Greetings!!!

Wow! We couldn’t believe today is the last day of February. We have several events we would like to share with you. But first, we want to share with you about our Literacy Night in which was held on February 10th. Everyone had a great time! We started with Opening Ceremony, had four different Olympics theme areas,  door prize and awards. Each family represented each country. Each family rotated from each  Olympics theme areas. Here are the pictures:

We will having CSAP testing start March 1st - March 12th. Make sure your child have some plenty of rest for the next two weeks.  We kicked off the CSAP testing with a Pancake breakfast this morning.

We have been working on preparing our students for CSAP in different areas.  We reviewed inferencing, finding main idea and giving support to our answers with information from the text, writing our answers in full sentences, reading different charts, vocabulary, grammar rules as well as concepts for Math and Science.  We will continue to do that on Monday and Friday when our students return to regular class schedule.

Now is a good time for the students to catch up on their missing assignments before the end of 3rd quarter (March 19th)

Sara Lee’s corner:

Both reading groups have completed their books.  We are now reviewing and finishing up.  The students will have a project to do in relation to their book. We will begin new books after CSAPS.

In writing, we reviewed the difference between narrative and expository pieces and what was expected in each type.   We learned how we were evaluated in CSAP on our writing pieces. 

ASL:  We completed our power point projects on our person of choice for Deaf History.  Currently the students are presenting their projects to the class.

Mary’s Corner:

Reading /Wizard Wands – We just started reading our new book, Bud, Not Buddy, written by Christopher Paul Curtis. It is about  an orphan struggling to find his father during Depression Era.

 Reading /Twilights- We started reading a new book called, Ramona the Brave. The students wanted to continue to read more about Ramona. In this book, she is a first grader and she is learning how to find courage.

Writing- We are still working on our writing projects about Winter. The students reviewed the differences between narrative and expository writing.

 Purple/Orange Math- We have been reviewing different math problems for CSAP test.

 US History- We are now studying Civil War. The students are working on their Civil War/Gettysburg project by researching different battle locations, generals, and the causes of the Civil War.

Us Georgraphy- We are researching about Great Lakes. Each students are researching for information on their assigned lake.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Middle School Fun Night will be held on March 19th.

Middle School Students will be involved with Optimist Club competition.  The competition will be on March 24th.

Parent/Teacher Conferences will be on Wednesday, March 24th.

Happy March,

Sara Lee, Mary & Jeff

Concept of BMI: Body Mass Index was introduced this week.  According to the Center for Disease Control, “for adults, overweight and obesity ranges are determined by using weight and height to calculate a number called the “body mass index” (BMI). BMI is used because, for most people, it correlates with their amount of body fat.”

Students are aware that in the past many people assumed people who were overweight were lazy and indulgent. Now it is quite clear that there are many genetic factors that control our weight and make it more or less easy to control.

We looked at our own BMI by going to  http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/Calculator.aspx . Given the sensitivity of this issue, they were given privacy when calculating their BMI and were encouraged to finish calculating their BMI at home with their parents.  Not only that, but we also learned that the test does not take into account athletes whose body weight is due primarily to muscle mass.  We discussed about factors that may influence our BMI….physical development and timing of development (some develop at earlier age), gender, and height, and density/sizes of their bones.  In order to maintain healthy weight, one would need to follow the food pyramid, eat healthy, nurtitious meals, and stay active.

The greatest wealth is health.  ~Virgil

February 5th: “Get Your Calcium!!”

This week, we covered the following points about the health benefits of calcium-rich foods:

*Diets that are rich in lowfat and fat-free milk and milk products help build and maintain bone mass.

*Students their age especially need to drink milk, bcause this is when their bone mass is being built

We took samples of 1%, 2%, and whole milk and each student had an opportunity to try 3 paper glasses to try the taste test to determine which would taste better.  Before taking samples, they decided that 1% would taste better because it is healthier, but to their surprise, the whole milk tasted better.

After the tasting test, we talked about how we can reduce the fat we consume by switching the milk we drink.  If they usually drink whole milk, they should witch gradually to 2%, then to 1% milk, and finally to fat-free milk.  We reviewed the label of each milk, in addition to the milk that are flavored and then compared them to see which is a better choice for them.

Questions included are the following:

*What is the serving size for this drink?

*How many total calories in one serving?

*How many total grams of fat in one serving?

*What percent of calcium in one serving?

This week, the students learned to read charts, to develop thinking skill in making comparisons, and to practice their math computation skill.

“Got Milk? Drink like there’s no tomorrow!”

Welcome to Health Class of 2010!

We started off the 3rd quarter with this new, exciting class! We have covered nutrition during the first 2 weeks; we talked about food pyramid and learned that the food pyramid is an important nutritional tool. They classified foods, understand nutrients provided by each food group, and determine whether they are healthy eaters.

We planned a nutritional breakfast meal and made breakfast taco to enjoy as a culminating event.  We discussed the nutrition of ingredients of the breakfast tacos: scrambled eggs, bacons, cheese, vegetables (mushrooms, green peppers), and salsa.  We discussed healthier replacements also (i.e., turkey bacons would be healthier).

Parents: here are the websites to food pyramid that we’ve covered in class:

http://kidshealth.org/kid/stay_healthy/food/pyramid.html

http://www.nourishinteractive.com/hco/free_printables (free activities/worksheets to do with your children)

“I wasn’t feeling well in the first half. I felt down, man. I had three slices of pizza before the game and the food took me down.” - Leroy Loggins, basketballer with the Brisbane Bullets after 1986 semi-final

Happy February!!

We are now into the second half of the school year!  Time sure flies!!

There will be a Family Literacy Night at RMDS on Wednesday, February 10th.  The theme will be Winter Olympics.  We hope to see you there.  Also, there will be a book fair during this time.

We had a honor roll ceremony last Friday.  Congratulations to our students who got on the honor roll.

We hope to see more students on the honor roll.  The key to get on the honor roll is to participate, be ready for classes and complete their homework on time.

Here are tidbits from what is happening in our classes:

Mary’s classroom

Reading and Writing-We are very close completing our book reading. The students continued to work on answering reading comprehension questions and writing down their feelings/thoughts of each chapter of their book. The students are practicing with interference and prediction skills with different short stories. Winter theme essay is our current writing project. Some of the students are writing descriptive essay about their favorite winter sport. Other students are writing narrative stories. The students are still practicing writing topic sentences and paragraphs.

Math-The students are still working with Singapore Math strategy using word problems. Some students learned number theories with fractions such as divisibility, simplify fractions, equivalent fractions, addition and subtraction with fractions while other group of students started to learn number theories with factions.

U.S. History-The students just completed their history review test last week. The test covered what they have learned since beginning of August. We emphasized our studies on the tensions between the colonists and the British. The objective was to comprehend what events caused the start of the American Revolutionary War. Currently, we are learning about the strength and weakness of the British and Continental Armies. We will learn about the Constitution and Bill of Rights next week.

U.S. Geography- The students completed their studies on Southeast Regions. They created books or brochures on different states. Currently, we are focusing on Midwest Region. The students learned variety of geography vocabulary terms as we study each region.

