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Friday, January 20, 2006
Friday, January 20, 2006
Calendar
1/20 Silent Journey 6 pm
1/25 February monthly childcare calendars due
1/27 Winter Break childcare registration due
1/28 2nd Annual GLM Crab Feed 4 – 8 pm
2/1 2006/07 re-enrollment contracts & tuition deposits due
2/1 Parent Financial Statements (PFS) for financial aid deadline
CRAB FEED JANUARY 28
The 2nd Annual GLM Crab Feed is just 1 week away! Check your Parent Pockets for your invitation and a ticket order form. Don’t miss this fun event – order your tickets right away. There will be chicken and a veggie dish along with the crab. Jennifer Palmer will do childcare with toddlers; Mica Olivares and Monica Mac Donald will care for primary students. Be sure to RSVP to save a spot for your child in the Kids Fest!
CALLING FOR DONATIONS – LARGE & SMALL
Yes, GLM parents, we need your help! GLM families are the greatest resource for donations for our auctions and raffles - from restaurant gift certificates, sporting and cultural event tickets, to weekend cabins and cruises!!
Perhaps you have a great piece of artwork that no longer fits with your decor, or a brand new barbecue you've never used? Do you work in the travel, wine or retail industry? Do you work for a company that might donate a product or service?
Let's make 2006 the best fundraising effort yet! Donor forms are available in the office - you can mail or bring your item to the office, and we'll take it from there.
Questions about donations? Contact Marni Hunter (marnihunter@sbcglobal.net) or Heidi Hudson (hudsonlaw@mac.com). You can also call Marni at 510-339-6082, or Heidi at 510-261-4729.
It may seem like a long time - but the Wine & Cheese Tasting and Auction is just around the corner. Mark your calendars!
April 22, 2006*
2:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Sequoyah Country Club
*Please note the date change
SOUND OF THE WEEK Each Wednesday your child is encouraged, with your help, to find an object at home (preferably not a toy) that contains 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 “Q”, as in Quail, Quarter, and Quince.
SCHOOL POLICY ON ALLERGY MEDICATIONS
If your child has allergies to nuts or other foods and they require medication if exposed to those allergens, the school must have a current medical release form on file to immediately administer prescribed meds and/or Benadryl.
Benadryl is a non-habit forming, safe way of slowing down an allergic reaction.
Please be responsible in making sure none of your child’s medications at school have expired.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact the school office at 510-836-4313.
FINANCIAL AID
Financial aid information and procedures were passed out to all families in December. For re-enrolling families the deadline for submitting a Parent’s Financial Statement (PFS) to retain your child’s space in the school is 2/1/06 – no exceptions. The original PFS is to be mailed to the School and Student Service for Financial Aid, and a copy of the PFS must be delivered to Nancy Haskins, director of Financial Aid at GLM by 2/1/06. Please see the information passed out for details. If you need the procedures/info, please contact either of the school’s offices.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
CLASS NEWS
REDWOOD (ELEMENTARY)
Thank you to everyone who participated in the “One Warm Coat” drive! The coats will be donated to Covenant House this week. Brea, Eric, and Clare will be delivering them along with a teacher.
I wanted to remind everyone that the elementary class is in charge of the recycling and composting here at the school. On that note, we need everyone to remember that their children need to bring ALL reusable containers in order to comply with our school's lunch policy. Plastic ziplock bags and juice containers ARE NOT recyclable. Please do not send these. The elementary children are actually going to be experimenting to see if our school can only produce one bag of garbage a day...for the entire school. They have begun to add the paper towels and tissues to the composting containers. This helps with the composting process. The elementary children will be going to each of the primary classes to do a review presentation to the younger children on what can and cannot be composted/recycled.
The sixth years have begun to work on their semester projects. They have each chosen a topic to research. The final project needs to include a graph of the data they have collected, 5 typed pages of their final presentation, illustrations, and a bibliography. They are very excited to put all of their research skills into one assignment.
The second years have been busy learning to memorize their multiplication facts. They are working on their Table of Pythagorus, flash cards, long multiplication problems with 2 digit multipliers, and the multiplication board.
The third years have begun to study adventure fiction. We recently completed our work with humorous fiction. They read short stories like “The Lady Who Put Salt In Her Coffee” and “Elephant Crackers”. They are now practicing writing their own humorous fiction stories as well as reading the adventure fiction stories.
