Harbor Humane Society Donation

I'm extremely proud of my Waukazoo students! Together we raised $120 by selling candy canes at school. This was turned into a Petco gift card. Next, thanks to your generosity we collected pet food, cleaning supplies, bedding, toys, treats...all donated today to the Harbor Humane Society in Holland.

Thanks to Lainee R. for going with Abby and me today to deliver our classroom donation.  These two young ladies walked out with volunteer applications.  Both girls and I were a little teary watching a beautiful dog being surrendered by its owner. Both Abby and Lainee were appalled watching the owner walk away while the dog was confused and scared. That's when they both decided to pick up an application.

As the holidays come to a close and we all look to 2013 consider ADOPTING your next pet!  

Thank you again for your generous donations to the Harbor Humane Society.

Happy New Year!

Dads and Doughnuts Photos

(Thanks to Staci Graham for taking several photos the morning of Dads and Doughnuts!

Christmas Party Photos

Merry Christmas from the Perrien family!

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!  

I found this beautiful "Christmas Carols subway art" online.  So pretty! 

(Can't remember which site, but thanks to the designer!)

Merry Christmas!  

Earn $1000!

All Upper Montessori students have the opportunity to earn a bonus of $1000 for reading over the holiday break!

The attached "Holiday Break Reading Log" details how students may earn a bonus of $1000, JUST for reading every other day during their Christmas Break.

Students will EACH bring home a hard copy of the reading log; be sure to let me know if you have any questions.

--Mrs. Perrien

Mobile Project Rubric & Candy

MANY of the kids are losing their rubrics in class, or on the bus, or in the home...

Here's the rubric again:  Mystery Mobile Rubric

Projects that are completed look wonderful!  Come on in to take a look..

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Our class is sponsoring a candy cane sale tomorrow during lunch to raise money for the Harbor Humane Society.  Candy canes will cost $.25 each. 

Book Review-The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of School

BOOK REVIEW

In the Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of School by Ken Derby, Anthony [aka Tony Baloney], has a dream to be on The Late Show with David Letterman. It’s a hilarious show Tony watches where they tell about lots of crazy and goofy things. Tony gets himself into all sorts of trouble, then writes letters about them and sends them to David Letterman, hoping that he will think he’s funky enough and invite him to be interviewed on The Late Show sooner or later. 

But his parents don’t think he deserves such a treat after all the mayhem Tony has caused. Will he be invited onto The Late Show?  Or will he be grounded for a month? Find out by reading the Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of School.

     This book was great! It made me laugh out loud from the attempts that Tony tries that are so ridiculous and funny just to get noticed. But it is also interesting and sometimes a little bit mysterious, and I wonder if Tony will ever make it onto the Late Show?  This is certainly something I would recommend for kids of all ages, so get to the library and start readin’.

Book Review written by Paul B.

Celebrate the Season...LAST MINUTE!

This is a last minute idea!

We definitely need a big dose of Christmas cheer this week.  Let's plan to celebrate the season in the Upper Montessori class by having a holiday spirit week!

Monday--Winter Wonderland:  Wear anything white, silver, light blue, etc.

Tuesday--Red Day:  Wear anything red and Christmas-themed!

Wednesday--Green Day:  Wear anything green and Christmas-themed!

Thursday--Over the top!  Dress up in your over-the-top holiday sweaters, shirts, and accessories.

**This is our Christmas party day.  We have some wonderful moms planning a fun afternoon!

Friday--PJ Day!  Wear your Christmas pajamas, but be ready to work hard all day!  :)

(I must give credit to my girl's dance studio for this idea!)

Hug Your Children Tonight

Hug Your Children Tonight.

My heart is heavy for the families of all the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.  My thoughts and prayers are with the family members, friends, and community members of Newtown, Connecticut.

Today's news is especially difficult to process when you consider that you may be asked questions by your own children.  The news is extremely difficult to discuss even among adults; to consider what to say when your own children ask is daunting.

I encourage you to read the following online articles (originally shared in an email from the superintendent of my daughters' schools) in case your own children want to talk or have questions.

http://www.boston.com/dailydose/2012/12/14/how-talk-kids-about-the-connecticut-school-shooting/GsG2TFfNSH1IohWneiXioN/story.html

http://www.pbs.org/parents/rogers/special/scarynews-thoughts.html

We already have a procedure in place at Waukazoo for in-school emergencies, as well as "lock-in" security measures.  We have practiced these already this year at Waukazoo.  If the children ask me questions next week I will focus my replies around the safety and security measures in place at our school.

Please be sure to let me know if you have questions.

