Dear Parents,

            I hope you are enjoying our wintery yo-yo weather.  The children seem adaptable to anything! I have just a few notes for you.

-       I know it seems early, but it’s time for us to start planning a bit for our 5^th grade continuation ceremony. It takes place on Wednesday, May 25^th at 9:30. Our tradition is that we have a team of UE teachers and 4^th grade parents (and 4^th grade students), plan and prepare the ceremony: modest certificates, decorations, modest refreshments, etc, so that 5^th grade parents can sit back and enjoy this special event. We’ll start making actual plans in early March, so for now, I’m looking for one or two 4^th grade parents who can be on the planning committee. There are jobs both for people who can come the day of the ceremony and for those who cannot come in, so let me know if you’d like to help. It’s a wonderful gift you can give, that pays back next year, when your child is graduating.

-       After adopting-out lizards earlier this year, we were left with two for classroom pets. We’ve enjoyed them very much, but as they have grown at different rates, they are no longer compatible with each other. The larger lizard routinely bullies the smaller one, so we have had to keep them separated. We’ve put the smaller one in a small, temporary habitat, as we hoped they could eventually be reunited, but at this point that doesn’t look possible. I’m looking at several solutions, like buying a second habitat or giving one to another classroom. But before I do that, I thought I’d check again and see if there is a family that would like to adopt one. Perhaps your circumstances have changed and this now seems like a pet you would like. Let me know if that is the case. Both lizards are nice and easy care on their own.

-       I want to thank you again for all your support regarding your children’s homework. Please continue to make sure your child is doing their homework each night. Homework is becoming more and more directed to the skills in reading, writing, math and science that we would like each child to master at their grade level, so it is very important that all assignments be completed, if at all possible. You’ve seen the writing rubric your child is using (last night’s homework) and a copy of that will come home to keep in their homework kit. As you check whether your children have completed their homework, please also check that they’ve taken appropriate steps for self editing on all assignments. We are working on developing a commitment to excellence in all of their assignments, and your encouragement can help that greatly.

-       We have started a buddy reading project with Nicole’s primary class. The older children  are paired with younger students and will be helping design and implement a reading program for them: reading to them, listening to their reading, helping them learn letters, sounds and words, and, of course, building a friendship while they practice their own reading skills. We are doing this each Friday afternoon.

-       And just so you know, we now have two small birds as additional class room pets. We had a huge, beautiful bird cage that was donated last year by the d’Jay family, but it had sit empty since last spring when the previous occupant passed away. Our two new birds are zebra finches, and, as of today, their names are Twitter and Google, birds of the new millennium J