Week 22

This week marked the School of the Holy Childhood's 100th Day of School! In honoring our 100 days of determination and hard work, each class completed a project reflecting what they have been working on these fast 100 days to present in the school lobby. Mrs. P.'s class made an incredible "100 Olympic sights" display, on which they hand-wrote 100 words and cut out 100 accompanying images that pertain to our classroom theme, the 2012 summer Olympics.  Mrs. P.'s Olympians did a  beautiful job. Great work everyone!

Tuesday we had a fabulous time at the Valentine's Day dance, and everyone looked great practicing the dance moves we have been working on in physical education! We did the chicken dance, the hokey pokey, and the cupid shuffle, and the entire school was getting down like pros! In the classroom, students shared Valentines, carnations and a beautiful cake brought in by one of Mrs. P.'s students. Thank you everyone for your participation in such a great day!

This week Mrs. P.'s class also got to have their hard-earned Marble in a Jar party! Over the the last few months, students have earned marbles for their hard work and good behavior, filling a huge jar to the top to earn a prize of their choice. Students this year chose to have a Valentine's party, and we spent the morning making heart-shaped jello jigglers before preparing grilled cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to enjoy while watching "Monsters Inc." It was a wonderful party, congratulations on earning it kids!

Another week, and another great round of reading the school's announcements and reciting the nation's pledge. Mrs. P.'s readers have all done a marvelous job, and this week's readers were no exception. Great job everyone!

We wish all of you a happy, relaxing holiday. See you all on Monday, February 27!

Week 21

What a busy week it's been here in Mrs. P.'s class! Students have been hard at work learning new sight words for the month of February, while learning all sorts of new fun facts about Australia and swimming. In SPOT group this week, students had the chance to simulate a real swimming contest in a race comprised of jump rope "swimming" lanes and roller scooters to demonstrate different "swimming strokes." Students raced three at a time down the school hallway, competing in the breast stroke, the back stroke, and free swim. As usual in our class of hardworking Olympians, everyone demonstrated a gold medal performance!

Continuuing our dance unit in physical education this week, students were in for a wonderful surprise: wii dance! Our phys. ed. instructors projected the wii on to the sliding wall, where students could follow the movements being portrayed and dance together as a team! We danced together to some of our favorite tunes, while getting plenty of good exercise and movement in our day. What a great time!

A new computer cart has been making its rounds around school! On Thursday and Friday mornings each week, students now have the opportunity to use Raz Kids on individual laptops to practice their literacy skills and comprehension. This wonderful project came into fruition through the work of some very dedicated teachers, and Mrs. P.'s class is glad to be a part of it!

 

Our new Olympic sight words are the following: Australia, swimming, pool, heart and breathe. Please practice these new words with your student using the flashcards they made here at school. Daily practice with these words at school and at home makes a significant impact on how efficiently students are able to recognize and comprehend them, so please keep up the great work!

Next week is Valentine's Day, so everyone here at Holy Childhood knows what that means: a dance here at school! Be sure to wear red and pink and don't forget your dancing shoes!

Another wonderful report from Mrs. P.'s class is that students have filled the marble jar and have earned their party! Next Friday we will be having a big fiesta thanks to the students hard work, great behavior and constant determination to learn! Congratulations Mr. P.'s Olympians!

Lastly, the teachers of Mrs. P.'s class would like to recognize the great work of this week's announcement readers! Great job kids!

Week 20

What an exciting Spirit Week we have shared here at the School of the Holy Childhood! This week we saw a number of silly hair-dos, mix-matched outfits and cozy pajamas grace the school's hallways, and Mrs. P.'s class was no exception. Thank you for all of your enthusiastic participation in this week's festivities. We had a blast!

This week was significant not only for Spirit Week, but also for kicking off a new month in Mrs. P.'s class and a new country and sport of concentration for this year's Olympic theme. This month we will be learning about Australia and swimming. In SPOT group this week we were introduced to our "mates" from "The Land Down Under," learning about some of Australia's most famous customs and sayings. We learned that Australian culture is much like our own, as they speak English there, share several of our favorite hobbies and eat similar foods. We also learned that some of the English they speak there is quite different from the English we speak here in America. We learned that Aussies use the word "sheila" to refer to a girl, "tah" to say thank you, and say "g'day" to greet their families and friends. Watch for and read the booklets students made about this month's country of concentration, and see if you can find some new fun facts about Australia to share!

We also started a new unit in Physical Education this week: dance! This week students got a chance to learn some new moves, beginning with limbo, the cha-cha and the twist. These moves will surely come in handy for our upcoming Valentine's Day dance, on February 14th! We also continued work on our Circles unit, learning how to talk, touch and trust those people on our outermost red circles, or strangers whom we do not know. Students did a fabulous job identifying which circles various people belonged in. This very important lesson can be reinforced at home using  pictures of your own families and friends. Great work kids!

This Friday, Mrs. P.'s class continued its new job of reporting the school announcements and reciting the pledge. This is a very important job for our students, as it not only relays important information to the entire school, but also helps our students build confidence reading and speaking for others. This week's readers did a wonderful job, and future readers will have plenty of practice before their turns as this month's sight words were pulled right from our nation's pledge!

Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this week! See you all throughout the next few weeks of winter!