Sunday, November 26, 2017

November 26th, 2017

Our Week in PreK:

We had a wonderful, short but busy week in the PreK classroom!  The students were excited to finish up work on their "city" project in the pretend play area, by adding "CAC" school and including self-portrait dolls to populate the city.  We continued discussions about feelings, including talking about things we are thankful for and how to make others and ourselves feel nice by giving compliments.  Of course, Kids' Day on Wednesday was very exciting and fun!

The children worked hard on their city project and were excited to finish up.  One final touch was adding our school, since it is a major defining part of our community identity.  Students worked hard to observe the school and recreate it, identifying details such as the color ("beige") and the number of windows.  We compared it to the school from outside and saw what was missing, then added plants.  The students have enjoyed playing in the city this week and especially love using the bridge as a ramp for cars and other objects that can roll.  Next week we look forward to investigating more objects that roll including balls!




Here are some more photos from our week together:

Collaborative painting at the easel: dinosaur on a rollercoaster.

Exploring some new materials in the block area, to create a campfire and roast marshmallows.

The students set up the art table with various materials independently during choice time, then created a card for Mr. Green in anticipation of Kids' Day.  Great to see our core values, responsibility and compassion, in action!

A giraffe, lion, and zebra house.

Next Week:

We will elaborate on student interest in ramps to explore our new study topic, "Balls, Wheels, and Movement."  The children will continue with counting concepts up to ten.  We will also use multisensory activities to explore the letter N.   

Circle Solutions:

Next week we will focus on community building activities and friendship.

After Care:

The students will play some outdoor games and enjoy a baking activity!

Reminders:

Please be sure to pack your child's library books and bag each Sunday.  Thank you!

Please take a moment to ensure that your child has a seasonally appropriate change of clothes at school.  If possible, please leave a full change of clothes including underwear, socks, and shoes at school in case of water spill or other "clothing emergency."  Thanks!

Upcoming Events:

Parent Teacher Conferences are November 27th.  There is no school for students on this day, but there will be care available for your child during the conference time.  Please note that the conference is for parents and teachers only, so that we can freely discuss your child's development and growth during the first trimester of school.  It is best if you plan for some time before the conference for your child to transition to the playground play session and say goodbye.  Thank you!

Tuesday, November 28th is a house event.  Please be sure that your child wears his or her new house shirt!  If you arrive after 7:50, please meet us on the field and help your child join his or her house team.  Your child's fifth grade buddy will be in the group, as well as other PreK students. Thank you!

We have no school on Thursday, November 30th in celebration of the Prophet's Birthday Holiday.

On Monday, November 4th, we have an early release day at 11:30. 

Thank you to those who responded to the poll about rescheduling our parent community meeting.  Six parents responded, and the majority of votes were to avoid rescheduling last week's meeting and wait to meet until our next scheduled meeting.  Looking forward to a great chat in January!

Parents' Corner:

At school, we focus on supporting students in making good choices and learning from mistakes.  Click here to learn about using solutions to solve problems rather than consequences and how it could be helpful in your home.


Monday, November 20, 2017

Tonight's Community Meeting Rescheduled

Parents, I have just heard from our room parent that most of you have requested that our meeting this evening be rescheduled.

Because the goal of our meetings is community collaboration and communication, I appreciate the fact that you all have let me know that you will not be able to attend, so that we can reschedule at a time that we can all meet and have a meaningful conversation.

I will send out a google form shortly to suggest make-up dates for our community meeting within the next three weeks and let you know what the majority vote is.

Thank you!
Trillian Clifford

Sunday, November 19, 2017

November 19th, 2017

Our Week in PreK:
We had a great week together in the classroom working on a collaborative project to culminate our study of buildings and structures, talking about numbers through ten, and spending time with our buddies, too!

This week the children worked to combine their independently built structures into a "city" in the block area.  This installation of student work has been added to for over a week, and now includes a school, a library, an airport, homes, roads, bridges, and more.  The students are thoughtful in where they place their structures and what they build to add to the city.






The children had the chance to meet with their buddies to talk about gratitude and what they are thankful for.  They worked together to create a drawing which includes some of the things they are grateful for in their lives, such as "family," "toys," "food."






The children have been engaged in a lot of emergent literacy in the classroom.  Here are some examples of student writing from the dramatic play and block areas.  These are great examples of how children learn these important literacy skills naturally through play. In the PreK class, writing is always meaningful and fun!

