Celebrate Life: Dance Show about the Circulation

Folks, thank you so much for being such a great audience! Also, a hearty appreciation goes out to Amber, John, Julia and Ashleigh for their terrific collaboration in an arts integrated production. The children had lots of fun learning about the body and putting on the show!

Field Trip to Fabulous Folk Art Museum

Photos worth a thousand words: boys get a kick out of dolls just like girls!

Hoot 32

Hello wonderful kinder families,

Wow! We only have about 4 weeks of school left! We are finishing the alphabet this week with letter Qq.

Last week we had the opportunity to be initiated into spectacular, yummy science, thanks to Chris Pieper's on-site ice cream making with liquid nitrogen! That was one super-engaging experiment that satisfied all five senses! Thank you, Chris!

The children are excited about end-of-year field trips and the celebration of their kindergarten year with you. Field trip forms will be available to fill out this week. Please complete them at school or bring them back by this THURSDAY. (We can only take children on field trips that require transportation with a field trip form on file.) Our first full day field trip is Tuesday, May 2.

Report cards will be coming out during the last week of school. I will be setting up meetings with each of you to discuss first grade readiness.

As the end of the school year is approaching, we will be sending children's items home. Last Thursday slippers went home. Next, pillowcases will be coming home this week.

If you have a Growing Green fundraising order, you are still welcome to bring it in this Monday! Thank you for your contributions, and cheers for a healthier Earth!

This week's events:
Tuesday afternoon -- field trip to play at TWIRL (2-3pm)
Wednesday afternoon -- STUDENT OF THE MONTH celebration! This month's deserving kiddos are Miguel and Sebastian. Congratulations!
Thursday morning -- field trip to Kit Carson PARK (9-11:30am)

Homework:
Please have your child work on LEXIA twice this week (20 minutes each).
Also, two sets of books are ready for you to pick up (vowels "e" and "u"). I encourage you to ask your children to dig up the books that they already mastered to bring back in exchange for the new material. That will allow other children to use the books as well!

May events:
May 2 (Tuesday) 8:30-3:30 -- End-of-year field trip: International Museum of Folk Art in Santa Fe (combined with first and second grade)
May 4 (Thursday) 3:45-4:45pm -- End of year celebration:  on Manzanares campus
May 11 (Thursday) 8:30-2pm -- Hiking with Taos Field Institute (combined with second grade)
Because the field trips are combined, seating on the school bus will be limited. If you are interested in chaperoning, please plan on driving your vehicle. Thank you for your understanding.

May 4: End-of-year celebration!
Please sign up in class for party supplies, set-up, clean-up, camera-crew, and food!
Your child will need to wear specific colors for the show.
Here is the run-down:
RED blood cells can wear anything RED (boa, gloves, etc.).
WHITE blood cells wear BLACK-&-WHITE (white T-shirt and black pants/skirt/leggings) and BUBBLE WRAP.
GERMS ideally wear a mix of NEON colors.
IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANY OF THESE ITEMS TO SHARE, PLEASE BRING THEM IN THIS WEEK SO WE CAN COSTUME EVERY CHILD. Also, if you foresee no items turning up in your wardrobe matching your child's costume color, please let me know this week.

Have a fantastic week!

Jutka

HOOT 31

Thank you all for your contributions to our Read-a-thon fund! We have collected $520 to cover several end-of-year adventures! I am ever so grateful for your support!

Work
Reading: last week: Ee  --  this week: Dd
The new "e" readers will be ready this week! Please return your "o" readers to exchange.
Writing: we are writing sentences and moving on to crafting a short paragraph (topic sentence and two supporting sentences) soon.
Math: subtraction and measuring

Homework:
LEXIA -- please have your child work on Lexia twice this week.

Events:
Monday: 10:00 -- walking field trip to public library
Monday: please bring Easter supplies (plastic eggs)
Monday: bake sale

       We will be collecting baked goods on Monday morning at both campuses during student drop              off.  We need more bakers and helpers! If you want to help out, feel free to come to work on                Monday with baked goodies in hand.

       You can also sign up here: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0944aaad2ca1ff2-tisa2
Tuesday: please bring in your mini books ("o" readers) to exchange for the next set ("e" readers)
Thursday: Growing Green Fundraiser deadline is Thursday

Hoot 30

We are having fun studying the human body! Red blood cells, white blood cells, bacteria and germs -- we got you figured out!?!

Read-a-thon reminder
We have received read-a-thon contributions from Isaiah, Miguel, Owen, Paris, Santi, and Tessa.
Please let me know if you dropped off money at the office, or if you would like to take a look at your pledge/reading log. Our goal was to collect $20 per child for end-of-year field trips and celebrations.

This week's work:
letter x (remaining 5 letters are: d,e,q,u,x)
working with sentences (starting sentences with uppercase letters and ending statements, exclamations and questions with corresponding punctuation marks: . ! ?)
Math: adding within 10. We will be moving on to subtraction.

Homework:
LEXIA -- please have your child work on Lexia this week.
Math: play a board game or a card game involving addition within 10-12 (e.g. using 2 dice instead of 1).

This week's events:
March 28 (Tuesday): Pizza money due!  Please turn orders into teachers by Tuesday morning (3/28). Don't forget to include the following info: Name * Grade * # of slices * Cheese or Pepperoni * Amount enclosed ($2 per slice)
March 29: 10am: Walking field trip to Harwood Museum (topic: portrait with animals)
March 30: pizza day!

