December Newsletter
Important
Dates on Deck:
Wednesday,
December 3rd—Parent/Teacher Conferences (4 p.m.-8 p.m.)
Tuesday,
December 9th—Junie B. Jones Theater Performance, Old Creamery Theater
Wednesday,
December 10th—1:00 Dismissal (Professional Development)
Friday,
December 12th—Christmas Store sponsored by Keystone/VH PTO
Monday,
December 15th—Keystone Care Center visit (deliver decorations and
Christmas caroling)
Tuesday,
December 16th—Caroling at the Van Horne Community Center
Tuesday,
December 23rd—Holiday party/Book exchange
1:00
Dismissal (Happy Holidays!)
Mrs.
Happel’s maternity leave begins….we’ll see when Baby decides to arrive!
What's Happening in 1H:
Junie B. Jones Performance: Our students K-4 will have an exciting opportunity coming up courtesy of the Keystone/Van Horne PTO and Student Council! Live theater is something I personally love and think is so important for young children to experience from an early age. On Tuesday, December 9th, we will be leaving after lunch and busing to the Old Creamery Theater in Amana to watch a live performance of Jingle Bells, Batman Smells, a Junie B. Jones-themed theater production. Sack lunches are not necessary as we will be eating lunch at school prior to leaving for the performance.
Christmas Store: If you have not returned your child's order form and payment for the Christmas Store sponsored by the Keystone/Van Horne PTO and you would like your child to participate, please return the form as soon as possible. The Christmas Store is an annual tradition in which children are given the opportunity to shop for small, inexpensive gifts for family and friends with the help of retired teachers and other people from the community. These gifts will be wrapped and marked prior to coming home with your child. The date of this year's Christmas Store is Friday, December 12th. Please let me know if you have lost your form or need a new one.
PBIS Reward: As part of our school-wide PBIS reward for being responsible, respectful, safe, and caring, all students at Van Horne Elementary will be making holiday decorations for the residents at the Keystone Care Center and delivering them personally on the afternoon of Monday, December 15th. While we are there, we will perform Christmas Carols for the residents to spread some holiday cheer. The kids are very excited! We will also be caroling at the Van Horne Community Center the next day.
Book Exchange/Book Order: In your child's Take Home Folder, you'll notice a Scholastic Book Order coming home today. Please take a moment to check it out. There is a coupon for a FREE book attached along with a note about how to place an order and information about our class book exchange, which will take place Tuesday, December 23rd during our holiday party. Scholastic offers GREAT deals on great books valued at $5 and under with a good selection (even more online) and our class gets free books through points when you place an order. I personally have done a lot of my Christmas shopping through Scholastic. If you are interested in placing an order for gifts and would like me to keep the books a secret from your child, please let me know. I can put them in an opaque bag or we can arrange pick-up :)
For the book exchange, please send one gender-neutral book valued at $5 or under wrapped with your child's name written on it so we know who to thank. The kids are really looking forward to this; we always play a listening/holiday-themed game as we exchange and it's fun to see who ends up with what :)
Maternity Leave: Your child may/may not come home talking about our class discussion today about the baby :) I showed them the latest ultrasound picture of Baby Happel's face and they were fascinated by how real she looked. (It was a 3-D picture showing just her mouth, nose, and eyes. They were blown away by how a machine could capture such an image!) We talked a bit about what will happen when I am away after the baby is born, and that the baby could be born at any time, so I might not get to say goodbye, but the plan for now is I won't be returning from Winter Break until mid- to late-March. They might have some interesting questions for you. I was poised for some "birds and bees" type questions, but I was surprised there weren't any! Talking about babies with young children is always interesting :)
My long-term will be Kate Kiebach. She has been in the building filling in for Mrs. Fisher in Kindergarten while she was away for maternity leave for the past 6 weeks. She has also been in 1H a couple of times while I've been away at various appointments or professional development, so she is familiar with the kids and with Van Horne Elementary. She will be a great fit for 1H. I'll be checking in periodically while away to check on the kids' progress and just to say "Hi", and will bring Baby Happel in for a visit or Skype every once in a while. While I am away, please don't hesitate to contact me or Mrs. Kiebach regarding your child's progress.
Teacher Gifts: Please understand gifts are not necessary! While very much appreciated, if you feel you would like to give me a gift, please consider donating supplies to our classroom. We are always in need of things like extra colored pencils, Crayola markers, hand sanitizer, gel pens, storage containers, craft supplies, etc.
Take Home Journals: Please have your child write at least four sentences, all related to one another. (A paragraph. We haven't talked about what a paragraph is yet, but will be getting to that eventually. We need practice adding details related to topics and understanding where it is appropriate to place ending punctuation.)
I think that's it for now! Busy, busy month! I will get back on track with posting pictures...:)
Mrs. H
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