If you would like to volunteer for Red Plate please contact Penny Leggett at pleggett@chatsworth.com or call 252-402-8104.

 

 

Hi I’m Penny Leggett. I’m the Room Mom for Mrs. Farmer and Ms. Taylors class. Just a reminder about the Christmas concert: it will be held Friday night December 7 from 6:30pm until 8:00pm at the Washington High School auditorium. All violin students will need to arrive at 6:00 pm. All other students arrive by 6:15 pm. Students are to wear uniforms for the performance.

Welcome Students and Parents

First of all...WELCOME to the school year 2012-2013! It is going to be a wonderful year!

Please make sure and check the various websites listed on this blog, including the school website and the MPTO (Montessori Parent-Teacher Organization) Blog, so you can have all the latest information for the school year.

Mark your calendar for the Open House scheduled for Thursday, August 23, from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. This is a great time to bring your school supplies, meet your teachers and complete the necessary paperwork for the coming year. Remember, once all the paperwork is complete, you will receive this year's spirit t-shirt!

Also, please make a plan to attend Beautification Day, Saturday, August 25, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. This is a fun time to work together to make the campus beautiful for the first day of school. The time you give to this activity goes toward your volunteer hours for the school year! So, bring your shovels, rakes, work gloves, and good cheer...it will be a great day to work together! Parents, if you can attend, wonderful! If not, you will be missed. Either way, please remember, we will need volunteers for various activities throughout the year -- WE NEED YOU!

As you can see in the countdown clock in this blog's right sidebar, the time is fast approaching! Get excited for the adventures which await you this year. We will see you soon!

MPTO Auction Fundraiser -- Class Basket

Ms. Farmer's/ Miss Prescott's Class will be creating an auction basket for the 9th Annual Auction Fundraiser, to be held February 18 at Lake House. The basket theme is: SCOTLAND. More information will be forthcoming, but if you have any questions please contact the teachers and/or your room parent for more information. Tapadh leibh, in other words thank you.

[Scottish Gaelic]

"thank you" = "tapadh leat" ^singular

[Pronounced: thap-a let]    OR

"tapadh leibh" ^plural

[Pronounced" thapa- laev]

Bye, Bye Irene!

Thursday, September 1 --- Students Return to School

Two-hour Delay

WELCOME STUDENTS!!!

It is great to have back returning students and a big welcome to all our new ones! It is going to be a great year!

Class Trip: Sleeping with the Sharks -- April 19-20

We are so excited about our upcoming overnight trip to the NC Aquarium in Manteo, NC on Roanoke Island. We will leave school on April 19 at 3:30 p.m. and return on April 20 at 2:30 p.m. The cost per student is $70, which includes dinner and lunch. The cost per parent is $35, but does not include food. CHECKS WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR THIS TRIP ONLY.

A Field Trip Permission Slip has been sent home with your child along with a letter containing important trip information. Details in this letter include a schedule of events and a list of items to bring.

Students are to wear uniforms (Spirit shirts are acceptable).

Please sign the permission slip and return it along with the trip fees by MARCH 28, 2011.

Happy March

Please note the Spelling List for this week. Also updated on the Blog for March are important calendar dates, including Hot Lunches and Early Dismissals/ Teacher Workdays. Remember Spirit Week is next week...so, catch the spirit! Go WMPCS!

MARK YOUR CALENDARS! MPTO Auction -- Saturday, February 18

As you know, the MPTO (Montessori Parent/ Teacher Organization) is having the annual fundraising auction February 19, to benefit our great school. See details about the auction by visiting the MPTO blog: http://wmpcs-pto.blogspot.com/

To contribute to this auction, our class is working on a children's game table -- two small chairs and a table with a checkerboard  and chalk area painted on top. The children are helping add decorations to the set and are also painting chess and checker pieces to go with the checkerboard.

To help with the cost of the materials purchased, we are asking each child to contribute $3.50 for this project.

If you would like to contribute more to this auction item, we welcome supplemental items. Suggestions include family game night snacks -- like popcorn, chocolate, pretzels and candies -- and other family games -- like UNO, Othello, playing cards and board games. Any and all help in developing this auction item is appreciated!

Please submit your monetary and supplemental contributions by Friday, February 18.

 -- A special thank you to Lisa, our Room Parent, for creating and organizing this auction item -- THANKS LISA!

Please Note:

The spelling list for Week 11/15 is posted on the blog. There will not be a new spelling list for the week of Thanksgiving.

Thank you to all who donated drinks for the 10th Anniversary celebration on Saturday. Your participation was appreciated. It was a fun time for all. Nice going to all those who scaled the rock wall -- including Mr. Jones! Way to go!

