Crocker Highlands Elementary School

Hello Families,

I have very exciting news to report from the school auction.  We raised all the money we need to build a special edible garden right outside our classroom!  We have been working for several weeks to demolish the old structures and we have another work day this Saturday, March 13, from 9 until the job is done but not later than 2.  If you can come out for any portion, we could use the hands.  We hope that students will be planting vegetables as early as mid April!

Those of you who could not attend the auction, I have your child’s pillow in the classroom.  You can write a check to the Crocker Highlands PTA or send $25 cash with your child to buy the pillow.

Plan ahead:  we have minimum days on Wednesdays and we are adding one on Thursday, March 18 so that teachers can complete report cards.

Several of our classmates are performing in the play Sound of Music.  I’d like to send out the day and time of performance so that friends can attend and applaud!  Would anyone who has this information send it to me?

I am sending home the words to the 4 songs we sing in the classroom, the four songs I know how to play on the guitar (remember “Hello to _____, so glad to see you,” on the first day of school?!).  I told the kids that they have to sing them to you!  The phonograms we’ve learned have been highlighted so you can ask about those, too.

I asked the students to write down their new learning goals.  We’ll be polishing those and you’ll get a copy so that you can support whatever goal your child has selected.

We’re getting to the end of our “wool unit.”  We explored cotton last week and we will be weaving with ribbons this week. I’m thinking of offering to teach any interested student to knit as a finale!

Thanks to one of our room 8 parents, Laura Yee, mother of Will, we are kicking off Earth Week a little early.  She has arranged for Crocker to participate in a program called Cool the Earth.  We are having an assembly this week (I think I am Mother Bear).  The website is cooltheearth.org if you are interested in getting a sense of what the program is all about.  Basically, the theme is climate change and the goal is to inspire this new generation to take actions, big or small.  Crocker, as a school, is implementing several of the actions already, like no waste lunches, low flow toilets, edible garden, composting, and recycling.  Thank you, Laura!  

Have a good week–

Hello Families,

We had a terrific time at the SemiFreddi Bakery last week.  I’m sure you got to sample part of the gigantic goodie bag your child brought home!  In celebration, we tried our hand at baking cinnamon buns last week.  The kids thought they were quite good.  Those students who want to try to bake them at home might bring home the recipe tomorrow.

The students voted to create an ocean habitat as a culmination of our unit on habitats/living things.  Duncan Moran’s father is going to put together a presentation for us before we start working on our class diorama.  Several of the students mentioned that they have “ocean books” at home.  I would love them to bring these books to class!  Do any of you have ocean expertise?!  Field trip ideas?

I am extremely excited about the progress to create our courtyard edible garden.  I have been meeting with 2 parents for almost a year now to get things off the ground.  At a previous school I built the garden with my first graders and loved every minute of integrating the outdoor and indoor classrooms.  We are so lucky to have one of our 3rd grade parents, Tyrone Perry, leading us in this project.  We have had one work day so far and I wanted to pass on the next work dates in the event that you’d be able to come out and lend a hand.  We are scheduled to work on Saturday, March 13 and Saturday, March 27.  The times are from 9 am to when we finish that day’s task.  We could use you as little or as much as you can spare.  No garden experience needed!  So far, we have weeded, removed benches, and planted the front section.  We have hired help to remove the rotting railroad ties and bad soil–this will be finished next weekend.  We will be installing new vegetable beds and perennials.  If you are as excited about this as I am, raising the necessary money is a “Pops” item at next weekend’s auction.  Hope to see you there!

Speaking of the auction, each student sewed a beautiful pillow which will be available at the auction for $25.  If you are not attending the auction, you can buy the pillow from me directly.  A BIG thank you to all the adults who helped me with this amazing project.  I have always wanted to sew with students and you made one of my dreams come true!

March Book Orders–I’ll send home the catalogs tomorrow,  The deadline for online ordering will be March 10.

We had so much fun with Officer Fred last week, Tyra’s dad.  We were instructed to learn our address and phone number, we got to sit in a police car (hopefully the only time for the kids!), and we were treated to a canine officer who played hide and seek in our classroom.  Thank you Officer Fred!

Kristin

Dear Families,

 Because the week is half over, I will write a newsletter for this week and next.

