Halloween - THIS Thur, Oct 31st

We are gearing up for Halloween. Today we had a mini Halloween celebration to kick off the festivities - Ms. Kathy (from ICPL) came for a special Halloween story time, we brainstormed jack-o-lantern faces, listened to spooky music (think Ghostbusters, Munsters, and Addams Family theme songs), and played a new "Roll a Jack-o-Lantern" game. Check out the link to play at home!


What should our jack-o-lanterns look like?


Roll a Jack-o-Lantern fun!

Today was just a sneak peek into the fun on Thursday. As a reminder, on Thursday, students will be asked to bring their costumes to parade around the building.  Families are welcome to join us for the parade and pumpkin and costume reveal at 10:30.  We ask that costumes not be too scary.  No weapons, blood, or gore, please.   We understand that costumes often include these things, but please save them for trick-or treating to avoid the disruption at school.  Students will change into their costumes for our morning celebration, but are expected to change back to their normal clothes for the afternoon.  The schedule for our festivities is listed below.

10:30  K-6 Parade
10:45  Snacks and Pumpkin Guessing
11:15  Costume and Pumpkin Reveal
11:45  Lunch

Thank you to those that volunteered to bring school wide treats. Please feel free to drop off your goodies with Amber at the Front Desk or in the Kindergarten classroom. Let me know if you have questions. Happy Halloween!!

Library Field Trip TOMORROW Wed, Oct 30th

Don't forget! We'll be traveling to the library on Wednesday, October 30th. Please be sure your child has their library card.

Upcoming Event: First Friday Parent Coffee

This Friday, November 1st brings another First Friday Parent Coffee. Drs Cindy Anderson and Thomasin McCoy are back to discuss mindfulness in children. Their discussion will include simple meditation techniques to use with your child to help promote calming behaviors, relaxation, and stress reduction. It sounds like a wonderful talk - one I am hoping to hear more about as the topic is of GREAT interest to our Willowwind faculty community.

Please see the linked flyer for more information. First Friday Parent Coffee occurs from 8:00 - 9:00. Hope to see you there.

PS: Don't forget! It's Spirit Friday, too! Wear your Willowwind gear and colors!

Volunteer Opportunity: December Field Trip

While December may seem forever away, I am excited to announce that the Kindergarteners will be traveling to Old Creamery Theater on Thursday, December 12th to see The Velveteen Rabbit. We will be leaving Willowwind around 8:45 and should between 12:00 and 1:00.

The Cottontails will begin reading our second chapter book read aloud, which just so happens to be The Velveteen Rabbit in November. While visiting Old Creamery Theater, we will be able to compare and contrast our read aloud and the live production. Please visit Old Creamery Theater's website for more information.

I am informing families now because we are in need of parent drivers. Please let me know if you are interested in driving as soon as you can. I need to know how many parents will be attending the performance to order our group tickets as soon as possible. Lining up drivers sooner rather than later will ensure us with the best tickets for December 12th's performance.

Email me when you can, and thank you in advance for helping out. We are looking forward to this special field trip.

Cold & Flu Season is Upon Us :(

It's that time of year again when the dreaded cold and flu bug makes its ugly welcome. We have had a few cases throughout Willowwind of strep throat, and the common cold also seems to be running its course through a number or students. Fortunately, we've been free of the stomach bug for now. As a reminder, please abide by Willowwind's sickness policies detailed below.

• If your child is ill and has a fever (100.4 degrees or high), they should return to school until they are fever-free for 24 consecutive hours without the aid of fever-reducing medications.
• If your child is vomiting, they should not return until they have not vomited for over a 24 hour period.
• If your child is experiencing diarrhea, they should not return until they have been diarrhea free for 24 hours.
• If your child is being treaded for a contagious bacterial infection, they should not return to school until 24 hours after antibiotics have been stared AND until they are fever-free for 24 consecutive hours without the aid of fever-reducing medications.

In other situations, your parenting judgement is best. Do they look sick? Are they acting out of sorts? If so, please feel free to give them a day of rest. In doing so, they are likely to recover quicker and have the best chance of not infecting others.