The fourth years are busy studying the fundamental needs of the Navajo. They recently learned that the Navajo also experienced a similar "trail of tears" as did the Cherokee. They also made the connection about the names that were given to the various native American tribes and that most native Americans simply call themselves “the people”, in their own respective languages.
On Tuesday our class watched the film, “Our Friend Martin”, a biography for children on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The movie is a cartoon in which the main characters actually are transported back in time and travel through the major events of Dr. King's life. The movie also shows what possibly could have happened had Dr. King not become a Civil Rights leader. This part of the movie had the biggest impact on the children! The children genuinely walked away from the movie with a sense of thankfulness for Dr. King's leadership abilities. It also showed the children that each one of them possesses the ability to create change in the world.
We are all interconnected and the fact that our actions depict the lifestyles of future generations comes with a lot of responsibility. We can make the effort and choice to learn about other people's cultures in an effort to make the world a more embracive environment OR we can choose to live an ethnocentric life which will be passed on to the generations that come after us. One of the quotations that is hung in our classroom year round reads:
"We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” ~ Anonymous
JACARANDA
We miss those who have been sick during and after the holidays. The next two months are when children are most frequently ill, and we hope that you will remind your children to wash hands frequently.
Practical Life is the area of the classroom, where children scoop, pour, scrub, polish and doother necessary tasks that increase their hand-eye coordination, finger strength (for pencil grip), and other important abilities. Most importantly, Practical Life is where a child will increase his or her attention span. Part of this area of the class is food preparation, and during this time of the year, the children continue to cut and serve fruit, peel vegetables, and prepare and serve tea to their friends.
Since last fall, the children began work in the classroom as early as eight a.m. When the children arrive, they usually have a work in mind, whether it is helping to set up the actual classroom, by pulling chairs down from tables, for instance, or to choose an age-appropriate work from the shelves. We hope that if you asked your children, that they would agree with us, that this has been a good move for the children and adults in the Jacaranda class.
The Jacaranda classroom always can use the volunteer efforts of parents, and especially those who are willing to take on a project from beginning to end. Just as we do with the children, we will give you everything you need to be successful. Talk to a Jacaranda teacher today to help your child and his or her classroom!
The current cultural and geographical focus of the Jacaranda class is South America, and the biological focus is reptiles. Remember, children this age learn best when given a physical example, something they can hold, touch, smell, eat, or hear, then we talk briefly, using precise language (this may already be familiar as the "Sound of the Week" model).
An example of four-year old imagination: "One day there was a cloud that looked like someone on a skateboard being pulled by a dog..."
JUNIPER
Cold and flu season is upon us! The best defense is plenty of rest, water, and healthful foods. Kind reminders to frequently wash hands can also help a lot. Also, please be sure to dress your child in warm layers so they can adjust to the ever-changing weather.
With extra layers of clothing being added and removed during the course of the day it is important to label all clothing (and everything else, for that matter) with your child’s name.
LIVE OAK
Good news, bad news this week. Ms. MacDonald was out with the flu for two days.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that the children and the classroom did very well without her and everyone was happy to have her back. We are finishing up dinosaurs this week as well as South America. Many of the children learned the names to all the countries! It is awesome to see how excited they are. If you haven’t been in to observe for a while please feel welcome. We would love to see you.
GINKGO
For Sound of the Week the children brought lots of things: potatoes, popcorn (to share after lunch), and pictures. They also made a job of walking around the classroom to look for things that begin with the sound "p".
We made a change for the new year. We did away with the cubbies and the children now have files that they put their work in. Please remember to check their files daily for work.
When we returned from our three-day weekend the children talked to the group about what they did over the weekend. We also discussed why we had a three-day weekend: In honor of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.’s birthday. The children enjoyed listening to how he helped make the world a better place for everyone.
MAGNOLIA
The Magnolia teachers had a very productive and inspiring inservice day last Friday. We started the day with a lecture from guest speaker, Ginni Sackett. It was the second lecture in a series on using positive language to redirect children and promote positive change in the classroom. We also changed many of the practical life and art jobs to revitalize that area of the classroom.
We have adopted a new parakeet named Moon. She lost her mate over the holiday break and will be joining the other parakeets in a nearby cage so she can have some companionship.
