February 5th Newsletter

Posted on by maryandana

Ana and Mary’s Newsletter – February 5, 2016

It’s the little things citizens do. That’s what will make the difference. My little thing is planting trees. Wangari Maathai

 

Classroom Celebrations

Little seedlings flourished under the care of thousands of women who worked together in what became known as the Greenbelt Movement. Our study of Wangari Maathai culminated this week as we came to understand that even something as simple as planting trees can result in adversity. Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her contribution to “sustainable development, democracy and peace.” We will continue with our study of Africa in the coming weeks as we explore traditional African tales, music, food, and wildlife on this beautiful continent.

 

Looking Ahead

  • Mon., Feb. 8 – Math Night, 5:15-6:15 pm
  • Thurs., Feb. 11 – Valentine’s Day Celebration
  • Fri., Feb. 12 – Mon., Feb. 15 – President’s Day Weekend – No School
  • Wed., Feb 24 – Early Release 1:00 pm

 

Math Night – Mon. Feb. 8, 5:15-6:15pm – During Math Night, students will teach you math games we play to practice math skills. In the second half of the evening, we will share with you how we teach mathematical concepts and strategies, why we teach them in that particular way, and how you can support your child.

Portfolios – Over the next months students (“Moons” and “Suns”) will begin work on their portfolios. If your child is a “Moon” (2nd grade) or new to our program, please send a 2” binder with a clear cover pocket and 50 plastic sleeves to school by Mon., Feb 16th.

Valentine’s Day – We will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Thursday, Feb. 11th. Please have your child bring in 42 Valentine cards to share with classmates. Your child should sign each of the cards but does not need to address cards to individual students. If you would like to bring a snack for students to share you may do so. We have a sign-up sheet outside our classroom – as always healthy snacks are encouraged. We won’t need too much in the way of snacks since the children are always very happy to snack on the treats that find their way into the Valentine bags.

Community Garden – With spring on the horizon (yes, it will come again) we are reminded how fortunate we are to have our school garden as an outdoor learning space thanks to our parent community. Please consider getting involved…

Calling all gardeners and garden enthusiasts! We are planning our first garden workday for Saturday, February 27th (weather permitting) to ready the hoop house for our cool season vegetables. Mark your calendars for a fun day outside with the JCOS community, planting veggies for the cafeteria this spring. Lunch is provided. Students: this counts towards community service!

We would LOVE to have new members join us for planning the future of the garden. Next meeting on Wednesday, February 10th at 5:00 PM in Chris’ room. Contact Andrew if you have questions:

mountaindreaminaj@yahoo.com. No gardening experience necessary!

Jump Rope & Hoops for Heart – Thank you so much for participating in this year’s jump rope & hoops for heart event! We had lots of fun jumping and shooting hoops in memory and honor of all those we know and love who live with and/or who have died from heart disease and stroke. This year, we raised $3,900, which is about $1,500 more than we normally raise each year. Thank you for being a part of this very worthy cause!

Peace,

Ana and Mary

 

 

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