Birthdays

Soon enough we will start having birthdays here in 2A so I thought I would give you a heads up and/or a quick reminder about our birthday policy here at Howard-Winn.

If a child's birthday is during the school year we will celebrate it on the actual day. If you would like to send treats your are welcome to do that. Please make sure they are store bought -- sorry, no homemade food allowed:( Also, with our new Wellness Policy we're asking that if at all possible you try and make the treat healthy. If your child's birthday is in the summer we will celebrate their half birthday. Once again, you may send treats if you wish.

Students may bring invitations to school and pass them out for parties. However, if a boy is having a party and brings the invitations to school, he must invite all the boys. This is the same for girls -- girls need to invite all the girls. Otherwise there will be hurt feelings. If you want to have a smaller party, please mail the invitations from your home. Thanks!

Friends

Earlier this week I gave each student a puzzle piece. They needed to decorate it with pictures about them. I collected all the puzzle pieces and on Tuesday they had a chance to put the puzzle together. I told them they would have to use teamwork to put it together and that I would not help them. I set them loose and...they didn't get very far!! They were using good teamwork but they couldn't get it figured out! So, I found more time today and they finally got it together. It's a good thing some of them did some detective work and looked at 2A's website...I think that helped them out :) Needless to say, they finally put all the pieces together and discovered they were spelling the word friends.

They used super teamwork and got the puzzle put together -- great job 2A!!!!!

Cadet Pride

This last week we've been working on setting up a lot of routines here in 2A. The biggest change this year has been our PBIS behavior plan. This is new this year and its purpose is so that every student learns that same expected behaviors in school: hallway, restroom, lunchroom, playground, arrival and dismissal. EVERY teacher K-8 has been busy teaching these the last week. We have been practicing our Cadet Pride a lot these last few days. Students are working on 4 behavior traits with this PBIS plan: Be Caring, Be Responsible, Be Respectful, and Be Trustworthy. I must say...my kids are doing an amazing job!! YEA! The really good news for kids is that there's an added bonus for them. If they are "caught" showing the correct behavior in school a teacher will give them a ticket. They put this in their classroom bucket and once we reach 100 tickets in the classroom we earn a prize!! I LOVE prizes!!!!!!! Keep up the good work 2A!

What happened to Summer???

Ahhhhh...I can't believe summer is almost over and that I will be seeing your children in almost a week!!! I must admit I'm a little sad that I need to wake up earlier, bring my own kids to daycare, and enter the working world again!! :( However, I'm really excited to have a new bunch of kids this year. I absolutely LOVE getting to know them and forming bonds with everyone throughout the school year.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and relaxing summer. Please try and get your child ready for "school mode" again. It's going to be a transition for everyone...including me!! I look forward to meeting all of you and your children on August 18th for back to school night.