The head teachers took a field trip to a children's book store on Piedmont Ave., Lucciola, to purchase books with the proceeds from the October book fair. Ms. Olivares picked out many old favorite books in Spanish such as “Madeline”, “The Run Away Bunny”, and “The Little Red Hen”. Ms. Hernandez read “Madeline” and the children sat with rapt attention to this familiar story told in Spanish. Eva Eisentraut announced to the group that she has the same book “in France”!
MULBERRY
The Mulberry class is always working on independence. One way you can help your child is by dressing them in cloths they can manipulate themselves. Elastic pants without belts, tops that don't snap between the legs, and Velcro shoes really support the child with gaining independence. The children learned the shoe game this week: children take off their shoes, put them in a pile and we mix them up. Then the teacher whispers a child’s name and they have to find their shoes and put them on. You can see why Velcro shoes would help your child.
The class got some new books from the book fair profits. The head teachers went to the children’s book store, Lucciola, on Piedmont Ave. and chose new books for their class. We have all been enjoying the new books!
The CRAB FEED is coming up on January 28 and I hope to see you there! It really is a fun evening without children. If you haven't bought your tickets yet be sure to before Monday so the Parent Coordinators can order enough crab!.
Song of the week:
____________ (child’s name) wore her pink shoes today,
her pink shoes today, her pink shoes today.
___________ wore her pink shoes to school today…
(Continue with different children and clothing items)
CAMELLIA
The cloth diaper and underpants program is a big success! The children are enjoying undressing themselves and using the toilet. Some are not too interested in using the toilet themselves, but are very interested in what their friends are doing.
We want to thank Jack’s dad, Rob Anderson, and Leo’s mom, Catherine Greenblatt, for reading every new book in the Brown Cottage!
Reminder: the Crab Feed deadline to get your tickets is Monday, Jan. 23. We need to know how much crab to get – please RSVP as soon as you can.
Jennifer Palmer will be providing childcare for toddlers in the Brown Cottage during the event, and is preparing several fun activities so your children can have a wonderful time while you are too. The cost is $25 for one child, $20 for a second child. You must sign-up in advance for the childcare.
Calendar
1/20 Silent Journey 6 pm
1/25 February monthly childcare calendars due
1/27 Winter Break childcare registration due
1/28 2nd Annual GLM Crab Feed 4 – 8 pm
2/1 2006/07 re-enrollment contracts & tuition deposits due
2/1 Parent Financial Statements (PFS) for financial aid deadline
CRAB FEED JANUARY 28
The 2nd Annual GLM Crab Feed is just 1 week away! Check your Parent Pockets for your invitation and a ticket order form. Don’t miss this fun event – order your tickets right away. There will be chicken and a veggie dish along with the crab. Jennifer Palmer will do childcare with toddlers; Mica Olivares and Monica Mac Donald will care for primary students. Be sure to RSVP to save a spot for your child in the Kids Fest!
CALLING FOR DONATIONS – LARGE & SMALL
Yes, GLM parents, we need your help! GLM families are the greatest resource for donations for our auctions and raffles - from restaurant gift certificates, sporting and cultural event tickets, to weekend cabins and cruises!!
Perhaps you have a great piece of artwork that no longer fits with your decor, or a brand new barbecue you've never used? Do you work in the travel, wine or retail industry? Do you work for a company that might donate a product or service?
Let's make 2006 the best fundraising effort yet! Donor forms are available in the office - you can mail or bring your item to the office, and we'll take it from there.
Questions about donations? Contact Marni Hunter (marnihunter@sbcglobal.net) or Heidi Hudson (hudsonlaw@mac.com). You can also call Marni at 510-339-6082, or Heidi at 510-261-4729.
It may seem like a long time - but the Wine & Cheese Tasting and Auction is just around the corner. Mark your calendars!
April 22, 2006*
2:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Sequoyah Country Club
*Please note the date change
SOUND OF THE WEEK Each Wednesday your child is encouraged, with your help, to find an object at home (preferably not a toy) that contains 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 “Q”, as in Quail, Quarter, and Quince.
SCHOOL POLICY ON ALLERGY MEDICATIONS
If your child has allergies to nuts or other foods and they require medication if exposed to those allergens, the school must have a current medical release form on file to immediately administer prescribed meds and/or Benadryl.
