#goals

Hello Room 602 Families,

In the past, I used this blog to share information with my students and their families on a regular basis. I would like to get back to that practice, so one of my goals for the year will be to post here several times per month. I'll give the students some instruction about how to access the blog and want you to know that you are welcome to visit any time you like as well.

I'm looking forward to a great year!

Best,
Ms. Gannon



(above image borrowed from http://www.mathnasium.com/settingmathgoalsfor2016)

How would you spend $100 if you could shop with a cop?

I saw this story on the news today and was really touched by how sweet and generous this young man was. Check it out...

A Nation Remembers: 9/11

Tomorrow I will begin some discussions with the children about 9/11. We will talk a little bit about the events that occurred that day but will focus more on the outpouring of support and patriotism that followed. We will talk about what makes us feel better during difficult times and the importance of providing a helping hand to those in need after a crisis. We will also reach out to heroes in our community so if you have any suggestions about people we can contact, please let me know.

Your child may have questions about what we talk about in class or what they see in the media. Here's a great article with some resources and a link to a tip sheet that will help with the conversation.

Puppet Show ~ June 29

PUPPET SHOW
June 29th, 3pm Pacific Beach Library (Puppet theatre with rhythm instruments for the audience)

ZOMO the Trickster Rabbit from West Africa presented by San Diego Guild of Puppetry. Colorful puppets leap out of the welll-loved book by Gerald McDermott. Come join ZOMO in his search for wisdom!
Performed by Iain Gunn & Mindy Donner

 I wanted to share this opportunity to see our friend Mindy Donner perform. She is a member of an organization called Storytellers of San Diego. Check out their website for opportunities to see live storytelling all over the county.

Raising funds for Haiti

A couple of weeks ago, Maya told me that she had heard about the earthquake in Haiti and wondered if we could do something to help, like we did with Feeding America. We decided to talk to the rest of the class about it and see who else wanted to help take the lead. A small group of them meet with me several times last week to come up with a plan. As a class, we did some research about the earthquake and about Haiti so that we could understand why they needed our help. The numbers we discovered were dramatic and the photos, very powerful.

• 3 million people are in need of emergency aid
• more than 217,000 people were killed in the quake
• at least 300,000 people were injured
• nearly 2 million people are living in makeshift tent cities
• at least 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings were destroyed

One of Maya's big concerns was that the money we donate should be given to a reputable aid organization. She chose the American Red Cross.

On Friday the leaders instructed groups of their own, making posters for all of our classrooms and collection envelopes while Maya and I wrote a script to use at the assembly on Monday. They learned that being in charge of other kids and giving directions can be difficult but, in the end, they got the job done.

I am so proud of the children for showing such empathy for these people they don't know. They had so many ideas about ways to help - from giving the children stuffed animals "to help them feel better" to collecting canned goods and water. Several of them spent their recess or free time talking about their ideas and making plans for the project.

Here are the basics about our project:

• We will share our project with the school on Monday, March 1st at the assembly.
• We are collecting coins and bills.
• Collection will run from March 1-12th.
• Collection envelopes will be given to each classroom and to the office.
• The leaders will collect envelopes every morning. (Money will be counted and we will keep track of money collected on a spread sheet during our math time.)
• The money will be donated to the American Red Cross. (We'll use the CoinStar machine at Wal-Mart to donate the coins and bills will be donated online via the Red Cross website.)
• We will provide daily Twitter updates about money collected.
• We will ask teachers to have their students/Families make cards or write letters to Haitians. These will be sent to Haiti via UNICEF.

We hope that you will support our project by donating. No donation is too small - every little bit helps!

Chula Vista Nature Center Event

I wanted to let you know about this special event that's happening on Saturday... :)Ms. G

Bring the family for a fun-filled day in Chula Vista! In honor of National Wildlife Refuge Week, there will be free admission to the Chula Vista Nature Center on Saturday, October 17. Onsite festivities begin at 10 a.m. with free shuttle buses running continuously throughout the day until 4:30. Parking will also be available at the E Street Trolley Station; just tell the staff in the station center to call for a ride to the Nature Center and the bus will come for you there.

Some of the festivities include birding and nature tours, kids activities and crafts, special guest speakers and performers and much more. Visit www.chulavistanaturecenter.org for more information or call (619) 409-5900.

