Week of February 17

Homework
Review the Mayan Project Descriptions and help your student decide on a project.
Big Word: e a h c l l g n e
SHARING: Bring in something that is really, really old

Theme Unit
We are beginning our Mayan Unit and will be sending home project descriptions and information sheets this week. Please help your students explore the area(s) they are interested in and help them decide on a project that they want to do. They can do more than one but they should finish one before they start another. Their will be a Mayan Project Fair on March 20 from 11-1. That is the Friday before Spring Break.

Class Potluck
We will be having our second class potluck of the year at Heather and Ness's house on NE 14th Place. The event will be held from 1-3 on Saturday, February 21. Please bring a dish to pass. Try to keep the food kid friendly and not too sugary. Ness is a wonderful storyteller and will be open to leading the students through a tale. The house is a wonderful space for our community but we will be all responsible for keeping everyone safe. Thanks! We will have an announcement on the class door with the address. The house is near Prescott on 14th Place.

Lice and Cleanliness
Since the lice just does not want to stay away from our school this year I think it is time to institute tough measures until the situation is resolved. Until Spring Break please have students put their coats either in their cubbies or in a bag hanging on the coat hooks. We can't have coats touching. Lunches can live near the coat space instead of in cubbies. Also, make sure that you are washing your child's coats especially if they have been invaded by the little disgusting critters. I will keep spraying the room with anti-lice spray and have rid our community of the carpet and my wonderful red chair that will be missed by many. Hopefully we will all be able to work together to get this under control.

Nutrition and Snack
Please keep donating to the snack fund if you have the means. Everything is tight at our school right now and Nephyr is the snack buyer. It is great if she doesn't have to ask for reimbursements. Thanks.

Report Cards
For those of you new to our school we do have report cards and they will be coming soon. I was hoping to have them in your hands by today, but that was overly optimistic. My new goal is next Monday, February 23 and no later than Friday, February 27. They are very involved and take time that many of us teachers don't have. I like writing them but I don't like the amount of time they take. Thank you for your patience.

Conferences
Conferences are coming up and I will be posting my schedule very soon. I will be starting on Friday, March 6 and only be doing them on Fridays and the first Monday of Spring Break. If anyone needs special arrangements then that is always possible but please try to keep to the schedule as it helps me plan my daycare and family life. I can't wait to meet with ya'll and talk about your kids.

Volunteers
I love volunteers and it is so great to have all of you in class. I apologize if I don't always have the most important things for you to do, but many times it is simply helpful to have another body in the room. I am looking for a morning helper on Mondays and for someone to take a reading group on Tuesdays and Thursdays if anyone is interested. Thanks!

Intensives for Adults
The TFT is organizing an Intensives for adults session scheduled for Saturday, March 14th. They are looking for some more presenters if you have something that may interest adult learners in our community. Talk to TFT or Nikos (Thalia's dad) for more information.