Stormy Nights, Silly Days, and Other Happenings

We had an exciting storm on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, it cost us two of our trees, including one of large shade trees in the kindergarten playground. We don’t have room in our budget to replaces these trees, but our PTO will begin looking for resources to help fill the void with either an awning or some larger trees that won’t take long to help protect our students from the sun. If you have access to people or resources who can help with this project, please contact me via email or phone.

“Silly Bands” are all the rage with our students these days. These fun-shaped rubber bands are a great novelty item, and our students just love trading them. I used the morning announcements to let the students know that while “Silly Bands” are fun, we don’t want them to be a distraction to the classroom. If your students are bringing these to school, please review with them our expectations:

• Silly Bands should not be on student desks during class time. They should stay in a backpack or pocket.
• Silly Bands should not be played with during class.
• Silly Bands should not be thrown or “shot” at other students.
• Silly Bands should not be sold.

While I am a strong advocate for students and their right to still be silly, I also want to support the idea that there is a time and place for everything, including "Silly Bands."

Tuesday (August 31) is our first in-service day. On these early release days, the teachers are engaged in professional learning opportunities so they can continue to develop their talents. Our first in-service day will be dedicated aligning their teaching units to the district’s curriculum maps in math and reading.

Observations from the Classrooms:
Mrs. Menard’s class was busy making their own imaginary towns, based on the story “Roxaboxen,” by Alice McLerran. This also connects with their unit on communities, and the students were definitely using their imaginations!

The return of music has been a wonderful thing to watch! Mr. Roper has had a fun way of engaging students of all ages, from teaching about different types of voices with kindergarten to letting the 6th grade use drums to create rhythms.

Sixth grade has jumped right into the scientific method, using drops of water and pennies to explore the world of variables and reliability.

Welcome Back 2010!

We had a fantastic first week back to school! The students and teachers adjusted quickly from the days of summer to the routines of school, and I attribute this success to the preparation of the teachers, the great attitude of our students, and the support of our parents. We gave the students some encouragement and focus at a kickoff assembly on Wednesday, and I am confident that we will see great things from our students this year!

Just a few notes as we start school in the Phoenix heat:

• We use the heat index (temperature and relative humidity) to determine restrictions for recess and PE. On days when the heat index is over 105 degrees, we keeps students inside the entire time. On other hot days when the heat index approaches 105, we have "no equipment" days, which means that we limit physical activity outside. We allow students to play four square in the shade, but other activities that require physical exertion (football, basketball, jump rope, etc.) are prohibited. On those days, we also have an empty classroom (the "cool room") where students can play games. We can use more games that are appropriate for all ages, so if you would like to donate an old game, puzzle, or cards, our students will appreciate them and put them to use!
• We consistently remind our students to stay hydrated. You can do your part by sending your child to school with a water bottle.
• While we live in the heat and try to be comfortable, I just want to remind everyone of our dress code: no flip flops, no open-toed shoes, tennis shoes/sneakers should be worn on PE days, shorts should be no shorter than 4 inches above the top of knee, no halter tops or backless shirts, and tank top straps should be at least two inches wide. We greatly appreciate your support.

Volunteers Need! Sandpiper is starting a new character education program, and we can use some help. We are looking for a volunteer or two to help with student recognition. This would require about an hour a week.

We will also begin our Trekkers running program at the end of September, and we could use several parents to assist each Friday -- no running required!

If you can help with either of these, please call the office and let them know.