Dear P3 Families,

Field Day was a complete blast! The laughs and smiles on all the children’s faces were absoloutely priceless! They had so much fun running the obstacle courses, dunking themselves in the kiddie pools, throwing water balloons, and eating popsicles to end the festivities. A special shout out to the Kim, de Souza, Treis, and Isom families for helping us out on that very hectic day. We appreciate your time and dedication to our class!

The Robinson family spent their Spring Break in Havana, Cuba, and we are so thankful for all the information they shared. The children were so interested to learn how some cultures lived very differently, such as having no access to the internet, line drying their clothes, and having scheduled electricity and running water everyday. And did you know that there are no grocery stores in Cuba? The government provides families with a coupon book with their monthly rations and they pick up their food from local merchants. It is such an interesting and historical place, we should all plan a visit one day! Thank you again, Melissa and Christopher, for sharing that invaluable information!

We also enjoyed the annual visit of Little D, the tortoise. The children always enjoy learning about his new habits, as well as seeing him grow each time!

We are in the final stretch so the children are busy learning about insects and bugs, and particularly love observing our gel ant farm. The clear blue gel contains all the water and food they need, so the tunnels are very visible, and so are the ants! Watching these ants rapidly create tunnels and chambers is absolutely fascinating, as well as observing their habits such as brushing themselves and communicating with each other with their antennae.  Learning about the animals, plants, and cultures of Africa has also been a lot of fun. They are fascinated by the Safari animals, learning interesting facts about giraffes, zebras, lions, and much more! Perhaps the biggest favorite is learning the native African mancala game. We have so much fun every afternoon!

Match the bug to its x-ray:

Playing mancala:Our ant farm in NASA space gel:

Introduction to multiplication:

This is the last blog of the school year so please take note of these important dates:

Friday, 5/11: Mother’s Day Tea 9:30-10:15am

Friday, 5/18: Kindergarten Late Night 5:00-7:00pm

Wednesday, 5/23: Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony 1:30-2:30pm

Friday, 5/25: Last Day of School! Primary Pick Up 11:15. SUMMER BREAK BEGINS!

Sincerely,

Primary 3 Team

Dear P3 Families,

Thank you so much for making us feel so special during Teacher Appreciation Week. In turn, we have you to thank for giving us the opportunity to be grateful. Your children truly never cease to make us smile and we are very lucky to have the chance to work with them everyday. From our beautiful door decorations to our treats every day, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Please know that your generosity is truly appreciated, we truly felt like Hollywood celebrities!

We have learned so much about South America, and we would like to thank the Krauss family for sharing an abundance of interesting facts about Brazil. We thought it would be fun to share an old wive’s tale that the children loved about the Amazon Pink Dolphin (Boto Cor de Rosa). According to legend, the pink dolphin turns into a handsome man every night and looks for a lady to dance with. He still has his blowholes, so he needs to wear a hat at all times. However, as soon as the sun rises, he returns to the river and turns back to his true form. Alas, all the ladies are left with a broken heart! Mrs. Krauss also gave us the history on the martial art of Kapoera, and we all enjoyed special Brazilian chocolate treats! We all learned to Samba, as well!!

Many thanks to the Kim family that did crafts with the children, the Porter family for sharing a story, and the Ha family for spending a morning with us making “dirt and worms” pudding cups in preparation of insect/bug studies in May!

Please check out your busy bees as they go about their day!

Cultural and science studies on birds, and South American flags:

Mastering sounds:

Developing his pencil grip and concentration with the knobbed cylinders:

Working on diagraphs and blends:

Kindergarten student completing her leadership goal by reading to the Pre-K students:

Dynamic multiplication with colored bead bars (in kindergarten!)
Word building with the language stepboard:

As the end of the year approaches, report cards for the year will be mailed the end of May. Should you feel like touching base on your child’s progress before then, please do not hesitate to contact us!

Important Dates:

Tuesday, May 8: Primary Field Day 9:00-11:00am

Friday, May 11: Mother’s Day Tea 9:30-10:15am (1 special guest per student due to space restrictions)

Friday, May 18: Kindergarten Late Night 5:00-8:00pm

Wednesday, May 23: Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony 1:30-2:30pm

Friday, May 25: Last Day of School! Primary dismissal 11:15am

May Studies:

Insects/Invertebrates

People, plants, and animals of Africa

Sincerely,

Primary 3 Team

Dear P3 Families,

Can you believe there are only six weeks of school left? Its amazing how time flies by when you are having such a fun and productive year. Thank you to our dedicated parent volunteers who chaperoned our field trip to Springs Preserve. We cannot express how much we appreciate your help. We visited the rose garden and the recycling center, where the children were able to appreciate the beautiful and extremely fragrant roses that you do not really encounter on a daily basis. They also enjoyed the Sustainability Center, learning about ways we protect our planet by recycling and using energy efficient appliances and vehicles.

Learning about the Amazon Rain Forest has been extremely fascinating, particularly the animals that live in each layer. We also dissected flowers to learn the parts and functions.

Friends working on various South American activities, learning about native animals and countries:

As the end of the year approaches, we are working extra hard to fine tune the students’ skills developed during this school year. In addition to our science and cultural studies, friends are still diligently working on phonetic sounds, reading, practicing numerical symbols and their quantity, writing, and caring for our environment.