If your child is going to be sick please send me an email or call Amber as soon as you can in the morning so we can plan for their absence accordingly. Additionally, if your child becomes sick during the school day we will place a call to those on your child's contact list. If they go home in the event of vomiting, fever, or diarrhea please have them stay at home for the full 24 hours once the symptoms have disappeared.

As always, don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns. Thanks so much.

Halloween Homework: Bring Pumpkin TOMORROW Wednesday, October 23

Please be sure to bring your child's medium-sized pumpkin TOMORROW, Wednesday, October 23 in preparation for their Partner Family biome animal pumpkin project.

Let me know if you have questions. Thanks so much!

Reminders

A few quick reminders as we continue to build routines within our Kindergarten year.

Bring Daily
Please be sure your child has their
take home folder
book bag
spelling sort
each day. Take Home Folders and Book Bags are frequently forgotten at home. They are an essential part of our school day. Please help instill responsibility within your child as they pack their backpacks each evening or morning

Snack
It is important that Kindergarten bodies are well fed throughout the day. Please be sure your child has two snacks (one on Thursdays) and their lunch daily. Many students are complaining of not having an afternoon snack. We have talked about the importance of saving a piece a snack for the afternoon. Continued conversations at home may help curb this concern. Additional ideas include: labeled snack bags within the lunch bag, a separate snack sack to carry snacks, or marked packages that are meant for morning (M) or afternoon (A) snack.

Cold Weather Gear
Fall is here with it's chilly mornings and nippy wind. Please be sure your child is dressed appropriately to go outside daily. Jackets, hats, and gloves are needed. Movement will also take place outside as long as possible. On wet days, a change of shoes (boots) are recommended so they can run and play without the fear of soggy shoes for the rest of the day. Outside shoes can be stored in the boot cubbies located next to the Recess (North) Door. As the snow comes for good please be prepared to bring snow pants and boots for daily outside play. Please prepare ahead of time to have these snow supplies ready as the snow may come (and stay :( ) when we least expect it.

Volunteer Opportunity: Pan de Muerto

Willowwind prides itself on celebrating many multicultural celebrations. During Friday, November 1st's GD (12:15-12:30) K-6 students will be celebration Dia de los Muertos, the Mexican holiday which honors departed family members. Willowwind is in need of five families to bake one loaf each of pan de muerto, a traditional sweet-anise flavored bread for the celebration. If you are interested in doing so and earning volunteer hours please use this Sign Up Genius link to sign up. Recipes should be available through the Sign Up Genius link. Let me know if you have questions or need the Sign Up Genius password for access.

Also, don't forget to visit the GoogleSpreadsheet to volunteer to bring in snacks for our Halloween celebration the day before.

Thanks for all your help!

Halloween Homework: Bring in Pumpkin

Halloween is upon us. Please take a look at the previous blog post regarding specific Halloween plans. Also, be sure to visit the school wide volunteer spreadsheet to bring in snack items for our events throughout the day. Click here to view the sign up sheet. Remember each snack item you bring in is worth 30 minutes of volunteer time.

In addition to day of fun, each year, Partner Families cherish the Halloween season as it gives them opportunity to spend time and work with their Partner Family members. Preparing for Halloween, each Partner Family spends GD time creating a "top secret" pumpkin character. Some years, pumpkins have been designed around the theme of prairie animal, favorite movie character, favorite book character, or a historical figure. This year, students are charged with designing their pumpkin to represent an animal from one of their Service Learning biome locations. Last Friday, your child met with their Partner Family to put together a design plan for their pumpkin biome animal.

Each Partner Family member is in charge of bringing various supplies. This year, the Kindergarten students are in charge of bringing the pumpkin. Take time with your child early this week to select a medium sized pumpkin to bring into Willowwind. Pumpkins of all sizes can be found at HyVee for $3.99. Please be sure your child brings in their pumpkin by THIS Wednesday, October 23rd. Pumpkin decorating will begin at the end of the week, so it is important that all supplies are here.

