Good Afternoon,
Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a joyous, reflective, and rewarding holiday/break. I always finding it rewarding to catch up with friends, family, and to take a little time to appreciate my surroundings.
We have eased back into the week and the kids benefitted from a 4 day week with a winter sports day mixed in. Although the winter sports program does effect some academic realms, it does offer many positives that just can't be emulated in the classroom setting. You can see the excitement and joy in many of the kids eyes as they get ready on Wednesday afternoons. We are truly lucky, as a community, that our kids have access to these opportunities.
This week, the students have been working on responding to their pen pal letters. Each child should have brought home a letter they received form their pen pal. I took time to teach the children how to respond to questions their pen pals asked and to ask new questions to gain more information about their pen pal.
We will be headed to Burlington on Friday, January 13th. This year's Flynn trip will have us headed to Leddy Park to see La Patin Libre. The secription of the show goes like this, "You’ve never seen ice skating like this! Founded by professional figure skaters who loved the ice but hated the industry’s kitsch and sparkles, Canada’s Le Patin Libre have created something entirely new. Blending modern dance, hip-hop, breakdance, stepping, and of course the jumps, spins, and heart-stopping speed of professional skating, these dancer/skaters absolutely take your breath away! The attitude and energy of street dance combine with the soul and structure of contemporary dance, and the tools and panache of an Olympic sport. We don’t just mean it literally when we say this is one of the coolest shows we’ve ever seen!" Below is a clip from one of their performances in Montreal.
Over the break, a friend of mine sent me a video regarding social media and kids/adults. I found it very interesting and it certainly made me think about my own kids and my responsibilities as a parent (in regards to educating and monitoring). Although your children aren;t at the age where social media is a constant for them, I thought you might find it interesting.
NOTES:
*Please, please send your child's homework bag back each day. I had 5 students without it today and it made reading group work tricky. I really appreciate your help with this.
*We will pretty much go outside for recess all winter long. Please make sure your child is dressed for recess success. A coat, hat gloves, and boots allow your child to be warm and for me to not judge you (just kidding but wanted to see if anyone was reading this far down the post). However, we will be outside most of the winter during recess time.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Peace,
Tommy
