November 12, 2009

November 12, 2009

Dear Families,

During Ff week we learned about fish and reviewed fall. Fall booklets were read in class, colored, and brought home. There are 2 pages of homework at the back of those booklets. If your child completes those pages, then a sticker can be earned. November necklaces were colored and put together. The kindergartners learned about frogs and how they grow from eggs to adult frogs.

Next week we will be studying the letter Rr. Sharing next week needs to be an item that begins with the letter Rr.

This year families may sign up for early dismissal or late start alerts. These alerts may go to cell phones or computers. It is easy to sign up for this service. Go to the North Tama website, click on the Snowcap Weather/Emergency Alert Registration link and follow the directions. It would be great if families signed up.

Right after Thanksgiving the boys and girls will be writing letters to Santa. They will be dictating their ideas to a teacher to be typed on the computer. We would like them to have 3 or 4 ideas of gifts they would like to receive. These letters will be mailed to Santa, and they may appear in the Traer Star Clipper. Please discuss Christmas ideas with your child so that we can type these letters quickly and easily. In next week’s newsletter there will be a form for families to fill out that will help us get these letters done without going too crazy. Families also get to let Santa know how the boys and girls have been good/helpful at home.

Speaking of Christmas, many families are beginning to think about the elementary Christmas party and the gifts that the kids exchange. We ask that the boys buy a gift for a boy and the girls buy a gift for a girl. We will have a “grab bag” type of gift exchange. The amount that can be spent on the gift is $2. Boys and girls that want to donate any food or hygiene items to the local food pantry are welcome to bring those items into school, too.

Our kindergarten parents in the past have been very generous when remembering the teachers at Christmas time. An idea that we learned from Pied Piper is that instead of buying the teacher a gift, families could choose instead to purchase a gift for the room. We have a few ideas for items that we would like for the classroom: markers to be used in our writing center, glue sticks, stickers, disposable cameras, baby dolls, doll clothing, larger trucks and tractors, dry erase markers, monetary donation for elementary field trips, and games (see the teachers for ideas). If you need any ideas, just ask one of us. Of course, families may handle this matter however they desire.

Also in regards to Christmas, the date for the elementary Christmas program is Wednesday, December 16th. It usually begins at 1:30 in the gym. The fifth and sixth grade bands will play first, and the kindergartners will follow them. Following our songs, families will have a choice of whether to have their kindergartner sit with them for the remainder of the program or watch the rest of it with Mrs. Owens and Mrs Daugherty. Watch for more information about the program closer to December 16th.

Please remember that school will be dismissed at 2:20 on Wednesday, November 25th for Thanksgiving vacation. There will be NO SCHOOL on Monday, November 30th due to teacher meetings. School will resume on Tuesday, December 1st at the normal time.

We know that the cold and flu season is upon us. Please remember that if your doctor prescribes a medication that has to be taken at school, THE DOCTOR and THE PARENT (yes both) need to write the directions down for the nurse. (This means 2 notes are required.) The prescription medication MUST be in the original container from the pharmacy. Families might want to ask for 2 containers when filling the prescription; one for school and one for home. The nurse cannot administer any medication without both notes. Cough syrup needs to have a doctor’s order to be given in school. (If your child is constantly coughing, he/she should really stay home.) DO NOT SEND COUGH DROPS TO SCHOOL WITH YOUR STUDENT! Parents are welcome to come to school and give medicines to their own children. Please contact the school nurse or us if you have any questions.

The North Tama football team plays on Friday, November 14th at 10:30 in the Unidome in Cedar Falls. If they win, they will play for the state championship on Friday, November 20th at 2:05. If they win, then the extended school day plan goes into effect, and we will have no school on Friday, November 20th.

Go Redhawks!

Mrs. Owens and Mrs. Daugherty
Copies of the newsletter can be found at the following internet address:
http://ntknews09.blogspot.com
or through the North Tama website.