After 3 months of striking, we finally returned to school this week! Our start date was pushed back by 3 weeks to September 22! Before the students arrived on Monday, I put numbered cards on the desks. As the kids came in the door, I gave them a numbered popsicle stick and asked them to sit at the matching numbered desk. In our district, elementary teachers keep their classes from the previous year for the first few days, so I decided to have the outgoing Grade 5's write a book of advice for the new Grade 4's. I grouped them based on the colours of their cards to create lists of things that Grade 4 students needed to know. When we had a list of about 18 ideas, the students broke up into pairs to make pages for our advice book. Be a participant. Do your best! Your work will get harder, but you can always ask your teacher for help. Math is a bit harder but you can do it! You are a leader, the younger kids will look up to you.