A few important notes

Hello parents and friends,
 
I have spent this week in classroom observations with our younger classes, and next week will be with our older students. It was refreshing to see things through the eyes of our students. Our students are bright and active in our classrooms. PreK not only knows letters and sounds, but are beginning to sound out small words. Kindergarten reached their final letter Z this week. In order to go from floor time to tables, they were required to have a “ticket to the table” by identifying Z words. Afterwards they diligently practiced writing upper and lower case Zs. In 1st grade students identified different types of sentences - declarative, interrogative, exclamatory and imperative. The students came up with their own examples of each type of sentence. In 2nd grade the students were involved with identifying types of adjectives. In all classes different learning styles are used through singing, music, dancing, movement, visual cues, verbal discussions, and written assignments. Our teachers are also very supportive and encouraging to the students, using statements such as “mirror me with words; oh class, oh yes; if you can hear my voice; magic pencil time; ask a friend to help; tootsie roll, lolly pop; I like the way that x student is doing). With small classes, without exception, every student had the opportunity to participate in classroom discussion and receive feedback from the teacher.
 
We have a lot of things coming up this next month. Here are some updates and upcoming dates to remember:

• Tomorrow, November 4th, the Parent’s Association is sponsoring Muffins for Moms from 7am to 8am (come and go). Mark you calendar for Donuts for Dads which will be on November 11th from 7am to 8am (also come and go).
• Tomorrow, November 4th, from 8am to 3pm (come and go), we are looking for volunteers to help with installing the new playground equipment at the Methodist Church. The church is very generous in allowing us to use the playground and this is a great way to give a little back. Please let the front office know if you are able to come or just stop by.
• Thursday, November 10, we have our annual music performance for our PreK through 3rd grade students.  Come enjoy the program and support our Veterans at the same time. The program starts at 6pm at the Rowe Family Life Center.
• Our Thanksgiving Lunch will be on November 22nd starting at 11:30am. Mark you calendars for what is always a great time of visiting with delicious food. If you see any of our families who have moved away invite them to come join us for lunch.
• We had our annual Oktoberfest fundraiser last week and raised over $4,600. Thank you to all who helped!
• We now have our Parent Portal live. You can see your child’s attendance, grades, missing assignments, and tuition. If you haven’t received an invitation to join the portal, it is because we don’t have your email address. Please see the front office to provide your email. We also will send out important emergency alerts through our new text alert system which is part of the portal. We need your current phone number and provider (e.g., AT&T, US Cellular) to do this.
• Our Parent Association has started, and already has lots of good things planned. All are welcome to the next meeting on November 14th at 6pm at the school. At the last meeting officers were elected. Congratulations to Kelly Bailey, President; Sarah Allbritton, Vice President; and Suzette Wilson, Secretary/Treasurer.  The email address for the association is: [email protected].
• Happy Fall – this is my favorite time of year!

 
 
Warm regards,


Wren Hawthorne
[email protected]
My Blog: http://www.sbridgeacademy.org/mr-hawthornes-blog
Head of School
Stonebridge Academy
Be Kind, Work Hard, Get Smart!
 
 
P.S. We want to make sure we keep our parents informed of all the important things going on. We do this through classroom newsletters, letters from me, our Parent Portal, Facebook, and website, email, and our text alert system. Communication is important to us! If you are missing out on important information, please see me and I will make sure to get you connected.

---