Benadryl is a non-habit forming, safe way of slowing down an allergic reaction.
Please be responsible in making sure none of your child’s medications at school have expired.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact the school office at 510-836-4313.
FINANCIAL AID
Financial aid information and procedures were passed out to all families in December. For re-enrolling families the deadline for submitting a Parent’s Financial Statement (PFS) to retain your child’s space in the school is 2/1/06 – no exceptions. The original PFS is to be mailed to the School and Student Service for Financial Aid, and a copy of the PFS must be delivered to Nancy Haskins, director of Financial Aid at GLM by 2/1/06. Please see the information passed out for details. If you need the procedures/info, please contact either of the school’s offices.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
CLASS NEWS
REDWOOD (ELEMENTARY)
Thank you to everyone who participated in the “One Warm Coat” drive! The coats will be donated to Covenant House this week. Brea, Eric, and Clare will be delivering them along with a teacher.
I wanted to remind everyone that the elementary class is in charge of the recycling and composting here at the school. On that note, we need everyone to remember that their children need to bring ALL reusable containers in order to comply with our school's lunch policy. Plastic ziplock bags and juice containers ARE NOT recyclable. Please do not send these. The elementary children are actually going to be experimenting to see if our school can only produce one bag of garbage a day...for the entire school. They have begun to add the paper towels and tissues to the composting containers. This helps with the composting process. The elementary children will be going to each of the primary classes to do a review presentation to the younger children on what can and cannot be composted/recycled.
The sixth years have begun to work on their semester projects. They have each chosen a topic to research. The final project needs to include a graph of the data they have collected, 5 typed pages of their final presentation, illustrations, and a bibliography. They are very excited to put all of their research skills into one assignment.
The second years have been busy learning to memorize their multiplication facts. They are working on their Table of Pythagorus, flash cards, long multiplication problems with 2 digit multipliers, and the multiplication board.
The third years have begun to study adventure fiction. We recently completed our work with humorous fiction. They read short stories like “The Lady Who Put Salt In Her Coffee” and “Elephant Crackers”. They are now practicing writing their own humorous fiction stories as well as reading the adventure fiction stories.
The fourth years are busy studying the fundamental needs of the Navajo. They recently learned that the Navajo also experienced a similar "trail of tears" as did the Cherokee. They also made the connection about the names that were given to the various native American tribes and that most native Americans simply call themselves “the people”, in their own respective languages.
On Tuesday our class watched the film, “Our Friend Martin”, a biography for children on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The movie is a cartoon in which the main characters actually are transported back in time and travel through the major events of Dr. King's life. The movie also shows what possibly could have happened had Dr. King not become a Civil Rights leader. This part of the movie had the biggest impact on the children! The children genuinely walked away from the movie with a sense of thankfulness for Dr. King's leadership abilities. It also showed the children that each one of them possesses the ability to create change in the world.
We are all interconnected and the fact that our actions depict the lifestyles of future generations comes with a lot of responsibility. We can make the effort and choice to learn about other people's cultures in an effort to make the world a more embracive environment OR we can choose to live an ethnocentric life which will be passed on to the generations that come after us. One of the quotations that is hung in our classroom year round reads:
"We don't inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.” ~ Anonymous
JACARANDA
We miss those who have been sick during and after the holidays. The next two months are when children are most frequently ill, and we hope that you will remind your children to wash hands frequently.
Practical Life is the area of the classroom, where children scoop, pour, scrub, polish and doother necessary tasks that increase their hand-eye coordination, finger strength (for pencil grip), and other important abilities. Most importantly, Practical Life is where a child will increase his or her attention span. Part of this area of the class is food preparation, and during this time of the year, the children continue to cut and serve fruit, peel vegetables, and prepare and serve tea to their friends.
Since last fall, the children began work in the classroom as early as eight a.m. When the children arrive, they usually have a work in mind, whether it is helping to set up the actual classroom, by pulling chairs down from tables, for instance, or to choose an age-appropriate work from the shelves. We hope that if you asked your children, that they would agree with us, that this has been a good move for the children and adults in the Jacaranda class.
The Jacaranda classroom always can use the volunteer efforts of parents, and especially those who are willing to take on a project from beginning to end. Just as we do with the children, we will give you everything you need to be successful. Talk to a Jacaranda teacher today to help your child and his or her classroom!
