Hummingbird Haven
Weekly Newsletter 9-15-22
This is a looonnnnnnnng one, sorry! :-)
Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ:3 and ASQ:SE-2)
Don't forget to complete BOTH questionnaires as soon as possible.
These will be due Wednesday, September 21st. There are only 4/15 complete in the class. This is a requirement for GSRP students and I don't want it to come down to your child not being able to return until it is completed. Please do them asap. Thank you!
Handwashing
The best way to stay germ-free is through proper handwashing. After observing handwashing methods this week, we've discovered that this is something that needs to be taught to each student.
There are 2 incorrect methods I am seeing:
- Applying soap and then holding the hand with soap under the water to immediately rinse it off, without any scrubbing.
- Rubbing soapy hands under the running water.
This does not clean hands, it just makes hands wet. To get hands clean requires scrubbing with the soap and suds for at least 20 seconds. The best way to accomplish this is with the water turned off, as seen in the sample below.
To check on your child's handwashing skills, please ask them to wash their hands. Allow them to complete the whole process independently, without any verbal or helping intervention. Did they do all the steps correctly?
If they did not, please work on this at home to aid in reinforcement of our lessons at school. Thank you!
SAVE THE DATE!
Field Trip to Mueller's Orchard on Wednesday, October 12 in the morning.
- extra details to come but GSRP will pay for one adult chaperone that has a seat on the bus. Additional adults and siblings must drive and pay on their own.
Time to Start Looking
Once we hit winter temperatures, the thin stretch mittens/gloves will not be enough. Maybe start keeping an eye out for the thick water resistant mittens (much preferred) or gloves (second picture with blue example).
I only bring this up because in the winter, too many kids come to school to play in the snow with those thin stretch kind and are miserable within 10 minutes of our 30 minute outdoor playtime.
Fall Mitten
Insulated/water resistant Mittens
Safety Drills
Fire Drill
Please ask your child what his/her job is when they hear the fire drill. Hopefully they tell you we have to "Get Out!" We have practiced this as class. We also listened to a sample of the sound our fire alarm makes. I hope you do this at home as well. Next week, we are doing the official drill when the alarms will sound. We have TWO in our classroom so I am anticipating some not-too-positive reactions to the volume of the alarms.
Tornado Drill (Severe Weather)
We practiced going to our weather safety zone. We learned how to sit and "take cover" by putting our heads down in our laps and covering them with our hands.
Safe & Together Drill
During this drill we will go into a safer location within our classroom or building. We close and lock all doors and windows, pull the shades, turn out the lights and stay quiet. One of the bonds in the last few years allowed all buildings in FAPS to have Nightlocks installed on all interior doors. This is an added lock at the base of all the doors that make it virtually impossible to break into.
In our classroom, we have a space to go to that is well hidden! It's not a corner of a room, but a huge supply closet with another door.
They were ROCKSTARS! Everyone did quite well staying quiet! I used my flashlight on my phone so we weren't always in the dark.
At this point, I do not verbalize the WHY of this drill. Just that we are staying quiet like in hide and seek and that we are SAFE and TOGETHER.
Sneezes and Coughs
If you have to sneeze, remember to sneeze in your elbow
Achoo, achoo
If you have to sneeze, remember to sneeze in you elbow
Achoo, achoo
If you have to sneeze, then sneeze in your elbow
If you have to sneeze, remember to sneeze in you elbow
Achoo, achoo
***Replace sneeze with cough. :-)
Cold/Wet Mornings
Right now, with the cooler mornings, I recommend dressing them in a zip up hoodie. The pullover style is very difficult for them to maneuver independently. The zip-up hoodie doesn't have to be part of their fashion statement. ;-)
If you wanted to start sending your child to school in rainboots, that would be okay. The rainboots will keep their feet dry from the wet dewy grass.
All belongings should be LABELED with your child's name. :-)
Costume Swap
While we do not have a Halloween or Costume party as a classroom, everyone at WoW is invited to be part of the Costume Swap. If you have costumes you no longer need, then you can bring them in. Then you can "shop" for a new costume. No cost!
This will run sometime in October. I'll let you know for sure when I get those details.
Afternoon Snack
Below is a list of snacks that we provide for students. Snack time is an option for students after rest time. There are always 2 food groups offered to choose from along with a choice of milk or water.
- Goldfish Crackers
- Goldfish Graham Crackers
- Graham Crackers
- Fresh Fruit
- Fresh veggies
- Saltines
- String Cheese
- Yogurt Cereal
- Sliced cheese
- Canned fruit
- Pretzels
- English muffins
- Cream cheese
- Wow Butter (Peanut substitute)
- Breakfast bars
Join us on Wednesday, September 21st from 5-6:30pm for Curriculum Night!
School Supplies
We are not allowed to ask parents for supplies. However...I will say that there are some things that we use (not school supplied) and run out of very quickly:
- real Paper towels - the school provided towels are the thin brown ones that absorb absolutely nothing when it comes to washing tables multiple times a day and cleaning up drink spills.
- Disinfecting wipes
Important Dates for Hummingbird Haven
Important Dates
(dates can be changed or added so please check often)
Revised 9-16-22
Wednesday, September 21st: ASQ's are due!
Wednesday, September 21st: Curriculum Night 5:00-6:30pm
Tuesday, October 4: Picture Day!
Wednesday, October 12: Field Trip to Mueller's Orchard
- extra details to come but GSRP will pay for one adult chaperone that has a seat on the bus. Additional adults and siblings must drive and pay on their own.
Tuesday, November 1st: WoW will still have class/be open!!
- Fenton Schools has NO SCHOOL and this does not affect us
Tuesday, November 8th: NO SCHOOL (only at WoW)
- Election Day (this building is the Fenton polling site)
- Staff Professional Development Day
Monday, November 21st &
Tuesday, November 22nd: NO SCHOOL for GSRP only, Parent/Teacher conf.
Wednesday, November 23rd -
Friday, November 25th: NO SCHOOL, Thanksgiving Break
Monday, December 19th -
Friday, December 30th: NO SCHOOL, Winter Break
Monday, January 2nd: Classes resume
Previous CLASSROOM Newsletters
Miss Becky, World of Wonder
Email: bduncan@fentonschools.org
Website: https://www.fentonschools.org/ellen-street/
Location: 404 West Ellen Street, Fenton, MI, USA
Phone: 810-591-8324
Facebook: facebook.com/WoWFAPS
Twitter: @WoWFAPS