It's the first lesson back to school for the year. I can see some nervousness eyes staring back at me wondering what our Art class (and more importantly their teacher!) might be like this term. And I wonder how nervous I should tell my class I am! Do I? Don't I?I remember hearing throughout my university studies the comment "don't let smile until Term 2!" ... and I actually took on that advice for the first few years of my teaching career. Suffice to say I quickly realised that behaviour management and classroom culture is so strongly founded in relationship than an authoritarian demeanor. And being authentic is a teachers' secret weapon. This was a big relief - because, like you I'm sure, we teach because we value relationship and the communication with our students!For the past couple of years I have included a classroom expectations session as part of my initial lessons in greeting a new class, especially junior year levels. This colourful, fun guideline (created on canva - I love this site!) shapes a class discussion about things 'we want to see' in our classroom, and why a positive, collaborative culture is so essential to our creativity. I'm always encouraged by how much our students really care about the environment they walk into each day - and they actually contribute in detail to what an ideal class environment would look like to them. We write notes and include these ideas in our "agreement".This session take about 15-20 minutes of the first lesson. It is made very clear at the beginning of the year our homework requirements (if there are any) and also the consequences for not adhering to our class expectations. Throughout the term if there is an instance where a student isn't reflecting the values or guidelines in our class expectations, we pull out this document and again discuss why it was stated there in the first place.  My students sign the page. Their parents are also emailed a copy. Then we are ready to go!You can down load this example of a Class Expectations Agreement here.