Welcome, everyone, to a brand-new school year!  Kindergarten is off to a great start.  New friendships are being formed and old ones renewed.  Through our Morning Meetings we discover things that unite us (you’ve probably all seen the “connection sign” at home by now!)  Our bulletin boards, bare the first day of school, are now covered with everyone’s work and drawings, and the classroom is starting to take on the personality of its new occupants.

The children have been busy playing and working together.  What a great group!

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Our study of monarch caterpillars and butterflies is well underway.  Four butterflies have already hatched!  We released them on Thursday.  Earlier in the week, we made life drawings of the caterpillars and the chrysalides.  Careful observation is key! IMG_0382
IMG_0386IMG_0390 Once the remaining three butterflies hatch, we’ll have an opportunity to paint them and then the class will be able to complete their posters of the monarch life cycle.  See if you can see three different stages in the following photo:IMG_0406

We’ll be taking our first trip on Tuesday, Sept. 20, to Magic Wings, the butterfly conservatory in South Deerfield.  More details next week.

We saw a wonderful assembly today that featured African drumming, dances, and storytelling.  The kindergartners were a very attentive group and really enjoyed it.  We also had our first fire drill today.  Again, I was very impressed with how the class conducted themselves.  They lined up quickly and were quiet until they heard the all-clear signal.  They’re all really trying to do their best!

There are blue folders in your child’s backpack today.  Please take time to go over the contents and return the empty folder on Monday.  We’ll use these all year.  Enjoy!

Upcoming events:

Friday, 9/16 – Pizza Friday

Saturday, 9/17, 5-7 pm – High Spirits Parent Gathering, BCD

Thursday, 9/22, 6:15-8:15 – Back-to-School Night

Sunday, 2/15, 4-6 PM, Kindergarten Pot-Luck Supper at Chris and Tyler Weld’s home

You can see we’ve been busy!  Have a wonderful weekend.

Andrea