The New Turtle

  When my dad was in the fourth grade in Newton, MA, his class got a new student named Joe. Joe was from Italy, so the teacher asked for volunteers to help him get adjusted. "Who wants to teach Joe English?" she asked. My dad raised his hand.
  We got a new student this week, though I didn't have to find someone to teach him the language--just where the sharp pencils are kept. I had found out ahead of time that a new student would be joining our class, and I wanted to get everyone hyped to meet this new second grader. It worked. There were signs welcoming the new Turtle to our class (well, OK, they were my idea but taken on with great enthusiasm) and a general buzz of excitement. At the end of the day, we did our weekly announcement of the BOAT nominations - who had been brave, observant, active, or thoughtful that week. One slip of paper said, "Ms. Sarah was thoghtful when she let a new person in the class." I thanked Marcus for his nomination, though it wasn't so much me being thoughtful as....the office placing a new kid in our class and then informing me he'd be showing up Monday.
  With all of the excitement, I was actually a little worried that our new student would be physically knocked over on his first day by Turtles offering to give a tour of our classroom, asking questions, or maybe even offering to teach him English, but the week went pretty smoothly.

  If any readers have stories about when you yourself started at a new school or any memorable experiences with a new student coming into your class, I'd love to hear them!