Oregon Food Bank

You may see some notices in the coming days that there is an all school field trip to the Oregon Food Bank on Monday. Unfortunately, the food bank has a strict rule that kids MUST be in 1st grade or older. Wah! That means that the Kindergarteners will stay on campus with me that day. I am not sure what extra fun thing we will do but I am totally open to suggestions. Last year, the K's cooked up a few batches of cookies to donate to a shelter. Does that should good?

Biography Days

We have Biography Days coming up. Woo hoo! This is when each child in the whole school chooses one famous person from history that they dress up as and create a poster display of. The event is on December 11th at 8:15. This week your child should start to think of who they would like to be. The day that we get back from Thanksgiving break, we will start working on the posterboard so they MUST know who they will be by then. It is a really fun day and I encourage YOU to encourage THEM to dress up and get into character.

Thanksgiving feast!

This year we will continue the lovely PNA Thanksgiving lunch tradition. Woo hoo! The Stroupe's will be bringing in a yummy (cooked) turkey and each class will prepare a side dish for the meal. The K/1 class will be making fruit salad. I'll send out another email tomorrow saying what ingredients you should bring in for this.

Parents and grandparents are ABSOLUTELY invited to join us! We'll eat at noon. As part of us being a green school, we ask that you send your child in with their own plate, fork, and cup (and napkin?). If you join us for the lunch, you should also bring in your own tableware.

In our class, I have always given the students the chance to participate in skipping the morning snack so that we feel what it is like to be hungry and we can take the time to remember those around the world who do NOT have enough to eat.

I hope to see you all there!

What is this I hear about a purple card?

Your child may have come home in the past couple of days saying they want to save the Earth AND earn a purple card. To clarify, this year we have a reward in our class for kids when they go out of their way in a self-less act that betters the world outside of their immediate environment. They earn a class prize and a write-up in the weekly school newsletter. Your child may come in and tell me about what they did and if it sounds like something worthy of a "purple card" I will send you an email to get details.

Some examples of what past students have done to earn a purple card:

- Open a lemonade stand and donate all proceeds to charity

- Participate in a family volunteer day at a SOLV beach clean-up

- Students gathered their parents and friends to clean up their neighborhood and park

- Outstanding participation in Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF (each child will have this opportunity next week)

- Create and mail cheerful cards to soldiers or terminally ill children

Some students have come in and said, "well, I weeded the garden for my Mom" or "I cleaned my room". Of course these are GREAT but they don't fit the requirement of "a self-less act that betters the world outside of their immediate environment". If your child suggests an activity that does fit this requirement, I hope you are able to help him/her do it! I truly believe that at PNA we are doing a great job of teaching this to our students and that we have been given an amazing group of families that share this ideal. As a school-family partnership, I think we can do so much!

Assembly and One World Breakfast

As a reminder, this Friday is our first assembly. Our class has been preparing a spanish song with Senorita Birkemeier. Before the assembly, you may have noticed that we have a One World Breakfast scheduled. This is so much fun! Each family should bring in a breakfast dish that represents their heritage. I am Polish and will be bringing in Perogi's. Last year, I brought in croissants for my French heritage. The dishes can be hot or cold and we do have microwaves available. Please let me know if you have any questions!

A question that came up last night...

After last nights presentation, a parent asked me a question that I should answer for the whole class. She asked me if her child needs an extra challenge in a subject, can I provide it? My answer is an absolute YES!

For reading, we do not do any formal group lessons since kids at this age are all in such different places. Nearly my entire reading curriculum is paced at an individual level with one-on-one instruction every time. A child can move through this program at their own speed.

For math, I am teaching at two group levels (kindergarten and 1st grade). If there are Kindergarteners who are quite advanced, they would join the 1st grade instruction group for the entire year. And 1st graders could move up to the 2nd grade math class with Miss Duke. For kids that aren't quite ready to move up an entire level, I am able to give them as much challenge as they need while staying in their grade level class.

For writing, I have each grade level completely alone. First graders have writing when the Kindergarten is at Spanish and Kindergarten has writing when the first graders are at Spanish. That means I have a really SMALL group to work with. We usually sit quietly at the back table as a group and each work on the same writing prompt or writing exercise. With such a small group, I can totally work with each individual and give them challenges as needed for this 45 minute period (2x a week for 1st grade and 3x a week for Kindergarten).

