Friendship

Be a good friend!

Friendship is being caring and considerate to self and others. A kind person shows concern for the feelings of others and is helpful and generous.

Assembly Read Aloud: Strictly No Elephants by Lisa Mantchev.

When the local Pet Club won’t admit a boy’s tiny pet elephant, he finds a solution—one that involves all kinds of unusual animals in this sweet and adorable picture book.

Today is Pet Club day. There will be cats and dogs and fish, but strictly no elephants are allowed. The Pet Club doesn’t understand that pets come in all shapes and sizes, just like friends. Now it is time for a boy and his tiny pet elephant to show them what it means to be a true friend.

Books:

Additional Resources:

• Kindness Song in Sign Language
• Friend Song
• Jack Johnson We Are Gonna Be Friends Song
• Bruno Mars You Can Count on Me Song

Kindness is Cooler Mrs Ruler Read Aloud

How To Heal a Broken Wing

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun Read Aloud

The Invisible Boy Read Aloud

How Full is Your Bucket Read Aloud

Flexibility…Be flexible!

April’s word of the month is flexibility. Having a positive and hopeful attitude helps us to overcome challenges. When times are difficult or mistakes are made, it is important to stay motivated and be flexible. Being flexible helps us when we need to cope with changes. Flexibility helps us to think about problems in new, creative ways.

Overview: Flexibility is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

Assembly Read Aloud: But, Excuse Me, That Is My Book by Lauren Child

In this funny “Charlie and Lola” adventure, Lola insists on going to the library to get her favorite book, the same one she has taken out over and over again. What will happen when she discovers that the book she loves is not on the library shelves? Will Lola be flexible and take an different book from the library shelves?

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Read Alouds:

Zoom by Istvan Banyai

Spaghetti in a Hot Dog Bun by Maria Dismondy

Not a Box by Antionette Portis

The Girl Who NEVER Made Mistakes by Mark Pett and Gary Rubinstein

Duck Rabbit by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Not a Stick by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
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The children worked very hard on testing materials for their bridges , making blue prints for their bridges, and then making those prints come to life… Some children even presented their group bridges and other STEAM projects at the School Maker faire…congratulations to this year’s class!

Today we spent 2,176 minutes reading collectively in our class!!!! Wow!! Some of the reading was through read alouds, some was independent, and some was with partners. But ALL OF IT was super fun! Check out the pictures below to see how our day went:

We had a blast celebrating the 100 day of school… First, we had a fashion show on Friday and displayed all of our creativity by creating shirts with 100 items on them… Then on Monday we enjoyed a day filled with fun with the number 100… We were able to do lots of games and centers by switching to the different classes in our hallway and doing lots of different activities with different teachers. These activities were created to help strengthen our counting to 100 and to celebrate all of our hard work thus far… Enjoy our pictures below that show all the fun we had!

Be persistent! Persistence is the continuous effort to do or achieve something even when faced with obstacles.

Assembly Read Aloud: My Brave Year of Firsts by Jamie Lee Curtis

Books that teach persistence:

Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

The Very Busy Spider written and illustrated by Eric Carle

I Knew You Could! A Book For All The Stops In Your Life by Craig Dorfman

Below is a fun little animation that illustrates persistence!

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Be Positive! Optimism is the ability to remain hopeful and confident about the future or successful outcome of something.
Assembly Read Aloud:
Pete the Cat I Like My White Shoes by Eric Litwin

Books with Optimism Theme:

Be Positive! A Book about Optimism by Cheri Meiners	Wanda’s Roses by Pat Brisson	Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by Eric Litwin	When Pigs Fly by Valerie Coulman
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Kraus	Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen by Cari Best	The Little Engine that Could by Watty Piper	I Think, I Am by Louise Hay

Additional Resources:

Songs:

This request may find you busy preparing for the upcoming holidays and sharing special celebrations with family and friends. It is our hope, however, that your family will reserve some time to help with our community service project.

For the fifteenth year, William O. Schaefer’s community service activity will be donating BLIZZARD BOXES, formerly known as Covered Cupboards, for the Meals on Wheels Program.

A BLIZZARD BOX is an assortment of donated non-perishable food items packed into shoeboxes. Refer to BLIZZARD BOX FOOD LIST to find out all the details, including the suggested foods. Please be sure to check product expiration date.

Please wrap the lids separately from the boxes – wrap the top of the shoe box separately from the bottom of the shoe box (no boot boxes please) in grocery bag paper in order to make sure contents are easily accessible. Do not put any decorations on the box. Children can use their imagination to draw pictures on the paper that seniors would enjoy receiving! The BLIZZARD BOXES will be delivered to the recipients of the Home Delivered Meals Program if regular food deliveries are halted due to weather related or other emergencies.

Consider creating a BLIZZARD BOX with your family. Drop off your BLIZZARD BOX at William O. Schaefer (WOS), 140 Lester Drive, Tappan, New York between December 5th and December 16th.

Thank you in advance for giving so generously to the seniors in our community during this winter season.

Questions can be forwarded to hhill@socsd.org, ebarsanti@socsd.org, ccosgrove@socsd.org.
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The nation celebrates Veterans Day on November 11th to honor all who have served in the military for the United States. Across America, various parades and ceremonies are held to celebrate the loyal services of our country’s armed forces. Watch the video below to learn more about Veteran’s Day.

The Character Education Word of the Month for November is “Gratitude”. It is important that Americans give thanks for their freedom. Veteran’s Day is an opportunity to honor, give thanks and to be grateful to those who have served or are currently serving in the military.

This year, William O. Schaefer (WOS) is participating in the Vetiquette Program’s; Veteran’s Day Project spearheaded by Maureen Kelly. Each student will decorate a brown lunch bag which will be filled with candy and gifted to a veteran. Students will also write a note of thanks on a dog tag style card identifying at least one character trait that our veterans display by their service. (e.g., brave, generous, selfless, kind, etc.) As liaison to the project, first grade teacher Suzanne Luke coordinates the efforts of all WOS teachers and students assists in collecting, packing and shipping out the project. Thank you Mrs. Luke!

Additional Resources:
Learn a Veterans Day Song or Poem, Songs for Teaching has a long list of Veteran’s Day songs to choose.
Read a picture book about veterans.

Kids Thank a Vet includes many resources to help kids learn more about veterans. There are pictures of famous veterans, book lists, activities, and much more.

Are there additional ways you and your family celebrate Veterans Day? What are they? Please share in the comment section below.​