Block area writing.

"Record keeping" in the toy shop.

Signs in our small city including "STOP"


Letter blocks provide the opportunity to build words, literally!

Here are some more photos from our week together:

Happy birthday, girls!

Children used an illustration from a book as a "plan" for a block building.




The students who had our classroom job, "photographer," got some great candid pictures this week!

Next Week:
We have a short week next week.  We will begin our new unit of inquiry, into balls and motion.  The students will continue investigations into numbers up to ten, including counting objects in different configurations. The class is also really looking forward to Kids' Day on Wednesday!

Circle Solutions: 
The children will continue to talk about character strengths this week.

After-Care:
This week we will talk about the idea of thankfulness, and work on some simple projects to focus on the idea of gratitude.

Reminders:
Toys from Home (repeat announcement)
So many children are eager to make connections with friends by sharing their toys from home.  However, we are finding that these toys are increasingly becoming a distraction from the carefully chosen materials and activities in the PreK classroom, rather than a way for students to create relationships with each other.  Toys from home are not encouraged as they interfere with students' abilities to engage with learning tasks throughout the day.  We appreciate your help in this request that supports all student learning.  If, for some reason, a toy must come to school, we ask that it be small enough to fit in your child's backpack.  If it is challenging or distracting for your child to keep it there, a teacher will hold on to it for safekeeping until the end of the day.  Please know that even when toys are in backpacks or with the teacher, most children at this age will be focused on their special toys from home and will have a hard time focusing on their peers and on our learning goals for the day.

Please note that any child who has a transitional object, such as a special stuffed animal, should not be discouraged from bringing this to school when needed.  This is different from bringing a toy from home to play with or show friends as it supports the child's emotional wellness during transition times. Please let the teachers know about this need if you have not done so already.

Upcoming Events: 
Kid's Day
This year's Kids' Day will be held on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017 from 8:00am to 11:30am. Students will then be dismissed at 11:30am for a long Thanksgiving weekend. This is a half day for CAC and Pre K-5 will be participating at the same time. For new parents to the school, Kids’ Day is a fun-filled day in which they can show off their house spirit, participate in a wide variety of physical activities, and enjoy each other!
Thank you, Phil Greene pgreene@cacegypt.org & Mark Mayfield mmayfield@cacegypt.org

On Kids' Day, the students will participate all morning in fun outdoor activities.  The PreK class will be in two groups, combined with KG students, and traveling with PreK and KG teachers and aides.  We will have a delicious snack provided by the PTO.  Any PreK student who gets tired early will have the option to come back to the classroom for some play or rest time. 

For Kids' Day, please pack:
a LABELED water bottle
a LABELED change of clothes (there are some water games and your child may get wet)
a LABELED extra snack in a baggie (not tupperware, if possible)

The class will be traveling all morning, and it is very easy for students to misplace their things.  Labeling EVERYTHING with your child's name and class code (PreK) helps!!  We do our best to keep track of sweaters, water bottles, and snack containers, but if your child's name is not on it and he or she puts it down in an unexpected place while we are not looking, it is very hard for us to find it before the end of the day. Having lightweight items for snack and water helps as well, because adults will be carrying the students' containers in a basket all together from station to station. Thanks for your support in this.

Kids' Day is an early release day and the students will be dismissed at 11:30.  We will not have lunch this day due to Kids' Day activities.

Thursday, November 23rd we will have no school in observation of the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Monday, November 27th.  There is no school for students on this day, although there will be childcare available for your child during his or her conference time (please note, the conferences are for parents and teachers only to discuss your child's growth and progress).  Please sign up for a conference if you have not already done so!

Math Workshop for Parents
Interested in learning more about the math models used at school? November 20, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm is a K-5 Workshop for parents where we will explore number bonds and the area model; math models we use to teach for understanding. We will all meet in the first floor common room, then K-2 parents will move next door.
We hope you can join us!

Student Council students will be  be released from classes at 11:50 next Monday, Nov 20 for the general Services Lunch. The meeting point will be under the big tree on the ES lawn. Remind kids to wear their red shirts.  Click here for list of students

PreK Community Meeting

Our next Community Meeting is Monday, November 20th at 5:00-5:30.  Bring a pot-luck snack to share, and enjoy some conversation about your children's development both inside and outside of the classroom.  Suggested main topics for this meeting include emotional development and how it is discussed in the classroom, so it will be a great conversation with a lot of opportunities for you to share your own experience and ideas. See you there!