Please note the Thanksgiving Meal on Friday. What are you bringing to share? Please let Lisa and/or Margaret know before Friday. Those volunteering are asked to arrive by 11:00 a.m. Your help is appreicated.

Have a Great Thanksgiving!

Spelling Lists for Week 11/8

Parents, your children have been assigned a group of spelling words for this week. Today, they copied onto their papers their assigned list as they read them from the board in class. You should find this list in their bookbags tonight for them to study during the week. For your convenience, the blog has been updated to reflect this week's lists per assigned group. If you have any questions regarding the group your children are assigned, please contact Ms. Farmer and/or Mrs. Miller.

Children, study hard and have fun learning this week's words!

Class Volunteer -- Updates 11/8

Thank you so much to the parents/ guardians who returned completed Volunteer Forms on Friday. If you have not had a chance to complete one, please do so and return it sometime this week (Week of 11/8). This information is very helpful in determining the needs of the class and ensuring successful activities.

So far, we have the following needs met for the class (based on the six (6) forms received thus far):

One (1) volunteer for Student Reading on Wednesdays
Two (2) volunteers to help Clean the Class on Fridays
One (1) Red Plate Volunteer for both November 16 & December 14
Nursing Home/ Assisted Living -- Two (2) craft making helpers, one (1) volunteer to bring supplies, and one (1) chaperone for the trip
Thanksgiving Meal -- One (1) volunteer to help setup/serve/cleanup
Gingerbread Activity -- Three (3) volunteers to bring supplies and two (2) helpers to assist students
Turnage Theater -- One (1) chaperone for the trip
"Sleeping with the Sharks" -- Three (3) chaperones for the trip

There is still a need for the following:

Student Reading (days other than Wednesday) (Four (4) more volunteers desired)
Sight Word Reviewing with students (Five (5) volunteers desired)
Friday Class Cleanup (at least two (2) more volunteers to share and alternate Fridays) -- definite coverage for December 10
Turnage Theater Chaperones (Four (4) more chaperones needed)
Red Plate Days -- WE HAVE A VOLUNTEER for DATES until FIRST OF YEAR! Thank you!
Thanksgiving Meal/ Dinner (need at least three (3) more volunteers to help setup/serve/cleanup)
Nursing Home/ Assisted Living (would like at least one (1) more volunteer to help make crafts; at least one (1) more volunteer to bring in supplies)
Gingerbread Activity (need at least one (1) more volunteer to help students; WE HAVE ENOUGH VOLUNTEERS TO BRING SUPPLIES! Thank you!)

We realize it is a busy time for everyone. If you are unable to volunteer before the end of the year, there will be many opportunites to do so starting in January -- so stay tuned! Any help you can offer the class is sincerely appreciated! Thank you so much for giving your time and talents!

Class Thanksgiving Dinner Menu

The children have voted and the votes have been tallied. Here is this year’s menu for Thanksgiving Dinner 2010:

Turkey                            Spaghetti

Macaroni & Cheese     Corn          

Mashed Potatoes        Meatballs         

Salad                             Cookies

Ice Cream                      Milkshakes

Brownies     Chocolate Cake w/Vanilla Frosting

Please select one of the above items to share with the class. The Thanksgiving Dinner will be Friday, November 19. Please contact the Room Parents, Lisa and Margaret, when your child has selected what he/she will make. This way, we can ensure a “well rounded” representation of the menu.

Turkey Trot
(Tune: Hokey Pokey)

You put your right wing (right arm) in.

You put your right wing out.

You put your right wing in, and you shake it all about.

You do the turkey trot and you turn yourself around.

That's what it's all about!

Additional verses:

Left wing (Left arm)

Drumsticks (Legs)

Stuffing (Stomach)

Wattle (Head)

Tail Feathers (Bottom)

Turkey (Body)

Funny of the Month

Turkey Tongue Twister

The two-toed turkey towed twelve times ten talking turtles. How many talking turtles did the two-toed turkey tow?

Corny Pilgrim Jokes

Q: What kind of music did the Pilgrims like?

A: Plymouth Rock

Q: If the Pilgrims were alive today, what would they be most famous for?

A: Their AGE!

Thanksgiving Knock, Knock Jokes

Knock, knock. Knock, knock.

Who's there? Who's there?

Harry. Arthur

Harry who? Arthur who?

Harry up, I'm hungry! Arthur any

leftovers?

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Gladys.

Gladys who?

Gladys Thanksgiving! Aren't you?

Just for Laughs

Which cat discovered America?

Christofurry Columbus

Why do turkeys always go, “gobble, gobble?”

Because they never learned good table manners

What key has legs and can’t open doors?

