​There were squeals of delight and excitement this morning as the children checked their leprechaun traps and discovered tiny green footprints spread around their traps and our classroom, as well as little shamrocks. But alas, no leprechauns. As we looked around we discovered the smartypants had had a sleepover in the tiny doll centre, complete with juice and snacks and had a bath in our sink. He also tried to hide some of our shiny necklaces under his pillow- no doubt he had plans to come back for them later. Cheeky cheeky fellow left us a note written in blocks on the carpet- "Thanks". We resolved to catch him tonight. To that end, we shared how our traps were supposed to work, why we thought they didn't, and how we could improve them and this afternoon some of us spent some time upgrading our designs while others had had enough of the sneaky little guy and played with centres. A few of us made totally new traps. Bigger and better traps. And we tried to be sneakier when setting them up- we put them in places the unsuspecting leprechaun is sure to go based on where he went last night or we tried to camouflage them. Our fingers are crossed that we will be luckier this evening than we were last night. May the luck of the Irish be with us!

 As the children entered our classroom this morning they slowly noticed a wee bit of untidiness- books and blocks spilled, papers on the floor, pencils left on tables and things turned upside down. And as Ms. Chernoff's class was talking yesterday about a cheeky leprechaun, Team Awesome was already aware that a little trickster had been hanging around. And you know Team Awesome- they wanted a piece of that action pronto! Which led to a flurry of activity this afternoon during Free Choice time as the children built their own traps and Wanted posters to catch the little man. If you picked up your child at the end of the day you might have seen the traps placed willy- nilly around the class, looking mostly like pieces of recycling that hadn't been picked up but boy did a lot of thought and effort go into them. If we don't catch the leprechaun this evening we might have to revisit and revise our traps as many of them don't actually have doors that close. So while a few traps have some bait in the form of shiny things, fake gold and even bits of glass to lure the fairy creature inside, there is nothing to keep the leprechaun in the trap after he steals the bait and has a nap. And that's what scientists do- revisit and revise ideas if they don't work the first time! We'll keep you posted on our leprechaun adventures.

We have finally- despite many many interruptions- finished off our polar animals unit. The unit wound up with an experiment. We learned that polar animals are able to stay warm in such frigid temperatures because of a thick layer of blubber. The children thought it was a silly idea that fat could keep animals warm so we put fat to the test. We slipped one hand into the 'blubber glove' made of lard and left the other naked and then submerged both into icy water. The blubber glove won hands down- pardon the pun! It kept our fingers toasty warm while the other hand could barely stand to be in the water longer than 10 seconds. It was left on the table for the afternoon so Team Awesome could have another go at it but only a few of them were willing to retest our conclusions. I think I'll forego the blubber and keep my down-filled coat for next winter.

​As part of our health and nutrition unit, we learned about brushing our teeth as a way to take care of ourselves this past week. Of course, this is a subject that Team Awesome is familiar with and they had a lot to contribute on the subject. We read some books, learned about bacteria in our mouth and plaque and did two experiments to bring home how important brushing and flossing our teeth regularly really is. Oh- and we listened to this song a number of times, but beware, it gets stuck in your head and will pop up at the most inopportune times and you just can't help but sing the chorus out loud. Crawford The Cat gave us a few pointers and we learned how toothpaste and tooth brushes are made as well. I hope that seeing why brushing is so important will help lessen the nightly arguments over taking care of our teeth. 

• Please send library books for Monday exchange.
• We will be setting our clocks ahead Sunday, Mar. 12.
• Tuesday March 14, is Pi day and there will be some related math activities at the school. If your child would like to come to school wearing a number on their shirt they are more than welcome.
  
• Please donate a small box/ container (cereal, cracker, yogurt etc.) or two of some sort by Wednesday, Mar. 15 for Team Awesome to build leprechaun traps for those children who are interested. We'll put the boxes in the Treasure Bin and share them. But SSSSHHHHH! don't tell what they are for. 
• Lunch orders for April are due Thursday, Mar. 16. There is a PAC pizza form at the bottom with pizza delivered on Friday, April 7.
• Friday, Mar. 17 is St. Patrick's Day and our last Fresh Air Friday before Spring Break. Please dress your child for cooler temperatures and possible snow/ rain (!).
• Please check Lost N Found items in the brown bin located at the main side entrance. Items remaining will be donated to a charity next Friday. 
• The BEST March newsletter can be found here. Look under Site News.
• If you haven't already done so, we ask parents to please complete our 5 minute online survey asking for your opinion about what is most important to you regarding your child's education. The link to complete the survey is here.  
• April's Family Project is due April 7. 
• Spring Break extends from Saturday, Mar. 18 through to Sunday, April 2. School reopens on Monday, April 3.
• We are practicing our sight words for March. They are: because, fun, here, jump, make, why.​ If a word comes up repeatedly in our studies we will sometimes add it to our words for the month. 

Go forth and Be Awesome!​

For most events that the school raises and donates funds to, a generic thank you form is often sent. This one was posted in the photocopy room and I was so touched by how personal it was and the fact that is was actually signed with a real pen by a real person. And then I began to think of how much time it took for that person to sign one for every school the letter was being sent to and it made me feel all sorts of different things. So I decided to share it with you as I think you deserve a thank you as well.

Did you get the City of Kamloops' Spring and Summer activity guide last week? If you missed it you can scope out and download the online version here and sign up for some awesome classes/ activities for both you and the little peeps.