​We have been counting down the sleeps until we go skating and most of the kids are excited but some are a bit anxious because they don't know how to skate. We will discuss all the things we can't do when we start kindergarten and how well we do them now because of all the practicing we have done and how its the same with skating. I will remind the kids to bring their helmets and skates, snowpants and mittens (but not hockey sticks) and that there are a few pairs of skates available if they don't have any. Unfortunately the school does not have extra helmets and the children must bring their own. ​I will have the kids put their skates into their backpacks to travel on the bus because they must be in a bag. We should be at the MacArthur Park arena about 10ish if you are coming to join us (yay!). We will be assigned a changing room where we will put on our skates and leave our things. Our ice time starts at 10:15. The children will be encouraged to stay on the ice as long as possible as there is nothing for them to do once they are finished. They may sit on the bench and wait for us (11:15ish) but they may not run around or go on the bleachers. I will not be on skates as it is difficult to help the children with them on but please, if you are a skater, by all means bring your skates and helmet.  Looking forward to seeing you at the arena! 

​Even if it were somehow possible to be the perfect mother, the end result would be a delicate, fragile child who couldn't tolerate even the slightest disappointment. No mother wants that for her child.
Click to read the rest of the short article

All this bizarrely warm and unseasonal weather have you slightly unsettled? Beginning to worry about drought and forest fires this summer? Me too. Which led me to an alarming major climate report about global warming and what we have to do to slow it down- an easy, interesting, frightening read. A magazine intro states,
A landmark report from the United Nations’ scientific panel on climate change paints a far more dire picture of the immediate consequences of climate change than previously thought and says that avoiding the damage requires transforming the world economy at a speed and scale that has “no documented historic precedent.”
The report, issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of scientists convened by the United Nations to guide world leaders, describes a world of worsening food shortages and wildfires, and a mass die-off of coral reefs as soon as 2040 — a period well within the lifetime of much of the global population. 

• We took out new library books this week and they are due back for exchange by next Tuesday.
• We have scheduled two skating sessions the last two Thursdays of January. 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 every year. More info to come.
• ​Skating permission forms came home this week and are due with $4.00 by Friday, Jan. 18.
• BEST PAC is sponsoring a pasta lunch in January. If you are interested in ordering a pasta lunch for your child, the forms are due into the office by Friday, Jan. 11 with lunch delivered on Friday, Jan. 18.
• January Family Projects are due whenever they are finished.
• Scholastic orders came home this week and are due next Thursday, Jan. 17. If you spend $30 or more online, use the code CLIFFORD and pick a free book ($6 or less).
• February lunch orders will come home on Monday and are due to the office by Friday, Jan. 25.
  
• BEST PAC is sponsoring a hot dog lunch and the order forms will come home next week. Orders are due to the office by Monday, Jan. 28 with hot dogs delivered Friday, Feb. 1.
  
• Kindergarten registration for BEST for the 2019 school year opens on Jan 28th. This registration is not first come, first served.
• We reviewed December sight words this week and they are: but, friend, give, good, in, look, up, see, want. If a word comes up repeatedly in our studies we will sometimes add it to our words for the month. Please feel free to practice them at home.​
• BEST monthly newsletter can be found here.

Go forth and Be Resolute!!

An article from the New York Times about children and chores​:
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/18/opinion/sunday/children-chores-parenting.html

Miss Dowler will be joining us for the next ten weeks- from January through to Spring break. She will be completing her final teaching practicum at BEST before receiving her Bachelor of Education later in the spring and going on to teach in her own classroom. As this is her final practicum, Miss Dowler will gradually increase her teaching load until she is eventually responsible for the delivery of 100% of our curriculum for a short time just before March holidays. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to address them to Miss Dowler or myself during this time period. Team Awesome will be excited to see her on Monday!