Class Concern Box...

Having a class of 31 students is something that I never thought that I would be faced with. Wow, so many students!! HOWEVER, it has turned out to be amazing. The students are great, the class works so well together, and we are having a wonderful, educational start to the year. 

My only question is, how do you deal with 31 students' issues and concerns?

If every student raised their hand during the day to tell a concern that they had with the class or anything that they needed to talk about, we would need many more hours in the day. Don't get me wrong, we deal with concerns during the day, but there are concerns that go unspoken until a parent emails or talks to us outside of the school day. Maybe students are too shy to ask questions that do not deal with concepts being discussed in class. Maybe they do not feel comfortable talking in front of the class. Or maybe our day is so jam packed that they do not have time to think about their concerns until they get a free moment and then it is not appropriate to ask when they think about their concern!! I remember being in elementary school and having concerns that I would not think of until I got home and would not feel comfortable asking in the morning. 

To solve these issues, I am thinking about starting a "comment/concern box". With this, I would have a box that has a hole in the top to insert paper, and the students could write their concerns or questions that need to be addressed on the paper and insert it into the box. The student does not have to put their name on it, but it would be hard for me to help without having a source of the problem. For example, one student could not focus because he did not feel comfortable where his desk was. For a few weeks, he did not tell us because he did not think it was necessary, but with a quick email from the parent, we were able to quickly fix this concern and it was perfect. 

I want to combat these concerns whenever they occur because that student may have been able to enjoy the first few weeks better if they were in a place that was more compatible with their learning environment. I also want to make sure that this box does not turn into the "tattle" box where students tell on each other. I want it to be a safe place where students feel comfortable telling me what is going on outside of what I can see. For example: during connections, at lunch, at recess, wherever there are concerns!