Parking Lot Reminder

Please do not block the "drive around" area in the  parking lot when picking up and dropping off children. I understand that we have a lot of students coming and going, but parking in the "drive around" causes a safety hazard for our children as well as a traffic jam. Thanks for your cooperation in this matter. 

week of April 4 | snapshot

April is Autism Awareness month.

April 2 is the day we take part in Light It Up Blue each year to bring awareness to autism.

Since we were out for Spring Break, we all wore blue as a school and the kindergarten class learned about autism on April 4th.

Autism is a general term used to describe a group of complex developmental brain disorders – autism spectrum disorders – caused by a combination of genes and environmental influences. These disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by communication difficulties, social and behavioral challenges, as well as repetitive behaviors. While every country’s statistics differ, it is estimated that one in 68 children in the U.S. is on the autism spectrum – a 123% increase in eight years that is only partly explained by improved diagnosis. There is currently no medical detection or cure for autism.

The students also learned why we wore blue on April 4th for Light It Up Blue....

On December 18, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 62/139, tabled by the State of Qatar, which declares April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day (WAAD) in perpetuity. This UN resolution declares WAAD as one of only four official health specific United Nations Days and will bring the world’s attention to autism, a pervasive disorder that affects tens of millions. The World Autism Awareness Day resolution encourages all Member States to take measures to raise awareness about autism throughout society and to encourage early diagnosis and early intervention. It further expresses deep concern at the prevalence and high rate of autism in children in all regions of the world and the consequent developmental challenges.

For more information, visit autismspeaks.org.

We watched I Am Me!, a poem that celebrates students' differences and helps them appreciate what makes them unique.

We also watched My Friend Isabelle.

"My Friend Isabelle, created as part of the NDSS educational program Everyone Counts: Teaching Acceptance and Inclusion, is an animated story based on a children's book by Eliza Woloson originally published by Woodbine House. Viewers meet Isabelle, who has Down syndrome, and her friend Charlie. They learn that differences make life interesting and friends don't have to be exactly the same."

We then made a class puzzle. I explained how each puzzle piece is different, but they all come together to make something beautiful. Just like each student is unique, but together make a wonderful class and a fantastic school. Every puzzle piece (and student) has something special to add that no other piece has.

The students decorated their piece however they wanted, as their own. 

Here's the students and Miss Shelby putting the pieces back together to make it whole again. :)

We focused last week also on the life cycles of different insects.

There are two kinds of females, workers are smaller, queens are larger. Males, called drones, are long at maturity. Though smaller, workers have longer wings than drones. There are currently 26 recognized subspecies of honeybees. Unlike the grasshopper, the honeybee has four stages in its life cycle: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Eggs hatch in 28-144 hours, depending on their temperature. The larva that emerges is a small white grub. It stays in its wax cell, growing, and is fed and groomed by adult workers. The food that a female larva receives determines whether it will be a queen or worker. At 34°C, larvae feed and grow for 4-5 days, queens for 6 days, and males for 6-7 days. At the end of that period their cell is sealed by adult workers, and the larva molts, spins a silk cocoon, and transforms into the pupa stage. Pupae undergo a massive metamorphosis that takes about 7-8 days for queens, 12 days for workers, and 14-15 days for males. Once their final metamorphosis is complete, they chew their way out of the cell and begin their adult life. They will not grow or molt after emerging. Adult workers will live for 2-4 weeks in the summer, or as long as 11 months if they live through the winter. Males only survive for 4-8 weeks, and do not live through the winter. Queens live 2-5 years. The next stage is the larval stage where the larva is fed the royal jelly, pollen/nectar, and honey combination. Next the larva goes into the pupae stage where it caps itself into its cell to metamorphose into the mature stage. Queens normally take 16 days to reach maturity, the worker bees take 21 days, and the drone takes 24 days to mature. 

The students then wrote one fact they learned about bees and then had to figure out how to paint their hand like a bee.

They added wax paper wings and googly eyes to finish. 

Honeybees make honey. Keely

Worker bees have longer wings. Bennett

They get pollen for their babies. Libby

Honeybees make honey. Jaiden

Worker bees have longer wings. Jaida

Honeybees start out as eggs. Wyatt

Honeybees chew out of their cells. Ainsley

Queen bees take 16 days to become as adult. Charlie

Bees have the same amount of cycle stages as a butterfly. William

We watched Facts about Grasshoppers.

