Honeybee Howler, 12/14/09
December 14, 2009
Calendar
December
18 Preschool Family Heritage Potluck
Last Day of Classes Before Winter Break
19-1/3 NO SCHOOL - Winter Break
January
4 Classes Resume
18 NO SCHOOL - Martin Luther King Day
February
5 *No Preschool Classes - PS Admissions Day
15 NO SCHOOL - Presidents' Day
*Prearranged childcare available as space permits
View as a Webpage
Dear Parents and Friends of the Honeybees—
Our apologies to you—we have missed a couple of weeks of Howlers. That certainly doesn’t mean that there wasn’t anything newsworthy going on in the classroom—there definitely was—but, as you may have heard, it’s top secret.
More Information about the
Family Heritage Potluck
Each family brings a dish that comes from their heritage. It’s really fun (and instructional) if it can be a special recipe that represents your family’s cultural and/or ethnic background. It’s always fun if you can write out a little card describing the dish, where it came from, and what it means to your family. We don’t worry about nutritional balance—there’s always enough from all the food groups, and believe you me, no one ever goes away hungry. We want to expand the palettes of our Honeybees!
Our wonderful PFA folks will provide something to drink, plates, cutlery, cups, napkins, and so forth. Karen, Donna, and Julia will probably be looking for helpers to setup and cleanup before long, if they haven’t already.
REMEMBER—the Family Heritage Potluck is at 11:45 sharp, on Friday, December 18th. It is important to be on time—we will begin the festivities promptly.
IMPORTANT: PLEASE no school age siblings at the Family Heritage Potluck… there’s not enough room for them and they will be involved in special goings-on in their own classrooms for sure. THANKS for helping with this.
TWO IMPORTANT REMINDERS...
- Children who go to the Village, even just occasionally, really MUST HAVE A BACKPACK!
- All Honeybees MUST have a HAT & MITTENS EVERYDAY!
Honeybee Art Portfolios
HUGE THANKS to Nance Leonhardt and Donna Avedesian for sorting the art work and creating your Honeybee’s art portfolio. The sorting is a big task and we are so grateful for the help. We hope that you have taken the time to look at the contents of your Bee’s portfolio with your Bee. Be sure to ask lots of questions. How did you do that? How did you make that color? Did you use the Five Families to help you with this drawing? Is that a painting or a print? What makes it shiny? Did you make this art after you read a story? Did you have fun when you made this art? Did you do this by yourself or did you do it with a partner? There are lots and lots of questions that you can ask your Honeybee that will extend their learning way beyond responding to “Isn’t that great? Or that’s pretty.” The children put a great deal of time and effort into their art work, no matter whether it is an assigned project or a piece that your child has made because the spirit moved him or her. They deserve to be the recipients of your excited curiosity.
Family Sharing
We have had four wonderful Family Sharing times already. ASK YOUR HONEYBEE about these special times. What does Charlie’s Family do that is special at this time of year? They hang up knitted stockings that have been made for each member of the family by a great grandmother or grandmother. On December 6th, what does Lucas’ Family do? They celebrate St. Niklaus Day by putting their shoes out. Niklaus watches all year long and writes good deeds in his golden book and big mistakes in his black book. He puts little gifts in the shoes. Mark and Ingeborg helped us to make little paper shoes and, voila, when we came in from recess, our shoes were full of sweet, little mice! There is something special that Audrey’s Family does all year round. What is it? They have a big garden and eat from it year round. For dessert, they specialize in making ice cream year round! What does Chloe’s Family celebrate at this time of year? They celebrate the old Scandinavian tradition of Santa Lucia. Chloe dresses all in white with a red sash and a crown of candles. Her little brother dresses as Star Boy. They deliver fresh saffron buns and coffee to their family in the morning. We have many more Family Sharings to look forward to in the next week. Thank you all for taking the time to do this—it’s a great way for the Bees to learn more about each other.
Birthdays
We have also celebrated 4, count ‘em, four birthdays in the last couple of weeks. Zoie, Emma, Grant, and Sophia all shared their 5th birthdays with us. We are so glad you were born!
Emperor Penguin
Have you noticed the emperor penguin that has taken up residence in the Honeybee room? He/She is 4 ft. tall—taller than any of the Bees! ASK YOUR HONEYBEE what he or she is learning about penguins and especially about ice. We put different sized containers of water outside our kitchen door on some nights last week and when we came to school in the morning—they were ice! We even added stones and marbles to the water one day and the water still froze!
.jpg)
Holiday Festivities
The playhouse has been abuzz with all kinds of Chanukah and Christmas festivities. The children take apart and put together our lovely little menorah daily and have made some simple little ornaments for the paper tree. Be sure to take a tour when you have the chance.