 ***An important change is that our field trip to Semifreddi Bakery has been rescheduled for the day before previously planned.  Now we are visiting the plant on Monday, 2/22, from 12:00-3:00.

 Another timely message is that tomorrow is our library day so return those Crocker books if you have them!

 Two fun assemblies this week.  Tomorrow, Chinese Lion Dancers and Friday, Black History Celebration with yours truly.  Yes, in absentia, I was nominated to be the lead singer of the Chantels.  With some other silly adults I will lip sync to “Maybe” in front of the student body…keeps me grounded!

 We’re stuffing our pillows tomorrow.  Are any of you capable of hand sewing the small open enclosures together to finish them off?  Send me an email!

 Next week we have our bread field trip as well as a visit from Tyra’s father, one of the City’s finest.  He will talk to us about his life as a police officer!

 We’re making great progress moving through the phonograms for spelling and reading and in reading groups the students are just devouring those stories!  In math, we’re about to launch into an addition and subtraction phase where students devise strategies and practice these strategies to work with numbers to 20 instead of 10.  In science, I’m thinking through a way for all of us to create one beautiful habitat diorama after the students take a vote on which of the many habitats to choose.  This will be another way to collect data, tally the data, and graph the results.

That’s it–have a good one!

Hello Families,

This is a big week.  We touch upon President’s Day, Valentine’s Day, and the 100th Day of school.  Chinese New Year begins on February 14th and we host a special guest on Friday for the African American Read-In, part of Black History Month.  Very fun, special, and important stuff!  We are making great progress sewing our pillows for the auction on March 6 (many thanks to those who have been able to come in.).  Many of the kids are loving the hand-sewing–an idea for something to do with idle little hands at home!

****Homework this week*****

On Friday we will be exchanging Valentines.  Your child’s homework this week is to complete a Valentine for each student (homemade or store bought) and to design a container to hold the Valentines he or she receives.  In other words, a bag or box.  The bag or box can be simple or ornate–whatever works for your life this week  On Friday, for math, we sort these containers and describe their attributes.  Very fun!

A big thank you to Mike Hoffman, Marina’s father, for inviting us last Friday to a nearby house he is remodeling.  We got to see the “innards” of a house before they are all covered up.  The kids loved it and we made many connections to how our bodies work, we learned new vocabulary, we discussed going into “the trades” when we grow up, and we compared Mike’s blueprints to our drawings of our terrariums.  I love first grade!

That’s it–just a last reminder that we are off from school next Monday for President’s Day.  Have a good one,

Kristin

Hello Families,

This week is straight forward, although short.  Yesterday, the teachers learned how to structure recess to be healthier, more inclusive, and more fun for all.  It will take a little time for us to implement some of the strategies but the information was inspiring.

The only real highlights are:  using last week’s homemade dough to make pizzas on Thursday, examining up close and personal our terrarium friends the pill bugs and earthworms, and viewing more of the amazing Planet Earth series to further our understanding of habitats.  Other than this, regular stuff!

We may be literally walking across the street at the end of the week or early next week to get a personal tour of a house under construction.  Marina’s father can show us what a house looks like inside without the sheet rock installed.  We’ll see everything exposed.  For this, I will send home a “walking permission slip” this week.  

February book orders can be done online.  Order forms will go home tomorrow.  The computer deadline is February 12.

Have a good week!

Hello Families,

In your child’s folder there are two important papers.  One is the permission slip for our next field trip and the other is a list of the children’s names.  For Valentine’s Day I’m asking that each student make or buy a card for the others in the class.  This can be anything you want.  I always underestimate how much the students at this age look forward to these (junky) little Valentine cards!  They are joyful on the day of the party and read each one!

This week is pretty normal except that we are making pizza dough instead of bread.  Since I’ve never done this with a class before, I predict that we will make the dough on Thursday and  flavor the pies on Friday.  Here goes nothing!

Data and graphing in math continue this week.  The kids are doing some interesting work.  We break sentences down into their parts in writing.  We’re taking a break from learning new phonograms.  We will get out  our earth worms and pill bugs to do some serious observation in science.

Hopefully, we can go outside a little more…

Lastly, we will be sewing our pillows next week, Tuesday through Friday, from 9-10 am.  Calling any available hands to prevent too many bloody fingers!  Helping in class would involve sitting with a budding hand-sewer, keeping him or her on track.

Have a good week,

Kristin