Owl Cafe Breakfast

Please join us on Friday, April 4, 2014 for the annual Burrowing Owl Café. The Owls will be serving breakfast from 7:30am - 8:30am. We are earning money for our class trip to the Des Moines Science Center.  There is a NASA display about the solar system and a planetarium, which supports our science curriculum this year.  Come join us for a healthy breakfast and bring the whole family. Don't have time to eat? You can take some goodies to share at work AND donations are welcome as well. The menu for this year follows. 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

Very Important Person ( V.I.P. Day )

Dear Families,

VIP Day is upon us. Monday, April 7, Willowwind families, students and their special VIP's are welcome to Willowwind for a day of great fun. The cottontail rabbits are making invitations to give to our VIP's (coming home on the 31st). Does your student have a Very Important Person in mind for this day? Please talk with your child and ask them who they would like to invite. It could be a grandparent, adult family member, family friend, neighbor, co-worker - any person important to your child/your family - the ideas are endless.

Please RSVP via email to meridithd@willowwind.org and let me know who will be attending VIP day on April 7th.

VIP Day begins with lunch at 11:30 a.m. and includes an extended Group Discussion time until 1:00 p.m. Then, students and their guests will enjoy time in our classroom for an hour before heading to the River Church for the Spring Music Program from 2:00 - 3:15 p.m. Look for invitations to go home midweek.

In addition, for VIP Day, the Wolf class will be selling a special Monday, VIP Edition Meal from Silver Wolf Cafe. The cafe will serve Banditos taco bar and pre-purchases must be made by April 4th.

Please let me know if you have any questions. We are looking forward to VIP Day on Monday, April 7th!

Don't Forget our Field Trip this Friday

The Cottontails are still in need of drivers for Friday's field trip to Oaknoll Retirement Community.  Please help out if you can. Field trips like this are make possible by the generosity of parents like you. Without volunteers to drive we will be unable to experience such a wonderful trip.

All Kindergartners will need booster seats for this field trip.

We are looking forward to our upcoming field trip to read with the Oaknoll residents!

Community Night/Spring Break

Dear Parents,

I want to start by thanking you for being so supportive of our classroom and all the changes we have been going through these past few months in preparation for Michelle's beautiful baby William to join us. As this is my first blog post I will do my best to always keep the blog posted early enough to give everyone adequate time to read. Please always feel free to contact me via email if you have questions. My email is meridithd@willowwind.org.  
Double check the spelling of the email address if I am not responding to you. I will check my email as often as possible over the break and keep email open during the school day.

We had a wonderful Community Night and I am so very proud of the Kindergartners. You should be so very proud as they worked hard to have a great night. Each of them wrote their own lines and rehearsed them so that reading them the night of the performance could be a great success; and it was!

Students handmade cards for Michelle, Brian and baby William on Thursday and we decided to deliver flowers and a balloon to her as well. Saturday I was able to deliver that gift along with a DVD of our Community Night performance. Michelle was so happy and surprised to get all the cards and the large vase of flowers. She was so excited to read them all and shared them with Brian and her family. She is very proud of all the hard work the Cottontails are doing and misses everyone. She says she may be able to come in and visit us after break.

I would like to wish you all a Happy St. Patrick's Day and may good luck always find you. With that being said spring break will go by very quickly. I have included a few reminders about the first week we will be back at school.

Monday, March 24:
Erica will be teaching a Yoga class. This helps the students with their flexibility, in both their body and mind. Yoga is great for our learners and the students enjoy it very much.

Tuesday, March 25:
Palmer is coming in to read aloud to the students.  If this is something you would like to do please contact me and we can schedule a time for you to come in and read.

Wednesday, March 26:

ICPL Field Trip  9:30 - 12:30

The Cottontails will plan to travel to the library with Grace and myself Wednesday, March 26th. Please be sure your child has their library card.  The Cottontails will be working on finding a Just Right book for their growing reading brain. They will also be selecting a Book on CD for the classroom.
Please encourage your child to read the Just Right Reader with you. We have been working very hard on selecting books that are at our level. Not too hard and not too easy.