Grasshoppers come in many sizes and up to 5 inches in length. They can walk, hop

great distances and even fly. They have five eyes and no ears, but can still hear with a

special organ on my abdomen called a tympanal organ. Their large back legs are used

for hopping and making music. Their smaller front legs are used for eating and walking.

Then they made grasshopper magnets using clothespins!

Our last insect was the housefly.

Female houseflies are a little bit bigger than males. Like all flies, they only have one pair of translucent wings for flying and the second pair are only used for balance. Like many flies, houseflies have mouth parts like sponges. They mouths are made up of two fleshy parts attached to their lower lip. The lips have grooves that are like channels for the liquid food they eat. Housefly larvae have hooks on their mouths which they use to eat bacteria. Houseflies are found almost anywhere, especially places where humans live too. They probably came originally from the Eastern Hemisphere in temperate areas, meaning places that have seasons. Because their larvae grow best in human garbage and feces (they loved the poop parts!) , they are more common in urban areas. Their favorite environments are dung heaps, garbage cans, and roadkill. They also reproduce on rotted fruit and vegetables, old broth, boiled eggs, and even rubber. Housefly development has 4 steps: egg, larva or maggot, pupa, and adult. Houseflies can go through this entire cycle in as little as 7 to 10 days. This is why they can have up to 10 to 12 generations in just one summer. In North America and Europe, houseflies are common from July through September. In South America and Australia, they are most common from October to February or March. In warm weather, housefly larvae hatch in 8 to 12 hours. In cooler weather, hatching takes up to 24 hours. Houseflies eat milk, sugar, blood, feces, and rotting foods like fruits and vegetables. Houseflies need to be able to drink water, too. Their larvae also eat paper, and things like wool, and cotton. Houseflies are eaten by beetles and mites.

We watched The Life Cycle of a Housefly.

and Hi! Fly Guy!

our blend of the week was -op.
Here is a pic of the slider we made.

Charlie made a dinosaur in the art center.

Here is Jaida and her sidewalk chalk artwork on the playground.

We enjoyed the sunshine and are ready for it to come back!

Important Recital Information

The girls will NOT wear tights for tumble. You will only need pink tights and pink ballet shoes for recital. Please be sure to get "ballet" pink so you have the correct shade of pink. 

If you have not paid the balance on your child's recital, please do so by this afternoon. Boys balance is $25.00 and girls is $75.00. Your child will not receive his/her costume until the balance is paid in full. 

CMA Dance

next week

Monday, April 11th---

Week of the Young Child 

Preregistration for Summer and Fall begins

Tuesday, April 12th---

Week of the Young Child-Taco Tuesday

Preregistration for Summer and Fall

Group pictures starting at 9:00a.m. with Mrs. Dani Hanley

Wednesday, April 13th---

Week of the Young Child-Work Together Wednesday

Preregistration for Summer and Fall

Dance and Gymnastics-Please send students dressed for dance class. ALL recital fees due-$75.00 for girls and $25.00 for boys. 

Thursday, April 14th---

Week of the Young Child

Preregistration for Summer and Fall

Dance and Gymnastics-Please send students dressed for dance class. 

Music with Ms. Kim at 3:15

Friday, April 15th---

Week of the Young Child---Funky Friday (Music Festival with Ms. Kim---2:30-4:30)

Preregistration for Summer and Fall

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Motor Pool sign-up for April 22nd

Ms. Kim was informed this morning there are no Motor Pool Vehicles available on April 22nd. If you are available and would like to help us carpool the Pre-K students and K-5 students to view the movie and have popcorn and drinks and get a free book, please let Ms. Kim know. As you know, we have already sent out release forms for this event. We will still need carseats to transport the students. We hope that we can transport some of the kids to the event as we want to continue our partnership with this organization and enjoy a fun day with them. They are hoping we can have at least 15 students participate on that day, but we have 27 in these two classes.


Drivers already signed up:

Mrs. Angie-3 students
Ms. Allie -3 students
Mrs. Jaysa-5 students
Ms. Jarhonda-3 students
Ms. Kim-3 students


Please let Ms. Kim know as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding and support!!!

Register now for Summer and Fall 2016!!!

Recital balance due tomorrow

If your child is participating in the recital on May 1, the remaining balance for his/her costume is due tomorrow. For girls, the balance due is $75.00. This amount does not include the tights and shoes. For boys, the balance due is $25.00. Please be sure to place all CMA money in an envelope labeled with the child's name and "CMA Recital" so Ms. Kim can be sure to keep it separate from other money. Thanks!