Important Dates:

Mon-Fri, 4/23-4/27: Teacher Appreciation Week

Friday, 5/11: Mother’s day Tea 9:30-10:15

Friday, 5/18: Kindergarten Late Night 5:00-8:00

Wednesday, 5/23: Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony, 1:30-2:30

Friday, 5/25: Last Day of School, Dismissal at 11:15

Reminders:

If you have volunteered to do activities with the children this month and have not set a date yet, please see us at the door so we can schedule a time for you. Thank you!

Sincerely,

Primary 3

Dear P3 Familes,

Although it doesn’t feel like it, it’s officially Spring! We would like to thank everyone who took the time to attend Parent-Teacher Conferences. As we all know, the best way to ensure your child’s success is having teachers and parents work together as a team.  Final report cards will be mailed home at the end of the school year, but please feel free to email us or let us know if you would like to meet again before May to touch base on your child’s progress.

We were very fortunate to have parents come in to volunteer to read, cook, and do crafts with the children. Special thanks to the Porter family for baking pizzas with us, the Allmandinger family for making wonderful dinosaur books with the children, and the Loveland family for reading a story to the class. The children are always excited when parents visit, and we are extremely grateful for your time.

Making pizza bagels: Reading Tikitikitembo:Creating Dinosaur Books:

We also were very fortunate to watch a dress rehearsal of “Beauty and the Beast,” a play production by the upper elementary and middle school students (4th-8th grade). They were very excited to see the characters of the Disney film come to life, along with the familiar songs. The Beast, Belle, Cogsworth, and Lumier were the P3 favorites!

To wrap up our studies on Asia, Ms. Joanne and Ms. Pauline had a special presentation on their native Philippines. The children saw pictures of beautiful islands, coconut plantations, famous landmarks including active volcanoes, native animals and plants, and unique forms of transportation. The children were able to practice a traditional dance called “Tinikling,” a dance used with bamboo sticks. We even enjoyed dried mango treats!

Children have been hard at work!

Researching the continent of Asia. They are working hard on paragraph writing, finger spacing, and proper letter formation.
Learning about amphibians:
Division with the golden bead materials:
Addition Strip Board:

Important dates:

Fri, 3/23: Half Day, Primary pick up 11:15am, SPRING BREAK BEGINS!

Mon, 3/26-Fri, 3/30 : NO SCHOOL, Enjoy your Spring Break

Mon, 4/2: NO SCHOOL, Teacher In-Service Day

Tues, 4/3: School resumes

Fri, 4/6: School Assembly: Please have the Kindergarten children on campus by 8:20am

Wed, 4/11: Primary Field Trip to Springs Preserve, 9:15am-11:30am (Please look out for chaperone sign up sheets)

Mon, 4/23-Fri, 4/27: Teacher Appreciation Week

April Studies:

Science: Environmental Awareness, recycling and taking care of the earth

Birds

Rainforest

South America: People, Plants, and Animals

Parts of the Flower

Whether you are staying in town or travelling out of the country, we wish you a relaxing and safe spring break! We look forward to seeing you all return, well rested for the final stretch of the school year!

Sincerely,

Primary 3 Team

Dear P3 Familes,

We have been so excited learning about Asia! Ms. Joanne spent the entire summer travelling around Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Macau, and Thailand, and was able to score some unique Practical Life materials from around the continent.

Traditional Tea Set from Hong Kong for Practical Life:

The children have also learned about the interesting animals, flags, and landmarks through various materials on our cultural shelf. Next week, Ms. Pauline and Ms. Joanne will give a presentation on their native Philippines, and we are extremely excited! Their favorite part? Learning to count in Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Filipino, Hebrew, and Japanese. A special shout out to Sophia Chiang and Marnie for teaching all of us the proper pronounciation of Chinese and Hebrew numbers!

Asian Flags: Animals of Asia:

Dr. Seuss week was a blast! We spent the day doing fun activities and crafts, and even enjoyed green eggs and ham (Thank you Ms. Alisa!). We would also like to thank the Allmandinger and Moll families for volunteering that day. We appreciate your help and your time, and the children truly had loads of fun with your stories and crafts. The children watched a special Cat in the Hat puppet show by Project Imagine, an organization that entertains children in our local hospitals. They are also the charity we are running for during our FMS PTO Family Fun Run/Walk on Saturday, March 17. We hope to see you all there!

Dr. Seuss Fun: Nyah’s birthday circle: Project Imagine Puppet Show:

We would like to thank the Creis family for doing a special presentation on France. The children had excellent questions about the Eiffel Tower, and enjoyed Madeleine treats afterwards!

Important Dates:

Sat, 3/17: PTO Family Fun Run/Walk

Fri, 3/23: Half-day for Primary, 11:15am dismissal. SPRING BREAK BEGINS

Mon, 3/26-Fri, 3/30: NO SCHOOL, SPRING BREAK

Mon, 4/2: NO SCHOOL, Teacher In-Service Day

Tues, 4/3: School resumes for students

Wed, 4/11: Springs Preserves Field Trip 9:15am-11:15am (Please look for chaperone sign up sheet)

Mon, 4/23-Fri,4/27: Teacher Appreciation Week

Sincerely,

Primary 3 Team