Parents' Corner:
At CAC, one of our core values is integrity.  Although we haven't focused on this value as part of our monthly topics yet, we discuss honesty and doing the right thing in the classroom regularly.  Have you ever experienced your child bending the truth to avoid getting "in trouble" or to get something he or she wants?  Please read this article for some tips on encouraging honesty and to learn more about What to do when you catch your child telling a lie.

Sunday, November 12, 2017

November 12th, 2017

Our Week in PreK:
The students were engaged and excited with so many projects this week. A classroom toyshop gave the opportunity to practice meaningful writing and numeracy skills.  The students worked in small groups on their individual constructions at the workshop.  They also had some fun extra literacy integration with our visiting author, Ken Nesbitt.

The PreK class has continued their work on buildings using real wood and tools at the classroom workshop.  They reviewed their plans and projects and decided on next steps based on their work.  This week, they added paint and more details to their structures during small group time.


The children had opportunities to engage with numbers up to eight in different configurations, including linear, scattered, and circular.  They matched groups of objects to their numerals.



Here are some more photos from our week together:


The classroom toyshop / restaurant continues to open for business every day. 

The ES "morning music" inspired an exercise group upon arrival one day.

A "Santa Claus" game has become very popular in which most of the class pretends to sleep while one or two others brings gifts to everyone.  

Visiting author Ken Nesbitt made us all laugh with his poetry!

Next Week:
The children will look into combining their structures into a city or community during group time, and discuss what needs that community might have.  Roads? Maps? We'll see!

The children will continue their exploration of numbers through eight, including composing and decomposing numbers, counting "the math way" from left to right on their fingers, and accurately counting objects in various configurations such as arrays.

We will talk about the letter R, introducing the idea of diagonal lines in letters, and use multisensory activities to explore writing it: play dough, sand writing, blocks, air tracing, and more.

After-Care:  
Last week the children talked about water animals, like creatures that live in the sea.  They will continue this exploration next week because they enjoyed it so much!

Circle Solutions: 
Last week we discussed compassion.  Here is a video from small group work during circle. The students were talking about how to help a bear who felt frightened because maybe he had seen a scary picture or heard a scary story.  After Halloween, this topic is on many children's minds!


Next week we will talk about student strengths and character strengths.  

Reminders:
Please be sure to pack your child's library bag and books each Sunday.  If any library books are missing or do not make it home, send an email to tclifford@cacegypt.org.  Even though we discourage them from taking out their library books out until they get home, they sometimes manage to take a book from their cubby and read it.  When reading time is over, they are very clear about their clean-up habits: all books belong on the bookshelf!  It is easy for the PreK students to forget that library books are different and belong in their cubbies. We will double-check for any library books that may have gone missing here in the classroom first, as it is likely that they are here.

Upcoming Events:
Kid's Day
This year's Kids' Day will be held on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017 from 8:00am to 11:30am. Students will then be dismissed at 11:30am for a long Thanksgiving weekend. This is a half day for CAC and Pre K-5 will be participating at the same time. For new parents to the school, Kids’ Day is a fun-filled day in which they can show off their house spirit, participate in a wide variety of physical activities, and enjoy each other!
The Elementary PE Department needs parent volunteers to help with the games and activities. You will be partnered up with an Elementary Teacher and teacher aide to help run an activity.  If you could volunteer on that day, please fill in the (google form) by Thursday, November 16th at the latest.  Mr. Greene will contact you via e-mail with your assignment by Monday, November 20th. Please mark your calendars for the date and time NOW!
Thank you, Phil Greene pgreene@cacegypt.org & Mark Mayfield mmayfield@cacegypt.org

Book byKevin Del Aguila (1) (3).jpg                
ES PRODUCTION IS HERE!

