A special reward!  Running through a sprinkler on Friday afternoon!

The children are off to a great start!  We have been focused on creating a classroom community of learners where every child feels valued for his or her own special talents.  The children have set goals for their learning this year and have also worked on coming up with a set of classroom rules that will help to create a positive working climate for achieving their goals.  During the next few weeks we will continue to build our classroom community.  Best practice supports taking time during the first 4-6 weeks of school to establish routines and expectations so that children understand and can work independently so that the teacher is free to work with small groups of children.  Your children are doing a great job!

Taking turns watching the caterpillar change into a chrysalis!

The children have been learning about the life cycle of a Monarch Butterfly.  Thanks to a student in one of the 2nd grade classrooms we have all been provided with Monarch caterpillars.  At this point several of the caterpillars have changed into their chrysalis stage.  We are expecting that our third Monarch caterpillar will probably be a chrysalis by Tuesday!  The amazing thing is the children actually got to watch one of the caterpillars transform itself into a chrysalis.  They were so lucky and fortunate to witness this most incredible event, taking place before their very eyes!   

As of Tuesday this week, we officially have begun our job share.  Mrs. O'Brien will be teaching on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesday mornings.  Mrs. Driver will be teaching on Wednesday afternoons, Thursdays and Fridays.   We will have some overlap for planning purposes on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday afternoons.  We are excited to make this a great school year for your children!

Important News:

 School Picture Day on Sept. 9th- Please make sure your child brings in their order form on the morning of Sept. 9th!

Parent Curriculum Night on Sept. 10th - The K-2 team is presenting A Continuum of Learning that will be very informative for all parents K-2 students.  We will begin at 6:00 and end at 7:00.   Babysitting will be provided.  We hope you can make this presentation! 

Big smiles after receiving their first reading charm!

Reading Graphs - just a reminder that reading graphs are handed out every Friday.  Reading graphs are expected back on the following Friday.  However, we will collect them as well on Monday in the event your child forgot to hand it in on Friday.  This will provide your child some extra time on the weekends to do the reading if for some reason you have had a busy week.  This allows your family some flexibility.  However these are the only two days we will accept reading graphs.  Charms are only awarded on these two days.  Please remember that your child needs to read an equivalent of 100 min. or 20 min. 5 x week in order to receive a charm.  Supporting your child with their reading is the single most important thing you can do as a parent to help your child succeed in school.

That's it for now!  Have a wonderful week and please feel free to call or e-mail us with any of your questions or concerns.