Pacifica Wednesday Weekly

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February 7, 2007

IMPORTANT CALENDAR DATES

If you have items to add to the calendar, please e-mail the date and time along with a description to calendar@pacificaschool.org

AN EVENING OF SCENES – THIS FRIDAY NIGHT!

LA Cat & Pacifica present “An Evening of Scenes” this Friday in the Church Hall at 7:00 pm. Experience the dramatic stylings of Alex, Andrew, Autumn, Barrett, Brenda, Dane, Esther, Kamala, Riley, Savitri, Shane & Taylor! Refreshments will be served. For more information, contact John Robin or Brandy. More info about LA Cat is available at www.lacat.org.

PACIFICA BEAUTIFICATION DAY THIS SATURDAY

ALL HANDS ON DECK! Please join us from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm this Saturday (Feb. 10) in making our site look beautiful!

If you haven't already made it to one of our work days, please remember that your participation agreement includes your participation at work days. It's also a great way to boost your participation hours!  See you there!

VOLUNTEER HOURS FORM REMINDER

I would like to remind all families to please fill out the "Volunteer Hours" form that was placed in your family mail box by February 9th. Place these forms in the Parent Participation envelope on the bulletin board in the front entry way. If you haven't been logging your volunteer hours then now is the time to do it!!!!!  If you haven’t found a way to fulfill your volunteer commitment please email lisag@pacificaschool.org, call your classroom parent participation liaison (on your roster) or check in with staff to see what their needs are.

HELP NEEDED FOR NEXT TEACHER/STAFF APPRECIATION DAY

We’re looking for anyone who can spare a little time this coming Teacher & Staff Appreciation Day (Feb. 9) to help with clean-up in the afternoon. In particular, simply taking home used food containers to clean and return would be a big help!

I also want to mention how appreciated this day is by the recipients! Thanks so much to everyone who has brought food, artwork and cards. It makes this day really special for our hard working teachers and staff. - Penina Finger

HARRY POTTER (and LOTS OF OTHER STUFF!)

Want to get the stuff you’re going to buy anyway, cheaper, more conveniently and earn money for Pacifica? Use the links on our website (www.pacificaschool.org - bottom of every page) to access Amazon.com to order anything your heart desires, and earn Pacifica up to 6% of your purchase!

Right now, you can pre-order the forthcoming 7th and last Harry Potter novel at a significantly reduced price, have it delivered as soon as it is released, and earn $$$ for Pacifica!

Also, don’t forget that Amazon has a humongous selection of pre-owned goods! Follow the links to Used & New for really low prices on CDs, DVDs, books and much, much more!

DON’T FORGET: in order for Pacifica to get a rebate, you MUST access Amazon.com via the links on our website!

CLASSROOM UPDATES

K-1 Group:

In our project groups we are busy learning about land systems, plants and transportation. Please come in and help lead a project day--parents have been coming in and sharing knowledge and the kids love it!

Upcoming events:

Beautification day:   Saturday from 10:00-2:00 (come join us as we re-organize the blue room)

Gymnastics:            Every Monday one third of the signed up K-1's will go to the gym at 1:30

Parent Meeting:       Tuesday, Feb. 13th at 3:30

100th Day of School and Valentine's Day: Feb. 14th

Field trips:              Getty Center will be postponed due to half day. Zoo trip is on Feb. 16th

And, this just in from the K-1 Wildcats:

We have been making things with clay. We have been studying transportation. We made a transportation timeline. Melinda's book club is reading, "Little House on the Prairie."

Thank you for joining us in the classroom. Your volunteer mornings and afternoons make all the difference to our days. Also, thank you for the supplies. 

On the 100th day of school we will be celebrating 100. Also, as it is Valentine's Day please remind the children that if we give a valentine to one person at school, we give one to everyone. (This can be a great chance to practice writing!) Also we will be making valentine mailboxes so please save your cereal boxes, clean milk cartons, etc and bring 'em on in! 

