Save the Date: Authors' Cocoa - NEXT Fri 12.19

Willowwind is pleased to announce our annual Authors' Cocoa!  At this wonderful tradition each student has the opportunity to select and share original writing pieces with the Willowwind community.  YOU ARE INVITED to attend our Authors' Cocoa and listen to our beautiful poetry.

You're Invited!!  Authors' Cocoa

Who:  Willowwind Friends K-6

What:  Share Writing Pieces

Where:  Willowwind School's GD Space

When: 
 Thursday, December 18 12:30 - 2:00 pm for Grades 3-6

 Friday, December 19 1:30 - 3:00 pm for Grades K-2

Due to our quickly growing student body, our students are set to share on two different days.  Please mark your calendar for the K-2 day, but we'd love to have you attend both days if you are able.  Come see what our older friends work on in their classes and are capable of doing!

Why: To share our love for reading and writing with you!

We are still in need of parent volunteers to help out with:

•  day of set up (Thursday)

•  day of tear down (Thursday & Friday)

•  cocoa serving needs (Friday).

Please click HERE to sign up to help.

As a reminder, Winter Break begins on Saturday, December 20th.  Willowwind will be closed through Sunday, January 4th.  Classes resume and the office reopens on Monday, January 5th.

Nov Scholastic Book Order ARRIVED

If you ordered books through November's Scholastic Book Order they have arrived and are ready to go home.  I have not sent them home with students as a number of you mentioned that they were gifts for your children.  Upon drop-off or pick-up please feel free to find your child's bag of Scholastic Books in our Kindergarten Project Room.  Books are sorted by child in labeled plastic bags on the Project Room's file cabinets.  Please pick up at your earliest convenience.

In addition, to all parents:

Due to our wonderful November order, Scholastic has sent us a class set of FREE BOOK coupons to use in the month of December.  Look for these coupons to go home Wednesday, December 10th.  Please note, while there won't be a formal Book Order this month, feel free to take advantage of the FREE book deals by placing an online order.  Any extra orders that are placed in December will be shipped to school and I will send home as soon as they arrive.  Take advantage of this extra offer soon as these coupons expire on December 31st.

To order online:
1)  VISIT scholastic.com/readingclub
2)  First time visitors:  SET UP an account for your family - Enter class activation code NCNYY
3)  SHOP from a variety of inexpensive book and take advantage of the two FREE Book coupons.
4)  Payment is accepted online.
5)  Books are delivered directly to the class and I will send home with your child as soon as they arrive.

Thanks for all your support!

PS:  Parents that ordered in November, look for additional coupons in your child's bag of orders books as an extra thanks from Scholastic.

PPS:  Want more FREE books?  I have extra coupons!  Just let me know if you are interested and the coupons are yours!!

Winter Reminders

Please read carefully as there are a lot of reminders as we approach the end of the calendar year.

Library - Wed, Dec 17
We will be traveling to the library next Wednesday, December 17th.  Please be sure your child has their library card.  Also note that November's library books are due TODAY - Wednesday, December 10th.

Winter Clothing
Please be sure your child is prepared for daily outdoor play.  Even though there is no snow boots and snow pants are still required.  Our boots and snow pants protect our clothing and bodies from the winter mud and cold.  Please bring daily.  In addition, please be sure your child's cubby is stocked with an extra change of winter clothes.  Accidents of all sorts happen so please be sure your child is prepared in case of a spill or mess.

Homework
As we reach the  middle of the school year, it is important that we continue to help our children foster consistent routines between home and school.  Please be sure to take time nightly to work on:
•  Math (one double-sided page per week day)
•  Spelling (click HERE for a nightly routine)
•  Reading (new books will go home at the start of the school year in the meantime utilize the public library or your wonderful home libraries to build reading fluency).
A special Winter Break Homework Packet will go home towards the end of next week as a fun activity for your child to do while home from school during their two weeks off.