Sara Lee’s corner:

ASL: We are focusing on presentation skills and how we can organize our thoughts and present them in ASL. We are participating in the ASL essay contest at Gallaudet University. Also for Deaf Studies, we are starting a biography project on Deaf People.

Reading: We focused on how to write great short answers by paraphrasing the questions. This is a great preparation for the CSAPS. We are starting new books and working on the setting. On Fridays, we work on specific skills involving reading comprehension and how to read charts in preparation for CSAPs, too.

Writing: We practiced writing great topic sentences for a variety of topics. Also, we are working on creating a multi-paragraph essay on the same topic as ASL essay contest. We are working on how to organize and expand the paragraph with examples or details.

The topic for both writing and ASL essay contest at Gallaudet University is as follows:

Helping Others: How I Can Make a Difference in My Community?

Sara Lee, Mary & Jeff

Hello, Parents,

We want to keep you in post that this week was the last week of 2nd quarter. The whole week, we focused on reviewing all the information that students have learn since beginning of 2nd quarter.

We want to let you know that we will post all the grades by next week.

Reminder! Middle school will be having Middle School Fun Night on January 22nd. Your child will bring home permission slip. We would like to have the permission slip by Thursday January 21st.

Have a good weekend!

Jeff, Mary and Sara Lee

December 4, 2009

Hello, Parents!

We hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving Break! We had a good week. There were several events happening during the week. Before Thanksgiving break, Middle School students were assigned a young student from either Learning Center, Preschool, Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten or some of first grade class  to help them making a wish list for Signing Santa by choosing pictures from catalogs and helping them write. This was like mentoring.  Last Monday, the Middle School students met with the younger students to rehearse signing their letters to the Santa with their wish list.

Last Tuesday, the whole school went to Cherry Creek Mall to meet Signing Santa. Middle School students met with the younger children to support them with Signing Santa. In fact, our event was captured by the CBS4 news!! Hope everyone did watched our event, but if not, don’t worry! Here’s the link: Signing Santa (be sure to link the signing santa picture below the current video)

Today, we had a guest visitor, Angelyne, “The Amazing Deaf Cattle Dog”.  His owner, Eric Melvin demonstrated his tricks with Angelyne to the whole school. The students enjoyed viewing the demonstration. Several students participated using tricks with Angelyne.

Enjoy!

Jeff, Mary and Sara Lee

******

November 13, 2009

Wow, time sure flies fast! We have one more week before Thanksgiving break. Just a reminder, we will be having a Thanksgiving Feast on Thursday, November 19 in the evening.  The RMDS Board members will provide food at the feast to show their appreciation for RMDS families.  It would be wonderful to see you all.  Students’ stories, performances and comments will be shown at the dinner.

Two Mondays ago (November 2nd), we had an award assembly for First Quarter Honor Roll.
Congratulations to our Middle School students for receiving their special awards for their hard work!
Perfect Attendance Award
Matthew Cowger, Carlos Perez, Caleb Pendley, Vladislav Malyshkin

Honor Roll Mention Award
Matthew Cowger, Justice Grumbach, Austin Wolfangle, Payton Talbert, Caleb Pendley

Honor Roll Award
Elijah Ruck, Renee Gunst, Sunshine Souhrada, Brenda Ruedas

Highest Honor Roll Award
Colleen Gunst, Mia White, Destiny Campion, Vladislav Malyshkin

Last week on November 6th, the Middle School students went on a field trip to the Boondocks in Northglenn. It was co-sponsored by CSDB Outreach program and a teacher at Hill Middle School. They invited all middle school deaf programs in the Metro Denver area to meet at Boondocks. The students really enjoyed their fun day by riding on the Go-Karts and playing arcade games. Not only they get to play games, it was a chance for our middle school students to meet other deaf students from another schools. There were about 7 programs in attendance and over 75 people attending.  Here are the images from our fun day at Boondocks:

Check out our Newsletter:

msnewsletter11_13_091

Mary, Jeff & Sara Lee

October 22, 2009

Hello, Parents! It was a busy week! This was the last week of the first quarter. Last Wednesday, we held Family Math Night. Everyone had a great time. The most popular middle school math event was “Wild Trail Mix” with fractions. Many parents enjoyed the game. Families can continue to play “Wild Trail Mix” at home with their child. Here are the images from Family Math Night-

Last Night was a big event for RMDS. Jefferson County Education Center had approved our request for high school. Some of our middle school students did present on our behalf to the panel. They did an impressive job! We would like to thank Christine Pendley, David Wilcox, Greta Wolcott, Mia White, and Justice Grumbach. We would also like to thank Matthew Cowger giving the middle school students’ letters to the Jefferson County Board members. We want to thank all the parents, staff and students for showing up to show their support! Here are the images from Board meeting-

Today, we had our first SBG meeting. The students are planning different ways to set up fundraising and middle school events. We will keep you posted if we need your help with our fundraising and middle school events. Today at the assembly, we had a visitor from Jefferson County Police K-9 unit. He did some demonstration how the dogs search for drugs and bomb.

We teachers are currently working on Gradebook. You will expect to see your child’s final grades next week. Thank you for all of your patience.

Have a great weekend!

Here is our second newsletter: middleschool-nl-oct-23

It is hard to believe we have about two weeks left until the end of first quarter. Last Monday, we had Student Body Government election. The students who ran for different positions did very well with their speeches. We applauded to all of their hard work and effort running their own campaign. We announced the winner by the end of the day.

Winners:

President: Greta Wolcott

Vice President: Kevin Dale

Secretary: Renee Gunst

Treasurer: Sunshine Souhrada

Student Representative: Rebecca Olson

Congratulations to SBG winners. We will have our first SBG meeting on Friday, October 23rd. We will have our SBG meetings on Fridays twice a month. It will be a great year for SBG!

We have exciting news to share.  Denver Commission for Disabilities contacted us  about having  our Middle School Dance Team (Noisy Hands Dance Team) to perform at their awards ceremony this coming Tuesday morning.  It will be a great experience for our middle school students.  You will get a permission slip for your child to be part of this event this Monday.

We mailed out the letters about the gradebook website. You should be expecting it soon.

Here is our new updated newsletter, Enjoy!

middleschool-nl-oct-51

Mary, Jeff & Sara Lee

This week went by so fast! We had a great week! Last Tuesday, the Deaf Festival was a success! The middle school students performed did a great job with ASL stories and dance performance.

Today, we went to a field trip to CSDB for College Fair. What an experience for all of the middle school students! There were so many booth tables of several different colleges and universities. The students asked several questions to the recruiters about certain colleges and universities. They collected different folders and brochures. Make sure ask your child to show you what they collected.

Tonight is Middle School Fun Night! We are looking forward enjoying our fun night after our hard work this week!
We will pass out the information about gradebook website and an updated newsletter next week! Thank you for your patience!

Have a great weekend!

Jeff. Mary and Sara Lee

It was wonderful seeing most of you at the Back to School Night.  We apologize for the technical difficulties we had with this webpage.  We posted something last week and as you may notice, it has disappeared.  Hopefully this won’t happen again.

