I hope that everyone had a great weekend!! Last week certainly was a rollercoaster week!! Two days of school then two snow days and then Friday!!
This week we will do a few of the events that were planned for last week in additional to our regular planned schedule. We will have our pajama day on Wednesday along with our movie. Our decades day is moved to Wednesday February 16, 2022. We will also talk about the groundhog/woodchucks and their predictions and do our ground hog activity.
Cold Weather Gear: Please remember to send you child to school with the appropriate outside cold weather gear. We have lots of snow on the ground and would like to get outside as often as we can. We have had several students come to school without boots/hats/ gloves/mittens or snow pants. Our rule is that if a student does not have boots they have to stay on the cement, if they have boots but not snow pants, they can walk in the snow but not roll around in the snow. If they have all their cold weather gear, they can play in the snow all they want!! If you would like to send in a set of cold weather gear to be kept at school that would be great! We have room to store the gear for the season.
Snacks: Please remember that if your child is an all-day student, they will need two snacks, their lunch, and a water bottle. Several all-day students have been bringing only one snack and their lunch. If possible, please pack the two snacks separate from their lunch. When the students arrive, they place their snacks and water bottle in the pouch behind their chair and their lunch is placed in a separate location.
**Please check out important information below regarding registration for next year, our Valentine’s Day celebration and Our February Family Connections project.
Registration for next year (2022/2023): Please send in your registration for next year as soon as possible. Our open house was a big success and our early childhood classes (3yr., 4yr., young fives and kindergarten) are beginning to fill. If you have not sent in your registration for next year, please do so as soon as possible to secure a spot for next year. If you have any questions or concerns regarding placement for your child for next year, please feel free to contact me anytime.
Catholic Schools Week: (take 2!!)
Wednesday February 9, 2022 – Pajama Day/Movie - Any comfy pajamas except the onesie type/footed pj’s. No slippers, sturdy school shoes with their pj’s. If girls are wearing night gowns, please have them wear leggings underneath.
Wednesday February 16, 2022 - Decades Dress – Again, our students can dress in anything as long as they can manage in the bathroom.
Valentine’s Day Celebration: Monday February 14, 2022. This year we will, once again, have a small Valentine celebration. Parents will not attend again this year. I have sent out the sign-up genius invites and all the items’ slots have been filled, Thank You!!! Students are welcome to bring in pre-packaged goody bags for their friends. We will be decorating gift bags in class for our class valentines. Have your child wear red/pink.
Family Connections Project: February Family Connection Project: The February Family Connections Project will be “Jesus is in My Heart”. Your child will bring home a heart with their name on it. Please take some time to decorate it with your child and talk about all the ways that we can show that Jesus is in our heart, and what we can do every day to honor Jesus by what we say and do. These hearts are due back by February 25, 2022. If you finish your heart earlier, you can send it in at any time!
Star Student: Our new Star Student is Brian! We can’t wait to see his great poster!! A Star Student will be picked about every two weeks or so. If your child is picked to be the Star Student, they will bring an All About Me poster home with instructions. Please spend some time helping your child fill out and decorate this poster. Once they bring it back to school, we will share it with the class and hang it outside our classroom on the Star Student bulletin board.
Here are some Updates/Reminders: Snacks: Please send in your child’s snack in a separate bag/container. Our ½ day students need one snack and their water bottle. Our full day students need two separate snacks (am/pm), their water bottle and their lunch. Most of our students are bringing in their two snacks separate from their lunch box. This seems to be working very well for the students and helps to keep the contents of the lunch box undisturbed.
Lunch: We will be sending home most of any uneaten/partially eaten lunch items. This will help you know what you child has/has not eaten out of their lunch. Please remember that at the beginning of the year students tend to not eat much of their lunch. There is a lot going on in class during lunch and your child may feel they need to finish early to not miss out on something. As we continue with our lunch routine, most students will settle in and eat most of their lunch, at their pace.
Library Books: Our Library Day is Thursday, please make sure that your child returns their library book by Thursday morning each week. Mrs. Walter comes to collect our books right after the 8:00 bell. If your child does not return their book from the previous week, they may not be able to check out a book until the book is returned.
Handwriting: Last week we worked on the letter Ss and this week we will introduce the letter Uu. Please continue to have your child draw, write, color etc. at home. These types of activities will help your child’s fine motor skills to continue to develop.
Math: We are working on our math skills in many different areas of the classroom. We are counting on the calendar, counting our friends, looking at shapes/colors, making patterns with different manipulatives and learning about more and fewer.
Religion: We are joining the rest of the school during morning and afternoon prayer. We have been talking about how God helps us to grow and learn in our classroom. Lessons this month – Lesson 20 – God Gives Us Our Feelings Lesson 21 – Growing and Changing Lesson 22 – Valentine’s Day Lesson 24 – More About the Bible
Book Orders:Scholastic Is Back!!!! Purely Optional. I highly encourage reading to your child daily – so beneficial for developing pre-reading skills and the love of books. Order forms will come home monthly. All orders must be submitted online. When orders are in, the books will be double bagged and sent home. Scholastic has informed us that they are back up and running and on time with shipping orders to schools. I am sending home Scholastic books order flyers for February this week. The due date for these book orders is Sunday Feb.13, 2022 by midnight. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding book orders.
Here are a few reminders: ** Please use the car line for drop off if possible. You may park your car in the parking lot, if necessary, please walk to the courtyard using the sidewalk/crosswalks. **
**Please check your child’s folder when it comes home each day, there may be items in the “Return to School” side that need attention and then sent back to school.
**Please have girls wear shorts/leggings under their dresses.
**Remember that Friday is an enrichment day, there will not be any new material presented on Fridays due to some students not attending on Fridays**
Dates to Remember: February 9, 2022 – Pajama Day/Movie/Jet’s Pizza Fundraiser* February 14, 2022 – Classroom Valentine Celebration February 16, 2022 – Decades Dress Day February 18 – 22 – NO SCHOOL/Mid-Winter Break March 2, 2022 – Ash Wednesday March 5, 2022 – Star Auction *School wide events, TCBY and Jets - let them know you are from Star when ordering and a portion of your payment will be donated to Star.
Special Note/Calendar Change: Please note that our preschool/young fives classes will not have school on Friday June 3, 2022. This day is Field Day for grades K-8, it is a late start day. Our early childhood staff is needed to work Field Day again this year due to our reduced parent volunteers (Covid). Special Class Schedule: Monday – Gym (9:00 am) Tuesday – Art (9:00 am) Wednesday – Music (9:00 am) Thursday – Library (9:00 am) Friday – Computers (9:00 am)
February Birthdays: Olivia – 24 (1/2 Birthday)
Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns Warmest Regards, Mrs. Cheryl Kanka Four-Year-Old Preschool Teacher Our Lady Star if the Sea