Hugs to your children-

Mrs. Perrien

The Grinch

The Waukazoo grinch has a heart that keeps growing and growing!  

This is all because of the wonderful acts of giving exhibited by all the Waukazoo girls and boys; AND because you are noticing and documenting these wonderful acts of generosity.

If you haven't sent in a heart yet, please be sure to observe and notice what your kids are doing.  Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our day-to-day activities that we forget to notice simple acts of generosity.

If you don't have a heart or can't find your original sheet, please feel free to print this one:

Christmas Traditions

It has become a time honored tradition for the Upper Montessori classroom to adopt a local charity in some way rather than do a classroom gift exchange.  In this way we can "be the one" to help make someone else's Christmas a little brighter.

In the past we've donated food and toys to the Harbor Humane Society, donated favorite books to the DeVos Children's Hospital, and created care packages for soldiers serving in Iraq.

In class last week we voted on a charity for December 2012 and our votes came back to support the Harbor Humane Society!  Between now and next Friday, December 21 we will be collecting food, toys, blankets, towels, and more for the Humane Society.  For wish list items please visit the following site:  http://www.harborhumane.org/donate_wish-list.htm.

I am always proud of the generosity displayed by our students.  They are excited about this and I hope you are, too.  Please consider donating a bag of food, pet toys, or other wish list item for this Christmas collection.  Please consider this in place of teacher gifts, too!

Thank you and Merry Christmas!

Mrs. Perrien

Animal Kingdom Project Research

 
This week we are researching a specific animal from the animal kingdom.  We will be working in both reading and writing workshop learning informational reading and writing skills; then we'll be putting our skills to work to create a nifty animal poster project that will be displayed at Dads and Doughnuts!

The following site is wonderful for finding lots of information about members of the animal kingdom!  http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/.

(Yes, Danny, it's even a University of Michigan site!)

Girls and Boys:  Try this one too!  http://www.biokids.umich.edu/ 

Another excellent research site:  http://tolweb.org/tree/

Students are researching today and tomorrow in the classroom.  If they choose to do research at home they may do so, or they may do all their research in class.

Students may also print items at home for use on their posters.  Having said that, a balance of web-generated items as well as handmade items will be required on the poster.

We will begin assembling posters in class on Wednesday.  Until then, the students main focus needs to be on research.

Thanks for any help you do provide!

Resthaven Field Trip

Photos from Moms and Muffins

Mystery Genre Project

All student signed up today in class with the title of their mystery chapter book. My requirements were that the book had to be a mystery, could not be horror, and had to be at least 100 pages.  Many of the kids came in today (and yesterday) talking about Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Hank the Cowdog, and also the 39 Clues.

I love that the girls and boys are looking at books they may not have otherwise given more than a passing glance!

Between now and December 20 students should read their mystery book and then work on their genre project--a Mystery Mobile!  Mobiles are due in class on the 20th.  All students will receive their mobile materials on Monday and then will be asked to work on the project at home.  Between now and Monday students should be READING their book.  I'm attaching the rubric to this posting.  The rubric may help students as they read to make notetaking a little easier!

Mystery Mobile Rubric

Late Start

Just a quick reminder that Wednesday is a late start day for Waukazoo.  All teachers will be in professional development meetings in the early morning.

Students will start school at 10:35 a.m.

Why does the thankful project matter?

This project made us think about what we might take for granted. (Kenny)
It helps me understand I can be more thankful. (Zoe)
It gets us in the Thanksgiving spirit. (Ashlyn)
It fills our bucket. (Laine K.)
It is time to show thanks. (Sarah)
It helps us be better people. (Lainee R.)
It helps us create our imagination. (Austin)
God probably likes us doing it. (Mia)
To enjoy others. (Ava)
We can express our feelings. (Lilly)
Writing about people makes them feel good. (Dorien)
It reminds us to be thankful for living in our country because of the resources. (Abby)

And...from everyone's page (practically everyone...), "It gives us essay ideas!"

Mrs. Perrien is thankful for her students because:

1)  They never fail to surprise her.
2)  Teaching is the ultimate bucket filler--helping someone overcome an obstacle or realize a strength is a blessing.
3)  Someone always calls her "mom" at least once a month, while she's on the job!
4)  Students remind her that there is great hope for the future!
4)  It's the only job where getting to dress in pajamas, "wear" a python, or use a hot glue gun is just another day at work!

Have a blessed and merry December!

The Elf Factory is so cool!  Thanks to all the parents volunteering their time to help this week.  What a wonderful way for the kids to get more involved in their gift giving.