We are working on a new gradebook which will allow you to monitor your child’s progress in school via mygradebook.com.  You will be able to see your child’s current grade as well as assignments that are missing or completed.  This would make it so much easier to track your child’s performance at school.  Expect a letter this week with your child’s login address and password so you can access the information.  It is already time for mid-quarter reports!

Here are two links to the newsletters from the past two weeks.

middleschool nl sept8

middleschool nl Sept14

We are excited about the Deaf Children Festival here at Rocky Mountain Deaf School on Tuesday, Sept. 29th.

Sara Lee, Jeff & Mary

Dear Parent or Guardian:

We are currently addressing the bullying over the Internet, called Cyberbulling.  Cyberbullies use Internet services to degrade, insult, harrass, threaten, and humiliate others.  There have been reported incidents of cyberbullying among our students so this letter is written for you to be aware of our collaborating effort to address the serious topic of cyberbullying at school.

The abuse may happen online, or it may be an extension of physical bullying that occurs before, during, or after school.  It is damaging because it can be unrelenting for the target and because it can happen 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Since the Internet allows one to be anonymous, the bullies contact their target with less fear of being caught compared to the tradition or physical bullying.  Also, cyberbullying allows the bully to get more people involved and the target would experience being bullied in more impacting way.  The target would know that everyone can see it and it is more damaging.  Futhermore, the words and images bullies post may be impossible to track down and remove.

We are communicating with you about what we do to address the cyberbullying and how to prevent it.  First, we explain wht forms the cyberbullying take, and they are the following:

- Send abusive text messages to cell phones, computers, or Internet- connected game consoles.

-Post abusive comments on someone’s blog or social networking site (like MySpace or Facebook)

-Make it appear that the target is posting nasty comments about friends to isolate him or her from friends.

-Post the target’s personally identifiable information on the site to put them at greater risk of contact by predators.

-Take photos (often using a cell phone camera) and post them online, sometimes manipulating them to embarrass the target

What we can do together to help your student stay safe both at school and at home:

-Educate students how to keep his or her online space private to avoid bullying by strangers.

-Explain the importance of protecting passwords so others cannot access a site to post information that may be damaging.

-Encourage the child not to retaliate if someone abuses him or her.  Instead, they should report the abuse to you immediately.  The school principal (Janet) and/or school counselor (myself) should be reported also.

-At home, use features of Internet devices to block abusers and report abuse to the owners of the Web site where abuse takes place.

-Educate students not to bully others, and to support to those who are being bullied.  When students stand up for each other, they create a climate that discourages bullying.

We believe that parents are the most important partner that we have in education and we appreciate your participation by communicating with us and sharing with us bits and pieces of life of your children.  There are many different strategies that we, as school in whole, and as parents, can do to eliminate Cyberbullying.

Here are the websites to cyber-bullying.  Please feel free to call or email if you have any questions or concerns!

http://stopcyberbullying.org/

http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/adults/default.aspx

“Never be bullied into silence.  Never allow yourself to be made a victim.  Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define YOURSELF!” –Harvey S. Firestone

GROUNDHOG DAY! Do our shadows distract us too?

Oh yes, February is here, and we have already celebrated Groundhog Day on Tuesday!   The history has it that the German settlers in Pennsylvania had a tradition known as Candlemas Day where they use candles to determine how much longer the winter would be.  If the sun shone on Candlemas Day, the Germans believed, the groundhog would cast a shadow and another six weeks of winter was inevitable.  If a groundhog sees his shadow when he comes out of his burrow, we are in for 6 more weeks of winter weather.  Or so the story goes.

If a groundhog gets “distracted” by the shadow, we could be, too!  This week, we talked about how distractions could affect our performances both in school and at home. The students are learning how to remain on task despite hall, classroom, and peer distractions.  All students are expected to have abilities to remain on task and ignore distractions, and the skills can be taught on daily basis.  During classroom time, we played group games that would foster attention and communication among peers.  We also role played and used puppets.  We discussed what we should do if someone next to us is very distracting while we are trying to work.

Being active listeners is also critical for ignoring distractions.  The middle school students discussed what distractions are visual, auditory, and tactile and then submit suggestions how to ignore distractions in order to be better listeners in classrooms.

Parents: here are some websites that can be shared with your child at home to review:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5236004_ignore-someone-annoying.html

http://www.ehow.com/how_2249596_ignore-annoying-classmates.html

“Don’t let your own shadow distract you”– (a quote made by me )

HELLO!  HAPPY NEW YEAR, FOLKS!

We kicked off this exciting year with the reminder of what responsibility is and how we can be responsible for ourselves.  The  middle school students were asked these questions throughout the week:

1. Do you consider yourself to be a responsible person? Why? In what ways?

2. The people in the video identified several aspects of responsibility. What were they? Do you agree with them? What does responsibility mean to you?

3. Do you consider it important for your friends and family members to be responsible? Why?

4. Think about somebody you know who is very responsible. How does that person demonstrate responsibility? Does that make you respect him/her more?

5. It’s been said that “There are no rights without responsibility, and there is no responsibility without rights.” What does that mean? Do you agree? What is the relationship between rights and responsibilities?

6. We need to separate problems into three categories: ones we have no control over, ones we have some influence over, and ones we have total control over. How would it help resolve our problems to look at them in this way?

7. What does being responsible have to do with the quality of your character?

8. What are the benefits of being a responsible person? How do you benefit from the responsibility of others?

During the assembly, the middle school students came up with their own list of goals they would like to set for the year 2010 and three of the most important goals are the following: attending to classes prepared and on time, paying attention during the class; and being prompt with their class assignments.

Woo hoo! Parents, what a great start to the year 2010! Let us cheer them on, it’s going to be great!

“It is easy to dodge our responsibilities, we cannot dodge the consequences of dodging our responsibilities” — unknown

HAPPY DECEMBER!  Tis the month of giving and sharing!

We have kicked off the month going to the mall to see what we have wanted for the holidays and some of us visited Santa Claus to tell him what we are hoping to get, then we continued the week thinking about what we want to give to others.  In each class, we reflected about people who are less fortunate than us; people without jobs, without home to go to, beds to sleep, and even clothes to stay warm.

Since December is a month of giving and sharing, that sprit is especially relevant for this school because we are hosting food drive for Food Bank of the Rockies.  Our students are excited about giving back to the community!  The boxes for donations will be out in the hallway of the school, next to Ms. Janet Dickinson’s office, for students, parents, and the community to bring non-perishable food and drop them off.  Last day of drop-off will be on Thursday, December 17th because the boxes will be taken to Food Bank that day in the afternoon.  The items that would make great donations are boxed/canned food such as tuna, ham, beef stew, chili, baked beans, soups, fruits, vegetables, peanut butter, jelly, and pasta.

It is interesting to note that Food Bank of the Rockies is able to purchase so much more food at a lower cost than the average person going to a grocery store. With a $1 donation, Food Bank can provide four (4) meals or 5 pounds of food!! If you are interested in monetary donating, a fund has been established through the website: www.foodbankrockies.org. On the left column, click “donate food” then scroll down and click on “Feeding Hope Fund Page,” which will lead you into new page. Click on “find a fund” and then type “Rocky Mountain Deaf School.”

