Out with the old...

and in with the new. This Friday was our last school day of 2012, and the first day of winter! In just over a week we will be in a brand new year!

It’s been an exciting year with a presidential election, the summer Olympics and a Mars Rover landing. Not to mention all the amazing things your children have done this year! We look forward to the beginning of 2013, and what your child will achieve in the coming spring!

Responding to Tragedy

Last Friday, we learned about the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut. While we hope we never have to go through something like that, we can try to support those who will be spending the holidays missing friends or family members. If you want to do something for those affected by the tragedy, cards are a very simple way to show you care and can be sent to:

Sandy Hook Elementary School

12 Dickenson Drive

Sandy Hook, CT 06482

 

Also, Girl Scout Troop 1118 (in Tucson) is on a mission to collect teddy bears and other stuffed friends to send to Sandy Hook Elementary. Bears and friends can be bought or homemade and can be dropped off at the Resource Center, 4300 East Broadway Blvd.

Thank you for Caring

December volunteers, thank you very much for sharing your time and resources with our children. All of your help is greatly appreciated! For any of you who would like to volunteer in January, the sign-up sheet will be up on the bulletin board on January 7.

Reminders

·         Winter Break is from Dec 22-Jan 6. School will resume on Jan 7. We look forward to seeing you all back in 2013! We hope you have a safe and happy new year!

·         Please spend at least 20 minutes a day, during the break, reading with your child, to keep their mind active and ready to go when we come back!

·         Book club will be starting again Jan. 10! Hope to see you there!

·         Parents of 2^nd and 3^rd grade students, keep an eye out for information about tutoring in January.

·         Starting January, the Friday walk will be moving to the afternoon until it starts to warm up again. Check the sign-up sheet for times.

December 7, 2012

Holiday Happenings

Third graders are working on the second step of their Winter Holidays assignment. They are preparing a 30 second to one minute oral presentation, using the research they did last week. The rough draft of their presentation is due Tuesday. We will work on editing them next week. They should be ready to give their presentations on Monday the 17^th, with a costume and/or prop(s) related to the holiday.

First and second graders are writing about their own family’s holiday traditions. They should have come home with a half sheet of paper with questions to guide their writing. First graders should be writing at least half a page; second graders a whole page. This assignment is due Tuesday.

Don’t forget our school Holiday Celebration on December 21! The classes will be giving different presentations for their families and friends. More details will be in next week’s newsletter.

On the Road to Recovery

Our Zebra Finch, Chirp-Chirp was ill last week but she has made a very strong recovery. She has been recuperating at Ms. Cori’s house, but should be returning to the classroom next week. We will be very happy to have her back! When we return in January, we hope she will be joined by a new friend so that she won’t feel lonely.

Thank you for caring!

November volunteers, thank you very much for sharing your time and resources with our children. All of your help is greatly appreciated! For any of you who would like to volunteer in December, the sign-up sheet is already up on the bulletin board.

December Snack

 

On Friday, Dec 14, we would like to let the children prepare their own snack again. We plan to do cheese and crackers this time. We would appreciate any help we can get with donating supplies for the snack. There is a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board. Thank you!

Reminders/ Events

 

·         There will be no book club for the month of December. Book club will resume in January.

·         The clothing drive will run through Wednesday, Dec. 19. Please remember to send in and clothing or blankets you would like to donate by that time.

·         Please send your child with a jacket every day. The mornings are very cool and the children are playing on the playground and/or doing outside activities most mornings.

·         Book orders are due on WEDNESDAY so that we can hopefully get the books in by the beginning of winter break.

·         December 21, the Upper Elementary will be selling breakfast burritos. Please see an upper elementary student for details.

 

 

 

What Goes Around...

It's the time of the year where coughs and colds seem to pop up everywhere.  We have been talking to the students about ways to keep their classroom and working environment a healthy and clean place to be.