Friday, March 28:
Our March field trip to Oaknoll is quickly approaching.  We are in need of parent drivers for our field trip to Oaknoll Friday, March 28th.  Please email me if you are interested in attending.  

We will leave WW around 10:00 and return by 12:00.  All students will need to leave a Booster Seat for this field trip.

While at Oaknoll Retirement Community, we will be reading with senior residents.  Last month's trip to Oaknoll was a true joy as young and old came together and read, conversed, and enjoyed each other's company.  It was a remarkable experience - one the Kindergartners are looking forward to being a part of again this month.

Thank you in advance for your help with driving. Trips to the Oaknoll community are only possible with the devotion of amazing parents like you.

Have a wonderful Spring Break!
Meridith

Feb / March 2014 Newsletter

While our website continues to have technical difficulties, I wanted to be sure that I had an opportunity to fill you in on the daily ongoings in your child's classroom.  I apologize for using the blog to publish this month's newsletter, but will plan to do so until the Newsletter sub tab is fixed and works again.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments about our time together at school.  Happy reading!

Literacy

We continue to grow as readers and writers.  Our eagerness is contagious and we work well encouraging each other to grow at our own paces.  During Quiet Reading Time, we continue to work on building our reading stamina.  Students spend 5 minutes of each Quiet Reading Time focusing on nothing by reading.  They work on not giving in to external distractions and focusing on reading the words or pictures of their story.  The Cottontails really enjoy this time and it has been fun to watch their reading time grow from 2 minutes in January to 5 minutes at the end of February.  As the year progresses we will continue to grow our reading stamina.  It is our hopes that we can reach our reading stamina of 15 minutes.  To learn more about our recent reading adventures take a look at the following blog post, "Reading Rabbits."

Like our reading time, our confidence continues to grow in our writing time, too.  We have naturally, at our own paces, moved from "post-it note writing" to "kid spelling writing".  Kindergarteners are using their confidence in hearing letter sounds to spell words on their own.  Take a look at the following blog post, "Der Parints" to see a fun twist on the importance of embracing "kid spelling".

Math

We are progressing nicely through the first part of first grade Math in Focus curriculum.  Here is some more information our our past chapter (Chapter 5 Shapes and Patterns) and current chapter (Chapter 6 Ordinal Numbers and Position).

In Chapter 5, students compose and decompose plane and solid shapes, and make patterns with these shapes.  As they combine figures, they develop a better understanding of part-whole relationships as well as the properties of the original and composite shapes.  This builds background knowledge for learning about measurement and properties of geometry such as congruency and symmetry at higher grades.

In Chapter 6, students continue to build their knowledge of number relationships through ordering numbers and identifying ordinal positions as well as the words associated with the positions.  Children also integrate their understanding of spatial relationships in the real world, and the concept of order and position (left, right, in front of, behind).  These establish starting points for determining ordinal positions.  Students will also position words such as just before, just after, or between to indicate the position of something relative to another.

Social Studies

Our Act of Kindness unit has come to an end but our acts of kindness have not.  Cottontails continue to show acts of kindness on a daily basis.  I am so proud of their big hearts and compassionate ways.  Continue to embrace these acts of kindness within your child and your own family.  Don't forget.  Community Night is THIS Thursday, March 13th.  Please RSVP regarding your child's attendance to Community by Monday, March 10th.  This is a mandatory event and should only be missed due to a preplanned circumstance.  Have your child meet Meridith at the River Community Church by 5:15 to prepare for our presentation.  The Kindergarteners are looking forward to the night.  Take a look at February 27th's and March 8th's blog posts for more information.

Science

Could it be?!?  Spring is near!  As our seasons change once again, the Kindergarten class will be making observations about our Spring season.  We will also continue our Fall studies of life cycles by studying the life cycles of plants and blooming flowers.  We are excited for Spring to come and brighten up our community.  During this life cycle unit, we will be analyzing the weather and environment cycle that helps plants grow.  We will also be analyzing our own responsibilities within the environment and what we can do to continue to be a friend to Earth.  Look for more updates in the coming weeks.

Specials
Please look back to the Specials blog posts from February 27th for more information on Specials activities.