The flyer was given out to the students to take home.  It is also attached here for your information. Thank you for wanting to support our school’s desire to give back to the community!

fooddriveflyer.doc

“The manner of giving is worth more than the gift” — Pierre Corneille

Week of 11/9- 11/13

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION

This week for elementary, we focused on learning cultures and races as a goal to prepare students for life in an ethnically diverse society and can bring about cognitive and affective benefits to students.to build understanding among racial and cultural groups and appreciation of different cultures.  For pre-schoolers, we identified differences and similarities; we played games by grouping up based on physical  and clothing similarities, such as pink shoes, brown hair, blue eyes.  When they notice the differences in others, they are encouraged to cheer each other for being “different” as a goal to install the importance of being yourself and to be independent in what you are born to be and desire to be.  With k-2nd graders, we identified ethnic/racial groups and identified which countries have the majority of which groups.  For older elementary students (3-5th graders), we distinguished these groups and then identified the terms, “discrimination” and “prejudice” and how they impact on our society.  We discussed how to defuse intergroup tensions and conflicts.

Parents: to teach your children tolerance and acceptance of differences in others, please check these website links:

http://www.catalogs.com/info/children/teaching-children-tolerance.html

http://www.surfnetparents.com/teaching_tolerance_to_children-18475.html

http://stayathomeparents.suite101.com/article.cfm/teaching_children_tolerance_and_acceptance

“The most influential of all educational factors is the conversation in a child’s home” –William Temple, Sr.

Week of 10/26- 10/30

SAFETY AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR HALLOWEEN!

Now that we have said BOO to drugs, we are kicking off this Spirit Week with ugly shirts and ties!  Many students and teachers are wearing some cool, ugly clothing and it’s so fun sharing what ugly things we have in closets at home!  Tomorrow will be Senior Citizen Day so we will see what how that brings the creativity out of us!! Wednesday is Hat Day, Thursday is Team Spirit Day, and Friday is…HALLOWEEN!!

With Halloween coming up this week, students will learn the responsibility of being safe when going out for trick or treating for Halloween on Saturday.  Halloween is a fun night for students to dress up and go door to door trick or treating.  They should, however, be aware of the danger snad how to be safe.  As part of a safety lesson, ways to stay safe on Halloween night will be discussed with students.

We discuss with them that Halloween is a fun night, but that it can be dangerous if they are not careful.  There are things they can do to ensure that the night is a success and that everyone stays safe and healthy.

Here are the links for parents to share with their children:

(click here for pdf) preparing_children_for_trick_or_treating.pdf

(website link) http://www.aap.org/advocacy/releases/octhalloween.cfm

October 19, 2009– RED RIBBON WEEK!

This week, we are celebrating “Red Ribbon Week” which focuses on keeping our students drug-free.  Red ribbons, pencils, and lollipops are handed out to students of all ages to promote drug and alcohol-free lifestyles.  Classroom teaching with me as a counselor in each room is themed to fit their learning goals.  The Middle School will cover reasons teens give for drinking alcohol, and reasons for NOT to drink alcohol in addition to covering basic information and facts about drugs.  These issues will be covered during Boys/Girls Clubs and Teen Living class.  The Pre-K-2nd and 4-5th grade classes will sing “I am strong”, discuss why drugs and alcohol are bad, and draw a picture showing themselves saying no to drugs then explain in ASL about their pictures.

Children often do drugs because of peer pressure.  The program encourages them to be good models to each other so if they are ever put in a situation like this, they will have a better idea what is the right way to deal.  The program also promotes healthy lifestyles while showing students how to take responsibility for their actions.  We teach students positive decision-making skills and confidence on how to lead healthy lifestyles.

For assembly on Friday the 23rd at 12:30 a guest speaker from Dark Knight K9 Detection Agency will visit us with a drug sniffing dog.  Parents and community: please feel free to come and join us!!!

Reminder for this week:

– Family Math Night on Wednesday at 6-8pm

– Jeffco School Board Hearing on RMDS High School on Thursday starting at 6pm

October 2, 2009–Field Trip to CSDB for College Fair

College Fair? Who from RMDS may have gone to college fair already? Yes you guessed it right–The middle school had a day field trip to Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind (CSDB) in Colorado Springs for Post Secondary Education College Fair!  All 6th, 7th, and 8th graders had an opportunity to visit the exhibits of participating colleges and universities, in addition to support agencies, at their own pace and get answers to their questions.  They got an idea of the options available in higher education, the strategies for financing college, and the importance of early planning.

Participating schools and agencies are the following but not limited to:

California State University in Northridge (CSUN)

RIT/ NTID: Rochester Institute for Technology/ National Technical Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, NY

Gallaudet University in Washington, DC

Southwest Collegiate Institute for the Deaf (SWID)

University of Colorado in Colorado Springs (UCCS)

Community College of Aurora

Red Rocks Community College

Community College of Denver

Vocational Rehabilitation

Federal Student Aid

The colleges and universities shared information on career trends, tuition, financial aid and scholarships, saving and investment ideas, high school course selection and high school athletics, tips on choosing a college and getting ready for college.  Our students gathered information and they were encouraged to bring them home to share with their parents.  I have all the information available in my office, so please feel free to stop by and check them out!

(Updated 9/9/2009)

Parents, please click on link below for the letter:

letter to parents (in pdf)

(Updated 8/25/2009)

INTRODUCTION!!

It’s with great pleasure that I get to work with the students at Rocky Mountain Deaf School.  I have found the RMDS students and parents to be involved, inquisitive, leaders, and in general just a wonderful bunch of people!

Focus areas:

Classroom guidance: Throughout the year, the counseling program provides classroom instruction K-8th.  I will be in your child’s classroom every other week presenting lessons and a variety of topics on success in school, conflict management, safe choices, and careers and future planning.

Small groups: I work closely with students in small groups.  Small groups are offered to any students that will benefit from some support from their peers.  Groups offered range from friendship, self-esteem, grief and loss, and any other group needed.

Individual work with students:  If there is a situation that is preventing a student from performing his or her best in the classroom, I can meet with that student on an individual basis.

Parent consultation:  I am happy to meet with parents at any time to discuss your child’s educational needs or social/emotional concerns.

Please click on the link below to view the brochure describing School Counseling Services that are available at RMDS:

RMDS Counseling Services brochure (in pdf)

About Nicole Beatty:

B.A. Creighton University; MSW Gallaudet University.  This is my 5th year working within school setting- I have worked with students in all school age groups relating to issues ranging from social/personal to transitional.  I am enjoying the opportunity to work with students in this school and to make an impact in each child’s life.

Wow, we are already strolling into the end of 3rd quarter!  Have any one of you made a resolution about budgeting?  Any one out there wanting to do better financially or with money management?  Well, I think this resolution is for us because we started into budgeting for this class!  Oh yes– good way of starting January and ending the quarter! The goal for this week is to students have at least an understanding about budgeting and have discussed it before they get into high school and into work.  Money managing and budgeting is the most important life skill that many people find to be very difficult.  It is a very important skill to maintain in order to succeed in life .  The budget is a good starting point from which a young student can manage their money successfully in his/her lifetime.  The goal for this topic to be covered in class is for the students to identify family financial goals and develop basic budget strategies.