Let me know if you have questions. Happy pumpkin shopping.

Last Minute Volunteer Opportunity: Costume Drive Support

Willowwind is thrilled at the success of our recent Costume for Kids Drive. Thank you to those that participating in donating gently used costumes. Our Costume for Kids Drive coordinator, Katherine House, is in need of volunteers to help organize and deliver costumes. She is looking for volunteers to help her TOMORROW, Saturday, October 19th. Please contact her by email at khouse3676@aol.com or by phone at 319.325.2340if you are interested in helping out. Thank you for your support!

Reading Homework: Bring Favorite Book THIS Monday, October 21

Our reading time is in full swing and we are building confidence in our ability to learn how to read. Your child is thrilled to find out that they are already readers! Our classroom library has been a popular spot in the last few days. Take a look at the future blog post that will highlight all of our Literacy fun! In the meantime, please help your child select their favorite book from home to bring to school on Monday, October 21. While some friends have already done this for Star of the Week and other friends will do this in future Star of the Week weeks, I am looking for all friends to have their favorite book at school this Monday so that we can share our books with one another and continue to build that growing confidence and love in reading. I look forward to seeing what book your child selects. Let me know if you have questions. Happy selecting!!

PS: Here is a peek at my favorite book! The Cottontail class will read this later in the year as part of our chapter book read aloud selections.

Volunteer Opportunity: Prairie Work Day - THIS Sunday, October 20

Christine, our Prairie Racerunner teacher, is planning to spend the afternoon of Sunday, October 20 doing prairie maintenance here at Willowwind.  We am in need of volunteers who are prepared to get their hands dirty.  The prairie which we planted in the spring of 2012 needs a little work, as well as the bioswale which was planted by a Wolf class several years ago (the fenced in area at the parking lot entrance).  We also need a volunteer to bring a lawn mower so that we can cut back the ragweed in the bioswale.  We'll be working from 1:00-4:00pm.  Please let Christine know if you are interested in helping out by emailing her at christinek@willowwind.org. Your help is much appreciated!

Halloween 2013 - Thursday, October 31

The Willowwind community will be celebrating Halloween the morning of Thursday, October 31. Please visit this sign-up sheet if you wish to donate snack items for our PreK-6 celebrations. Students will be assembling their own snacks, so there is no need for baking and minimal preparation is required. Each snack donation is worth 30 minutes of volunteer time.

Students will be asked to bring their costumes to parade around the building.  Families are welcome to join us for the parade and pumpkin and costume reveal at 10:30.  We ask that costumes not be too scary.  No weapons, blood, or gore will be permitted.   We understand that costumes often include these things, but please save them for trick-or treating to avoid the disruption at school.  Students will change into their costumes for our morning celebration, but are expected to change back to their normal clothes for the afternoon.  The schedule for our festivities are listed below.  Families are invited to join us from 10:30 through lunch.

9:30    Change into Costumes
10:00  Preschool Parade
10:15  Reading Buddies
10:30  K-6 Parade
10:45  Snacks and Pumpkin Guessing
11:15  Costume and Pumpkin Reveal
11:45  Lunch
12:30 Classroom Activities
2:00 Dismissal
ASP is available per usual.

Let me know if you have questions. Happy Halloween!!

A Busy Week

Another week is here with busy events.

Remember, the Costume Drive is taking place through Friday, October 18th and Ms. Katherine is out of town so there are no before or after school music lessons this whole week.

Monday, October 7
• Michelle Out, Angie Here

Tuesday, October 8
• Food Drive Begins - Dressy Day (Wear your best dressed clothes.)
• Picture Day
• Walk to School Day (7:45 am)
Meet in the west side of the Eastside HyVee parking lot.
Encouraging your child to walk to school is a way to instill in him or her the active habits that can contribute to a lifelong healthy lifestyle. Want to learn more. Click here for more information about Walk to school day. If you are interested in participating, please pick up a permission slip at Willowwind's Front Desk. A permission slip is required, whether parents plan to accompany their child or not. A small, healthy snack will be provided by HyVee. Students will walk from HyVee using the pedestrian path and sidewalks on Perry Court and Dover Street to end at Willowwind School. It is approximately a one mile walk. The event will be rescheduled if it rains. Participants should wear brightly colored clothing, accessories appropriate for the morning weather conditions, and comfortable shoes for walking.