By now you have received your special holiday candle holders—made with much love and care by your Honeybee. Forming the wet earth clay was much fun, but what happens to the clay when it is in the kiln is still a bit of a mystery. Decorating the candle holders with beads and boyoings was the cherry on the sundae! May it burn brightly for your family and bring good health and lots of fun as you celebrate whatever you celebrate at this time of year.
The remainder of what we have been up to falls into the “top secret” category. You will just have to wait until Friday’s celebration to find out what the secret is.
Books
.jpg)
To help provide foundation for our hive of busy-ness, we have read some wonderful stories. Be sure to ASK YOUR HONEYBEE about the character, Dorrie, in Ann McGovern’s meaningful story called The Lady in the Box. The illustrations by Marni Backer are gorgeous. Where did Dorrie live? Why was it hard on Dorrie when the restaurant owner told her to take her box and leave? How did the two children get to know Dorrie? What happened when the children told their mother about Dorrie? What do you do to help others who are in need?.jpg)
The next story is one that we always like to read after Thanksgiving. The Paper Crane by Molly Bang is her take on one of the many classic Japanese fairy tales about cranes and their magical abilities. ASK YOUR HONEYBEE why the restaurant was having trouble making enough money. What happened when the old man arrived? What did the people of the town do when they heard about the dancing crane? What did the boy do with his flute?.jpg)
Miss Suzy by Miriam Young, with pictures by Arnold Lobel is a sweet story about a young lady grey squirrel that is forced to leave her home in the tree when the red squirrels push her out. ASK YOUR HONEYBEE who comes along to give Miss Suzy a helping hand. What happens to Miss Suzy in the end?
.jpg)
And to set the stage for an activity we will be doing next week, we read Eve Bunting’s The Night Tree, with sensitive illustrations by Ted Rand. ASK YOUR HONEYBEE what the family in this story does to celebrate the season? To whom do they give a gift? What is it? As the family sits on its blanket in the dark woods drinking hot cocoa, what do they get to see? Does your family do anything like this?
Friday's Surprise!
Last Friday we had big surprise! The Beehive fire alarm went off right in the middle of our lunch and surprised us all. After we went outside (it was brrr cold!) not only would the alarm NOT turn off, we noticed a huge spray of water coming from under the kindergarten’s covered outdoor play area’s roof. We hustled the Honeybees over to the LS Library to keep warm and had a quick story while things got straightened out. We returned to our classroom after about 20 minutes and finished up lunch. It turned out that one of the pipes that feeds water to the indoor fire sprinkler system had frozen and burst, thereby setting off the alarm. All is well now. The delay made the Blue group late for music, so our wonderful Rhonda came up to our classroom and we all had music together in our meeting area. (Thanks a million, Rhonda.) There were a couple of Honeybees who did not like this event one little bit! Please reassure your Honeybee that the reason the alarm goes off is to make sure that we all leave the building and stay safe. It is the grown-ups’ job to make sure that the children are safe.
Allen's Knee Surgery
Unfortunately, Allen will have to miss the Family Heritage Potluck. She will be having knee surgery instead of enjoying that special celebration. Jennifer will be filling in for Allen on that day.
Have a great week everyone—
Allen, Chenoa & Rebecca
Dates for May Conferences in the Beginning School
The dates for Preschool and Kindergarten conferences have recently been corrected on the school website. Please check your calendars to be sure you have the following dates:
May 24 - 26, Preschool parent-teacher conferences, classes in session
May 25 - 26, K parent-teacher conferences (optional), classes in session.
Food Drive Donations Accepted through Wednesday!
Many thank yous to everyone who has generously donated to the Food Drive. If you haven't had a chance to donate, we're collecting through Wednesday, December 16th
CG Logo Sale at the Book Store - One stop shopping solution for the holidays!
Our close out sale of legendary Catlin Gabel vintage wear and logo items begins next week and continues through January 22!
For the best selection come to the book store on Monday and Tuesday, December 14 and 15, from 12 – 3:30 pm.
Raffle! Prizes!
A Reminder about Calendar Year-End Giving
If your family has already contributed to the 2009-10 Annual Fund, thank you! If you have not yet made your gift and plan to contribute by December 31, please note the following so you can receive the tax benefit for 2009:
Checks: Checks must be postmarked or delivered to the school on or before December 31 to qualify for a 2009 tax deduction.
Visa, MasterCard, or American Express: The development office must receive your credit card information on or before December 31 to make the charge in 2009. Make your gift online at www.catlin.edu and choose the Annual Fund badge on the bottom of the screen.
Gifts of Stock: The gift date is recorded as the date on which the stock is transferred into Catlin Gabel’s account. It often takes a few days to verify transfers and we want to make sure your transfer is completed before December 31.
If you have any questions about making your calendar year-end donation to Catlin Gabel please call Eileen Andersen, annual giving program director, at 503-297-1894 ext. 306.
Thank you for sustaining and strengthening Catlin Gabel.
Annual Fund Raised as of 12.04.09