Parents– here is the powerpoint that I have used to cover the discussion: budget.ppt.  Please feel free to review it with you child.

Thank you and enjoy your long weekend!  Happy Martin Luther King Jr Day!!

December 4, 2009 This week, we are talking about bullying and what it means and how it influences us as a member of the whole school.  Ashley, the youth coordinator from DOVE, Advocacy Services for Abused Deaf Women and Children came to speak with us and the rest of the middle school students about bullying.  The following topics that we have and will cover are:

• Identify bullying
• Avoid being a part of bullying situations
• Bullies, bystanders, and their roles
• How to find empowering ways to respond to bullying
• How to identify their support system
• Focus on expression of feelings and respect for other students
• Build and strengthen self-esteem

We have learned that bullying can be pushing, shoving, hitting, and spitting, as well as name calling, picking on, making fun of, laughing at, and excluding someone.  Bullying causes pain and stress to victims and is never justified or excusable as “kids being kids,” “just teasing” or any other rationalization. The victim is never responsible for being a target of bullying.  Ashley has asked us if we believe that everybody should enjoy our school equally, and feel safe, secure and accepted regardless of color, race, gender, popularity, athletic ability, intelligence, religion and nationality.  We said YES!!!!  We have agreed o join together to stamp out bullying at our school so Ashley will come back on Tuesday, December 8th to help us develop our anti-bullying pledge.  It may be in making a poster or a video; we will brainstorm ideas for our next class on Tuesday.

Parents, there are numerous websites about bullying.  I’ve listed a few so please feel free to check them out and talk with your child about what he/she may have learned about bullying and victimization:

http://stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov/kids/ http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/bullies.html http://www.jaredstory.com/bullying_whattodo.html http://www.education.com/topic/school-bullying-teasing/

“Courage is fire, and bullying is smoke” — Benjamin Disraeli

Week of 11/9 - 11/13

The 2nd quarter has begun and I am with the new group of students!  We kicked off with the class syllabus and we started the topic of adult responsibility and working.  We discussed the difference between “jobs” and “careers” then further the discussion by writing down what they are dreaming to become in the future.  The students have the opportunity to relax and dream and to think about where they want to be in 5 years from now.  We are completing the worksheet to explore career options and each one of the student will explain to the class about what they are hoping to become.  It is due next week on Tuesday (November 17th).

worksheet of the week: exploring_careers.pdf

The powerpoint that we used to cover the discussion: careers.pdf

“When we are dreaming alone it is only a dream. When we are dreaming with others, it is the beginning of reality.” — Dom Helder Camara

Week of 10/19- 10/23

It’s Red Ribbon Week!  In class, we increased our knowledge about drugs so we could smart ourselves as a goal to protect ourselves and our future from the harm of drugs.  We discussed several categories, such as alcohol, club drugs, and street drugs.  Specific drugs were identified (i.e., marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine) and how they affect our brains, bodies, and our self- control, in addition to information about long- and short-term effects, physical and psychological risks, and legal issues.

For assignment, students were to browse internet during their free time (at home, during lunch break, or recess) and print off information/ pictures of drugs they have found and bring to class to share with others.

The objectives of this class is to increase their knowledge about drugs, both legal and illegal, and to communicate their knowledge to others through class presentations. The key website link that was used to cover drugs this week: http://family.samhsa.gov/main/facts.aspx.  The series is written for teens but they are also great resources for adults and parents to share with their children!

“I’m too busy to do drugs!”

“2 smart 2 do drugs!”

Week of 10/12- 10/16

Continuation of discussion about stress this week.  We distinguished between good and bad stresses and identified which stressful life experience is good or bad.  Students shared their own experience and identified the symptoms that they have experienced during the stress.  Students had a quiz on Thursday.  Results will come on Tuesday of next week.

“It is impossible for a man to learn what he thinks he already knows.”–Epictetus

Week of 10/5-10/9

We continued the discussion about stress this week.  We covered important keys about stress using PowerPoint in the class: stress.ppt

Please feel free to review the PowerPoint with your child and share your experience of dealing with stress in your life. The more we share, the better they learn!

“Life itself is your teacher and you are in a constant state of learning”– Bruce Lee

Week of 9/28-10/2

This week, students recognize symptoms and causes of stress and how to manage.  We identified causes of stress, defined symptoms of stress, and examined positive forms of stress management stress.  We did informal exercise in class: I would give them the fake assignment which is a term paper for them to write 5 pages; they are to type it out and make it double spaced.  After the students have become stressed over this assignment, they identified the reactions of their bodies to this type of exercise: Are they nervous?  How do they breathe, rapidly?  What do their muscles feel like?  Is their stomach tense?

We also discussed that stress can be positive or negative and what are the differences.  The worksheet, called “Stress Tally” was completed this week in class.  Please click below to view the worksheet: stress_tally.pdf

Week of 9/21-9/25

This week, students identified characteristics of a quality caregiver. They practiced positive guidance techniques in class.  I shared with them experiences that relate to positive guidance techniques and then we did worksheet: confusedcathy (in pdf).  The story was passed out to students to take home to read for next class where I read the story aloud to them.  We filled out worksheets together. We learned to differentiate between negative and positive methods of guidance for children which would benefit them someday when they are ready to care for small children (babysitting, etc).

Week of 9/14-9/20

The class had an opportunity to visit the Learning Center at RMDS to interact with children of 2-4 years old.  The students gained child care experience and we started the discussion with listing the difference of responsibilities of babysitters and parents.  We discussed points and issues to be considered on the topic of teen parenthood and teen childbearing. We went into depth by defining and discussing the concept of quality of life then listing the things they think contribute to a quality lifestyle.  They compared and contrast this list with the lifestyle of a teen parent.  The conflict between a typical teen lifestyle and the potential lifestyle of a teen parent should be self-evident.  Teens tend to be unrealistic about the demands of parents so it was a good opportunity to see the big picture of teen parenthood.  Teen parenthood reference sheet will be handed out for this week. Parents, here are some websites suggested for you to review with your child regarding teen parenthood:

• Parent Guide: Parental Responsiblities Ideas and suggestions that may be used in a home discussion about the responsibilities associated with parenthood.
• Parent Guide: Being a Parent Ideas and suggestions that may be used in a home discussion about the commitments involved with being a parent.
• Parent Guide: The Challenges of Parenthood Ideas and suggestions that may be used in a home discussion on the challenges of being a parent.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR CLASS INFORMATION! (updated 9/16/2009– please review!)

Teen Living letter for students and parents (in pdf)

Happy Monday! Last week the students really enjoyed learning about the dinosaurs. They covered a small bottle with playdough for a volcano and saw it erupt a couple of times with baking soda and vinegar.  They got a kick out of it.

This week we will continue learning about dinosaurs.  We also have three events coming up.  We will visit the local vet on 16th, make pizzas at Papa John on 18th, and the sheriff will come to talk to the students about safety on 18th.

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A Friendly Reminder from ECE:

March 17:  St. Patrick’s Day (Wear GREEN)

March 18: Early Years (5:00-7:30 p.m.)

March 19: End of 3rd Quarter

March 24: Parent/Teacher conference 4-6 p.m.

