In Case of New Student...Open Box

Some school districts just have that magic quality. You know the one. It causes families to materialize out of thin air, enroll in your class, and then leave just in time for another family to appear. Remarkable, isn't it? Several times last year, I was caught off-guard by this phenomenon. Once, I even got a new student while I was out sick. Talk about a mess!

This year, I decided to start out ahead of the game. When I prepared name tags and other goodies for my students who were already enrolled, I laminated at least 5 extras of everything. I also made extra copies of my beginning of school newsletter, student data sheet, and classroom expectations. I use a lot of clothespins in my classroom (lunch choice, milk choice, behavior chart), so I gathered up several of those, too. Then, I placed everything into one small box, like so:

I placed the box strategically between my Sub Binder and my weekly planning files. This keeps it easily accessible for me as well as plainly visible to a substitute teacher in a pinch. 

I'm looking forward to having this New Student Kit on hand this year. More efficiently welcoming students to kindergarten will be a major improvement. I'll let you know if it's all it's cracked up to be. For now, keep it class'y, ya'll!