With some planning, common sense and communication, you can make the first day of school the best it can be: a springboard to a successful and rewarding school year.
Here’s how to make that happen:
1. Greet every student warmly
Say ‘hello’ to everyone at your door and offer a handshake and at least an attempt to catch learners’ names. You won’t remember all of them, but hearing them pronounced can help save you and learners from any embarrassing gaffes when you’re taking attendance later.
2. Use a seating chart, at least for the first week or so
It will make it much easier for you to learn names, especially if you sort the seating alphabetically by first name.
3. Save the rules for the second day
Learners know how to generally behave in a classroom, and incidents on the first day are rare, so the time is much better spent on building relationships.
4. Don’t be afraid to share something about yourself
Learners are interested in the new person they will be spending nine months with, so prepare a short biographical talk. They are particularly interested in whether you have children and pets. Pictures earn bonus points.
5. Post the daily schedule as prominently as possible
Even if learners have previously attended the school, the summer break is a difficult transition. They often get confused about timing. Making a poster will save you a lot of “When do we…?” questions. You can also hand out blank organisers and have your class fill in and walk through your class schedule together, so they have a copy handy at their desk.
6. Explain the space
Familiarise learners with how your room is organised, especially if they are bringing supplies with them or need to store things overnight.
7. Find a good ice-breaking activity
Preferably, one that avoids making learners share things with the whole group on the first day.
8. Ask for learners to notify you of any exceptionalities
You want to know as soon as possible if learners have trouble with hearing or vision so you can better plan lessons.
9. Expect the unexpected
First days rarely go according to plan. You may have to work around schedule changes and general confusion.
10. Plan the second day
Teachers often spend so much effort making sure the first day of school is perfect that they forget to lay out the expectations for the rest of the week.
