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As you know, we have a 12:30 dismissal on Thursday, Oct. 18 due to parent/teacher interviews. We will have been in school for six weeks and I met with you all before school started. I also see many of you once or twice a day. We have mainly been working on routines and social responsibility and getting settled in since the beginning of September. The children have been great and at this time I have no serious concerns. If that changes I will certainly contact you and set up a meeting. And of course you can set up a meeting with me any time you have a concern as well.
If you would still like to meet with me next week I would be happy to see you, just confirm with me sometime before Tuesday. But I propose that we have a bit of an 'Open House' on Wednesday and Thursday next week. When you pick your child up at 2:30 on Wednesday or 12:30 on Thursday, have them show you around our classroom and explain some of the things that are up on the walls and some of our routines. They will be thrilled to play tour guide and excited to have you at school. If you have any specific questions for me about your child at that time, please ask. I look forward to seeing you!  Could we have gotten a better day to spend at the river? The weather was beautiful(!!!!), the stations were interesting and the children were curious listeners and participants. What more could we ask for? Rivers Day was a huge success!
Summer is over and fall has certainly arrived. In fact, it seems as if it arrived when I wasn't looking because wasn't it just too sunny and too hot out there? In Kindergarten, one of our Big Ideas in Science is that daily and seasonal changes affect all living things and therefore we keep a close eye on the weather. In September Team Awesome was surprised we changed the season from summer to fall when it seemed as if it was still summer outside but with all the fallen leaves has decided that it is now indeed autumn. To notice all the changes the cooler weather has brought, Mrs. Farber's Friends joined us on a 'Signs of Fall' walk around our school. We began with a review of our senses and which ones we could use to investigate changes fall has brought to the world around us. We smelled the air, we listened closely for autumn sounds, we felt the cool wind on our faces and talked about which things we love to eat in the fall (pumpkin pie!). Then we used our sense of sight to search for signs of autumn in our schoolyard and finished up with a discussion of the difference between coniferous and deciduous trees. Throughout our walk we gathered up items Mother Nature had thrown away to make a poster to label and display so we could share our signs of fall with the rest of the school. Now, how will we make a 'Signs of Winter' poster? Actually, I'm not sure if its Rivers Day, River's Day or Rivers' Day so we'll leave that discussion for another time. Rivers Day will consist of a number of stations to take place by the river, hosted by presenters, and each class has signed up to visit four stations. The whole of BEST will be making its way down to the beach off Schubert Dr. for a 10:15 welcome presentation on Friday, Oct. 12. Team Awesome will have had their snack and used the bathroom (although there will be a porti-potty available) before we leave for the beach and will attend two stations before lunch. We will eat our lunches back at the school and have our usual outside recess before eating, although it will be a bit earlier than normal. After attending the last of our two afternoon stations at the beach we will make our way back to the school for the end of the day. Because we will spend the day at the river, please make sure to send a water bottle and dress your child appropriately. We can always take sweaters/hats/mitts off if needed. Field trips seem to increase the children's appetites with all of the activity so another sandwich or extra snacks in lunches is never a bad idea. If you would like to join us for the day, or part of the day, you are more than welcome. We are aiming to leave the school at approximately 9:45 or you can meet us at the beach. Looking forward to an awesome day!
The school is required to conduct two lock down practices during the year and our first one will be Thursday of this week. During the procedure an announcement will be made over the PA system that just says, "Lock down." Because our classroom doors are locked at all times in case this procedure needs to happen for real, all that needs to be done is closing the doors and keeping the children as quiet as possible (I usually whisper-read a book). I will be explaining to the children that we need to practice in case there is an emergency in the school that requires us to stay inside our classrooms. Because they are four and five year olds who have active imaginations they will inevitably come up with all sorts of situations in which this procedure might happen. Please rest assured that at no time will I be elaborating on reasons for which we might have to activate the lock down procedure. Mostly the children see it as an adventure but sometimes they become anxious or scared, especially when the door is rattled from the outside to see if it is locked. I try to answer any questions and relieve their fears before/during/after the activity but some extra hugs and explanations might be needed at home. If you have any questions please contact Mr. Law at the school.
Mrs. Philips will be in our classroom before lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays to sing, dance, act and do art projects with Team Awesome while I try to get caught up on things (imagine a hamster running on a wheel). We are always interested to see what exciting things Mrs. Philips has planned for us and we are going to enjoy all her activities this year! |
