Hello! I'm sitting here in front of a cozy fire, thinking about the snow removal "stuff" I have to do this weekend. I decided I should write to you instead today (Saturday ) and tackle the snow removal tomorrow when it's a little warmer! This newsletter will be brief, since we only had two days of school last week, and one of those was delayed by an hour. The sad news is that we have now used our 5 "built in" snow days (2 for "flood days" in the Fall (which we may or may not be given back by the state), and 3 snow days. Even though we didn't have school last Tuesday because the buses couldn't get moving, it is still considered a snow day. So, any more snow days between now and the end of the winter will probably add to the length of our school year. But you never know for sure--last year, Dr. Murphy and the school board decided to extend the length of our school day for a given period of weeks to prevent adding days to the end of the school year. Right now, it is best to just "go with the flow" and see what happens.
As you know, it was VERY cold and windy most of last week, but the temperatures WERE above 10 degrees on Wednesday, so we did go out for lunchtime recess. Please be aware that the tendency is to get the kids outside if we can, so they can burn off some of that stored energy. The school's policy is "if it is 10 degrees or above, and the sun is shining, and the wind is mild, we will be planning to go outside". Please send in appropriate clothing to keep your child warm and dry. We have purchased a few sleds, so the kids can go sledding during the lunch recess. There are only a few sleds, though, so they have to share and take turns. Throwing snow in the air to land on other kids, throwing snowballs or smashing snow down on another child is not okay AT SCHOOL. If your child is allowed to do these things at home, please talk to him or her about the rules at school being different. We have close to 100 5 to 8-year-olds outside at the same time with just a few adults on duty, and these rules have been put in place to try to keep all of them safe. We also went over how to "bail out" of a sled that is heading toward an object like a tree or pole, so that no one will be hurt that way, either. Many children did not understand how to do that, or why. Children who come to school without snow pants, boots, hats, mittens or gloves, and/ or zippable jackets will not be permitted to play in the snow. They will have to stay on the tarred or cement surfaces for that recess.
Okay, so what is happening this week? Barring any unexpected storms or cold-weather-related incidents, it should be "school as usual". Monday should be a normal Monday. On Tuesday (1/09), we have our first of two Winter NWEA computerized tests--this one is for Reading. On next Wednesday (1/17), we have the second Winter NWEA computerized test--that one is on Mathematics. The results of your child's performance on these two exams will be shared with you in the not-too-distant future. Wednesday and Friday should be normal days, as well. On Thursday, we will have another teacher visit our room for a half hour in the morning (to check out our Reading Groups and morning seat word activities), and later that morning, I will be going to her room for the same purpose for about a half hour. These observations, called peer observations, are to give teachers a chance to talk about what they are doing in their classrooms with peers that have seen it happening. It should not disrupt your child's school day. We do NOT have Rug Rats skiing this Thursday, either, though we will start up again next Thursday (1/18).
I do want to take this opportunity to remind you that next Monday is a Holiday (MLK Jr. Day), and there is no school. If I suspect that we might not have school at the end of a week (based on weather forecasts), I tend to send lunch envelopes and bus note slips home a day or two early. That is what happened last week--I sent them home on Wednesday because we were supposed to be getting a storm on Thursday that had the potential to last through Friday morning. I am not asking you to return them early--I just want to make sure that you have them when you need them over the weekend.
That's all for this week. Stay warm, and I will be in touch next weekend.
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