​Boy, did we rock all the fun stuff this week! From counting down sleeps until the Big Day, opening an advent surprise activity every day to making Christmas cards and gifts for our families. And a jammy-licious day to top it all off! Team Awesome was great and not only did we thoroughly enjoy all the fun activities today but the time spent together before our two week separation was a tad emotional as some of them realized exactly how long the separation would be. Its sweet how the thought of being apart for a short time makes them appreciate their friends all the more. 
Enjoy your family time during the holidays with Team Awesome and we look forward to seeing you all in the new year!

• We will be editing and uploading the pictures and videos from this past week as soon as possible (probably into next week). Please check back to see them! Don't forget you can download and save your favourites.
• ​Your child will be bringing a holiday surprise home for you today in a decorated paper bag to put under the tree. Please look for it in their packs.
  
• We will be taking new library books home the first week back.​
• PAC pizza orders are due to the office by Monday, Jan. 9 with lunch delivered on Friday, Jan. 13.
• January Family projects came home and are due back January 13 or when finished. Enjoy!
• ​Skating permission forms came home last week and are due to be returned Jan. 13.
• Christmas gift idea? We have scheduled two skating sessions- Wednesday, Jan. 18 & 25. If your child does not have skates they are welcome to borrow them from the school but the sizes might be off and they are a kijillion years old so not terribly warm or comfortable. This is a good time to start looking in secondhand shops for something suitable as the school books skating time for all classes most every year.​​
• We will need parent helpers for our skating trips to put on and tie up skates. Adults are also welcome to skate. Please don't forget a helmet for yourself and the children.
• For parents who have children entering Kindergarten, join SD 73 in January and February to learn more about schools of choice and registration in Kindergarten. Read more here.
• Please have Team Awesome read any little paper books that come home (approximately 1 per week) multiple times for practice/ fluency. Thank you.
• Sight words we are learning right now: but, friend, give, good, in, look, up, see, want. Please feel free to practice at home.​
• Scholastic flyers are available here monthly. They are done online and sent directly to your home. Our class code is RC210022.
• Newsletters can be found on the BEST website at best.sd73.bc.ca.​
• If your child is exhibiting illness symptoms of any kind they must be kept home. Thank you. ​

Go forth and Celebrate!​ 

There are a lot of "I want"s and "I asked for"s this time of year, from children and adults both. Mrs. Farber and I wanted to help the children move from thinking of themselves, and what they might find under the Christmas tree, to thinking of others. Enter the Kindness Ninjas! Mrs. Farber wrote up a letter from Sensei Tansa (a mix up of the letters in Santa) that explained the concept of doing for others without expecting anything in return and included the first mission and some ninja headbands. We then recruited Mrs. Edstrom to deliver the package. Team Awesome was so enthusiastic about the idea that they were jumping up and down and fist pumping their arms in the air, yelling things like, "Let's do this!". And so we completed our first mission. And there are a few more planned because why stop just because December is over? Isn't kindness an all-year virtue? And so expect to see the Kindness Ninjas throughout the rest of the year, sneaking around and doing good deeds for others.