Family Solar Day

I wanted to let you know about this upcoming event...

Family Solar Day

Sunday, September 27
12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Liberty Station – Ingram Plaza
2640 Decatur Road, San Diego (Point Loma) MAP IT
Free – No registration required Bring the whole family to this free Solar Energy Week kick-off event and learn about powering your world with the sun in a casual, relaxed atmosphere at the historic Liberty Station on San Diego Bay. This is an afternoon of fun solar activities for the whole family and an opportunity to mix with hundreds of residential consumers seeking expert advice about solar solutions and technologies.

Some of the activities include interactive, hands-on exhibits, solar experiments, solar cooking demonstrations and a coloring contest for kids. There will be many opportunities to ask the experts questions about how you can join in on the clean energy future.

One of our most popular and well-attended annual events, this will be a day of fun and sun that will empower you with the information you need to make the move to solar power and water heating.

Sad News

Your child should have brought home a letter on blue paper today - it talks about a student who attended Mater Dei that passed away on Monday.

I wanted to let you know that I talked about the student's death with the class. I told them that we don't have a lot of information about what happened - that all we really know is that she became ill and, sadly,  died. There were a lot of different stories floating around about it all today (among adults - not the kids) so I thought it was important to clarify with them that sometimes it takes time to learn what really happened after a person dies and that sometimes rumors are spread when people aren't sure exactly what happened. We talked about H1N1 (because that was a big concern among some parents) and discussed all of the ways we are already working to prevent the spread of germs. I wanted to be sure to calm their worries so that we remember not to overreact when we see someone who is sick.

We also talked about how how the student's classmates, friends and family may be feeling and about how we have felt when someone we cared about passed away. The kids shared what things help them to feel better when they are feeling sad and we decided that it would be nice to make cards for the students, expressing our sadness about what happened and trying to give them a reason to smile. Together, we came up with some appropriate sentiments to include and the kids began their cards in class. Some children brought theirs home to finish, while others finished in class. You may wish to talk to your child about our discussion and check in on how s/he is feeling about it.

I want to reassure you that, as a school that believes health is very important, we talk a lot about the importance of hand washing before we eat (snack and lunch) and after using the restroom. I have hand sanitizer available (any time they need it) and we are careful to wipe down the tables before we eat our snack in the classroom. I also remind them to cough into their elbow or their shirt and to dispose of tissues after using them.

Operation KidPrint

Hopefully, you will never be in a situation where you'll need your child's fingerprints but it's always good to be prepared. On that note, I wanted to share this upcoming event with you...

Operation KidPrint
at Bonitafest 2009

September 26, 2009
9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Lot B behind the Wells Fargo on Bonita Road
4252 Bonita Road, Bonita, CA

Obtaining a copy of your child's fingerprints is a tool to protect your child if the unthinkable happens. Operation KidPrint provides a confidential way of documenting vital identification information for your records. Join Assemblymember Marty Block and the CHP at Bonitafest to help protect your children.

Nixle

In case you aren’t familiar with it, I wanted to share a great community resource, Nixle. As stated on their website, “it immediately connects you to trusted, important, time-sensitive information via text message, e-mail, and web. Get neighborhood-level public safety and health alerts and other relevant community information.”

You can have notifications sent to an email address or directly to your phone and you can choose locations where you live and work. I really appreciate getting notices like this one:

Volunteer for Chula Vista's Community Emergency Response Team(CERT). Starts Oct 1st 5:30-9:30 PM. Call 619.476-2378
Public Announcement:The City of Chula Vista in partnership with Southwestern College invites the general public to participate in Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Basic certification requires a twenty-four hour commitment. The classes are intended to prepare everyone to be ready in case of a disaster and be a survivor not a victim. Classes are free of charge. Please refer to attachment for details. Please call (619) 476-CERT for additional information. Or Register at (619) 409-5482 at CV Fire. Members are 15-1/2 years of age to seniors. This is a 24 hour training, starts Oct 1st, ends Oct 24th.
Contact Information: Tom Leonard 
Fire Department 
 619-409-5482 
 tleonard@ci.chula-vista.ca.us

To check it out and/or sign up with Nixle, click on this link. http://local.nixle.com/
:)Ms. G