Nov. 11 Veteran’s Day – School closed, no childcare
Nov. 12 Staff In-service day – School closed, no childcare
Nov. 23 Class feasts - Details to be announced
Nov. 24-26 School closed for Thanksgiving, no childcare

HOLIDAY AND STAFF IN-SERVICE DAY
Thursday, Nov. 11th, is Veteran’s Day. Friday, Nov. 12th, is an all staff in-service day. The school will be closed both days and there will be no childcare provided by the school.

VETERAN’S DAY CHILDCARE AVAILABLE
Toddler head teacher, Mary Aima, is offering childcare on Veteran’s Day, Thursday, Nov. 11, in her home in Alameda, from 8 am to 6 pm for $50.00 per child. There will be lots of fun, cooking, art, video, dress up, outdoor play, and more. Watch for a sign-up sheet on the clipboards. For more info, contact Ms. Aima 510-749-0853.

CHETWOOD ST. PARKING
People have been parking in the driveway, and blocking the driveway, at 474 Chetwood St., at drop-off and pick-up. This is a PRIVATE RESIDENCE, not part of the school. The tenants have often been inconvenienced when attempting to enter/exit their driveway. PLEASE DO NOT PARK IN THIS DRIVEWAY, EVEN BRIEFLY. In addition, parking on the sidewalk can get you a $250.00 ticket. Park on sidewalks at your own risk.
Thank you for your cooperation.

HALLOWEEN FESTIVITIES
A HUGE thank you to all the people who made our Halloween Celebration a great success, especially our Parent Volunteer Coordinators, and the Room Parents! The decorations were awesome, the treats were delicious, and all the children had fun with the various activities! Thank you also to Elizabeth Rynecki (Tyler Knowlton’s mom) for posting 100+ photos of the Brown Cotage classes on ofoto.com! To view the photos, go to the site ofoto.com and sign in. if you are new to the site, you can create a free account. If you wish to order photos, you have to join Ofoto.

SOUND OF THE WEEK Each Wednesday your child is encouraged, with your help, to find an object at home (preferably not a toy) that begins with the sound of the week. Put it in a labeled bag to share with your child’s class. The sound for next week is “I”, as in Itch, Igloo, and Ink.

FLU SHOTS AT KAISER
To clarify information from Kaiser and the media about flu shots: Adults and children age 5 and over are encouraged to get the flu vaccine. This age group gets the nasal FluMist which is NOT is short supply.
Children under age 4 get the flu shot. If you have a child in your house under age 2, all family members should get the vaccine. If your child spends time with children under age 2, your child and family should get vaccinated.
Kaiser gives the vaccines on the 6th floor of the Mosswood building at 3505 Broadway from 9 am – 12”30 pm and 1”30 – 5:30 pm.
Thank you to Valerie Brock (Claire and Emily Mansell’s mom) for this information!

FILEMAKER PRO
Thank you to all the parents who responded so quickly, offering help with the Parent Participation database!

BOXTOPS FOR EDUCATION
Keep collecting those little coupons from General Mills products! GLM school gets cash for the coupons, so fill up the collections jars (at each campus)! Thank you!

OPERA DVDS
Some families have yet to pick up their copy of the opera DVD, On The Road to Freedom. If you ordered the DVD, please stop by either school office for your copy.

CLASS News

LIVE OAK
What a happy Halloween! All the children had a great time and we hope you did as well.
Classroom observations have started. If you have not yet signed up, please check the list on the clipboard. It is required for at least one adult in the family to observe for 1/2 hour in the classroom before parent-teacher conferences on Nov. 17-19. You will find a “Pre-Conference” communication form in your child’s folder in the upcoming week. It will be pink. If you do not receive a form by Friday, please inform Ms. Church, as the forms are due by Nov. 10 (next week!). Please see Ms. Church if you have any questions!

GINKGO
Thanks to all the parent volunteers for making our Halloween festivities so much fun! It was great to see all the wonderful costumes; Robin Hood, Dorothy (of Oz fame), firefighters, butterflies, pirates, a bear, just to name a few! It seems that the parade was a good warm-up for Sunday’s trick or treating. All the snacks for the children were Green Light foods and delicious! Thank you to Livi’s family and Marni Hunter for taking the photographs that we’ll use for a Halloween collage.
On Election Day our Jennifer Theut came to lead us through our very own election. We voted on the names of our new hermit crabs (one given to us by Livi’s family. Thank you!). Some of the names were Mommy, Daddy, Slinky, and Dia, but we voted for Finnegan and Spike. Spike is the crab with spines on it; the other is in honor of a former Ginkgo classmate some of you may remember. Believe it or not, Finnegan and Spike seem friendlier since named. They’re coming out of their shells more often!
We’ve started our parent-teacher Conferences. Please sign-up on the sheet attached to the clipboard, and be sure to return the Pre-Conference questionnaire before your Conference!

