Week 15

Happy holidays everyone! We have had a very busy week here at school with visitors and special activies nearly every day! On Monday, we were treated to a nativity play by our friends from Bishop Kearney Highschool. Students got to hear the famous Christmas story told by students dressed as animals, and even had the chance to mingle and meet them when the show was over! We would like to thank all of our friends from Bishop Keaney for their wonderful annual performance here at Holy Childhood. It gets better with every year!

Wednesday, our afternoon was spent participating in a sing-along caroling event held in the school gymnasium. Students sang Christmas carols (and one Hanukkah tune) with the school's teachers and got into the holiday spirit.

Thursday the Dansville Jazz Band came to play for us, and even gave students the opportunity to play with the band! Students from Mrs. P.'s class were invited to go up on stage and play instruments alongside members of the band, giving them the chance to showcase some of the skills and rhythms they have learned in music class this year. The latter half of the day was spent by our other guests, the RH Singers, who treated us to an afternoon of song and Christmas cheer. We would like to extend our gratitude to both the Dansville Jazz Band and the RH Singers for their wonderful visits and generosity. Happy holidays to you all!

And of course, Friday was dedicated to the School of the Holy Childhood's annual Christmas party, a day-long event filled with music, food and fun! Students from each classroom met around the school circle to greet a parade of firefighters, as well as Santa, Mrs. Claus and Rudolph! Everyone then moved to the cafeteria to receive gifts from Santa, and were treated to lunch with the Henrietta Fire Department's firefighters.

Happy holidays everyone! See you next year!



Weeks 13 and 14

The past two weeks Mrs. P.'s class continued learning about this month's country and sport, Russia and gymnastics, by adding five new sight words to our ever-growing list: Russia, gymnastics, gymnast, stretch and balance. Since the start of the year, students have added thirty sight words to their vocabulary, and have done a fantastic job both recognizing and identifying what they mean. Teachers have been amazed by the progress our classroom Olympians have made, and encourage everyone to keep up the good work!

In physical education students continued their gymnastics unit, getting the opportunity to try out the very exercises they have been learning in the classroom in the gym! This week students had another try at the balance beam, and even got to try jumping from the vault on to a mat! In health class we began discussing the importance of feelings. We now know how to acknowledge them in ourselves and be mindful of them in others.

In SPOT group, Mrs. P.'s class made booklets about Russia, learning about various aspects of Russian culture to compare and contrast it with our own. We learned that Russian children, unlike ourselves, win medals after the 9th grade which advance them to either secondary or vocational schools. We also learned that instead of using the name "Santa," Russian children call Santa Clause "Father Frost." However, we also learned that Russian children have a lot in common with us. They attend school at the same time we do, enjoy the same types of activities and games, and go through similar seasons. To learn more, check out the website we looked at in SPOT group:

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212302/russia.html

In art class students completed projects we've been working on for our families for the holiday. We can't give you TOO much information, but can tell you to look forward to a special surprise that's been made by the students themselves!

Next week we begin our countdown to the holiday! With only one week of school remaining, we hope that everyone continues to keep up the hard work before a much deserved vacation. Please remember to wear your holiday colors to school as we have plenty of fun planned for the week ahead. Happy holidays everyone!

Roc the Day

Thursday December 8 is Roc the Day, Rochester's first community-wide day of giving to benefit the city's more than 600 not-for-profit organizations. The School of the Holy Childhood is asking for your donations on this day to help us continue to provide quality education, training and services to children and adults with developmental disabilities. Here is how YOU can do your part:

1. Go to http://www.roctheday.org/
2. Choose School of the Holy Childhood
3. Give with a simple, one-time online donation

Please help us out on this great day of giving! The school will receive an additional $1300 grant if we reach 50 donors, so lets Roc the Day, Holy Childhood!

Week 12

At the close of Week 12, we find ourselves in the festive month of December! Tis' the season for holiday sharing, gift giving and for those of us here at Holy Childhood, the Annual Holiday Party hosted by the Henrietta Fire Department on Friday, December 23, 2011. That Friday the entire school will be treated to lunch from the town's firefighters and gifts from Santa. Though we would love to have families and friends here at school to help us celebrate, we are unable to invite visitors due to the number of guests we will already have present and wish all of you a happy holiday at home!

With the start of a new month, Mrs. P.'s class was busy wrapping up its lessons on Canada. In SPOT group this week, students prepared waffles with Canadian maple syrup, getting a taste of what our Northern neighbors enjoy year-round. Students had the opportunity to work as a team to measure and combine ingredients, resulting in a very tasty reward! Stay tuned to see what country, sport and athlete Mrs. P.'s class will learn about this month!

Mrs. P.'s class also began a new unit in Physical Education: gymnastics! This week our classroom Olympians learned about the balance beam, and each student got the chance to walk on one with teacher assistance.

In art class, students began decorating holiday ornaments for both school and home. Students worked with various different materials- paint, tissue paper, and crayons- to create what are turning out to be beautiful hand-crafted ornaments!

Again, we wish you a happy holiday season, and look forward to a few weeks of hard work before a much deserved vacation! Please be reminded that the School of the Holy Childhood will be closed for the holidays beginning Monday, December 26, 2011 and will reopen on Monday, January 2, 2012.