February 2014 Newsletter

Klahanie School

February 2014 Newsletter

Dust of Snow

By Robert Frost

The way a crow

Shook down on me

The dust of snow

From a hemlock tree

Has given my heart

A change of mood

And saved some part

Of a day I had rued

January Reflection

Such a sweet month!  The children loved learning about whales and many thanks to specialist Maria Metler for her Orca Whale and Humpback Whale activities and knowledge as well as Jeff Adams introducing the very interesting topic of invasive sea life in our Pacific Northwest waters.  We also had many memorable and meaningful conversations and celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King.  We continued to emphasize the peaceful methods of leading to work for peace, love and harmony. 

February Curriculum Topics

·      Winter Birds:  Winter birds are extremely sentimental to me and this unit is so lovely to present.  Please checkout http//:birdnote.org/ for amazing information and fun!

·      Love: what is love, what/whom we love and how do we show our love.

·       Human Heart: what a heart is and what it does (this will be extended to March for Human Body study). 

·      Valentines Day School Celebration: Please help your child bring Valentines for his/her class on Thursday February 13^th. 

o   That same day, please come help sing Valentine songs with your child and teachers the following times (we will squish together cozy as can be in the classroomJ):

§  AM Class: 11:30am

§  PM Class: 3pm  

Reminders, Thank-Yous, Dates to Save & Changes

·      Winter Break: February 18-20^th No School

·      Thank you Jordan Beck, Maria Metler, Tavi Black, Jeff Adams, Jessica Seaman and Alejandra Tres for helping in class the last week of February!

·      Thank you parents for layering your children up and easy slip on boots! 

·      DATE CHANGE: CANCELING March Parent Night and Winter Scholarship Fundraiser. 

·      INSTEAD: Klahanie School OPEN HOUSE Saturday May 31^st 1pm-3:30pm

Current and Interested Parents and Children welcome to come learn about our school curriculum, new school times for the 2014-2015 School Year, Klahanie Summer Camps and pick-up Enrollment forms.

o    Current Klahanie families will receive Re-Enrollment forms/documents and summer camp information in early May.  All summer camp and 2014-15 enrollment forms will be due by mail or drop-off Monday June 16^th.   

o   Please keep an eye out for Klahanie Plant Sale information to support 2014-2015 scholarships—please contact Emmy if you would like to help donate and help for sale.  Klahanie School strives to offer education to all families on island and offer scholarship to two families per year.  The funds made during scholarship fundraisers helps to keep tuition reasonable for the upcoming school year as well as support families in need.  

Invasive Zebra Mussles on a shoe

Listening to a book on tape

January 2014 Newsletter

Illustrated by Joe Servello from Aline D. Wolf's work Nurturing the Spirit in Non-Sectarian Classrooms

Klahanie School

January 2014 Newsletter

Finding out that we are one of a kind could be a lonely and frightening thing without the reassurance of knowing that we belong to humankind, and that all humans laugh and cry about many of the same things; that all have similar hopes and fears; that all have many of the same needs; and that those needs are best met by other human beings who can love us for both our similarities and our differences.

Every human being has value.  This is the basis of all healthy relationships.

The roots of all our lives go very, very deep, and we can’t really understand a person unless we have the chance of knowing who that person has been, and what that person has done and liked and suffered and believed.

Mister Rogers

Life’s Journey’s According to Mister Rogers (p.75-77).

December Reflection

Happy New Year and welcome back!  Hoping you and your family had a wonderful holiday break.  After a long break, we will take time to re-focus on our classroom routines and togetherness.   We also will begin to get a little more in-depth with curriculum lessons!

January Curriculum Topics

• ·       Dr. Martin Luther King Remembrance: age appropriate storytelling (with figurines) of his life as a child.  A Klahanie MLK March on Wednesday January 15, his actual birthday. 
• ·       Mister Rogers Songs and Poems: during circle time, using puppets and poems, we will explore what an act of kindness feels and looks like.  Ways to celebrate similarities and differences.
• ·       Whales
• ·       Ice and Snowflakes

School Update: Please pass information along!

We have one opening in our AM class! Thank you for continuing to spread the word to families who might be interested in enrolling.  Ideally we would love to welcome a three-year old girl to the AM mix but do enroll on a first come basis. 

Reminders, Thank-Yous and Dates to Save

·       THANK YOU PARENTS (Jessica and Jordan!) for helping while Emmy was sick

·       To support the children’s yearn for independence, we are using the “flipping coats” technique when getting ready to play outside. The little rhyme we use is: “tags by the toes, hands by the holes and we flip-it.” We continue to use our deck lanai throughout the class day and thank you parents for layering your children up and boots as we enter cooler days!  If your child does not have slippers yet, please bring crocks or other such soft-sole shoe to keep at school so his/her feet stay warm while in class. 

·       WEATHER REMINDER: Klahanie School runs with the Vashon School District closures.  Please refer to the Vashon School District website or King5 News for school closure/delays.  Slight variance: If there is a two hour delay reported for Vashon public schools, Klahanie AM class will be canceled and PM class meets.  Teachers will try to call all families about closures.  Snow days will not be made up.