Don't forget!  Next week, brings Spring Break!  Enjoy!  School and BASP will resume on Monday, March 24th.

Der Parints - A Parent Letter (the Kinder Version)

Using a bit of "kid spelling", here is a fun letter of encouragement. Enjoy! :)

Der Parints,

As ur child brings hom riting, do nut be serprizd at the speling. The inglish langwij is confuzing for studints. Prematur insistints that studints use standar or "correct" speling inhibits thair dezir and ability to rit. We will uz "kid speling" or "fnetic speling" in r wrk. It is a grat asesment to se wit yur child nos.

Az parints u can hlp ur child bi prazing awl thair riting. Let ur child red thair riting to u. Displa thair riting arownd ur hom. No that as ur child becomz familyr with riting, he or she wil mak the tranzishun to standar speling.

Sincrle,
Mz Mishel

Reading Rabbits!

As the year progresses so do our phenomenal reading skills!  I am so impressed with the wonderful growth in reading in your child.  We have focused so much on building our confidence that reading has come with such ease.

Enjoy a few pictures from our recent reading celebrations!

Partner Book Sharing
In honor of favorite children's author, Dr. Seuss's birthday, we celebrated a day of reading amongst a two-week author study of all things Dr. Seuss.  We spent the afternoon sharing our Partner Books with our parents and partner families.



On Friday, students took home their partner's story.  This is an incredibly special gift given to your child, one that their partner worked on for many weeks.  Kindergarteners were thrilled to take this gift home to cherish their special book about them, from their partner, for years to come. Enjoy!

Please know that your child's story has gone home with their partner to be cherished and loved.  We have taken pictures of your child's Partner Book to send to you so you have photo document your child's first big writing project.


DEAR Time
After our Partner Book Share students participated in DEAR time.  Willowwind friends (teachers, too!) did just that we DROPPED EVERYTHING AND READ for 45 minutes!  I was so impressed with your child's ability to stay focused and busy with their collection of books for such a long period of time.  These rabbits love reading!  I enjoyed the opportunity to continue to read my book of choice, Divergent, a trending book with juveniles and adults alike.







Library Field Trips
The Cottontails look forward to our monthly field trips to the library.  As we grow as readers, so do our opportunities at the public library.  In January and February, students have been practicing finding just right books at the library.  Kindergarteners are able to check out three fun books and one "just right reader" that they can read on their own or with just a bit of help.  In addition, we have been using the classroom library to better find just right readers at school, too.

What is a just right reader?  Just right books help your child find the right reading level and helps make reading more fun.  Students use the five finger test to find that perfect, just right book by:
1)  finding a book they would like to read.
2)  looking at a page in the middle of the book.
3)  putting one finger down for every word they can't read or don't understand.
•  Five fingers down means to search for a different book
•  Fewer than five fingers down means the book is "just right".

This is a new concept for Kindergarteners and we continue to practice it with our just right readers.  Students' fun books will often be more difficult than they can read and that is okay.  Make books that are too tricky books that they can read the pictures in, a read aloud for your family, or a read together book.  This will help your child climb to more advanced reading levels!  The Cottontails are so excited to search for books that they can read all by themselves!  Embrace their confidence and excitement.

In addition, this past week, Luis joined the Cottontails on our most recent trip to the library where he helped children find various Spanish books.  Some Kindergarteners are so enthused by this idea that they are eager to pick a fun Spanish book to peruse at home.  Embrace this desire to build bilingual skills.  I am so proud of how much love this class feels for all books!  Don't forget, this month's ICPL books are due Wednesday, March 26th which will also be the date of our next library field trip.

Sharing our fun books and just right readers.

Maternity Monday

Monday, March 10th brings a day full of bittersweet excitement.  Tentatively (unless this little one has plans over the weekend), Monday will be my last day at Willowwind as we are scheduled to welcome our little one into our lives Monday evening. We are beyond excited for the journey ahead of us and keep thinking about what a week from now will bring; however, I am also wanting time to stand still to provide myself with a just a bit more time with your child and his/her classmates.

