Snow Kindergarten

Just a reminder that our picnic is set for Tuesday, June 9th from 11:00 - 2:00. AM friends will come in the morning as they normally do. PM friends are to be brought to school at 9:30. Families are asked to arrive around 10:45 to set their dish on the tables outside, on the kindergarten playground and then head to the gym for our performance. Remember to bring blankets and/or lawn chairs for your comfort while eating. We’ll also have sack races, ring toss and hula hoops for fun! All children will be dismissed with their families (or to Kids’ Club) for the day at the end of the picnic.
As of Friday, we had approximately 120 people RSVP’d for lunch. As you prepare your dish, please make it to feed at least 30 people so that we will have plenty of food to feed everyone!
If you have any questions, concerns or suggestions, please email me or speak with me in class. Thanks so much!

I just had to share a website that I read about this weekend. I checked it out briefly myself and think many of you will appreciate it as well. The website allows you to look up restaurants by city, name or day of the week to see when meal deals for kids are offered. You can try it by clicking on the link on the right side of this page under Blogroll. Look for KIDS EAT FREE. Happy Dining!

As part of our ABC countdown, we wrote letters to soldiers stationed overseas. Our letters will be sent to Lance Corporal Hussin Kyle, a graduate of Dearborn High. If you or your family would like to write a letter to Hussin, please send it into class before Friday. I will take all the letters to the post office on Friday after school. Thank you for being part of this special effort!

If you ordered a yearbook with your fall picture package, your child will be bringing it home today (Monday). I have written your child’s name on the back cover to avoid confusion.

We have only 11 days of school left and there is still so much to do. We are currently testing each child’s reading level as well as other literacy skills. We are also learning poems and completing projects for our Kindergarten Picnic. To add to that busy schedule, we now need to complete the district’s common math assessments. These need to be completed this week. If you are available to come in and read the questions to the children and then “bubble in” their responses, I would GREATLY appreciate the help. There just isn’t enough time in 1/2 of the day to get this all done! Please email me or see me in class if you can help.

Press Release #29/08-09
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 22, 2009
Contact: David Mustonen, Communications Coordinator (313) 827-3006

Dearborn Public Schools To Appear
On The Best Schools In Michigan Program

The Dearborn Public Schools will be one of three districts featured on an upcoming television program titled The Best Schools In Michigan. The thirty minute program will air on WXYZ, Channel 7, on Thursday, May 28, at 10:00 p.m.

“We were very excited to be asked to take part in the Best Schools program,” commented Dearborn Public Schools Superintendent Brian Whiston.

“It’s an excellent way for the district to tell our story and share with others how we are being successful at providing quality instruction and meeting the academic needs of each child in our district,” Whiston added.

Along with Dearborn’s story being told on the thirty minute television program, the district will take part in a live web cast that will also begin at 10:00 p.m. on May 28 and continue an additional thirty minutes after the on-air program ends. The interactive web cast will be streamed live over the internet from the Channel 7 studios and provide interested parents the opportunity to ask questions and receive additional information directly from school district staff. To access the live web cast, log on to www.wxyz.com on the night of the program.

The Dearborn Public Schools has a long tradition of excellence and The Best Schools In Michigan program is a great way to share that message with everyone in the Metro-Detroit area. New programs such as all day kindergarten, partnerships with the community, and the variety of high school programs will be some of the topics discussed on the show.

…but we didn’t win. We heard back from the Red Wings’ officials who were judging the “Beard is Back Contest”. Thank you to everyone who took time at home to create a beard and wear it to class that day. Hopefully, the Wings will be successful again next year and we’ll have the chance to enter again!

Items for our class raffle basket have slowly been coming in. If you haven’t already donated an item or two, please consider helping us. Our theme for both classes is “Summertime Fun”. We could use items such as a picnic blanket, beach towels, bandaids, gift cards, sand toys, bubbles, etc. Please see me if you have questions or need other suggestions. Thank you to everyone who has already contributed. Your generosity is appreciated!

There are two picnics scheduled. The first happens on Friday, June 5th. This is the Snow School picnic which takes place AFTER SCHOOL on the school grounds. You should have received information last week and again today on ticket sales. This is also when our class basket will be raffled off.
The next picnic is our Kindergarten Family Picnic which is scheduled for Tuesday, June 9th. This will take place during the school day. Both the AM and PM children will come to class at 8:35 on that day. Family members are invited to come to school at 11:00 when we will perform a couple of poems. A potluck picnic lunch will follow the presentation. More information will be coming home soon.

Tuesday is Kindness Day! We’ll be looking for those random acts of kindness throughout the day. This is also the last day for children to check out library books this year. All books will need to be returned and/or fines paid next Tuesday.
Wednesday is Lollipop Day. Last week, you received your child’s spring pictures. Packages and/or money are to be returned to class today.
Thursday is Math Day. We’ll practice our skip counting and do LOTS of number models. We’ll also write and illustrate our own number stories.
There is NO SCHOOL on Friday, May 22nd and Monday, May 25th in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.