Hello everyone! Welcome to another exciting year at Pinewoods. The lower elementary class is off to a running start; here are a few new things that we have going on...

- We have two students who are new to Pinewoods! Welcome, Evie DeFeo and Julienne Betancourt. These lovely ladies are an awesome addition to our class and we're so excited to have them. Welcome also to C.C, Coleman, Jackson, and Kate, who are new to elementary this year!
- We have a new assistant in our class. Mr. Jimmy has been so much fun so far and everyone loves having him here with us. He's really looking forward to teaching lots of science and Spanish this year. Stop in and say hi if you haven't already!

 



 

Today we used the holiday classic "The Twelve Days of Christmas" to learn about alliteration. We found all of the examples in the song (seven swans a-swimming!) and then the kids rewrote the lyrics that were lacking. Here are some of my favorites:

a partridge pecking a pear tree
three French fries
four begging/big/backwards birds
five ruby/red/rolling/rich rings
five golden grass blades
five golden geese
six swans/lemurs/loons a-laying
six geese a-gazing
nine daddies dancing

LOVE IT!!

P.S. I took a video of the singing performance this afternoon. As soon as I can figure out this darn technology business, I'll post it for you :)

We've been working on some persuasive writing in class lately, especially as it relates to your Thanksgiving turkey. If you were a turkey, how could you get people not to eat you? If your powers of persuasion aren't up to par, maybe a disguise would do the trick...

Sorry for the long wait! Here are some pictures that I've been compiling for the past two months...

Dear Parents,

Important Dates:
May 13: Yearbook Orders due. Lindsay is still looking for field trip and class pictures to complete the yearbook. Please send pictures to Lindsay today if possible so that our class can be represented well in the yearbook.


May 13: Field trip to the NC Museum
We will be leaving campus around 9:15 a.m. for the trip to the museum and will return after lunch.  Since we are having lunch on the grounds of the museum, we will not be able to heat or refrigerate any lunch items.
Bags will be sent home on Monday afternoon for students to use to pack their lunches. This field trip is free!

Saturday, May 17:  Beach Bash School Auction at the Churton Groove Club House

Please try to join us on Saturday for an afternoon of fun and community building from 3-6 p.m. This is not just an excellent way to support school programs, but is important  for your children to see their classmates outside of school.  It is a way to start setting up summer afternoons together to make sure your children see their friends during summer vacation and maintain school friendships. 

Start your summer vacation with a night at Great Wolf Lodge,  or a night at the one of the best hotels in the area, the Umstead Hotel. Both are available at the auction.  Planning summer camps?  This year we will auction passes to the Morehead Planetarium, summer camp at Chestnut Ridge, long summer afternoons at Defy Gravity. 

I tend to be a bit competitive.  It comes out inappropriately during the school auction. Please come and bid on the elementary classroom project. Among other items, this year we will be offering a classroom quilt which features quilt squares submitted by each of the students.

We are still accepting donations to include in the auction.  If you can help make this one of our most successful fundraisers of the year, please contact Jennifer or me this week at school. We are taking donations through Friday.

May 23: Downtown Walking trip to Historic Hillsborough
May 30: STEM Fair at school. I am hoping that we will get 100% participation in the fair. There are many projects that are appropriate for even our first year students. If you are still looking for ideas, please contact me through email and I will be happy to forward to you some of the project ideas.


Teacher Appreciation Week at Pinewoods

My car is clean, I gained twenty pounds, and the classroom looks like a florist thanks to all the teacher appreciation gifts  I feel valued and appreciated. Thank you for sharing your children with me for another year and for the many notes and kind words. There are not many professions where you get to spend your days with the future leaders of the world. Your children are fun to be with and valued and appreciated by those of us who are lucky enough to spend their days with them.

Happy Mother's Day

Jo Ann and Summer

Delick here to edit.

Dear Parents,

Upcoming Events:

May 13: Field trip to the North Carolina Museum of Art

Students will leave campus shortly after 9 a.m. and return sometime after lunch. Students should plan on wearing their school T-shirts and bringing a bagged lunch. We will be unable to refrigerate or microwave lunches on that day. We are still looking for parent drivers and chaperones for the trip. Please contact either Summer or myself if you are able to join us.


May 17: Pinewoods Annual Auction and Fundraiser

Our annual auction will be at the Churton Grove Club House on May 17 starting at 3:30 p.m. Students have been busy working on class project and we hope families will be impressed with our efforts. Please plan on joining us a fun afternoon with the whole community.  This year's theme is a beach party.  Child care will be provided.