Cheerio from K-1

2/3/4 Group:

We’d like to take this time to correct last week’s Wednesday weekly. We asked you to read the minutes of the meeting to get caught up to speed on important information that ALL FAMILIES NEED TO HEAR. However, we have decided to have two additional meetings to accommodate your busy schedules. You and your child MUST attend if you missed our group meeting last week. They will be held in the yellow/green room at 8:30 AM on Friday, the 9th, and 3:20 on Monday, the 12th.

There is a workday on Saturday, February 9th, from 10-2 that Gina Rene (Violet’s mom) is organizing. Please sign up on the door for the times you will be attending so she can plan ahead to make sure everyone’s time is being used effectively. The whiteboard is an important tool that we have been using to relay important information to parents. There is also a sign-up sheet for drivers for our next field trip. If there are not enough parents signed up, these trips cannot happen. Thank you for your support.

Go 2/3/4-7/8!!! Once again, our friends in 7/8 joined us for a Language Arts Lesson last week, where we integrated poetry and music into our Civil Rights Unit. We listened to and analyzed the lyrics from Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit,” and discussed how simile and metaphors were used to paint a very vivid picture of something many people were deeply troubled by at the time. Our kids then wrote their own similes and metaphors, and shared them with each other. We also read the book “The Sweet Smell of Roses,” and discussed how Martin Luther King, Jr. led a peaceful movement to bring change. We’re just finishing up The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in one group, and are reading The Bridge to Tarabithia in the other.

Poetry is really alive for us in both spaces. We would like to leave you with a quote from Caroline Kennedy, which will hopefully encourage you to bring poetry into your home, as well:

“Some people think that poetry is solitary or boring. They worry that they won’t be able to understand it. But people who start reading poems when they are young don’t have these fears. As children, we enjoy exploring language and rhyme and creating word pictures of the world around us. A love of learning and the ability to express ourselves clearly are critical in today’s world. We are bombarded with information, but growing up with poetry develops a foundation in language and values that enables us to distinguish what is truly important.”

Thank you for giving us the privilege to assist you in developing this foundation in your children.

- Love, Gabe, Melissa, Patrick, and Sascha

5/6 Group:

Hello again from 5/6!

We hope that everyone is well and safe. We would firstly like to thank all parents who have contributed to our classroom in one way or another. Your help is always appreciated.

Last week Friday we had a fantastic trip to the Malibu Lagoon State Park, where the students explored marine life and the impact of pollution on the environment. This 'scenario' has provided a platform for student inquiry and investigation. We hope to use this context for all curriculum areas as the year unfolds. If you have any resources or ideas to contribute, please do not hesitate to contact David or me.

On a side note, David and I will be helping students prepare for the state standardized tests that are coming up. We encourage parents to help support their students in this process and to share any information that you think maybe relevant to your child. I have and will be (depending on parent participation) assessing students on their math and reading skills during this month. We really need parents in the classroom to make this happen more effectively and efficiently.

We have heard some concerns about two things, one being a lack of communication between teacher, parent and student - we hope to remedy this issue by providing information to both the student and parent so that all parties have the required information. Please check your parent boxes everyday to ensure consistent communication between school and home. Secondly, we need at least two parents to volunteer every Wednesday from 2.25-3.00pm for our weekly mile walk/run. We want all our kids to be safe and accounted for at all times and we need your help to do this. Please help us in this endeavor.

Lastly, we will be having a parent meeting next week – Tuesday, February 13th, 5.30-6.30pm. We expect all parents to attend. Instead of a potluck dinner, we ask that parents bring one of the following items from the wish list =).  Please come see us if you have any queries...

Manual hand sharpener, 4 x 3-ring binders, white sticky labels, 1x stapler, 3x large chart paper, class-set of small beanie bags (PE), 4x bags of soft cushion filling (bolster), 4 x math books, white construction paper, 2x easels for displaying, a set of headphones (6-8) and adapter (available at Radio Shack)... and so much more! Please talk to us if you can help us in any other way!

-Ramiza

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Seven blunders of the world that lead to violence: wealth without work, pleasure without conscience, knowledge without character, commerce without morality, science without humanity, worship without sacrifice, politics without principle.  - Mahatma Gandhi

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