Welcome to KM!

Archive for November, 2010

Welcome back to school! I hope you all had a nice, relaxing extra long weekend!

Today we had a class discussion about the job of the school nurse. We discussed how she is here to help if we get hurt or sick but that she is also here for kids who need to take medicine during the school day, to help manage kids allergies, and to teach kids about healthy living. She’s a very busy lady!

It seems that we have a few friends who thoughtthe nurse was just their ticket home on days that they simply don’t feel like coming to, or staying at, school. We seem to have a few friends who are frequently bouncing over to Mrs. DeAngelis or I (happy and peppy) complaining about a tummy ache/sore throat/headache and wanting to go to the nurse so that she will send them home.

We discussed thier job as students as well who are here to learn and how there are very few occasions that parents send a child to school healthy who then gets sosick during the day that they need to be sent home. We talked about how it does happen, but that it is very rare. We talked about when it is appropriate to be sent home (fever, etc.) but that just “saying” your tummy/leg/pinkie finger hurts is not going to get you sent home!

I hope having this discussion will reduce the number of unnecessary requests for nurse visits that we receive. I also hope that the kids understand that if they truly are feeling ill, that we will all help to figure out what is best for them and that if they really need to be sent home, we will do that. Please ask your child about this discussion and reinforce that they should only expect to go to the nurse if they are quite ill or hurt. Thank you!

Don’t forget our Thanksgiving Performance is tomorrow morning at 9AM in the cafeteria. Please go over your child’s line with him or her and encourage them to speak loudly and clearly. If anyone is planning to take their child home following the show, I will have a sign out sheet in the classroom. Please follow the children back to our room after the show and you can sign them out there. If they are not leaving early we will just continue on with our morning.

I hope you all have a fun and safe holiday. This has certainly been a busy month and I’m sure we are all looking forward to the break. We will see everyone again on Tuesday.

I trust that you all received the invitation to the Thanksgiving performance on Wednesday, November 24. In preparation for that day, please find a paper coming home today in your child’s VIP with the line from the Thanksgiving story that they need to practice. We practiced their lines today in class and will continue to practice here at school with our class as well as with our friends from KP and KT every day until the performace. Please be sure to go over (and over) that line with your child at home over the next 2 weeks. They will be reciting their line (along with 2 other K friends) as part of the performance. Thank you for your help with this.

The kids will have the opportunity to shop at the book fair tomorrow from 9:00-9:30 since there is no school on Thursday (which is their regular library day). Parents are welcome to come to the library at that time to help their child shop. If you will not be able to attend tomorrow morning but you would like your child to shop, please send either cash or a signed check (with a note stating the maximum you would like them to spend) in a zip top baggie labeled with their name and “Book Fair” in their VIP and the adults at the book fair will help them shop. If you do not want them to shop without you, they will be able to window shop and make a “wish list”.  The book fair will also be open Wednesday afternoon and evening for parents to shop or for families to come and shop together and buy some of the kids’ “wish list” books.

Just want to let you all know that the temperature in KM can fluctuate quite a bit throughout the day and the week. It can be as chilly as 60 degrees early on a Monday morning and can get up to 80 in a matter of hours. We try our best to regulate it by shutting off the heater/blower or opening a window when it gets too hot. I’m letting you know this so you can remember to dress your child in layers. A short sleeve or lightweight long sleeve shirt with a sweater or sweatshirt is best so they can take a layer off or put a layer on. Please be sure to send a jacket in addition to a sweatshirt as jackets are necessary for morning recess as well as our afternoon recesses as it is getting quite chilly out side. We would be happy to let them unzip or take them off if it gets really warm out but I fear that won’t happen again until the spring!

On that note, please be sure to LABEL hats, mittens, gloves, and scarves as they often get left in the closet and are often not claimed in the rush to go home. Also, with the season of winter jackets, hats, mittens, and dare I say boots and snow pants quickly arriving, please be sure to help your child learn to zip/button/snap their jackets, put on their boots, snow pants, and gloves on their OWN as we are getting 20 kids dressed and undressed at least twice a day. It will save us a LOT of time if they are capable of doing these things on their own.

Thank you and I look forward to seeing many of you this afternoon for conferences.