Wednesday, October 9
• Food Drive - Crazy Hair Day
• Iowa City Public Library Books Due
• Fall Walk to Friendship Park Field Trip (9:00 - 11:00)

Thursday, October 10
• Food Drive - Silly Socks Day

Friday, October 11
• Food Drive - Hat Day

Saturday, October 12
Harvest Fest (1:30 - 4:00)
Don't forget to look at volunteer links (GoogleDrive and SignUpGenius) for opportunities. Your help is needed!

As always, the Welcome page's right side bar and the website's Calendar tab are full of the above dates and more and are consistently updated. Looking forward to another great week!

Kent Park Prairie Exploration

Last week, we jumped on a school bus and spent the entire day with all of our K-6 friends. It was a beautiful day to spend time outside getting to know our friends of all ages and spending quality time with our new Partner Families and Service Learning Biomes. We met Naturalist Brad and explored the prarie using our five senses, talked about pollination, chlorophyll, and plant and animal life. Take a look at all of the fun!


Meeting Naturalist Brad and discussing using our 5 senses to explore the prairie.


Finding Fall Colors - Red


Finding Fall Colors - Green


Kindergarten smiles on our prairie walk!


Buddies!


Partner Family!


Prairie Scavenger Hunt


A beautiful place!


The gorgeous pond!

Check out our October Photo Album for more fun photos!

Website Updated

Please take notice at our website's most recent additions.
~ September / October 2013 Newsletter

~ September 2013 Photo Album
Like a picture you see? Just click on it and you can download it straight to your desktop!

~ October 2013 Photo Album
Kent Park pictures are posted. Also, check out the fun lunch we had with our older partners this week!

Volunteer Opportunity: More Harvest Fest Needs

A big thank you to Lisa Gray and Alicia Walters for coordinating the Kindergarten needs for the Willowwind Harvest Festival. Please visit the SignUpGenius page to volunteer to help out at the Harvest Fest or donate supplies. In addition, the Kindergarten class is hosting the much anticipated Book Walk. Please donate any gently used books you have from preschool to junior high reading levels. A book walk box will be sitting in the front entryway to collect books.

In addition, a school wide GoogleDrive spreadsheet has been created to allow classes to help out and donate other supplies for other classes. Please take a look at the linked spreadsheet and sign up to help out other classes. Please note though, if you are interested in donating baby pumpkins or bales of hay (straw) to first sign up on the SignUpGenius page created by Lisa. If our Kinder duties are already fulfilled and you'd still like to donate these supplies please feel free to then use the GoogleDrive spreadsheet.

We hope to see you there at the Harvest Fest on Saturday, October 12th from 1:30 - 4:00. This year's Harvest Fest we honor the important of collective community as we celebrate the life of Dashiell Codd. Dashiell was a preschooler from 2011 to 2012 and had many happy moments during his time at Willowwind. Dashiell particularly loved visit with older kids (especially his two brothers) during preschool reading buddies sessions, singing at the end of the day during Line Time, talking walks from the classroom to the garden and celebrating events like Harvest Fest. As part of this year's Harvest Fest festivities, we will meet before hand to celebrate Dashiell's vibrant life and dedicate a favorite space, Willowwind's preschool library, in his honor. Please join us at a special ceremony to rename this space as the Dashiell Codd Early Childhood Learning Center at 1:30.

The Harvest Fest and Annual Fund Kick-Off begins at 2:00 where games will be held outdoors and will feature a whole-school performance as students gather to unveil the new Willowwind school song at 3:45. Don't forget to be a good neighbor! Please join in our service learning focus this year and bring a canned food item for Willowwind's food drive, hosted for the benefit of our neighbors at the River Community Church Food Pantry. Plan to come to Harvest Fest? Click HERE to RSVP. Celebrate Willowwind's friends and family as we come together in the spirit of our wonderful school! We can't wait to see you!