Rest Time Blankets
Rest Time blankets will go home for the last time next Wednesday, December 17th.  After Winter Break, the Cottontails' Rest Time will be transferring into a Quiet Reading Time where the Kindergarteners will work on building reading stamina and oral fluency.  This is always an exciting time where our reading brains grow quickly and rapidly.  When Rest Time blankets go home next week they may stay home for the remainder of the school year.  Thanks!

Non-Prescription Medications
Tis the season for the common cold, runny noses, and scratchy throats.  Please remember that you must fill out a non-presprition medication dispersal form for Willowwind to administer any over the counter medications - including throat lozenges.  This over-the-counter medications must be given to the Front Desk and dispersed by our office administration they cannot be kept in your child's backpack or cubby for students to use at their convenience.  Thank you for understanding and please see Rachel at the Front Desk with any questions or further needs.

Gem Party
We are working really hard on recommitting ourselves to being respectful and responsible throughout our entire school day.  We are using kind voices, kind bodies, and respectful actions.  Because of this we are nearing our second gem party - a movie and a snack.  Next week, the kindergarteners plan to watch The Velveteen Rabbit (rated G) and/ or The Willows in Winter (not rated) as we have just finished their beautiful stories.  Click the links above to learn more about the movies.  It is rated G.  Please let me know if you have questions or concerns about the movie and snack.  Congrats to the Cottontails!

Save the Date! - Friday Night Fun - Fri, Dec 12
Friday, December 12
6:15-8:15
Looking for something fun for the kids to do?  Put Friday, December 12th on your calendar for Friday Fun Night at Mercer Aquatic Center / Scanlon Gym. Fee is $5 per child (youth 12 and under). Admission wrist bands may be purchased at the check-in desk.  Kids' activities will include: three inflatables (including an 18-foot slide), roller-skating, swimming, open game room, and crafts. Socks are required to play on any of the inflatables.  All participating children must be directly supervised by an adult at all times.  There must be at least one adult present for every five children.  For more information, call the Recreation Info Desk at 319-356-5109 or visit their website by clicking here.

Don't forget, too, about our upcoming Authors' Cocoa on Thursday, December 18 (grades 3-6) and Friday, December 19 (Grades K-2).  Click HERE to volunteer.  See you soon!

Thankful For...

The end of November and beginning of December have given us many reasons to be thankful and feel the joy of the season.

Thanksgiving Feast
The Thanksgiving Feast was a huge success!  The student prepared food was delicious, the decorations were beautiful, the bilingual conversations were fun, and the feeling of joy and love was heartwarming.

Our Turkey Centerpieces with

"I am thankful for..." feathers

Partner Family Feast Table Mates

"I am thankful for my family."

The Nutcracker
It was such a treat to return from Thanksgiving Break and head to the Englert and Nolte Dance Academy's annual production of The Nutcracker.  We were so proud to cheer on our own Conejito friend, Isaak Martin as he performed as a part of The Nutcracker's cast.  It was fun to hear our side of the theater a buzz when Isaak stepped on stage.

In addition, a BIG THANK YOU goes out to Andy and Phoebe Martin who generously donated the tickets for our K-2 students and teachers.  Without their support, last Friday's field trip would not have been possible.  This is a great example of an alternative way of giving.  Have a community opportunity that you'd love to share with our classes?  Please feel free to contact me with any ideas.  Giving can take place in many different forms.  What we do here at Willowwind cannot be done with your support, community partnerships, and encouragement.  We are always looking to our community as an extension of our school.  Friday's Nutcracker is a wonderful way of helping our students learn from beyond the classroom.  Let me know if you have ideas on how to further bring the community to our classroom.

Excited to be at the Englert Theater

Ballerinas

Way to go, Isaak!

Englert Field Trip THIS Friday 12.5

We are excited to announce that Willowwind's K-2 classes will be taking a special trip downtown THIS Friday, December 5th to see the Englert's showing of The Nutcracker.  Nolte Academy of Dance and The Englert Theater are excited to present a unique and highly entertaining version of the beloved Winter classic.  Student will take a journey with Clara and her hero as they defeat the evil Mouse King.  We will travel with them through the magical Land of Snow and delight in their arrival in the Kingdom of Sweets.  We are beyond excited!

