Dear P3 Families,

International Children’s Day was a huge success! All the classrooms looked beautiful representing different countries and continents, and the children had an amazing time learning about different cultures, tasting international cuisine, and creating different crafts such as rock painting, fan making, and cookie decorating. We would like to send a big THANK YOU to all our parent volunteers, especially to our room moms, Esther and Stephanie for all their hard work! Asia would not have been as impressive as it was without you! Hope you enjoy the pictures of your little ones in costume!

Hilarious ICD exchange of the year between an FMS teacher and a P3 Student:

Teacher: Are you from Asia?

Child: Um, No… I’m from Malibu.


Important dates:

Thursday, 11/2: Parent/Child Night Last Names A-M 4:15-5:00/N-Z 5:00-5:45

Thursday, 11/9: No School, Teacher In-Service

Friday, 11/10: No School, Veteran’s Day

Tuesday, 11/14: Family STEM Night 5-7pm (Kindergarten only)

Thursday, 11/16: Picture Re-Take Day

Friday, 11/17: Field trip to Red Rock (Kindergarten only)

Wednesday-Friday, 11/22-11/24: No School, Thanksgiving Holiday

Tuesday, 11/28: Parent Orientation Follow-up 4:30pm Multi-purpose Room

Wednesday, 11/29: NV State Museum Field Trip P3/P4 (all students)

We will begin our studies on North America, Reptiles, the Mojave Desert, and Thanksgiving. Please keep an eye out for the classroom volunteer sign-up sheet, as the children are always looking forward to special visits from their parents. It is preferable to keep our monthly themes in mind when choosing stories or preparing your crafts.

Thank you so much!

Primary 3

Dear P3 Families,

First, we would like to send our love and support to those who have been affected by the tragic event on Sunday, October 1^st. Our community is small, but almost everyone had some connection to that devastating incident. We remain strong with you during this difficult time as it comforts us to keep in mind when things get dark; Las Vegas always shines.

It has been a very busy month, and the children love learning about their anatomy and organs. We have introduced the 7 continents, and we’re sure that the song has made its way home! We have been doing many activities on differentiating vertebrates and invertebrates, and we are learning all about mammals and pumpkins as well. In addition to our themes, many children are starting to move along with their phonetic sounds, word building, and blending three letter words. We are so proud of them!

International Children’s Day is on Wednesday, October 25^th. We would like to remind you that pick up is at 11:15am on that day. It will be a fun learning experience, as each classroom will represent a different continent or country. Students will be spending the morning “travelling” around the school with passports! That being said, there is a sign- up sheet outside our door for volunteers needed. If you could spare some time to help set up and/or help with activities, it would be greatly appreciated.

Finally, with the weather cooling down, please make sure that all jackets and sweaters are labeled with your child’s name.

Volunteers this month:

Porter: Circle Reading 10/10, Art Project 10/23

Ha: Cooking Project 10/17

De Souza: Circle Reading 10/24

Important Dates:

Friday, 10/20 PTO Fall Festival 5-8pm

Wednesday, 10/25 International Children’s Day pick up at 11:15am

Thursday, 10/26 NO SCHOOL, Teacher In- Service Day

Friday, 10/27 NO SCHOOL, Nevada day

Thursday, 11/9 NO SCHOOL, Teacher In -Service Day

Friday, 11/10 NO SCHOOL, Veteran’s Day

Thursday, 11/16 Picture Re-Take Day

Wednesday-Friday, 11/22-11/24 NO SCHOOL, Thanksgiving Holiday

Sincerely,

Primary 3 Team

Dear P3 Parents,

We would like to thank all of you that took the time to attend Parent-Teacher conferences. When teachers and parents work as a team, it is definitely a recipe for success! The next conference is not scheduled until April. However, should you feel the need to meet in the middle of the year for progress updates, we will gladly schedule a meeting with you.

We are concluding our studies on Community Helpers, Apples, Nutrition, and Land and Water Forms. We are lucky enough to have our afternoon recess at the same time as garbage pick- up, so it is incredibly cute watching all the children cheer on the garbage collectors on as they pick up the trash. These gentlemen are even kind enough to make sure to wave and honk the horn for the children!

We have also started our Peace Curriculum. This focuses on helping the children develop attitude, skills, and knowledge to live with oneself, others, and the environment. They learn about conflict resolution, making good decisions, and the importance of kindness.

Sign- up sheets for October volunteers and Practical Life Food Prep supplies are outside our door. There are already parents that have signed up, but there are a few more spots available. We greatly appreciate your help. Also, with the weather cooling down, we would like to remind you to please label your child’s sweater or jacket.

October Studies:

Anatomy, Bones, and the Five Senses

Vertebrates/Invertebrates

Mammals

The World and the 7 Continents

Pumpkin and Leaf Studies

Important Dates:

Thursday, 10/5 Picture Day

Friday, 10/6 PTO Movie Night

Friday, 10/20 PTO Fall Festival

Wednesday, 10/25 HALF DAY, International Children’s Day (11:15am primary pick up)

Thursday, 10/26 NO SCHOOL, Teacher In-Service

Friday, 10/27 NO SCHOOL, Nevada Day

Thursday, 11/9 NO SCHOOL, Teacher In-Service

Friday, 11/10 NO SCHOOL, Veteran’s Day

Thank You,

Primary 3

Dear P3 Families,

The children have settled into the new school year and we hope the parents have as well! We have worked diligently on classroom rules and procedures, and the students are enjoying making friends. We would like to thank those of you who attended Parent Orientation and we hope we were able to provide   useful tools and information.

