Hi Everyone,

Our week in Pre K was filled with extra special days.  We had our Valentine Party on Monday, Alaska Day on Wednesday and we celebrated 100 days of school on Thursday and Friday.  Can you believe we’ve been in school for 100 days so far this year? 

Thank you so much for all of the special treats on Monday.  After a Valentine Morning Meeting, the children opened their Valentine Envelopes.  For many, this was the first time they had exchanged Valentines with their classmates.  They were thrilled each time they reached into their envelopes and pulled out a new surprise from their friends!  For snack and lunch, we enjoyed chocolate covered strawberries, raspberries, red peppers, red grapes, chips, chocolate, Valentine cookies and cupcakes.  We also enjoyed some red berry juice to wash it all down.  There were so many yummy treats that we had left overs on Tuesday.  Thank you for all of your contributions. 

Alaska Day was awesome!  It wasn’t too cold and the wind was calm for our outdoor time.  We started the day in Furey Hall, where we watched a slide show on Alaska.  We saw pictures of salmon, glaciers, the state flower, Forget-Me-Nots, the state flag with the Big Dipper and the North Star, the state bird, the Ptarmigan, whales, caribou, moose, polar bears, puffins and arctic foxes.  We also saw a beautiful photo of the Aurora Borealis.  We fueled up with a delicious snack of crackers, cheese, berries and carrots.  In addition, we had berry finger sandwiches, blueberry bread, banana chocolate chip bread, and Akutaq, which is Eskimo Ice cream, traditionally made from moose or reindeer fat, snow, fish and berries native to Alaska.  The Akutaq that Emily made for us was made from yogurt and berries.   After snack, we put on our outdoor gear and headed out into the open BCD tundra.  Our first venture was to the bonfire, where Mr. Bingham and Mrs. Freeman gave us each a taste of a chocolate bar.  Mr. B. roasted a marshmallow so that the children could see how they melt.  Miss Guerette was kind enough to demonstrate how to carefully eat it.  We brought back a bunch of non-cooked  marshmallows to eat in the class.  They were a yummy treat for snack on Thursday.  We then moved on to the hill beyond Cole Field, where we went tubing!  The snow was really fast!  We also played a blanket game with Mr. Evans, where we bounced penguins really high into the air!  The next station was with Mrs. Clausen, where we built sculptures and mini igloos with the hard snow and we painted them with color water in spray bottles.  Once everyone had a turn to paint their creations, we made our way back to First Grade with Mrs. Frantz, where the children got penguin tattoos and decorated pieces of wood to make totem poles.  What a great morning! 

 At Morning Meeting, on Thursday, we fished out our old calendars and helpers lists to count andrecordhow many days we have been in school.  We used the helpers list to find out when we’ve had snow days.  Together, we counted each day and discovered that it was the 99th day of school!  We read two books about the 100th day of school and we hopped 100 times before adjourning to snack.  Inspired by some of the children in the stories, we invited the children to bring  a collection of 100 small items to school on Friday.  They also wanted a cake with 100 candles, but we thought the Fire Department might frown on that, so, instead, we drew a giant cake and decorated it by gluing 100 paper candles on it.  We also counted out 100 Legos; 100 dinosaurs; 100 crayons; 100 buttons, and 100 shells.  We have also learned the song, “We Can Count by Tens up to 100.”  It goes like this:

We can count by tens, up to 100.

We can count by tens, ready here we go.

10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90…100!

On our weekly venture to Letterland, we visited Red Robot with his roller blade and red remote controlled race car!  Red Robot is a robber, as he takes things that belong to others and carries them away in his red sack.  He likes to growl his “rrr” sound as he rolls around with a radio and a rose.  There are Robins, rainbows, rubies and rubbish in his world!  Red Robot tries to trick us when he is in his capital form, but we all recognised that rascal!

 

Some of the books we read this week included a bunch of Valentine Books along with:

The Night Before the 100th Day of School, by Natasha Wing

100 Days of School, by Trudy Harris

100th Day Worries, by Margery Cuyler

And speaking of book, thank you for particiating in our recent book order!  We earned 20 new and exciting books for Preschool, along with thousands of bonus points for future book purchases!!!  Our final book order will be in mid April.  Remember to use your special birthday book coupon to recieve your free book.

 

As we hope you are aware, we will be holding Pre K Parent Teacher Conferences on Friday, March 4th, from 8:00a.m. to 12:00 noon.  There will be no school this day, nor will there be childcare.  We are also scheduling Conferences on Tuesday, March 8th, beginning at 3:30 p.m., for families who would prefer afternoon or evening meetings.  This is a change from the main calendar.  If either of these times do not work for your family, please let us know so that we can find a time that works best.  The sign-up sheet for conferences is posted in the Coat Room.

 

   

Important Reminders:

  • Water bottles are encouraged, as we can refill them when needed.
  • Library Books need to be returned on Fridays.
  • **Please remember to enter the classroom via the Coat room and everyone please remove wet shoes and boots before entering the classrooms. **This way our floors will stay dry, as we sit on them.  Thank you!
  • Please send items to be heated up in a container that can be microwaved.  If you do not have such a container, you may send a separate bowl or small plate with your child’s lunch.
  • Please remember that items that contain nuts, peanuts, pesto or sesame oil and need to be heated up, are labeled so that we can do so in an alternate microwave, as our Preschool/Kindergarten kitchen is nut-free.
  • Please be sure your child has a snowsuit or snow-pants, hat, boots, gloves or mittens, and a warm jacket, as we try to go out everyday to play in the snow; also a complete change of clothes is needed.

Dates of Importance

  • Monday and Tuesday, February 21st and 22nd, Mid-Winter break, No School
  • Friday, February 25th, NO SKI FRIDAY, full day of classes
  • Friday, March 4th, No School for Preschool, Parent/Teacher Conferences, 8:00 a.m. to noon
  • Tuesday, March 8th, Parent/Teacher Conferences, beginning at 3:30 p.m.
  • Friday, March 11th, Spring Break begins at the end of the school day
  • Monday, March 28th, No School, Teacher Professional Development Day
  • Tuesday, March 29th, Classes Resume

Happy Long Weekend!

Ellie and Joni