Monday 11-17-08

Hello,
We have some important events to announce, so I will use bullet points for clarity.

• Conferences on Wednesday and Thursday. Most people have signed up. If not, contact me ASAP either through e-mail or call me at school.
• Thanksgiving Break is coming up next week. The Kroc center is running a camp in case you need day care. Be prepared for a myriad of art projects!
• Monday, December 1 is a Staff Development Day. Students are not to attend on this day.

We have redecorated our room and it looks fabulous. We added cubbies, Rainforest decorations and table coverings. We also added to our stations, such as the dress up station and the math center. Our rug came today. I am looking forward to more organization!

Well, that's all for today. Looking forward to seeing you all.

Meital

Another Weird Wednesday

Hello Rainforesters:

Yeah! I know at least one person is reading this blog, Cheryl, I know you're out there. Thank you!! How about the rest of you? Please respond on the respondents section.
Okay, so what's been happening lately? What have we been up to?

We have been up to a lot of writing projects, such as book reports and bubble poetry. We have also been practicing our Giraffe Talk and the notion of....'Have you got a minute to talk?'. That's right, we have been discussing possibly asking someone if they have a minute to talk before just telling them what it is one needs to communicate. This helps your voice and your needs really be heard. That is, if the listener is ready to hear them, and that can be determined by asking. We have been practicing all week. So far, not great results. But, as this age suggests, we must keep persevering, and we will see some breakthroughs.

Thank you Judith, who brought in and organized a dress up corner. Thank you Claudia who met with me last Friday. We went around the classroom and discussed what was needed. She then went out to buy them and we are going to set up on Friday. So essentially, we will have a new classroom on Monday. I am so excited and I haven't mentioned it to the kids. They love surprises!

This week, besides DI, we have been working on standards LS 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 as well as W 1.7, 1.1. If that is all a foreing language to you, they are CA state standards to ensure your child learns what is required this year. My intention is that they will master all of the first grade standards and even dive into second grade. The standards are posted in a binder in the classroom as well as on the internet.

Important announcements:
-No school on December 1 due to Staff Development Day
-Earthquake Drill tomorrow for all schools in SDUSD
-Next Wednesday and Thursday are parent teacher conferences and are half days. The reason for that is because we don't have access to our classrooms at night. I apologize for the inconvenience and hope you can find a way to make it work.
-Please, please, please empty the Wednesday manila envelopes and return them with your child for next Wednesday.

Thank you very much,
In Joy Beauty Vitality and Love,
Meital

Weird Wednesday

Today was our first Weird Wednesday. We call it that because we are choosing to stay in our homerooms on Wednesday. We got a chance to do our very first book report on the The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry. It was great to see everyone working together in our class.

We also voted yesterday, and our class overwhelmingly would have elected the now president elect, Barack Obama. We talked about both candidates. We also discussed the role of the vice president. Genesis says his role is to give advice to the president. As if he needs more of that. Talk to your child about it and see what discussion ensues.

Tomorrow, we have our City Farmers Nursery field trip and that kicks off our Garden Project. The chaperones are Vivien, Drisana, Cheryl, Claudia, Drisana, Roekmini and I. The kids will have a little assignment along with the tour which is supposed to be fabulous.

Friday is Picture Day! Have them dressed to their best! Also on Friday is a Craft and Bake sale. The kids are very excited so send them with a little money so they can partake in the goodies. All proceeds go to the school and the Kroc Center scholarship fund.

Thank you,
Meital

Monday, November 3, 2008

Hello!
Oops! I forgot to blog on Friday, so I will cover Friday and today. On Friday, we had an awesome Halloween. Everyone came in costumes and brought candy, cookies, and popcorn. We went trick or treating around the school and watched High School Musical II. We made Halloween masks in Art in the afternoon and heard ghost stories from Mark in Drama. I hope everyone had a safe and fun Holiday.

Today, we worked hard in Math and L.A. We had sharing in the afternoon. It looks like Monday will be the official sharing day. We also counted our recycling, which has been amazing and overwhelming. So, this is the last week of the project. Wednesday is the last day to bring in and Thursday is the last day we will count. The winning table will be announced on Monday. They get to choose how we will spend our classroom money.

In P.E., we are learning Ping Pong, fooz ball, and table hockey. Needless to say, the kids love it!

Tomorrow, we will be finishing our 'All About Me' book presentations and officially move into our Intergenerational Garden project! I and the kids are very excited.

Thursday we will be visiting City Farmers Nursery. So far, we have Cheryl Geck, Vivian David, Jaime Nilles, and Roekmini as drivers and chaperones. That leaves space for one more car and chaperone. I am assuming that each driver can fit at least four kids with seat belts in the car. If this is not the case, please let me know.

Also, Friday is Picture Day! Let's look our best!

O.K. Thank you for checking in.

In Joy, Beauty, Vitality, and Love,
Meital