Food Drive Update October 8-14

An update from the Burrowing Owl class.

The Burrowing Owl Food Drive has an exciting change. Everyday you bring food you can participate in a fun day.

If you bring food on Tuesday, October 8, you can wear nice dress up clothes (not costumes).

If you bring in food on Wednesday, October 9, you can wear your hair in a crazy way.

If you bring in food on Thursday, October 10, you can wear silly socks.

If you bring in food on Friday, October 11, you can wear a hat.

You can have fun every day by bringing in some canned food each day. You can bring the food to school anytime between October 8 and October 14. you may put the canned foods in the two bins in the entryway at the front of the school. Please help us and we hope you can participate. Thank you from the Burrowing Owl class.

Upcoming Events: A Busy Fri, Oct 4th!

Tomorrow is a busy day! Don't forget the following events!

1) Scholastic Orders are Due
Periodically throughout the year, your child will bring home Scholastic Book Orders. To order register on Scholastic's Website. Enter the Class Activation Code (2HTOR). Order from thousands of print titles, value packs, and eBooks. Ordering through Scholastic Book will earn FREE books for Willowwind's library and provide your family with the best values. If you have questions email Willowwind's Scholastic Order Coordinator Leigh Ann Kennedy at leighannkennedy@yahoo.com.

2) Photo Orders are Due
Sarah Neighbors Photography will be here on Tuesday, October 8th for our 2013-2014 Picture Day. If you are interested in ordering photos please be sure to do so by Friday, October 4th. Order Forms to order a consent to print and CD of images are available at the Front Desk. In addition, please see Amber if you are interested in volunteering on Picture Day. Each volunteer will receive a complementary family session with Sarah Neighbors Photography.

3) Spirit Day
Tomorrow is Spirit Day! Wear your blue and gold or Willowwind apparel!

4) Food Allergy Coordination
Willowwind is invested in hosting community events that are thoughtful and inclusive of all of our students with particular diets, food allergies, or sensitivities. If you'd like to coordinated with other families with particular food preferences and needs to ensure that there is food at school-wide events that you can feel safe, comfortable and happy about your child eating, let Amber know by October 4th. See the linked flyer for more information.

5) Run for the Schools Priority Deadline
Iowa City's Run for the Schools is October 20th. It is a great way to support local schools in our area. Entry frees are lowest if registered by October 5th. Check out the entry form online. Karen, Lou, and I will be each running a different distance in the race choices.

6) First Friday Parent Coffee 8:00 - 9:30
Do you know the difference between Twitter, Flick'r and Instagram--and which one kids are using these days? What is cyberbullying and what can you, as a parent, do about it? How can we keep our children safe on the information superhighway? Visit Willowwind's First Friday Parent Coffee to get the answers you need. Katie Fields, MPH is a Health Educator at United Action for Youth and will present "Your Child and the Internet." Katie routinely works with teens in the Iowa City school district and sees firsthand how the internet both enhances and interferes with their lives. Participate in an engaging discussion while enjoying coffee and homemade treats. See the linked flyer for more information. Sponsored by Willowwind Friends and Families.  

7) Homecoming Parade 5:00
Show your Willowwind Spirt and be part of a homecoming tradition! Dress in your nave and yellow Willowwind Spirit Wear and prepare for a great evening! Gather your family and rally with Willowwind for the UI Homecoming celebration. Willowwind's participation in the UI Homecoming Parade marks a fun, annual tradition for our families. What better way to enjoy this exciting show than to march in the parade?!? RSVP ASAP! Due to homecoming guidelines, only 60 people may RSVP to this event. Click here to RSVP. Families who choose to attend will be emailed with more details about the homecoming meet up location. Click here for more information about when to arrive, what happens during the parade, and more. Click here to view the parade route. We look forward dot seeing you and celebrating our theme, "One Earth, One Spirit, One Willowwind!"