The class enjoyed a mesmerizing experience  at the African Drummers assembly. Some of the students were selected to participate, all of the students enjoyed singing and dancing!

     Many thanks to all the parents who helped to make our winter party a tremendous success. The children had a great time and enjoyed the party. The best part was creating gift bags filled with treats for senior citizens. The gift bags will be distributed to the seniors who reside in a local nursing home.  Generosity abounds!  Take a look at the photos.

Last Friday we had our "Germ Smart" presentation. The children learned how germs are spread and what we can do to prevent the spread of germs in our class. We will wash our hands with soap and warm water for 20 seconds before eating and after using the bathroom. We will keep our hands and clothing out of our mouth. When we are sick, we will stay home and rest our bodies. Let's be "Germ Smart!"

="https://blogs.socsd.org/woslmc/files/2014/11/vetequette-28h7b4n.jpg"> Thanksgiving is a great time of year to express gratitude. It is important that Americans give thanks for their freedom. The perfect way to do this is by thanking our active troops, our veterans, our heroes. It is important to remind students of the importance of showing gratitude for those who serve. To honor our service members this Veterans Day, William O. Schaefer Elementary School will have a candy collection for our active troops in Afghanistan. Maureen Kelly from Vetiquette will once again be collecting wrapped Halloween candy for the troops. There is a big red bin in the front hall, across from the security desk, where families can drop off their donations. If you would like your child to participate, please send in your wrapped candy by Monday, November 10, 2014. Take a look at the history of the holiday honoring those who fought for America, both living and dead. Learn how to say thank you to a veteran. I did!

We are now shopping for "just right" books in our readers workshop time. These books are right at our reading level and we can read them all by ourselves! Take a look at some of us shopping.

We are enjoying fostering a growth mindset in our kindergarten classroom. Optimism reigns as the children chant their class motto "We always hope for the best" and encourage one another to persevere and always try their hardest. The class enjoyed reading "Amazing Grace" about a girl who believed if she worked hard she could do anything. The students drew what they believe their brains look like. No one has a fixed mindset! Parents might enjoy reading "Mindset" by Carol Dweck.

  The children are continuing their good work with our STAR social skills program.  We are a STAR class because we can Smile and use kind words.  We are learning how to Think in a positive and flexible way.  We Always do our best in school.  Finally, we Respect one another.  When we see someone in our class demonstrating these behaviors, we earn one marble and drop it in the bucket.  Great news!  We have filled our bucket with the 50 marbles needed for our second STAR event. The children voted and the winner was a pajama and stuffed animal day.

The site, Chateau Meddybemps, is chalk full of wonderful activities that will enhance skills, concepts and at the same time build student stamina using the mouse. We had fun this week working on mouse maneuvers by decorating cakes in Bobby's Busy Bakery. The students have lots of fun by moving things around until the cake looks just right to them! Click on the words Window Arranger to learn about arranging samples in the shop window, Cake Decorator to choose a cake to decorate, or Extras for more fun. Chateau Meddybemps also has a fun & Games page featuring activities related to the month. The activities for this month, October, include " What would you do with a pile of leaves?" Watching Sam rake leaves, sort leaves by color or shape and even read story! The featured story is titled, Two Brave Pixies. Sometimes, being brave has nothing to do with scary monsters like the Ice Dragon. Sometimes, being brave can mean choosing what's right for you. Watch the story below! Chateau Meddybemps has parenting guides and activities too! Everyone enjoys a good children's story or a bit of humor now and then. If you enjoy Chateau Meddybemps, share it with others!

Our local fire fighters came to WOS today to teach us about fire prevention and safety. We learned about calling 911 in case of an emergency. The fire fighters showed us their equipment and the fire trucks. Homework was assigned to parents. Please be sure to change the batteries in your smoke detectors and see if they are in working order. Develop a family safety plan in case of a fire including a meeting place. Remember also to check your dryer and vents to be sure it is clear of lint. Take a look at our pictures.

We started our new writing unit today called "Looking Closely: Observing, Labeling and Listing like Scientists". We examined the items in our collection from our nature walk on Friday. We are learning to look closely, notice details, draw pictures of what we see and label our work.