Keeping students engaged and motivated is one of the key challenges teachers face. Start the year off right, and you can be well on your way to a successful school year.

Sending a letter home before the school year starts is a good way to prepare parents and students for the new year. You can include a list of supplies and the dates of any upcoming events.

A class list is extremely important for keeping track of each student. You can use this list to store parent names and home addresses, as well as to print labels and to mail your students letters. A well-organized class list can help you match faces with names after students arrive.

The opening days of school are essential to setting the tone and expectations for the year. It is important to establish class policies and to post them in a visible place in the classroom.

The beginning of the year is also an important time for getting to know your students, and helping them become comfortable in their new environment and with one another. You can organize many activities to begin building a community inside the classroom.

The following links take you to the tools you need to start off the school year right.

• Welcome to students and parents (Template)
  Use this Word template to create a welcome letter at the start of the school year.
• Create a class list (Article)
  Learn how to create a class list in Excel, and use that list to perform mail merges and to print labels with student names.
• Developing classroom policies (Article)
  Develop classroom policies and expectations with input from your students.
• K-3 class rules (Template)
  Create posters for your class rules by using this PowerPoint template.
• Getting to know you: Activities for young students (Article)
  These activities help to introduce your students and to acclimate them to your class.