So long February! I'm sure everyone is looking forward to spring... and then we'll be complaining its too warm. The blue sky and sunshine has been lovely, even if it has been chilly. Don't forget to send hats and mitts as it is still cool at recess play time and sometimes at lunch.

• Alysa shared a stuffed puppy that talks, Thomas had a sparkly red jewel, Ally played the kazoo for us and Kaden brought a monster truck with a plow on the front.
• A page with ABC games was sent home this week to play for extra exposure/practice for the children. Keep it light and fun. If you didn't get it, let me know and I will send another one.
• The March calendar will be posted tonight. There will be no Family Project for March.
  
• Our last skating trip is next Thursday, Mar. 6. We hope to see you there.
• Report cards come home Friday, Mar. 14.
• I must apologize again for not sending Take Home books with the children more often. I will be trying to remedy that.
• We had the Promethean ActivTable in our room for a few days. It is on loan to BEST.
• Thank you for donations for Bowl For Kids Sake and coming to the bowling alley to help us out. The kids had an awesome time and we couldn't take field trips without parent helpers.

Go forth and Be Awesome!

Tomorrow BEST will be participating in the Canada- wide Pink Shirt Day so don't forget to dress your child (even the boys!) in pink to symbolize a stand against bullying. We will partake of a variety of anti-bullying activities. Because we will be using new language, you might notice an increase in its usage. Don't be surprised if the children call every incident of conflict a bullying situation, even if it is not.
A reminder that the permission slip and pledges for our bowling trip on Friday are due tomorrow or as early as possible. If you are unable to pledge $5.00, any small amount will suffice.

Grades two to six have been learning how to square dance Mondays for the last two weeks with a guest presenter. Miss Duquette graciously offered the expertise of her grade threes to teach Team Awesome what they have been learning on Mondays. The older boys paired up with the Kindergarten girls and the bigger girls partnered with Team Awesome boys. We learned to bow to our partners, Do-Si-Do and Promenade. Miss Duquette then taught us a quick line dance before we played a crazy tag game called 'Everyone's It'. The grade threes were very patient and gentle with us and we appreciated them taking the time to teach us. Thanks Miss Duquette and grade 3s!

Just a quickie as next week is mostly business as usual.

• Carson showed us some Angry Birds and Aidan shared a piece of a bee hive.
• Wednesday, Feb. 26, is Pink Shirt Day and the children are encouraged to wear pink. Students will be put into mixed age groups and rotate through some activities with an anti-bullying theme.
• Permission slips and pledge forms for our bowling trip next Friday will come home Monday. There is no cost for the bowling but pledges are encouraged. Please return by Wednesday.
  
• The school is fundraising with dfscanada and the catalogues will come next week. Orders are due into the office by Mar. 10. Students are discouraged from selling door to door.

Go forth and Be Awesome!

As of today we are 100 days smarter! And boy were we busy learning today so tomorrow we can be 101 days smarter. We mixed up with Mrs. Farber's class and then participated in three centres in our classroom and three in Mrs. Farber's. We made crowns, we played games and puzzles, we did some writing and we made necklaces with 100 Cheerios. We also joined all the children in our classroom to make a 100 Snack to take home- 10 each of 10 items- complete with a checklist. Yum! After lunch we all went outside and jumped, marched, and hopped 10 times on 10 toes so we could count by 10s to 100. We also each took 100 steps to see how far it would take us before taking some time to play on the playground. We read 'Miss Bindergarten Celebrates the 100th Day of Kindergarten' and made plenty of connections at the end of the day. It was a great 100th day of Kindergarten!

A notice came home today re: 'Puppy' Corn. A senior class is fundraising by selling popcorn for Primary students this Wednesday but the orders need to be returned to the office by tomorrow. $1.00 per bag, max of 2 bags per student.

Don't forget to check the BEST website at best.sd73.bc.ca for the latest newsletter.

Kindergarten Registration- To be eligible for Kindergarten attendance in September 2014 a child must be 5 years of age by December 31, 2014. At time of registration, please bring your child’s original Birth Certificate and Care Card number. For kindergarten registrations where a sibling already attends BEST, please drop by the office for more information.
REGISTRATION @ BEST  •Mon / Tues / Wed / Thurs  •February 24, 25, 26, 27, 2014  •8:30 am to 12 noon / 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Don't forget early dismissal at 12:30 on Thursday. If you would like to see me that afternoon, call the office for an appointment. If that is inconvenient for you, I am available most days after school.

I will take today's Valentine's Day excitement over yesterday's full moon craziness every time. Scientists claim that there is no correlation between the lunar cycle and human biology or behavior but I bet they have never asked police officers, ambulance attendants or teachers their opinions.

• Myles shared a Transformer called Heat Wave and Logan showed us some catapults for toy Angry Birds.
• Buddy Bags from last week will be moved to next weekend for Myles, Beth and Tayja.
• A senior class is collecting for the Food Bank. The class that receives the most donations gets cupcakes. Thanks for the donations.
  
• Wet boots and socks are coming home due to all the fun puddles.
• We enjoyed an assembly on Wednesday morning where a number of classes made presentations about space.
• Meals forms came home yesterday and need to be returned by Feb. 24.
• We will celebrate being 100 days smarter on Wednesday with 100 Day.
• On Thursday we will be skating from 10:15-11:15 (hope to see you there) and early dismissal will be at 12:30 so parent interviews can begin at 1:30.
• Call the office for an interview time if you would like to see me on Thursday between 1:30-4:00. If that is inconvenient, I am available any day after school.
• Friday is a Non Instructional Day for the children.

Go forth and Be Awesome!