March 29-April 6: Spring Break

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Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

Travis mixed the playdough mixture for our volcano.

 We got lucky to mingle with firefighters when they stopped by.

Truly and Tahoe showed their excitement when the volcano erupted.

Smiling faces!

Have a great week!

Jennifer

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March 8-12:

March will roar like a lion-dare I say blizzard! The students definitely will enjoy the weather this month. The students were very fascinated with the dinosaurs last week when I read a couple of books about dinosaurs.  This week we are going to focus on T-REX such as facts about it.  The students really love to learn about dinosaurs.  They really showed their excitement.  By the way, keep your eyes peeled on our upcoming field trip.

There are 3 students’ birthday this month: Tahoe on 19th turning 3, Catelina on 21st turning 5 and Truly on 29th turning 3.  They are looking forward to being a year older.  Don’t we remember those days when we looked forward to being a year older?

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A Friendly Reminder from ECE:

March 17:  St. Patrick’s Day (Wear GREEN)

March 18: Early Years (5:00-7:30 p.m.)

March 19: End of 3rd Quarter

March 24: Parent/Teacher conference 4-6 p.m. *will send out form soon*

March 29-April 6: Spring Break

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Here attached are some pictures from last week:

Kailee and Travis explored with the aquadoodle.

Tahoe and Alejo are the paleontologists studying dinosaur remains.

One of the students’ dinosaur skeleton made out of playdoh and pasta.

Travis, Kailee, and Truly were reading “Taking Care of Your Teeth.”

Have a fantastic week.

Jennifer

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March 1-5:

Happy March! I can’t believe that it’s already March and its just like the blink of an eye.  We only have 19 more days to say HELLO to Spring.  Enjoy Winter while it lasts.

The students really enjoyed learning more about the Community Helpers such as Dentist, Postal Office workers, and etc.  I am currently working on setting up a community helper field trip on March 9th.  On March 4th, we will be walking to Papa John’s to learn about the pizza makers and they will allow the students to make their own pizza.  Awesome!  Please keep an eye on the field trip form and it’s a walking distance for us since Papa John’s our neighbor. 

This week we will be studying about DINOSAURS.  I know that the students will be very thrilled about this.  They really find the dinosaurs very fascinating.  If you have some stuff on dinosaurs that you would like to share, do let me know.

I thought it’d be neat to share with you about our two teachers.

Last two Fridays Melissa Peterson and Stephanie Carson attended a phenomenal workshop about improving students’ memory skills (Memory Improvement in Children with Learning and Developmental Disorders by Joel Alexander Ph.D.).  They gained a lot of new information. 

There are simple things we can all do to improve our memory skills:        

1.) Having a regular bedtime.

2.) Be outside for 1-2 hours between the hours of 3 and 5 PM.

3.) Reduce your light exposure 1 hour before bedtime-this means no computer and no TV.

4.) Turn on the lights when you wake up-bright lights help!

5.) Good nutrition

6.) Exercise

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Friendly Reminder:

March 4: Early Years (5:00-7:30 p.m.)

March 19: End of 3rd Quarter

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Here are some pictures from last week for you to enjoy:

Travis and Truly are driving to the dentist office while

Kailee, the dentist, is waiting for them.

Emma and Tahoe enjoy reading the book.

The students love to practice writing on the mini white board.

Tahoe is the construction worker trying to move the cars.

Have a splendid week!

Jennifer

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February 22-26:

Happy Monday!  How nice that the storm that has brought five straight days of snow for us.  It is preparing to leave the state.  Beautiful, its.  Last week we talked a lot about taking care of our teeth.  This week we will continue some about taking care of our teeth and the dentist office. I am currently workong on setting up a “community helpers” field trip.  I will keep you all posted.  If you know of someone who’s a dentist, firefighter, postal office worker, and etc, do let me know.

Friendly Reminder:

Feb. 25: RMDS Board meeting

March 4: Early Years (5:00-7:30 p.m.)

March 19: End of 3rd Quarter

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Here are some pictures from last week for you all to enjoy:

Truly and Travis read books in the reading tent.

Kailee is working hard sending the mail.

Travis and Tahoe pet the baby chick in 1st grade classroom.

Alejo collects bricks to build something.

Have a wonderful week & stay warm!

Jennifer

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February 16-20:

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all! I believe you all had a great long weekend. Here we are back to a 4 day week of school.  Last week the students had so much fun giving out Valentine’s cards to their peers.  They also were all eyes how much candies they received from their friends. 

This week we will continue learning about Community Helpers (Dentist) & Winter Olympics in Vancouver. 

Thanks to some of you who attended RMDS Family Literacy Night.  It was a successful night. 

Friendly Reminder:

Snacks: Tahoe

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Here are some pictures from last week for you to enjoy:

The students really admired the moon sand.

Travis, the mail carrier, picked up all the letters from the mailbox.

Tahoe was the mail carrier too.

Kailee enjoyed the sensory center filled with Valentine’s colors.

Have a wonderful week!

Jennifer

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February 8-11:

Happy Monday!  We enjoyed learing about transportation last week.  We also learned that there are cool cars out there such as race cars, vintage cars, and etc.  We also learned about colors and got to do different activities related to it.

This week we will be learning about postal office and how to write letters to their loved ones since Valentine’s Day is around the corner.  We also will have a Valentine’s Party on Thursday the 11th since RMDS will be closed on 12th and 15th.  Your child can give Valentines cards to his/her classmates/peers.  I will keep you posted about the party.

Friendly Reminder:

Snacks: Kailee

February 11 & 15: No School

February 10: RMDS Family Literacy Night

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Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

Travis drew a picture of himself.

Kailee and her blue “Harry Potter” glasses.

Kailee and Alejo were talking about colors.

Truly loves to play with the “moon sand.”

Emma and Tahoe were talking about trains.

Have a superb week!

Jennifer

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February 1-5:

Last week we talked about keeping healthy and read the book called “You Are What You Eat.”  The class is starting to become more healthy last week including the adults.  We look forward to a health wise week. 

This week the students will learn about Transportation.  A couple of ideas you could do at home with your child such as making snacks related to transportation.  Make marshmallow trains- use preztel sticks to hook the “cars” together and use peanut butter to glue cheerios on as wheels and other features.  Have your child make apple sailboat snacks from an apple slice, a triangular piece of cheese, and a toothpick. 

Friendly Reminder:

Snacks: Alejo Martinez

Early Years: February 4th 5-7 p.m.

RMDS Family Literacy Night: Feb. 10th 6-8p.m.

No School on February 12& 15th: President weekend

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Here are some pictures from last week:

Travis and Tahoe love to play with the trains.

Kailee and Travis are fixing things.

Travis and Truly pretend they are driving in the rain.

Alejo helps by fixing things around the center.

Have an incredible week.

Jennifer

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January 25-29:

Happy Monday and entering another full week for us in Preschool class.   Last week a lot of students went home sick with different virus including strep.  I would encourage you to make sure your child is healthy before sending him/her to school.  This week we will be talking about Keeping Healthy and it’s definitely a perfect timing for the students to learn how to keep themselves healthy.  You could also emphasize how important it is to keep ourselves healthy at home this week. 

