February Newsletter 2015

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 13^th.

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. 6^th:    NO CLASS!!!

Our staff members are going to an Early Childhood Conference  (make up day will be a PD day, Friday March 27^th).

·         Wednesday, Feb. 11^th 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. 13^th: Valentines friendship activities

·         February 16^th – 20^th :  February Break / No School

Frau Hecker will be filling in for Frau Lorenz on Feb. 12^th, 24^th, 26^th.

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