Happy Holidays!

Hello Families!

Happy holidays and I hope you all had a wonderful winter break!  I expect that none of you found coal in your stocking this year. J  I didn’t either!  I have been having a delightful break so far.  The holidays really snuck up on me this year, so last week I spent much of the week shopping for Christmas gifts for family and friends, making and eating cookies and spending a lot of time with loved ones.  It was a great way to spend the first half of my break. 

My friends and I adopted a family in need for the holidays.  The family included a mother, a 13-year-old son, a 19-year-old daughter and two adorable dogs (one was an 11-week-old puppy).  Last Tuesday we brought them the gifts we had bought for each family member and a Christmas dinner.  Seeing how grateful and happy this made them, put smiles on our faces and warmed our hearts.  Everyone’s bucket was filled that night.  This truly is the season of giving and I can’t wait to adopt another family next holiday season.

I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, uncle, my brother Tyler, Tyler’s girlfriend Nicole, their dog Bella and my cat Tiffany.  That made 10 of us, including the animals, sitting around the tree sharing stories, laughs and delicious food!  It was such a special weekend spent with special people.

My family has a tradition of always having cinnamon rolls and “egg-goop” Christmas morning.  “Egg-goop” is an egg scramble that my dad makes.  Each time he makes it, he puts in different ingredients and that is why it is called goop.  We never know what goop is going to be in it!  Do your families have any special traditions for the holidays?  I know several families all get new pajamas on Christmas Eve.  We used to do that.  I love traditions because they make things extra personal and special!

As I start my second week of break, I am beginning to brainstorm all of the things I need to do to prepare for our return to school.  Remember all of those papers I showed you that I said I needed to grade?  I finished grading them!  Now I am working on what we are going to be doing in Readers’ and Writers’ Workshop and looking at our new unit in math, which focuses on multiplication.  As I do my “homework”, I want you to remember to work hard on your writing, reading and journaling homework.  I am eager to look at the great work you did and fun you had over the break.  And, although it is called “break”, I hope you have been keeping your mind engaged because we have a busy week of learning in store for us when we get back!

Today is December 27^th, which means 2012 is only five days away!  Can you believe that a new year is already upon us?  I cannot.  I can say that I am very excited for 2012.  I believe it will be a very good year for all of us.  Many people make New Year’s resolutions.  I am someone who likes to start the year with a few resolutions.  Last year on my list was to try at least two new recipes a month and to call my grandma more often.  I can proudly say, I was very successful with these resolutions.  This week I am starting to think about what I would like to work on in 2012.  I challenge you all to do the same.  I look forward to hearing some of your New Year’s resolutions in 2012!  Until then, have a wonderful last few days of break and a safe and happy New Year’s!

Yours truly,

            Miss Jaques

War...What Is It Good For?

There has been quite a bit of excitement both in the classroom and on the playground in response to recent events involving our social studies curriculum.  As Iroquois in the Seneca Nation, we have found ourselves in the middle of a war between other Iroquois nations.  One morning, we came into the classroom only to find one of our longhouses had been destroyed and crops from the Mohawk nation had mysteriously been placed on our land.  After several accusations and rumors, we decided to do some investigative work.  Unfortunately, we still do not have any credible evidence to inform us of who is behind the attacks.  Some think the Cayugas are to blame, so we have kidnapped one of their tribe members named Paytah.  The other day, we learned that the chief of the Onondaga nation, named Atotarho, has an evil side.  We started discussing the possibility of Atotarho being the culprit behind our demolished longhouse and arrival of crops.  This has caused us to consider finding peace with the other Iroquois nations.  We will continue to discuss how to return to a life of harmony as we wrap up our Iroquois study this week.

With this being the last week before winter break, we will also be finishing another unit in math.  To get ready for the end of the unit assessment, I suggest having a focus on measurement, perimeter and area and analyzing data at home this week!

I understand that we will all be full of excitement and holiday cheer this week, but we still have a lot to accomplish in the classroom.  We have our class holiday party this Friday from 2-3pm.  This will be a wonderful time to be festive together.  Thanks to our party parent volunteers, I know we are all in for a great time!