This month's newsletter topics

Special Guests and Winter Fun  – Themes This Month – Dates to Remember –  Valentine Celebrations – Summer Camps and Fall Preschool Registration – Parent Teacher Conferences – Kindergarten Round-up

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Last Month

This last month has gone by so fast!  Our students were busy while they were in class. We had fun building igloos with shaving cream and ice, painting with ice cubes and we worked hard learning the story of Balto and are looking forward to sharing it with our families.  The students also learned about polar animals and had fun doing a science experiment.  We wondered why polar bears don’t get as cold as we do when we have our “paws” in ice even though our body temperature is the same?  It was really fun and the kids were amazed to see how the blubber/fat kept their paws warm.

We also learned about Martin Luther King JR and why we celebrate his birthday. Our class had some really nice conversations about being fair and treating people equally no matter what they look like, where they come from, if they are a boy or girl. These kids are great and have many thoughtful things to say.
We also explored our classroom globe learning about the North and South poles and the equator. At circle time we enjoy reading from a book that has pictures of children from around the world. The kids have a chance to choose a place on the Earth and then we open the book to learn about a child that lives in that country. We see that even though they may look and dress differently and speak another language we have many similarities. Each page includes a favorite food and toy, siblings, parents or guardians and information about the house and school. We find that the kids are very interested in learning about children from around the world and that they will stay in circle time for a long time. We think it is a great lesson for children to see that our world is made up of many different kinds of people and that we share so many similarities.

 

Special Guests and Winter Fun!

This winter we are lucky to have Chuck Cheesman, Tallulah’s Daddy, Matt Lynch, Teacher Iris, and Trent Price join us. Our students love singing and dancing and it is great to have a variety of artist join our classroom!
Also visiting our class this month is Loann Wong.  She has joined Hands On for many years now to help our class learn about Chinese New Year and cook with the children to make a fabulous feast!  Everyone is welcome to join us at noon on February 12th.  Please RSVP at school on the sign up list so we know how many adults and kids to plan on.
Looking ahead we will have a group of Japanese college students visit our class on March 6th.  They will be visiting several preschools while they are in Portland and other parts of Oregon. They will help our class learn about Japan while sharing crafts and stories with our students.  The program joined us last year and it was a very fun and memorable part of the year.
 

Themes this Month

• Groundhog’s Day
• Presidents’ Day
• Chinese New Year
• Friendship and Valentine’s Day

Dates to Remember

Thursday, Feb. 1- 
Registration for fall and summer programs begins for current families
February 1st – 9th – 
Bring in Valentine’s Day cards (more details below)
Monday, February 12-
Chinese New Year Lunch, noon
Tuesday,  13- 
Valentine’s Day party, we will make friendship fruit salad for snack.
Wednesday,  14-
Valentine’s Day party, we will make pizza lunch.  You do not need to pack a lunch today.
Monday, Feb. 19- 
NO SCHOOL – President’s Day
Saturday, Feb. 24- 
Open House 10 AM to Noon.  Registration for new families.

Valentine Party

Please bring in Valentine’s cards By Feb. 9th.

We will celebrate Valentine’s Day a little bit each day during February 12-14 to make sure everyone gets in on the fun.
Please do not address cards to specific children having all the cards the same and signed by your child really helps when they are passing them out. Bring in as many cards are feel comfortable making.  We have about 40 families, 24 kids a day, so everyone will have plenty!  Cards can be store-bought or homemade.

Summer Camps and Fall Preschool Registration

• Registration for summer camps and fall preschool starts February 1st
• Registration materials and information will be available for summer camps and fall preschool beginning this month. All of the registration forms will be available online.
• Hands On accepts registrations from current students (and younger siblings) any time after Feb. 1st.
• Current students will know the camps and classes they are in by Feb. 12. Camps and classes fill up fast, so turn in your registration soon for your first choice of days.
• New students are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Registration forms will be dated when received.

Please feel free to call us at 503-239-8521  or email us with any questions you have, as always.

Parent Teacher Conferences

We invite you to join us for parent-teacher conferences.  Each conference, with two of your child’s teachers, will last 15 minutes.  Parent-teacher conferences are a great time for families and teachers to get to know each other.  It is a time to celebrate each child’s strengths as well as bring up any concerns.  We are lucky that teachers and parents can check in with each other daily, but sometimes it is nice to have 15 minutes of uninterrupted time to talk about how school is going.  If your schedule doesn’t fit with the conference calendar, let us know and we will set up another time.  Conferences are optional.  If you want to meet, the sign-up sheet will be located by our school calendar.

Kindergarten Round-up

Kindergarten Round-Up is an opportunity for you to learn about the school your child will attend for kindergarten.
At Round-Up, you will likely tour the school, meet the kindergarten teachers, and register your child for school. Take this opportunity to ask questions about parent involvement and school events you and your child can attend before the start of school.
Schools schedule visits every winter in February through early March. For more information about your school and to register your child, go to https://www.pps.net/Page/11877
 
Here are the events for our closest neighborhood schools
Abernethy (K-5) School: Thu, Feb 15 6 p.m
Arleta, (K-80 School:Wed, Feb 21 6 -7 p.m.
Atikinson (K-5) School: Wed, Feb 7 6 – 7 p.m. (Spanish only) and Wed, Feb 21 6-7 p.m.
Beverly Cleary K-8, Hollyrood -Thu, Feb 15 9 – 10 a.m. and 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Creston (K-8) School: Thu, Feb 1 9 a.m. and Thu, May 3 6 p.m.
Richmond (K-5) , Wed, Feb 7 6-7  p.m. and Tue, Feb 27 6-7 p.m.
Sunnyside Environmental (K-8) School: Tue, Feb 13 6:30 p.m. and Tue, Feb 27 9 a.m.