As part of this lesson, we did a science experiment and demonstration this week.  We began by starting with slices of bread and jars.  The first slice of bread we hardly touched before putting it in the jar.  The second slice we got damp and left outside for about 20 minutes before putting it in the jar.  The third slice was touched by everyone in the class and wiped on a table before putting it in the jar.  The jars were sealed and the students made predictions as to what would happen to the slices of bread.  We will watch them in the coming weeks.  What do you think will happen?

The second part of the lesson we used lotion and glitter to visibly demonstrate how easily germs pass from one person to another.  We learned that simply wiping them off doesn't work, but that we need to use both soap and water to effectively get the "germs" off. 

You can help our efforts in the classroom to keep everyone healthy by reminding your child to cover his or her coughs and sneezes, and washing their hands regularly.

In Memory

This week, we  had to say goodbye to one of our Zebra Finches, Rainbow.  She passed away on Monday morning and we held a small service for her on Tuesday morning when we buried her in the garden.  We will all miss her, and we hope that her friend, Chirp-Chirp, will recover and be able to return to the classroom.

Helping Others

Next week, the Upper Elementary classroom will be kicking off a holiday clothing drive that will last until Wednesday, December 19.  They will be accepting any clothing or blankets for children or adults.  Cold weather clothing would be particularly appreciated, as the weather is getting colder.  Please make sure that the clothing is clean and in good repair.  The community is grateful for your generosity.

Assignments

Third graders have been given an assignement to research a winter holiday of their choice, from around the world.  They need to bring their research by Tuesday, December 4th, so that we can do the next step of the assignment.  Please see the assignment sheet for research guidelines. 

November 16, 2012

Good Food is Fun!

On Tuesday,  we had a visitor to our class.  She came and talked to the children about nutrition and healthy food choices.  As part of her demonstration, she showed how much sugar a person would consume if they had a soda every day for a year.  It amounts to approximately 3 bags of sugar (about 15 pounds). 

Later she talked about the "food rainbow" in which the children named a whole bunch of foods in different colors.  It is healthy to have a "rainbow" on your plate, as each of the colors usually indicates different vitamins and other healthy attributes.  The children then got to experience how much fun mixing and matching colorful food can be, when they were encouraged to "design" a plate with a variety of fruits and vegetables.  They came up with some pretty interesting and tasty creations!  Encourage your children to add healthy colors to their plate at mealtimes.

We Appreciate You!

Thank you to all the parents who have volunteered by donating their time or their resources to the school, and more specifically our annual Thsnksgiving Feast.  We are very grateful for your help.  We would not be able to do it without your generosity and helpfulness.

Being Thankful

The virtues we are exploring this week are thankfulness, gratefulness, and contentment. 
The children have had the opportunity to reflect not only on things they are thankful for, but people, memories, and experiences.  What we have is so much more than stuff.  They got to discuss being satisfied with what they have already, instead of wanting more.

Reminders

• Thanksgiving Break is from November 17-25.  Classes will resume on Monday, November 26th. 
• Conferences are coming up soon!  After the break we will have a sign-up sheet posted on the bulletin board.

Assignments

During the break, second and third graders have an assignment that is due the Monday we return from break.

• Third graders are going to research a Native American tribe and make a model of clothing that people of that tribe wore historically.
• Second graders are going to research a Native American tribe and create a model of the kind of home they would have lived in historically.

The third graders also have a second assignment due the Tuesday they come back.  They need to research their family history and find out how their ancestors came to the United States. (For example:  Ms. Cori's family on her mother's side came from Germany in the early 1900's on a ship, with the last name of Wiebe.)

History Mystery

This Wednesday, the school got to take a trip into the past, as the Upper Elementary put on their annual History Mystery.  The students from fourth through sixth grades each chose an explorer from history to portray.  They researched their historical figure and wrote a script as if they were actually this person, come to tell about their life.  To complete the effect, the students also dressed as the person they were portraying.

