY.  If you were not at Open House or Back to School Night, and did not complete a form to tell me how your child is getting home, please expect an email from me before Thursday to ask how your child will be getting home.  I can not stress enough the importance of this information.  

If you haven't yet put money on your student's lunch account, you can sign up for an account on www.myschoolbucks.com and manage your child's lunch account on-line.  You can also send a check to school with your student, but our cafeteria staff really encourages www.myschoolbucks.com to avoid lost checks between home and school.  If you need a lunch menu, please visit the school website (www.lcps.org/pinebrook) and click "school menu" in the upper right hand corner. Our lunch time is 11:04 - 11:34.  Please begin to send your child's daily "power snack" to school Thursday.  Please refer to the snack sheet in your Back to School Night folder for more specific guidelines about snack. Remember...we do not have an in-class water fountain, so water bottles are okay too.

If you didn't bring your student's school supplies to school yet, please kindly send those as soon as possible.  Many thanks!  :)  If your child is missing a critical supply, I will send a note home so you may send the missing item as soon as possible.

Finally.....this is the first of many, many communications.  Thanks for your patience with me as I overuse emoticons, sometimes babble, and perhaps give you more information than you ever wanted.  Oh!  Please feel free to call me Jenna, both in writing and in person!  I am old.  *womp, womp*  Parents calling me "Mrs. Lombardo" makes me feel older! 

If you have any questions, please email me.  You may do so by clicking the envelope in the blue banner above my picture to the right of this post.  You may text me at 703.789.5760.

Welcome to 1st grade and Room 9!  Here's to a great year!!