This school year has brought so much fun and growth.  I am truly amazed at your child's progress throughout the year.  We have become strong readers, excited writers, enthusiastic mathematicians, and hands-on scientists.  Through it all we have most importantly become confident students and positive community members.  You should be so proud of their progress thus far and I am excited to continue to be a passenger in their Kindergarten journey.

Beginning Tuesday, March 11th, Meridith and Grace Jones will begin to work together to continue to create a wonderful learning environment for your Kindergartener.  Meridith, Grace, and I have worked hard over the last few weeks (and throughout the whole school year) to help make this transition as smooth as possible.

Even with all the busyness that will occur over the next few weeks please don't be a stranger.  I am always available by email.  I won't be stranger at Willowwind for the remainder of the year as I will be returning to Willowwind a few hours a week beginning in April in my Curriculum Coordinator role.  The kiddos are eager to meet the little one and I will definitely be by with the little one as we grow brave in our adventures as a new family of three.

Thank you so much for your support, your child, and your child's love.  I am grateful and better for being a part of your family's life.

Acts of Kindness

For the last ten weeks, the Cottontails have been busy studying the importance of Acts of Kindness.  The Acts of Kindness Week and our Acts of Kindness Day (on Tuesday, February 18th) was our culminating event where we put all of planning into action.

This Thursday, March 13th's Community Night (5:30 - 8:00) brings our Acts of Kindness unit to an end where we will speak to our community about our plans, our fun, and the importance of showing acts of kindness.  This evening is an incredibly important event as it allows students to accept challenges and take risks as they perform and work on public speaking and presenting skills.  Thorough this evening, students not only build public speaking skills but also build other crucial life skills such as character, self-acceptance, and resiliency.  Your role as an audience member is crucial in providing all Willowwind students with a real-life, authentic experience in speaking and sharing to a large group.  All Willowwind students in preschool through 6th grade are expected to participate and are looking forward to having you be a part of this event.  Please RSVP for this event so we can be sure your child is adequately prepared for their part in Community Night.

For our ASP friends that may still be at school at 5:00 on Thursday, March 13th, it will be a long day for children who stay for ASP. As usual ASP will serve an afternoon snack and there will be light refreshments served at the end of Community Night. However, if that will not be enough for your child, please send extra food for a light meal before the event. Students who are still in ASP at 5:00 will gather their belongings and walk over to the church together where they will meet their teachers for last minute preparations for their class presentations, which begin at 5:30.  Parents of these ASP students can meet their child at the church."

As we continue to prepare for our Community Night, enjoy a picture walk of our Acts of Kindness unit.  More pictures to come on Thursday night.  See you there!

Monthly Story Time at Oaknoll Retirement Community

Preschool Story Time

Books & Treats to our 1/2 Friends

Hanging a Special Message for our Owl Friends

Game Day with our Wolf Friends

Saying Thanks to Teachers & Office Friends

Saying Thank You to the IC Fire Fighters

Delivering Treats to the IC Librarians

Handing out Gift Cards and Well Wishes to Passerbys

A big thank you from my growing family to yours!  Thank you for the surprise baby shower.  It made my day.  I couldn't stop smiling and was so happy to see the love and compassion overflow from your child's and your family's heart.  Thank you for all your love over the course of my pregnancy.  We are so lucky to have such a beautiful school family with so much love!

~  Michelle and Brian

Spring Cleaning (Sleds) & Outdoor Gear

Is it possible, Spring feels like it might actually be around the corner!  With the changing of seasons I wanted to send out a few notes about outside play.

1)  Sleds
With the snow quickly melting, please be sure your child takes home their sled by THIS Friday, March 14th.  Any remaining sleds may be donated to Goodwill.

2)  Outdoor Wear
Even with the melting snow, the playground will still be wet and muddy for many weeks to come.  Please continue to bring all of your child's Winter gear throughout the wet Spring months.  Students will still be required to wear coats, snow pants, and boots.  While the snow may be disappearing quickly, snow pants and boots are needed to keep your child dry while having fun in the warming sun.