The current cultural and geographical focus of the Jacaranda class is South America, and the biological focus is reptiles. Remember, children this age learn best when given a physical example, something they can hold, touch, smell, eat, or hear, then we talk briefly, using precise language (this may already be familiar as the "Sound of the Week" model).
An example of four-year old imagination: "One day there was a cloud that looked like someone on a skateboard being pulled by a dog..."
JUNIPER
Cold and flu season is upon us! The best defense is plenty of rest, water, and healthful foods. Kind reminders to frequently wash hands can also help a lot. Also, please be sure to dress your child in warm layers so they can adjust to the ever-changing weather.
With extra layers of clothing being added and removed during the course of the day it is important to label all clothing (and everything else, for that matter) with your child’s name.
LIVE OAK
Good news, bad news this week. Ms. MacDonald was out with the flu for two days.
That’s the bad news. The good news is that the children and the classroom did very well without her and everyone was happy to have her back. We are finishing up dinosaurs this week as well as South America. Many of the children learned the names to all the countries! It is awesome to see how excited they are. If you haven’t been in to observe for a while please feel welcome. We would love to see you.
GINKGO
For Sound of the Week the children brought lots of things: potatoes, popcorn (to share after lunch), and pictures. They also made a job of walking around the classroom to look for things that begin with the sound "p".
We made a change for the new year. We did away with the cubbies and the children now have files that they put their work in. Please remember to check their files daily for work.
When we returned from our three-day weekend the children talked to the group about what they did over the weekend. We also discussed why we had a three-day weekend: In honor of Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.’s birthday. The children enjoyed listening to how he helped make the world a better place for everyone.
MAGNOLIA
The Magnolia teachers had a very productive and inspiring inservice day last Friday. We started the day with a lecture from guest speaker, Ginni Sackett. It was the second lecture in a series on using positive language to redirect children and promote positive change in the classroom. We also changed many of the practical life and art jobs to revitalize that area of the classroom.
We have adopted a new parakeet named Moon. She lost her mate over the holiday break and will be joining the other parakeets in a nearby cage so she can have some companionship.
The head teachers took a field trip to a children's book store on Piedmont Ave., Lucciola, to purchase books with the proceeds from the October book fair. Ms. Olivares picked out many old favorite books in Spanish such as “Madeline”, “The Run Away Bunny”, and “The Little Red Hen”. Ms. Hernandez read “Madeline” and the children sat with rapt attention to this familiar story told in Spanish. Eva Eisentraut announced to the group that she has the same book “in France”!
MULBERRY
The Mulberry class is always working on independence. One way you can help your child is by dressing them in cloths they can manipulate themselves. Elastic pants without belts, tops that don't snap between the legs, and Velcro shoes really support the child with gaining independence. The children learned the shoe game this week: children take off their shoes, put them in a pile and we mix them up. Then the teacher whispers a child’s name and they have to find their shoes and put them on. You can see why Velcro shoes would help your child.
The class got some new books from the book fair profits. The head teachers went to the children’s book store, Lucciola, on Piedmont Ave. and chose new books for their class. We have all been enjoying the new books!
The CRAB FEED is coming up on January 28 and I hope to see you there! It really is a fun evening without children. If you haven't bought your tickets yet be sure to before Monday so the Parent Coordinators can order enough crab!.
Song of the week:
____________ (child’s name) wore her pink shoes today,
her pink shoes today, her pink shoes today.
___________ wore her pink shoes to school today…
(Continue with different children and clothing items)
CAMELLIA
The cloth diaper and underpants program is a big success! The children are enjoying undressing themselves and using the toilet. Some are not too interested in using the toilet themselves, but are very interested in what their friends are doing.
We want to thank Jack’s dad, Rob Anderson, and Leo’s mom, Catherine Greenblatt, for reading every new book in the Brown Cottage!
Reminder: the Crab Feed deadline to get your tickets is Monday, Jan. 23. We need to know how much crab to get – please RSVP as soon as you can.
Jennifer Palmer will be providing childcare for toddlers in the Brown Cottage during the event, and is preparing several fun activities so your children can have a wonderful time while you are too. The cost is $25 for one child, $20 for a second child. You must sign-up in advance for the childcare.
