FEBRUARY
NEWSLETTER 2015
Dear
Parents,
I
hope you all enjoyed the unusual “heat wave” that we experienced last month. The
weather has taken us on real roller coaster ride this winter.
The
mild January temperatures allowed us to have a winter fun day with our grade
3/4 care partners. I am so touched to see how our children have developed a
real friendship with their big buddies.
The
children had a real blast with our dinosaur unit! They learned all about how
dinosaurs lived, how scientists think, they died out, and how they learn about
them from the bones. We did a lot of hands on activities with our children that
helped them to to grasp the complex concept of extinction, excavating and bones
turning into fossils. Even the gym turned into a “Jursassic Park” when we
turned of the lights, pretending that a meteorite hit the earth and all the
dust and lava was blocking the sunlight. Not only dinosaurs became extinct. We also
made chocolate chip cookies become extinct. Before we ate the cookies, our
little palaeontologists excavated them with toothpicks and dug out the
chocolate bones. Yummy science!
We
were laughing when we heard one of our little ‘palaeontologists’ leaving the
classroom that day and sing “Ich bin ein Dinosaurier” (I am a dinosaur) at the top
of his lungs.
Thank
you to all the parents who joined us for the field trip to the Museum of
Natural Sciences. A special Thank You goes to Mrs. Peterson who shared her
knowledge about dinosaurs with our T-Th class on the fieldtrip. I am sure,
seeing the giant dinosaur displays (and of course riding the yellow school bus)
was a roaring highlight for all of our students.
FEBRUARY THEME
February
will be another short month, as we will have one week of February break.
However, we have a lot of things on our to do list.
FASCHING
(Carnival) – German Holiday
We
will be celebrating Fasching this
month. Fasching is a traditional
German holiday season, often associated with festivals of the Christian church
(letting loose before Lent and fasting begins). However, it goes back to pagan
times, and was a way of driving out the spirits of winter and encouraging the
coming of spring and good crops. In Germany, at this time of the year, many
people in different areas of the country dress up in costumes and join floats
Fasching/Karneval parades that are happening all over the country.
The
most exciting part is the candy toss throughout the parade. You will see
hundreds of people on the sidewalks, shouting “Helau” or “Alarf” and trying to
catch Fasching candies.
There
will be a poster hanging in the hallway, with more information on Fasching.
FASCHING
PARTY: Wednesday, February 11th
We
will have a Fasching Party in our classroom. Children
are invited to wear a costume that day. Parents are welcome to join us for
the last 20 minutes and be part of the candy toss parade. I will order
traditional German “Krapfen” (doughnuts) for our Fasching Party and children
will not need a snack that day!
SOUND
One
way to scare the winter away is to make your own instrument, to play it and
sing as loud as you can. We will make our own instruments and explore different
sounds in the world around us.
VALENTINES:
Friday, February 13th
We
will talk about the importance of friendship and provide the children with
various Valentine activities on Friday, February 13th.
If
your child would like to give Valentine
cards as a sign of friendship, we ask you to send a card to every class member, to ensure that nobody
feels left out. You will find a list with our students’ names in your mailbox.
We
have a new student in our M-W-F a.m. class. Please welcome Oliver Bourassa!
Mark
your Calendar
·
Friday, Feb.
6th: NO CLASS!!!
Our staff members are going to an Early
Childhood Conference (make up day will be
a PD day, Friday March 27th).
·
Wednesday,
Feb. 11th FASCHING
PARTY
Ø Children are welcome to wear a costume.
Ø Parents, please join our candy toss parade for
the last 20 minutes of class time!
·
Friday, Feb. 13th:
Valentines
friendship activities
·
February 16th
– 20th : February Break / No
School
Frau
Hecker will be filling in for Frau Lorenz on Feb. 12th, 24th,
26th.
Thank
you to all the board members who were able to help out at our Open House! We
have only a few spots left in our 2015/16 classes! Your support is greatly
appreciated.
Happy
February!
Uli
Hecker, Ruth Skinner Larissa Lorenz, Samina Roohi