School Wide Project - Lunch Waste Research

Willowwind prides itself on working side-by-side with young, independent learners who develop a social consciousness, emotional sensitive an respect for others and the natural world.  Students learn to think flexibly and critically, problem solve, and express oneself clearly and constructively.  K-6's Group Discussion (GD) provides students with opportunities to work in school wide, multi age settings to solve problems and help others within our community and beyond.

On the heels of our successful Day of Service Project, where students used voice and choice to make an impact within our local community, K-6 students are now turning inward and focusing on ways to make Willowwind a better place for all.  This Spring Semester, K-6 students are analyzing our current "Pack In / Pack Out" policy and are working together to determine the best routine for our school and more importantly for the environment.  During GD, students will be comparing and contrasting our "Pack In / Pack Out" routine with a possible new recycling routine or trash routine.  They will be running analysis on cost, natural resource usage, and ease in usability for students at school and families at home.  This project defines our pride in student-led learning where students take the lead and provide a strong voice in the decision making process.

Stay tuned as students communicate our progress in enhancing our waste routine and protocol.  To best guide the project, teachers plan to give students the time and space to complete adequate research and come to a group consensus.  The timeline for this change is based on student and research decisions.  Ask your child today about our newest school wide student-led initiative!

Rescheduled Library Trip - TOMORROW, Wed, March 5

Due to last Wednesday's two hour delay, we will be traveling to the Iowa City Public Library tomorrow, Wednesday, March 5th.  Please be sure your child has their library card.  We're looking forward to it.

Community Night RSVP by THIS Friday, March 7

The Kindergarteners are so excited in preparing for next week's Community Night.  Our scripts have been created and we are working hard on our lines to present our Acts of Kindness unit to our large Willowwind community.  In order to best prepare, please RSVP for this event to both myself and Meridith by THIS Friday, March 7th.  Please note that this is a mandatory event for all preschool through sixth grade students and your child's absence should only be due to an unforeseen, preplanned circumstance.

Also, please note that while the event begins at 5:30, please be sure your child is at the River Community Church NO LATER THAN 5:15 to best prepare for the evening.

Finally, I have republished last week's Save the Date blog posting for added info.  We look forward to seeing you at Community Night on the 13th!


Willowwind's much anticipated, annual PreK-6th Grade Community Night is just around the corner.  On Thursday, March 13th, at 5:30, join your child, and their Willowwind peers, at the River Community Church as classes present their culminating projects highlighting their present works and studies.

Classroom Focuses Include:

Preschool:  Countries Around the World

Kindergarten:  Acts of Kindness

1/2 Grade:  Willowwind - Then and Now

3/4 Grade:  The History of the Solar System

5/6 Grade:  History Fair Presentations - Rights and Responsibilities in History

This evening is an incredibly important event as it allows students to accept challenges and take risks as they perform and work on public speaking and presenting skills.  Your role as an audience member is crucial in providing all Willowwind students with a real-life, authentic experience in speaking and sharing to a large group.  All Willowwind students are expected to participate and are looking forward to having you a part of this event. 

Thorough this evening, students not only build public speaking skills but also build other crucial life skills such as character, self-acceptance, and resiliency.  Want to learn more about building resiliency in your child?  Mark your calendar and join Drs. Cindy Anderson and Tomlinson McCoy at drop off for next Friday, March 7th's Parent Coffee "Nurturing Happiness and Resiliency in Our Children".

In addition, we are in need of refreshments and snacks for the Community Night evening.  If you are able to volunteer and bring something please click HERE to sign up on Sign Up Genius.

March's First Friday Parent Coffee - THIS Friday, March 7

Children today experience many stressors: social, academic, economic, and environmental.  In fact, some of the latest research has found that children/teens have stress levels which are equivalent to adults.  This presentation will help parents learn ways to keep their children happier and stronger, so they can weather life's adversities and life with more contentment and self-acceptance.

The topic of THIS Friday's parent coffee is "How to Help Your Child Stay Happy and Healthy through Resiliency and Grit".  Willowwind Friends and Families will be sponsoring the final presentation in a terrific series by Dr Cindy Anderson and Dr Thomasin McCoy.

Please see the LINKED flyer for more information.  I hope to see you there.  Friday Parent Coffees occur at drop off and last until about 9:30.