May-June STEM Fair


End of year STEM Fair.  The original date of the STEM Fair, May 31, presents a conflict in the class and will need to be changed. I am now considering Friday evening, May 30 or June 6,7, or 8. Any thoughts?


Week in Review

Last week we were busy working in the elementary learning environment. We cleaned up a significant amount of debris and began some planting in our garden beds.  There remains quite a bit of work to do and when the weather permits small groups of students will have a chance to work outside for brief periods.  Students should bring in a large shirt or apron to put over their clothes for days when we work outside.

The older students began presenting their animal research projects.  Each student chose an animal and researched its unique characteristics, habitats, diet, reproduction cycle, and completed a visual aid to complete their assignment.  Finally, they presented their projects to the entire class.  Great job, everybody!


There is a wonderful atmosphere of positive peer pressure taking root in the classroom. Soon after the older students presented their projects, everyone joined in on the fun. First and second  year students are also busy working on geology projects and experimenting with rocks and the rock cycle. 

Earth Day has also inspired a new interest in ecology and conservation. We reviewed layers of the atmosphere, including the ozone layer and global warming.  We started to work on the spectrum of visible light and UV rays. This week we will experiment with UV beads and the importance of sunscreen.


Thank you
Thank you to everyone who participated in the weekend yard sale.  We were able to raise almost $700 to support programs at our school. 

Thank you to Aurora Toennisson, Crissy Foy, and Michelle Manzon for the plants, pots, and garden tools for the outdoor learning environment.

Thank you to:

Stephanie Foster for the plates and utensils for our lunch area.

All families for sharing their children with us.




Warm Regards,

Jo Ann and Summer

Dear Parents,

It is not too late to clean out those closets, toy rooms, basements/attics or garages and help our school at the same time.  Pinewoods will host their annual spring yard sale next Saturday, April 26, at school starting at 8 a.m.  We are still looking for some participants who are willing to barter, negotiate, and haggle as we sell and swap those items that we no longer have use for.  In keeping with Earth Day, why not allow others in the community to reuse toys and clothes that you would otherwise throw out.  I hope to see you there. If you are unable to come out on Saturday morning and would still like to donate items, we will be accepting items all week. We can store items at school starting on Monday morning.

But before the yard sale, Pinewoods will host a discussion forum, Beyond the Label, where the labels given to children are explained by some experts in their respective fields.  Dr. Michelle Manzon as well as experts in occupational therapy and behavioral therapy will explain ADD, ADHD, autism and other diagnoses affecting children.  Join us on April 23 at 6:30 p.m. for what we expect will be an evening of education and lively discussion. Child care will be provided.

Right around the corner, will be the Pinewoods Annual Auction on May 17.  While the Special Events Committee as been hard at work soliciting donations from the local business community, we still need help from our own school community.  What are you known for among family and friends?  Are you an expert party planer, local brew master,  artist,  musician, cake decorator, gardener, computer expert, chef, animal trainer,  or butcher, baker, and candle stick maker?  Whatever your special skill set, we NEED you. Please send in your donor forms, we are counting on you for your expertise. Then, join us on May 17 for end of year blow out! There will be a jazz band and photo booth to capture all of the memories.  The photo booth will be managed by Ms. Summer's husband, Nathan. Each classroom will create a one-of-a-kind project to be included in the auction.

Earth Day is Tuesday and weather permitting we will be spending sometime outdoors in the elementary learning environment.  We will be cleaning up winter debris, making and laying decorative pavers, planting, and creating outdoor learning stations.  If you have any plants, herbs, or vegetable plants that you are splitting we would love to include them in our garden. I am also looking for help creating a weather station and compost bin.  Please let me know if you are able to join us for any part of the day on Tuesday. Students should dress appropriately for working outside.

STEM Fair

I am in the process of surveying parents as to the optimal date for the STEM Fair.  The date will be announced in my next blog post. I will be working with the students next week to determine how many students are expecting to participate. Please support your child as he/she works to develop a project. Ideally, I would hope for 100% participation. Expectations are of course based on age appropriateness.

Gallery Walk

I will be opening the classroom on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning  for any parents wishing to come in and see some of the animal research projects.  Third through fifth graders will have their projects on display. Please stop in and lend your support to these students.

Jo Ann and Summer