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!