This coming Thursday, November 16th at 5:30 is the first performance for this year’s ES Production, Madagascar Jr. There are also 2 performances on Friday, November 17th, 1pm and 3:30pm. Tickets are on sale after school, at the Front Gate. They are 50le each. T-shirts are also on sale, at the Front Gate,  for 100le each. We hope to see you all there, as 115 ES performers take you on a musical adventure to Madagascar!
The ES Production Team




General Services Staff Appreciation Lunch
Monday, November 20, 2017
Every year the Elementary, Middle School, and High School Student Councils give thanks to the amazing general services staff at our school by hosting a special lunch. This staff includes: security guards, janitors, gardeners, drivers, bus monitors ,car washers, painters, carpenters, and maintenance.  The hard work they do every day really makes our school a better place.
We are grateful to all the general services staff and will be having an appreciation lunch for them.
Date: Monday, November 20, 2017
Location: Middle School Field
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

We can’t do this alone, we need your help!  We are requesting that all students and families show their appreciation for our general service staff by donating the following:

  • PreK & KG  : Dessert
  • 1 & 2: Pasta Dish/Rice or Rice Dish/Bread
  • 3 - 5: Meat Dishes
  • Grade 6: Meat Dishes
  • Grade 7: Meat Dishes
  • Grade 8: Vegetables/Side Dish/Salad
  • Grade 9-12: Goodie Bags (more information will be sent out from your High School Student Council)
Please bring food donations in a disposable container. Students & parents can drop off their dishes the morning of November 20 in the MS/HS Faculty Lounge. Those who would like to volunteer during the day, please fill in this link. We thank you for your continued support and for giving thanks to all of those who help make CAC the place to be! ES/MS/HS Student Leadership Teams

PreK Community Meeting
Our next Community Meeting is Monday, November 20th at 5:00-5:30.  Bring a pot-luck snack to share, and enjoy some conversation about your children's development both inside and outside of the classroom.  Suggested main topics for this meeting include emotional development and how it is discussed in the classroom, so it will be a great conversation with a lot of opportunities for you to share your own experience and ideas. See you there!

Parents' Corner: 
As early childhood educators, we find your child's drawings and pre-writing at all stages fascinating. It provides so much insight into their development, on many levels.  Please click here to read a recent article you may find interesting about this topic!

Sunday, November 5, 2017

November 5th, 2017

Our Week in PreK:
The students were interested and engaged in a new, independent building project!  With the agency to choose and manipulate real building materials at the classroom workshop, the PreK students were very excited to create all types of structures.  During small group time, they planned their work and then began their creation using wood, glue, clothespins, buttons, and more.  They will continue these building projects by painting them, then reflecting on them and considering next steps.



"Puppy House"


"Gingerbread House"


"Playground for kids"


"House"

The children continued learning about numbers one through ten. With the idea to open a classroom "toy shop," we had the opportunity to create a simple coin system where children could manipulate small numbers to purchase items.  The students worked to write their representations of the numbers 1, 2, 5, and 6 (either numerals, lines, or dots), on coins.  They then used them in the toy shop to buy dinosaurs, toys, and food items.



Here are some more photos from our week together:

Manipulating letters in the sensory bin.

A tall structure!

A house for a puppy.

Quiet reading time.

Next Week:
We are looking forward to continuing our work on each student's independent structure plans during small group time.  The children will learn about tally marks, another way to represent numbers one through ten.  With our "super-power" of writing, we will practice the letter B.

Circle Solutions:
This week, we will talk about our monthly core value of compassion.  Compassion means being kind to others and making them feel good, something all of our PreK students are wonderful at!  We are developing the language to talk about these feelings and deeds during circle time through games, partner chats, and books.

After-Care:
This week the children will be talking about creatures that live in the ocean.  They will have some fun sensory activities including water play (inside the classroom) and fingerpaint.

Reminders:
Please be sure to bring your library books and bag each Sunday.  Thank you!

With the change of weather, some children may need an update to their classroom clothing supply.  Please check in at school when possible to ensure that your child has seasonally appropriate clothing in case of a water spill or other "clothing emergency."  Parents, if your child has outgrown any shoes recently we would very much appreciate having a donation of PreK-sized shoes to the classroom for anyone to wear when their shoes become wet at school.  Thank you!

Upcoming Events:
This week we have a visiting author, Ken Nesbitt, coming to our school!  We have a special session with him in the library on November 7th.  We know the children will love hearing some poetry!  We also have an Elementary School assembly on Thursday, November 9th with Ken Nesbitt. As we do on any other assembly day, please be sure to meet us in the classroom before 7:50 or in the ES Hall if you arrive afterwards.  The assembly will begin at 7:55 promptly.

Parents' Corner:
You have probably heard this message before from the classroom teacher: there is a lot of information about children available, but you are the expert on your child!  Each child is individual and for that reason, our responses to each child should be different.  Click here to read a little more about this topic, and within the article are some interesting links for further reading.