We were visited by such historical icons as Christopher Columbus, Pocahontas and Sacagawea, as well as more recent explorers and adventurers, such as Jessica Walsh and Dr. Mae Carol Jemison.

The Lower Elementary students had all been given a lesson to introduce them to each historical figure.  On the day of the History Mystery, they used their background knowledge to make a guess as to who each student was portraying.  History Mystery is something they all look forward to being on the other side of, when they become a student in the Upper Elementary. 

November Studies

During the month of November, in Social Studies and History, we are going to be studying Thanksgiving, Immigration, and Native Americans.  We have also been studying American Government and the upcoming elections.

In Biology, we are studying reptiles.  We are continuing to study stars and navigation, and we will move into the moon phases and the calendar.

As we get further into the year, we are also encouraging the students to begin memorizing math facts in addition (first grade), addition and subtraction (second grade), and multiplication (third grade).  If you are looking for activities to do with your child at home to supplement their school learning, this would be a good choice.  We are going to be assessing them on math facts on Fridays with their spellling tests.  We will begin with simple facts and make them more challenging as time goes on.

This week, we are going to assess the first graders on addition facts +1; second graders on subtraction facts -1; and third graders on multiplication facts x 2.

Thank You 

Thank you to those of you that continue to volunteer and donate things to our classroom.  We made the salsa yesterday and it was a big success.  The children really enjoyed being able to prepare and eat their own snack.  We will be making another class snack in December.

October 12. 2012

Fire Safety

On Wednesday, we were visited by the Tubac Fire Department.  They came to talk to the classrooms about how to keep yourself safe if there is a fire.  Students had the opportunity to practice hearing the sound of the smoke detector, as well as how you should crawl to avoid inhaling smoke if there is a fire.  We all got to see the fire truck, and students were asked to practice planning escape routes and meeting places with their family, in case of fire. 

It is recommended that familes practice this at least twice a year, and that a plan is made for getting pets and small children out of the home.  If your family has not already developed an emergency plan, have your child work with you to design one.

Help your family to have a safe home by checking that electrical outlets and appliances are working correctly, making sure things are not left where they could burn, and checking batteries in smoke detectors regularly.

For more tips on fire safety and interactive materials for children, visit the government's website on fire safety at:

http://www.usfa.fema.gov/kids/flash.shtm

Rumpelstiltskin

The kids had a great time at Rumpelstiltskin on Thursday.  They got to laugh, interact with the show, and even meet some of the characters afterwards.  Some of them had really interesting things to write about in their journals after we came back to school.

Thank you to the parents who volunteered to chaperone and drive the students to the performance.  We couldn't do it without you!

 

Constellations

As a part of our studies of historic European culture, we are learning about constellations and their relationship to Greek and Roman mythology.  We used our imaginations to see things in a different way, such as cloud shapes, etc.  Then the students designed thier own constellations.

Try studying the night sky with your child to find constellations.  Some of the easier ones to find right now are Pegasus or Cassiopeia.  If you have a smart phone you can download the Google Sky Map (for free!) to help you identify the constellations you are looking at.  You can find them on the computer at:

 

www.google.com/sky/  or http://neave.com/planetarium/

Reminders

• Wednesday, October 17 @ 3:15 PM is Afternoon of Montessori: Watch Me Work
• Friday, October 19 from 1-3 PM is Campus Beautification Day.  The afternoon will be  spent focusing on clearing the garden space and parental help would be appreciated.

 

In 1492 Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue

 

 

Sorry for the Confusion!

In last week’s newsletter, you were notified about a field trip taking place on October 11, but there were permission slips sent home for October 4. There was a scheduling change for the field trip after the permission slips had been written, and the old ones were accidentally sent home.

The field trip will take place on Thursday, October 11. There are corrected permission slips in this week’s purple folder. Please send them back with your child Wednesday morning. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused.