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Friendly Reminder:

January 25: Family ASL Class 6-7 p.m.

January 28th: 9 a.m.  Jennifer will be out to training at Jeffco  (Sub teacher)

January 28th: RMDS Board meeting at 6 p.m. (open to public)

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Here are some pictures for you to enjoy from last week & two weeks ago:

The students had a swell time at the Stock Show.

Travis admired the goat.

Fantastic smiles, ladies!

Travis and Kailee checked out the wallet to see

if they got some money left.

The students figured out how to keep Kailee healthy.

Have a wonderful week & stay healthy!

Jennifer

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January 11-15:

Happy New Year! Last week we had a very short week with the students eventhough it was really good to have them back at RMDS.  The students have been reviewing the classroom rules and routines and they plunged into their week very well.  They really like the new classroom and the move last month was definitely worth it. 

Our theme this week will be weather & winter (seasons).  We will also talk about the Stock show because we are going there this Wednesday the 13th.  You are welcome to join us to the Stock show in Denver.

I have enclosed a couple of letters last Friday in your child’s backpack and be sure to read them.

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Friendly Reminder:

Stock Show: Wednesday, Jan. 13th.

No School: Monday, Jan. 18th (Martin Luther King JR. Day)

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Here are some pictures for you to enjoy from last week:

Tahoe plunged into preschool life this week.

Kailee was taking care of a sick patient in drama center.

Emma was asking Truly some questions.

We talked about “Friends” and we all are friends.

Have a wonderful week.

Jennifer

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December 14-18:

Happy Monday!  Wow, 5 more days left to our winter break.

This week will be a very busy one for Pre-K/K class.  We will be practicing the play for the Winter Program on 17th at 6 p.m.  Come and watch our cute play.  This Friday we will have 1/2 school day for the students.  They will be dismissed at 12:30 p.m.  Contact Gwen if you need some more information about transportation.

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Friendly Reminder:

December 17th: 6-8 p.m. Winter Play

December 18th: 1/2 day for the students

January 6th: Students return to school

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Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Alejo loved the measuring tape and he measured almost everything

in the classroom.

Zoe practiced writing her last name.

Augie had fun dressing up Zoe.

Have a great week & Happy Holidays!

Jennifer

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December 7-11:

Only one more month left in December.  Wow, 2009 has just flown by! Preschool class will have a busy month ahead with the Winter Play planned on December 17th at 6 p.m. at Wheat Ridge High School.  We will vote on a book this week for the Winter Play and your child will receive a copy of the story to practice his/her lines at home.

We also will be focusing on Sharing and Giving unit this week. 

Last Tuesday the students had a swell time at Cherry Creek mall meeting the Signing Santa.  Their eyes sparkled when they were able to communicate with the Santa.  Definitely a nice sight!

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Friendly Reminder:

December 10 & 11: Holiday Store 1-4 p.m.

December 17: Winter Play 6 p.m. at Wheat Ridge High School

                     9505 west 32nd Ave Wheatridge, CO

December 18th: 1/2 Day for Students

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Here are some cute pictures for you to enjoy!

Kailee and Travis had so much fun together in Drama center.

Kailee made “T” for Travis.

Keanu and Kailee washed the stuffed monkey for the class

at the Build-A-Bear Workshop.  They named it “Paz.”

Alejo was talking about the food with Julie.

Have a marvelous week!

Jennifer

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November 30-December 4:

Welcome back and Happy Monday!  Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break.  This week is going to be a fun one since RMDS will be going on a field trip to Cherry Creek mall to meet the Signing Santa on Tuesday, December 2nd.  Don’t forget to sign the permission slip for your child.  You are also very welcome to meet us at the mall if you want to witness your child meeting the Signing Santa. 

Your child will also be learning about Giving and Sharing this week.  If you are interested in volunteering in my classroom, do let me know.  You are more than welcome to help us out.

Thank you for bringing in snacks and I will remind you when it is your turn to bring snacks and what we need in our communication book.

Friendly Reminder:

December 2nd: Meet the Signing Santa at Cherry Creek mall

December 10&11th: Holiday Store (1-4 p.m.)

December 17th: Winter Play at Wheat Ridge High School

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Here are some pictures from two weeks ago for you to enjoy:

Augie enjoyed doing the puzzles.

Colleen helped Alejo with his wish list for the Santa.

The preschoolers dressed up like Indians for the Friendship lunch.

The Indians (my class) met the Pilgrims (Learning Center)

and became friends instantly.

The students enjoyed the Friendship lunch.

Have a marvelous week.

Jennifer

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November 16-20:

What a cold weekend we braved through! Last week was a great week with a lot of activities going on.  This week we are going to learn about the history of Thanksgiving.  On Friday we will have an exciting event going on called “Friendship Lunch” with the Learning Center.  My class will be the indians and the Learning Center will be the Pilgrims.  We will make mashed potatoes and stuffing to bring to the Thanksgiving friendship lunch.  We will learn the importance of friendship and sharing. 

We also are thankful for you for being part of your child’s education.

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Friendly Reminder:

November 17th: Picture Retake

November 19th: 6-8 p.m.  Thanksgiving Feast (Hosted by the RMDS Board)

November 23-27: Thanksgiving Break

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Here are some pictures from last week for you to enjoy!

Kailee and Alejo were selling fruits from their farm.

Kailee, Alejo and Jennifer acted out the story during reading time.

Zoe really enjoyed playing with the pager in drama center.

Alejo was being creative during block center.

Have a wonderful week and hope to see all of you at the Thanksgiving feast this Thursday.

Jennifer

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November 9-13:

Happy Monday!  Last week  the students explored different categories under the food group pyrmaid.  They are learning steps to be healthier.    The students also learned the difference between vegetables and fruits.  We read different books about food.

Here is a great link about cooking with preschoolers. http://kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/cooking_preschool.html#

This week we are going to continue food groups.  The student will also be introduced to “The Senses.” We will taste a lot of food next week.

Thank you for coming to the parent/teacher conference last Wednesday and it was definitely benefical for both of us.

Friendly Reminder:

Wednesday, November 11th: Indian dance  9-10 a.m. (The Learning Center is arranging this).  You are welcome to come and watch.

Tuesday, November 17th: School Picture Retake

Thursday, November 19th: Thanksgiving Feast

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Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!

Augie and Travis were the cute little farmers.

Zoe wanted to show that her measuring cup was full.

Kailee pretended calling someone.

Susan, Alejo’s mom, volunteered her time helping with art center.

We enjoyed having her around.  Thanks, Susan.

Alejo had fun driving the hummer and it crashed other little cars.

Have a tremendous week!

Jennifer

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November 2-6:

What a week last week with two days of no school because of the snow.  The students enjoyed dressing up on Monday, Tuesday and Friday (Halloween day).  We didn’t have full house on Friday but the students enjoyed different centers related to pumpkins.

This week we are going to focus on Food Group .

 Friendly Reminder:

Wednesday, November 4th: Parent/Teacher Conference 12:30-4 p.m.

Sign up the time slot sent home today and return by tomorrow.

Saturday, November 7th : RMDS Fall Festival/Motorcycle Run

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Here are a couple of pictures from last week.