Everyone is loving our study on community helpers, and the children find learning about the different types of landforms exciting. They love working on fruit and vegetable sorting, and we have started talking about seeds and apples with simple experiments as well. Our new friends have begun learning their letter sounds, and we are so proud of the Kindergarten children for being so diligent with their goal sheets. In addition to all of this hard work, we have been practicing all of our important safety drills.

Conference sign-up sheets have been set out, so please sign up for a 15 minute time slot if you haven’t done so. Please note that if your Kindergarten child’s home room is in P3 (where they are dropped off in the morning), the conference must be done with his/her P3 teachers as we have their assessments. Signing up in P4 is an option to talk about their afternoon sessions.

Parent volunteers for the remainder of September:

Art: Janisha Urquidez Tuesday, 9/19 at 9:30am

Cooking: Erika Loveland Tuesday, 9/26 at 9:30am

Please look out for new volunteer sign-up sheets in the beginning October.

Important Dates:

Monday – Friday 9/18-22 Book Fair

Thursday, 9/21 – Half Day, Parent Teacher Conferences (11:15 pick up)

Friday, 9/22 – No school, Parent Teacher Conferences

Thursday, 10/5 – Picture Day

Friday, 10/20 – Fall Festival

Wednesday, 10/25 – Half Day, International Children’s Day (11:15 pick up)

Thursday, 10/26 – No School, Teacher In-Service

Friday, 10/27- No School, Nevada Day

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Primary 3

Dear P3 Families,

Congratulations, we completed the first month of school! It is so wonderful having new friends join our classroom, and we cannot believe how our returning students have grown so much over the summer. We have a great mix of delightful personalities, and we believe that we will have an extremely productive, fun, and successful year!

We spent the majority of August practicing grace and courtesy. This includes classroom routines and procedures, using good manners, and using work appropriately. New friends were introduced to our Montessori materials, while returning students reviewed work they have touched on before they left for summer vacation. Our kindergarten students have gotten into the habit of using their goal sheets, and we love how excited they are to go to “official kindergarten” in the afternoon. Specials have also begun, which includes phys. Ed. (kindergarten students only), Spanish, music, and art.

Last April, we purchased a tadpole during our study on amphibians. He was the cutest addition to our P3 family; however, ALL metamorphosis took place during the summer! He came back this fall as a full blown little frog. I promised our children that he indeed is our tadpole, and I did not go to a pet store to buy a frog! Feel free to stop by to see “STARK,” although he mostly spends his time hiding under rocks.

This month we learned about the weather and seasons. We did a simple science experiment on the water cycle by making it “rain in a jar.” In addition, one of our students brought in a tornado machine; allowing students to witness this extreme phenomenon go from an F1 to an F5! We have been singing songs about various types of clouds, and boy are those names long! Children also learned the difference between plants and animals, and were able to work on simple experiments such as sink and float, and magnetic and non-magnetic.

If you were not able to attend our primary orientation and did not receive an information packet, please inform the P3 team and we will provide one for you. We know you received a lot of information from your parent handbooks, but here are a few reminders:

• If your child is having a difficult time during drop off, simply say goodbye and hand him/her to the teacher. They almost always calm down as soon as you leave, but please be assured that if they are distressed for a reasonable amount of time, we will give you a call.
• Please do not forget to sign your child in and out at drop-off and pick-up, including extended care. Everyone has been doing great with this process, so thank you!
• There is a composition notebook outside our door for communication. If you do not get the opportunity to speak with us directly, please leave us a quick note in the book regarding anything we need to know (upcoming absences, doctor appointments, early pick-ups, etc). Please keep in mind this book should not be used to relay personal or private communication. Instead, simply write a note in the book for us to give you a call when it’s convenient at the end of the day when we are no longer working with students.

Sign- up sheets for classroom volunteers and parent teacher conferences will be outside our door, so please keep an eye out for them.

September Studies:

• Safety/Community building
• Living/Non-Living
• Land/Air/Water
• Health/Nutrition
• Apple Studies

Important dates:

• Monday, 9/4: NO SCHOOL, Labor Day
• Monday-Friday, 9/18-22: Book Fair
• Thursday, 9/21: HALF-DAY, Parent-Teacher Conferences (pick up at 11:15am)
• Friday, 9/22: NO SCHOOL, Parent-Teacher Conferences
• Thursday, 10/5: Picture day
• Friday, 10/6: PTO Family Movie Night
• Friday, 10/20: PTO Fall Festival
• Wednesday, 10/25: HALF DAY, International Children’s Day (pick up at 11:15am)
• Thursday, 10/26: NO SCHOOL, Teacher In-Service
• Friday, 10/27: NO SCHOOL, Nevada Day

Sincerely,

Primary 3