We still need parent volunteers to drive students to and from the event. Please come and talk to Ms. Beth or Ms. Cori if you are interested in volunteering.

Exploring Europe

This month, we are going to be focusing on the continent of Europe and its ancient historical influences from places like Greece and Rome. We will be looking at their artistic, cultural and academic contributions.

We will also be discussing Christopher Columbus, along with other European explorers. The student will be learning about their adventures and contributions, in preparation for the History Mystery put on by the Upper Elementary at the end of the month.

Reminders

·         No school on October 5, 8, and 9, for Fall Break.

·      Because of the short week next week, no spelling words are being assigned.

·     If your child has an October birthday and you have not already scheduled a celebration, please see Ms. Beth or Ms. Cori as soon as possible.

·    The next Reading Club will be at 3:15 on Thursday, October 11. Children and family members of all ages are welcome!

DETERMINATION

Determination is having a firm purpose or willpower to achieve something. We have been learning about how determination can really help us meet a challenge or set a goal and make it happen. Determination can help us meet these challenges with a positive “I can” attitude, which can make all the difference in being successful!



Lower Elementary News, September 28, 2012

Field Trip

On Thursday, October 11, we are taking a field trip to Rio Rico High School for their annual "Clowns Who Read" production. This year they are going to be performing "Rumplestiltskin". We read the story in class recently. The field trip is free. We will leave at 9:15 a.m. and be back around 11:15 a.m. Permission slips will be sent out in next week's purple folder.

We need parent volunteers to chaperone, and drive to and from the production. We ask that you volunteer only if you can take 5 or more students in your vehicle. Please talk to Ms. Beth or Ms. Cori as soon as possible if you are interested in volunteering.

October Volunteering

Thank you to the parents who volunteered in September!  We really appreciate your help!  The volunteer sign-up sheet for October will be posted Monday morning on the Lower Elementary bulletin board.  We need volunteers to wash cups, go on the walk, and fill purple folders.  Thank you very much!

 

Cooperation

 

This week, your child has been learning about the Virtue of Cooperation -- working and playing together peacefully, and with an attitude of achieving a goal with the other person or people.  We discussed why it is important to cooperate and how it feels when cooperation is achieved.

 

    Reminders

• Please remember that there will be Fall Break from October 5th - October 9th.  We will return to school on October 10th.
• Tomorrow night, September 29, will be the Harvest Moon for 2012.  This is the full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox.

 

September 21, 2012

International Day of Peace

September 21 is the International Day of Peace. It is an international holiday for people around the world to promote the attitude of a worldwide community, tolerance, respect and consequently, peace. It began in 1981, when it was implemented by the United Nations. The whole school community came together for a ceremony outside. Each classroom shared about why peace was important and what it meant to them.

Peacebuilders, including police officers, Rotary Club members and local government officials from the Santa Cruz Valley community, were also invited. They were honored for helping to create a peaceful community for all of us. Thank you to all of you who promote peace in our community!

Purposefulness

Purposefulness is the idea of doing things with a goal in mind; not being haphazard or random in movements or activities. Your child has learned about how purposefulness can really help them be more effective in their work habits and communication.  

We also discussed purposefulness in the context of being peaceful. If we are intentional about teaching peace to others, it can really make a difference.

Boats Afloat!

Last week we did experiments with floating and sinking. What makes things sink or float? We talked about what made boats work, even though they were made of heavy metals and carried very heavy materials.

This week, the students had an opportunity to work in pairs to create a boat out of aluminum foil. We tested each boat to see how many pennies they could carry. The boats each carried between 31 and 200 pennies! The average was about 70 pennies. We discovered that wide boats with taller sides did the best.

Try making a boat at home with your child. How many pennies can yours hold?
 

 Reminders 
       
September 26^th is an early release day. Please pick up your child right at 11:30. If they are staying for aftercare, please make sure they have a lunch.

Lower Elementary News September 7, 2012