It's Winter Break!

Hi Parents,

I'm writing today to wish you a happy, healthy, joyful winter break, and to pass along wishes for the happiest of holidays.  I will send along a weekly update at the beginning of January with classroom information for the first week of the new year.  

I'd also like to offer my sincerest thanks for the treats and gift cards so many of you sent.  I am humbled by your kindness and generosity.  :)

Enjoy the time off!  May you rest, recharge, and relax.  May you connect with your family and loved ones.  May your pants with buttons fit in January.  :)

Many Blessings,

Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!  Happy Surprise Snow Day!

What a fun week!  We have been reading gingerbread stories all week. Thank you to those of you who allowed your child to bring a gingerbread book to add to our tally.  We will decorate our gingerbread houses Monday afternoon.  

The Champe PEER group visited and presented a puppet show about friendship. The Willard band visited this week and we enjoyed a holiday concert.  

Meantime, it's about to be my favorite week of the entire school year!  The anticipation for Christmas and Winter Break is in the air, people are in a festive mood, and everyone is even kinder than normal.  We have some fun events planned next week to mark the Holiday, and will be finishing up some of our academic units too.  Please hang in there and read this entire message.  :)

World Market:
Our World Market will be this Tuesday, December 17th at 8:30 am.  At the market, each first grade class will sell one item that represents a holiday tradition from around the world.  Our class is selling ornaments that contain symbols of Christmas in Italy.  All items range in price from 50 cents to 1 dollar.  Students have been earning dimes (they are pretend dimes printed on card stock) for being ready, responsible, and respectful over the past few weeks.  They will use their dimes to shop at the market.  Our first grade team needs help at the market to count dimes and to man classroom tables.  If you are available and would like to volunteer, please email me.  We anticipate being finished by 9:15 am.   

Holiday Travel:

If you are traveling over the Holidays, and your child will be absent from school, please kindly notify the school in advance.  You can send a message or note to me, which I will forward to the office.  You may also submit your notification to the office directly by using the "online absence excuse", which is found on the Pinebrook home page.  The link to the Pinebrook home page is HERE.

Winter Break Reading Log:
I will send home a Winter Break Reading Challenge in next week's Thursday folder. If you have any questions about this reading incentive, please email me.  It is not required but I highly encourage your child to discover some fun, new ways to read over the break! 

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will read the Holiday Classic The Polar Express, and review many of the good reader strategies we have learned this year, such as predicting, retelling, making connections, and story mapping.  
• Math:  We will complete some Polar Express themed math activities.  
• Writing:  We will complete some Holiday themed writing activities.   
• Science / Social Studies:  We will finish our Holidays Around the World and Economics units at our World Market on Tuesday morning.  

I CAN'T WAIT!!!!!  The World Market is Tuesday, we are counting down to break, and Friday morning we watch The Polar Express. Friday ends with our school-wide Holiday Sing-a-long.  The entire staff and all the students pile into the gym. We sing Holiday songs from the many faith and cultural traditions represented at Pinebrook while the teachers and staff all take turns leading the songs. Seriously....I CAN'T EVEN CONTAIN MYSELF.  I am 45 years old, but at this time of year, I am a 6 year old.  It's one reason why YOUR children are "MY PEOPLE"!  (It's also the reason I am typing in so many CAPITAL letters.)

Please let me know if you have any questions about anything I've written here.

Have a great weekend!  I am looking forward to time with friends, wrapping gifts, and some Christmas cooking.   

Weekly Update

Hi Parents,

I'm writing to you from home today!  Every year, I take a personal day at Christmastime.  I keep my boys home from school (shh!) and we bake all day long. We make all the cookies I used to bake with my own mom.  We listen to John Denver's Rocky Mountain Christmas album (don't laugh!) because my mother played it all the time during the Holidays, and especially when baking. My boys have no memories of my mom, so this is one of my favorite days of the year because I am able to connect them to my memories of her.  💜   I hope you have a special Holiday ritual in your family too.  :)

Holiday Shop:

We previewed the items for sale at the Pinebrook Holiday Shop yesterday. Students may purchase items next Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.  If your child is purchasing Holiday Shop items, please kindly use the envelope I sent home yesterday to send his/her list and money next Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. Students who bring money may shop during our recess time.  Please remember there is no obligation to buy.  If you'd like to shop with your child, the Holiday Shop will be open Saturday morning (tomorrow!) from 9:00 - 11:30 am. The 5th Grade will be hosting its annual Pancake Breakfast fundraiser starting at 8:30 am too.

Scholastic Book Fair:

The Scholastic Book Fair will be held at school all next week. Students previewed the Book Fair today.  Students who bring money may shop at the Book Fair during recess next week (December 9th - 13th).  If your child plans to bring money for the Book Fair, please send the money in a sealed envelope marked with your child's name, my name, and "Book Fair" on the outside of the envelope. If you would like to attend the Book Fair to shop with your child, our Family Shopping Night will be Tuesday, December 10th from 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm. Due to the Book Fair, students will not check books out of the library next week.  Please keep your child's current library books home until Monday, December 16th.

Gingerbread Week!
Next week, we will read various versions of the story The Gingerbread Man.  If your child has a version of this classic story at home, he/she is invited to bring it to school, and I will read it to the class.

Gingerbread House Supplies:

As a culminating activity to our unit on gingerbread stories, we will make gingerbread houses. Please see last week's Thursday folder for a note requesting supplies for this project.  I am asking each student to bring 2 items from our supply list, and I highlighted the items I am requesting from your child on the letter I sent.  Please send the supplies no later than Thursday, December 12th.  If you are available to help with our project on December 13th at 9:45, please return the slip at the bottom of the form. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Polar Express Movie Party:
During the week of December 16th-December 20th, we will read and explore the holiday classic The Polar Express.  As a special treat, Friday, December 20th will be a pajama and movie day!  Students are welcome to wear pajamas to school.  I will offer hot chocolate to drink too.  I will make the hot chocolate with water only, without marshmallows, and I will offer a candy cane on the side.  I sent home a gold Polar Express "movie ticket" in yesterday's Thursday folder.  This is your child's permission form so he/she may watch the movie and enjoy the hot chocolate.  Please kindly sign and return the ticket as soon as possible.

Interim Progress Reports:
Interim progress reports (commonly called "interims") will go home Wednesday, December 11th.  A friendly reminder that I do not send an interim home for every child.  If I send one for your student, you will receive it via email at the email address on file in your ParentVue account.  If you need assistance accessing your ParentVue account, please contact Mrs. Sciortino in our school office at 703-957-4325.

Focus Areas for the Coming Week:

• Reading:  We will read various gingerbread stories and compare and contrast the elements of each.
• Writing:  We will complete some gingerbread themed writing activities.  
• Math:  We will finish our graphing and data unit.  We will talk about tally charts, bar graphs, picture graphs, and object graphs.  We will analyze graphs and create our own graphs.
• Social Studies:  We will finish our Holidays Around the World rotations and begin to prepare for our World Market on December 17th.

There's a lot happening as we head toward Winter Break!  Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or feedback about anything written here.

I hope you enjoy the weekend!