The Nutcracker begins promptly at 9:30 am so to be sure that we get there in time for the showing we MUST leave school no later than 8:35 to catch the 8:45 bus downtown.  Please be sure your child arrives no later than 8:15 so we can prepare for our field trip and leave on time.

We can't wait to tell you about all the fun we'll have when we see you in the afternoon.  What a fun end to our week!

Specials Update - Nov / Dec

Enjoy the updates from our Specials teachers.  Please let them know if you have any questions or concerns.  They'd love to hear from you.

Spanish w/ Megan

In Spanish class this month we learned how to say "por favor" (please) when asking for a food (comida) item. We learned about virtues, such as being thankful (Doy gracias por…), by modeling please, thank you, and you’re welcome. We continued to practice what we have already learned this year through games and songs. We prepared for our Thanksgiving Feast by learning specific Spanish vocabulary that can be used at school and at family celebrations.

Words that you and your children can use with your child include:

Por favor – please

Gracias – thank you

De nada – you’re welcome

We practiced using our Spanish manners with various food items:

Pavo, por favor – turkey, please

Maíz, por favor – corn, please

Calabaza, por favor – pumpkin, please

Puré de manzana, por favor – applesauce, please

Maestra Megan

meganl@willowwind.org

Physical Education w/ Karen
One of our November PE units featured Long Rope Jumping.  Students worked on entering, exiting and having fun inside a long jump rope held by two turners. They displayed their GRIT attempting these new and challenging rope jumping skills.

In class, we briefly discussed some of the benefits of jumping rope.  We talked about how rope jumping is an excellent exercise for the heart, muscles and brain. In this article I wanted to explore the “brain benefits” in more depth. We don’t often think about how our brain reaps benefits while we are huffing, puffing, sweating and jumping.  But, researchers are finding that physical activity, like jumping rope, does help to prepare the brain for learning in the classroom. Below is a list of the “brain benefits” from physical activity (originally identified by Jean Blaydes, of Action Based Learning), attributed specifically to jumping rope.

Did you know that jumping rope increases mental alertness?  When students raise their heart rate while jumping, the brain gets more blood. The blood feeds the brain its needed nutrients and oxygen for heightened alertness and metal focus. I like to tell students that they are “turning on” their brain for learning.

Did you know that jumping rope helps the brain to grow more brain cells?  It has been demonstrated that aerobic activity grows new brain cells in rodents.  Promising research suggests that this may also apply to humans. Check out THIS interesting article for more information.

Did you know that jumping rope helps the brain with language acquisition? Think of the steady beat students keep to jump in time with the rope and the songs they sing that match that beat. Do you remember any jump rope rhymes from your childhood? These rhythmic aspects of jumping rope are foundational to basic reading skills. Beat awareness and beat competency simulate the basic rhythm patterns of our language that need to be established for better language acquisition. More details about the connection between rhythm and reading can be found in THIS article.

Did you know that jumping rope improves your mood? While raising their heart rate, students that jump rope help their brain and body balance its chemistry and electricity.  The result can be a state of peace and emotional well-being. Physical activity that increases heart rate is often prescribed to treat anxiety and depression. Check out THIS abstract for a summary of research in this area.

It is my hope that your student and your family reap all the fitness and “brain benefits” that rope jumping has to offer. I haven’t even mentioned yet how easy it is to start jumping. It requires little equipment, time and space; a perfect winter, indoor activity. Students can jump alone or with friends and family. So, grab a rope and start jumping today!

Happy Jumping!  Karen Robbins

Questions? Need any jumping ideas? karenr@willowwind.org

Music w/ Katherine
Click HERE to read Katherine's updated blog.
katherinea@willowwind.org

Art w/ Ryan
Coming Soon!
ryanb@willowwind.org