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.