MAGNOLIA
A HUGE thank you to all of the parents who volunteered for the Halloween festival! Your hard work is greatly appreciated! The children enjoyed all of the craft projects as well as the yummy and healthy snacks!
We had a visit this week from Mr. Moody, the music and movement specialist. The children had a wonderful time learning new songs and rhythm exercises.
For Sound of the Week we had some interesting items: Hearts, Horses, a Hard Hat, and Heart crackers that Sam Orta shared.
Last week Tatiana Santiago-Reeves turned 4! She brought some delicious cranberry scones for everyone. Thank you!
Reminder: GLM encourages all families to use recyclable/re-usable containers in lunches. In addition to protecting the earth, using plastic containers with lids allows us to return uneaten portions of food home. Please be sure to label both the lids and the bottoms of containers.
Remember Green/Yellow/Red light foods; the school offers milk, soy milk, and water at lunch time. Juice boxes are not needed. Chips, cookies, Halloween candy, etc., should stay at home. Thank you for your cooperation!

CAMELLIA
Wow! What a great Halloween turn-out! Thank you to the many, many parents who showed up to help and enjoy the festivities! Thank you to Teresa, Madeleine’s mom, for passing out Halloween treats! A big thank you to the Camellia and Mulberry Room Parents for doing the shopping and e-mailing for Halloween and the Camellia-Mulberry Get-Together. Be sure to join us this Sunday, Nov. 7th, from 11 am –2 pm, at Roberts Park in Oakland for this event. E-mail the Room Parents if you have any questions.
Thank you also to Sarah, Sofia’s mom, for reading all those stories to us! Book, after book! The children loved it!
Reminders
~ Please label all your child’s belongings, including clothes, lunch containers and cups.
~ Please encourage your child to bring an item for Sound of the Week.

MULBERRY
Thank you to all the parents who helped make our Halloween party such a great success! Thank you to Nicole Johnson for coming to class and making ghosts with the children. She painted the children’s hands, made handprints, and used raisins for their eyes!
We begin observations next week. Parents are encouraged to sign-up for these half hour visits in preparation of parent-teacher conferences Observations are a time for you to watch what your child does in class without interacting with the children. The sign-up sheet will be on the clipboard.
Song of the week:
Two little black birds sitting on a fence.
One’s name is Fast and the other name is Slowly.
Fly away, Fast.
Fly away, Slowly.
Come back, fast.
Come back, Slowly.
Two little black birds sitting on a fence.
One’s name is Fast and the other name is Slowly.

JUNIPER
Two thumbs up to our Room Parents for planning our fantastic Halloween fun!
Dashiell’s mom, Rebecca, shared some wonderful stories with us; “Runnery Granary”, by Nancy Farmer, and “Mrs. Mc Cool and the Giant Cuhullin”, an Irish tale by Jessica Souham. Two great books that are available at your local library.
If you would like to read to the class, or share your family culture, please sign-up on the bulletin board in the classroom.
Diego Rivera was our featured artist for October to November. He was best known for his murals. The children have classroom work that use some of his paintings; “Flower Day”, “Self-Portrait”, and “The Tortilla Maker”, to name a few. When you have time, take a trip to the Art Institute in S.F. on Chestnut Street and you can see a Diego Rivera mural.
A big thank you to William (Zoe’s dad) for painting our hand-washing table. Take a look at it! It is a beautiful periwinkle blue color that we love!
Parent observations have been going very well. Please fill out the Pre-Conference form and turn it in to the class. Conferences will be in the morning on Nov. 15, and in the afternoon on Nov. 16 and 17.

JACARANDA
Many thanks to everyone who helped with the Halloween celebration at school!
Thank you also to everyone who brought photos for our Day of the Dead shelf. The class has enjoyed “Pan de Muertes”, or Bread of the Dead for snack this week.
Thank you to Laura Lorenz, Camille’s mom, for the photos of the children for name tags in the classroom!
We celebrated Ms. Leck’s birthday by sharing smoothies of their choice, berry or mango, made fresh by Ms. Leck on Monday. Thank you, Ms. Leck, for sharing your special day with us!
On Election Day the class voted for snack, including marking their choices on paper ballots and counting the ballots after they were cast. Apples beat oranges 11 to 8.
Second Step Empathy Awareness focused this week on “same and different”, or, how people who are doing the same thing can have different feelings toward the activity (climbing a tree for example). A picture of children can show they are happy or worried, and the children see these feelings on the faces in the photograph.
Be sure that you sign-up for a Conference slot. The sheet is on the Jacaranda clipboard.

REDWOOD
The children had a wonderful Halloween celebration! Thank you so much to: Heidi Hudson, Susan Abrahamson, Mariana Harris, Scott Gamble, Noemi de Guzman, Kristin Kunkel, Sandra Klein, and Celeste Grinage! All of your hard work is very appreciated!
The children have begun learning about Eastern Africa, in particular the customs and traditions of the Masai people. We are also studying the ecosystem of the Savannah. We did a crisscrossing ribbon activity to sensorially explain how one factor can devastatingly affect the entire Savannah (a drought, poaching, etc.).
Our class has been discussing the importance of the recent election! We will have our own election on Friday to choose a president. Julia and Charlotte are running for the office, and their running mates are Crystal and Eric. We will also have a senator, Ali, and a representative, Brea. There are 3 propositions on the ballot, as well:
Prop 1 – No singing in class
Prop 2 – No whining or crying
Prop 3 – Silent reading everyday a 3:10 pm
The children chose the propositions, made signs, and have spokespeople for and against each proposition!
Overheard:
“Where does the ketchup go?”
“In the refrigerator.”
“Won’t it get hard in there?”

  ¶ 11:32 AM