Upcoming events:
Easter egg hunt prizes (Small size, inedible to fit into a plastic Easter egg.)
Easter eggs (plastic - standard size -- not jumbo)
End of year celebration: May 4 (Thursday) 3:45-4:45pm on Manzanares campus
End-of-year field trip:  May 2 (Tuesday) 8:30-3:30 International Museum of Folk Art in Santa Fe

TISA PTA Growing Green Fundraiser

Spring is here and it's time to start working in the garden! All of the products sold by Growing Green Fundraising are supplied by one of the most reputable flower bulb suppliers in the country. These flower bulbs are all of top quality, an excellent value, and are guaranteed to grow!

Why This Fundraiser is Important: TISA PTA will receive 50% of every order! The money that we raise throughout the year is used for a variety of things, and a large amount goes towards classroom supplies. As we are getting ready to start the 2017/18 school year at our new campus & are facing budget cuts, these end of the school year fundraisers are more important now than ever! This year the PTA has raised money for and purchased: playground toys (balls, hula hoops, jump ropes, etc), Field trip & Harwood Museum transportation, class parties, classroom book sets, student rewards, and much more. Every single dollar helps! 

Prizes: The top 4 sellers will each earn a $20 gift card to Twirl! 6 runner-ups will each earn a movie ticket to Storyteller Theater! The top selling class will win an ice cream sundae party!

Important Tips:

1) All checks must be made to TISA PTA. We will not be able to process orders if checks are not made out properly. Cash is gladly accepted!

2) You must collect payment when someone places an order. We cannot process the order if payment is not collected in advance.

3) Order forms with payment will be due on Tuesday, April 19th. Please give your order forms and payments to your teacher or the office on or before the deadline.

 4) If you have friends and family who do not live near Taos, please share our link with them so they can order no matter where they live.  Shipping for online orders is $8 no matter how big or small the order is, and it will be shipped directly to them instead of TISA.  They can type in which student they are supporting (first and last name please) in the comment box towards the end of check-out. Here is the link to our TISA order page: http://tisapta.shopggf.com/

5) These are flower BULBS that will need to be planted into the ground within a few days of receiving your order.  These are not flowers that have bloomed or are in a pot.  (There was some confusion last year)
6) Don't forget to show your family and friends the $35 BUTTERFLY GARDEN! This is what we would like to sell the most of! This easy to grow garden comes with 29 plants that cover about 10 square feet, and will return year after year!!

Shipping: Orders will arrive at TISA within 7-14 business days after we place our school-wide order. We are hoping to receive our big shipment by the beginning of May. Orders will need to be picked up at the Bendix campus within a few days of the shipment arrival, we will send out an email when the time comes. You will be responsible for distributing orders to your customers.

Here are some good and bad ideas that Growing Green would like you to consider:

Good Ideas • Making a list of friends, family, relatives who might be interested. • Getting your parents or guardians involved with each fundraising activity. • Making sure your parent or guardian approves of the people you are asking for support from. • Using the Buddy System – never go alone! • Telling your parent, guardian, or group leader if you see any strange behavior. • Asking your parent or guardian to take your brochure to work. • Always being polite, even to people who say “No Thanks”. • Using common sense, being safe, and having FUN!

Bad Ideas • Selling door-to-door without an adult. • Carrying large amounts of money without having a responsible adult around. • Talking to strangers. • Going out after dark. • Entering someone’s home who you don’t know. • Selling in front of stores or malls unless you have the owner of the store’s permission and are with an adult. • Being rude to people that don’t want to purchase from you. • Selling on street corners or at stoplights.

Thank you for your support! 

Sadie Acedo

TISA PTA President

Hoot 29

Yippeee! Next week is spring break!

It was a Fantastic Read-a-thon in kinder last Thursday! Thank you, everyone for participating. Read-a-thon pledge moneys are due on March 20 (checks made out to TISA) in class. Please attach your child's reading log as well (as requested by the office).

I have been assigning Lexia as homework in kindergarten.  Please use Lexia during spring break to help with your child’s reading skills.
Your child's newsletter has the specific information on his/her weekly usage, weekly goal, current level, username and password.

Kindergarten end-of-year Lexia goal for first grade readiness: Level 6 by May

Lexia site: http://www.lexiacore5.com/ 
teacher’s email: jutka@tisataos.org
Lexia username: your child's first name in lowercase letters
Lexia password: lexia    

If your child is not able to use the online program, please let me know so I can send printed skill practice sheets home with them.

There is a package coming home today. Here is a pilot list for you.

• Readathon reading logs.
•  Lexia passwords and Lexia homework assignments.
•  “i” family readers. But there is a catch! Please keep these 6 “i” readers in good shape and together. Your child will need to bring the “i” readers in to class to exchange for the next set of readers (the“u” family).
• Short stories with the focus on “a” and “i” sounds.

Last but not least, soccer registration deadline (taosoccer.com) coming up fast tomorrow (March 10)! First soccer game is April 1, 2017.

I hope all the sickness, flu and stomach bugs will be vanquished by the time we return to school on Monday, March 20. We will be continuing with our “Inside the Human Body” unit and dance!

Enjoy your week! 

Jutka and Rosalie

Hoot 28 -- Thank you all for a fantastilicious Readathon!

It was a Fantastic Read-a-thon in kinder last Thursday! Thank you everyone for participating. Read-a-thon pledge moneys are due on March 20 (please make checks out to TISA).

We have four more days until spring break! Let's make this week amazing for all!

MONDAY, March 6, 1pm: Girl Scouts Tea Party
WEDNESDAY, Marh 8. 10am: library visit
THURSDAY. March 9: 10:15-11:30 Playtime at Twirl

Reading:
continuing with the alphabet: Kk
"tiny stories" and word families

Math:
measuring. counting by 5s, and combining numbers up to 10
Lexia -- please use the program to practice reading skills at home twice a week (20 minutes each). It would benefit your child to also use the software during spring break. If your child doesn't remember the password, just shoot me an email. (You might also need my email address: jutka@tisataos.org)