All other classes (science, social studies, and technology) are K/1 combined. I make these classes "non-reading" for the most part. They usually involve projects or hands-on activities. Instead of trying to keep your child constantly challenged in these subjects, I am more trying to inspire their curiosity and help them find answers to their own questions.

That is a great question and I wish I had more time to explain this last night. Overall, I hope it gives you a better idea of my teaching philosophy and gives you a clearer picture of what your child is doing at school.

School Pictures

Reminder, tomorrow is school pictures. If you haven't turned in your order form, PLEASE make sure to put it in your child's homework folder. Also be sure your child is dressed in formal uniform.

I hope to see most of you tonight at 6:30 for Back to School night. There is free childcare available in the gym.

Library

We visited the school library today as we will EVERY Friday. Each child has checked out one book (it should be in their backpack). Please help to remind them to always bring their library books back to school on Fridays.

Thanks for helping your child do their best this week! It was a breeze and I am so confident that this class is going to work really well together for the rest of the year.

Hope to see you at the school picnic tomorrow!

A few tidbits...

You may notice a yellow manilla folder in your child's backpack. This is called the "Wednesday envelope" and it comes home once a week with school information and announcements. Take all of the papers out and return the folder in your child's backpack tomorrow.

Upcoming events:
There is a flyer in the Wednesday envelope that has some of the details about this weekend's Back to School Picnic held at Debbie Weatherford's home in Sherwood. This annual event is so much fun for the kids and parents alike and I am hopeful that each of you can make it!

Also, there is an envelope for school pictures which are next Thursday September 17th. Our photographer is AMAZING and his pictures always turn out well. Just note that he is very strict that you turn in your picture order form BEFORE the photos are taken.

Mark your calendar for September 15th for our Back to School Night at 6:30. It is REALLY helpful if each family has at least one parent present. I know it can be difficult for some families to arrange, but please don't bring your child. As much as I adore them, it is much easier to talk about how we can work together without kids present.

First Day!

We had a great day that just flew by! At the end of every day we talk about what we did so you should always have an answer if you ask your son or daughter. Today we played A LOT, learned some names, went to music, chased a gingerbread man around campus (your child can explain:), and started learning the school routines. The group dynamic seems to work out well and I am certain lifelong friendships are starting.

My teaching style involves a lot of modeling and behavior modification for the first few weeks. That means we won't be delving into big science units until we are working well together as a group. At this time my main classroom focus is treating each other with kindness and respect. I believe it is a lesson that never gets old!

Again, thank you so much for entrusting your child with me. I am so thankful to have the opportunity to teach them and get them started on their school career.

Volunteers

I have made a list of the areas that I need the most help in and I am hopeful that as a group we can cover the following positions. I absolutely appreciate any help you offer!

FIELD TRIP COORDINATOR: Someone who can organize the drivers for field trips and reserve our tickets, etc.

MONDAY NAP: I need someone to supervise the nap period from 12:45-1:30 every Monday. The kids are used to the daily pattern of 20 minutes of quiet time and 25 minutes of free play. This is a great chance to get to know your child's classmates! This period is directly after lunch and can easily be paired with a lunch duty.

MONDAY READING: Each Monday you will lead a small group or an individual through an easy to follow reading program. It is very rewarding to watch the kids progress in reading through the year and this is a perfect chance to see it! 2:15-2:50

WEDNESDAY READING: (same as Monday reading description)

CORRECT HOMEWORK: Once a week (or every other week), correct and stamp papers to be sent home. This job can be done at home and is usually about 20-30 minutes of work per week.

Tomorrow is the big day!

The clouds are clearing away and the sun is coming out just in time for a day of perfect memories tomorrow! Please feel free to walk your child in to the classroom. There will be plenty of shyness and hopefully not to many tears but please say a quick good-bye and good luck and head out to the courtyard for the school flag and prayer ceremony. As a class, we will head there following the parents. I am hopeful that most parents will be able to stay for at least a few minutes at the coffee "meet and greet". We are heading into a year together that may lead to lifelong friendships!

Just to clarify, please pack a healthy snack for your child every day (including tomorrow). They will eat this in the morning (around 10:30) and then they will eat their sack lunch at noon. We do have microwaves available for helping your child warm up their lunch if needed.

School pick-up is at 3:10 (unless your child goes to aftercare). At which time I am sure you will hear all about their great day!