Zoe enjoyed writing the three letter words.

Alejo had so much fun playing with these characters.

Travis built a huge building for the characters and he was

proud of his work.

We got to make applesauce and it was so delicious.

Our homemade applesauce- YUMMY!

Emma and Travis on Halloween day!

Have a wonderful week!

Jennifer

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October 26-30:

Happy Spirit Week! Please have your child participate our spirit week.  We all are going to have tons of fun.  I look forward to the fun already.  Last week we had so much fun learning about pumpkins and their life cycle and will conclude our studies with a learning celebration on Halloween day.  We will be doing many fun math, science and art activities with our pumpkins.  We will be weighing, measuring, rolling, and floating our pumpkins.  We will also be doing art projects and other fun activities.  We will also be learing about seasons (Fall).  If you have questions, please feel free to call or write in the communication book.  Thank you for your support.

Thank you for coming to Family Math night last Thursday.  We sure had a great time learning different ways to teach students to learn math.

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Friendly Reminder:

October 26-20: Spirit week

November 4: Parent Teacher conferences

November 7: RMDS Fall Festival & Motorcycle Run

SPIRIT WEEK:

Monday: Ugly Shirt And/Or Tie Day

Tuesday: Senior Citizens Day

Wednesday: Hat Day

Thursday: Team Spirit Day

Friday: Halloween Costumes

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Here are some fun pictures for you to enjoy!

Alejo picked his own little pumpkin and he was so happy.

Travis and his mother got to pull the carrots from the ground.

Augie was in awe of the huge hay pyramid.

Zoe was so surprised to find this very big carrot.

Kailee had so much fun riding on the hay trailer.

Have a groovy week.

Jennifer

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 October 19-23:

Happy Monday! We did a lot of fun activities related to apples last week.  This week we are going to continue Apples and Pumkpins.  The students are antsy to go to Miller Farms in Platteville this Thursday from 9:30 to 2 p.m.  The fee is 8 dollars per student and parent if you are interested in going.  Please let me know and we are going to have a swell time.

Friendly Reminder:

Family Math Night: Wednesday, October 21st from 6 to 8 p.m. 

RMDS Halloween Party: Friday, the 30th.

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Here are some pictures for you to enjoy from last week.

Zoe and Travis were so motivated to write something  related to apples.

Augie was exploring with the TDD.

Alejo loved the block center because of the farm figurines.

Kailee was reading a book about farm.

Have a marvelous week.

Jennifer

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October 12-15:

Last week was a fun filled one for us because we got to learn about farm animals. The students adored the block center because it was filled with farm figurines. We talked about what farm means to us.  The students read “The Farm Concert” by Joy Cowley and got to act the story.  They had so much fun doing it. 

This week we are going to learn about seasons (Fall) and Apples.  We will have a couple of educational activities for your child.  The field trip is still in the works and I will keep you posted.

Here are some pictures from last week for you to enjoy.

Travis and Alejo setting up the farm.

Kailee discussed with Emma about the globe.

The students loved to show their imagination side.

Kailee was “feeding” JM a bowl of dirt.

Kailee and Zoe were being creative during writing center.

What a fun week we encountered.

Friendly Reminders:

*No school on Friday, October 16th

*Fun Math Night on Wednesday, October 21st from 6 to 8 p.m.

Feel free to email me at JMcLella@jeffco.k12.co.us if you have questions or comments.

Have a wonderful week!

JM

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October 5-9th:

Happy Monday! We had a very busy week last week learning about our surroundings.  The students loved the Drama center because they got to dress up like astronaunts.  They made a huge rocket for the drama center.  We talked about our solar system, clouds, solids, liquids, and some more.  The students really enjoyed the unit. This week we will continue “our solar system” in the drama center.  The students will also learn about farm animals.

Our upcoming field trip will be to the farm and pumkin patch. 

Thank you for coming to our ASL Day last Tuesday and it was a successful event.

Here are some pictures for you to enjoy.

The students made a huge rocket in the drama center.

Augie turned 4 last week and we celebrated with him!

Alejo discovered that this camera was a lot of fun.

The students loved to lay down to look at the solar system on the

ceiling.  It was fun watching them doing that.

The students waited for the performance to start

last Tuesday ASL Day at RMDS.  They did a great job.

Have a wonderful week!

Jennifer

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September 28-October 2:

Happy last week of September & Happy October! Last week we talked a lot about friends (i.e. how to get along with others and making good choices).  The students made “My Friends” book and were so proud of their work.  Be sure you have seen the book your child made. 

This week we are going to learn “My Surroundings” including the planets.  I know they look forward to it since they show a huge interest in the solar system.  If you have anything related to the solar system, do share with us.  Thanks!

Here are some pictures of what we did last week!

Kailee enjoyed the sensory table filled with flax seeds, ABC beads, and friends pictures.  The students looked for beads to make their name or friends name.  A fun activity.

Zoe loved this book “Best Best Friends.”

Augie drew a graph to ask the students which weather they like : rainy or sunny.

Alejo had fun setting up the house with little people.

Come to our fun filled ASL day with different activities on Tuesday, the 29th from 10-1 p.m. 

Have a wonderful week and enjoy the beautiful weather.

Jennifer

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September 21-25:

Wow! It’s Fall! This Tuesday is the first day of Autumn and we sure went through so much in September.  We look forward to our first day of Autumn and the days are gettng a little shorter and somewhat cooler.  The leaves are turning beautiful shades of orange, yellow, red and brown.  Birds are flying South and squirrels are collecting food for winter.  You are probably noticing many more changes around you as well.

Here are some wonderful seasonal activities to do with your child.

*  Make a fall bookmark.

*  Make a leaf collage.

*  Using your five senses, make five lists of thing you see, smell, touch, taste and (hear) during the fall season. 

Have FUN! 

We are going to continue to study “Me, My Family, and Friends” this week. We will focus more on “Friends.”  Thank you to some of you for turning in the “Me Doll” last Friday which was greatly appreciated.  We will talk about it this week as well.

Here are some pictures from last week for you to enjoy !

Augie was ready to set up the house for his family.

Alejo played with little people in the sensory table filled with colored rice.

We talked a lot about “Me” and “My Family” last week so the little people represented as mom, dad, brother, sister and etc.

Travis and Zoe showed appreciation for books.

The students enjoyed acting like mom, dad, etc in the drama center.

Sensory table with little people was one of the students’ favorite centers to go to.

Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm!

 Jennifer McLellan

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 September 14-18:

Dear Parents of RMDS Preschool class:

Past few weeks have been very busy for us.  We all are enjoying ourselves learning all about OCEAN animals.  Life is really good in PRESCHOOL class.  Let’s enjoy a couple of pictures and see what we have been up to.

Alejo enjoys writing on the white board.

Augie plays with ocean animals in the water.

Augie and his jellyfish made out of playdough

Travis stamps many fish on his paper.

Kailee buries the ocean animals with the sand.

Zoe asks questions about these water creatures.

We wrapped up the unit on Ocean Animals this week and we are going to have “Me, My Family and Friends” and “Planets” unit for the next few weeks.

Thanks for playing a huge part in your child’s school life. 

Jennifer