A Turkey

What has feathers and webbed feet?

A turkey wearing scuba gear

How can you send a turkey through the post office?

Bird class mail

Why did the Pilgrims want to sail to America in the spring?

Because April showers bring Mayflowers

Why did the turkey cross the road?

It was the chicken’s day off

Why was the turkey the drummer in the band?

Because he had the drumsticks

November Calendar

Parents:

Please review the calendar section for this month in the blog. In particular, there are several immediate deadlines which need your attention.

Please return the completed Class Volunteer Form on Friday, November 5. We have many events planned and we need your participation for them to happen.

Please note the three deadlines on Monday, November 8: 12 can drinks (or money for drinks) for the school's 10-year celebration (November 13) are due; $3.25 hot lunch are due; the ballot to elect a Community Board Member is due.

Friday, November 19, the class will have a Thanksgiving Celebration. The children will develop the menu and are responsible for bringing in side dishes for the class to share. We welcome your assistance in making this event a success.

Tuesday, November 23, the class will create and distribute crafts to residents of a local nursing home/ residential health facility. Craft ideas, supplies and volunteers to assist students in making the items are appreciated.

Please contact Lisa or me if you have any questions regarding scheduled events or volunteer opportunities. We appreciate your support in making our class at WMPCS such a wonderful experience for your children.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Margaret

Thanksgiving for All Thankful Hearts

Class Quote of the Month: A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtues. ~Cicero

As Americans, we are blessed to live in a country where people come from diverse backgrounds and many faiths. We have the privilege to live where we can respect and embrace one another’s differences, while we can appreciate and applaud similarities of ideals and spirit. It is with unity of a thankful heart we gather on one day to show our appreciation for what we have been given. That day is Thanksgiving.

Have you ever wondered how we came to have Thanksgiving? Was it created just to eat turkey and pumpkin pie?

In reviewing how our Nation’s holiday began, we can welcome with tolerance and gratitude the origin and celebrate with admiration and recognition the meaning it has for Americans of all backgrounds and faiths today.

The following text is excerpted from A Children’s Companion Guide to America’s History, by Catherine Millard.

We can trace this historic American Christian tradition to the year 1623. After the harvest crops were gathered in November 1623, Governor William Bradford of the 1620 Pilgrim Colony, "Plymouth Plantation" in Plymouth, Massachusetts proclaimed: "All ye Pilgrims with your wives and little ones, do gather at the Meeting House, on the hill… there to listen to the pastor, and render Thanksgiving to the Almighty God for all His blessings."

This is the origin of our annual Thanksgiving Day celebration. Congress of the United States has proclaimed National Days of Thanksgiving to Almighty God many times throughout the following years. On November 1, 1777, by order of Congress, the first National Thanksgiving Proclamation was proclaimed, and signed by Henry Laurens, President of Continental Congress. The third Thursday of December, 1777 was thus officially set aside:

"…for solemn thanksgiving and praise. That with one heart and one voice the good people may express the grateful feelings of their hearts, and consecrate themselves to the service of their Divine Benefactor;… and their humble and earnest supplication that it may please God, through the merits of Jesus Christ, mercifully to forgive and blot them (their manifold sins) out of remembrance… That it may please Him… to take schools and seminaries of education, so necessary for cultivating the principles of true liberty, virtue and piety under His nurturing hand, and to prosper the means of religion for the promotion and enlargement of that kingdom which consisteth of 'righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost'…"

Then again, on January 1, 1795, our first United States President, George Washington, wrote his famed National Thanksgiving Proclamation, in which he says that it is…

"…our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue is… our duty as a people, with devout reverence and affectionate gratitude, to acknowledge our many and great obligations to Almighty God, and to implore Him to continue and confirm the blessings we experienced…"

Thursday, the 19th day of February, 1795 was thus set aside by George Washington as a National Day of Thanksgiving.

Many years later, on October 3, 1863, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed, by Act of Congress, an annual National Day of Thanksgiving "on the last Thursday of November, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens." In this Thanksgiving proclamation, our 16th President says that it is…

"…announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord… But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, by the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own… It has seemed to me fit and proper that God should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people…"

So it is that on Thanksgiving Day each year, Americans give thanks to Almighty God for all His blessings and mercies toward us throughout the year.

So it is that on Thanksgiving Day each year, Americans of all faiths and of all backgrounds unite to remember sacrifices, delight in accomplishments, review blessings, offer thanks…and of course, eat turkey and pumpkin pie.

Parents:

Hope you have taken the time to read the newsletter sent home with your child this past Monday (October 25). Please note the following reminders regarding some important issues related to the class:

The $10 field trip money is due Friday, October 29. Even though the field trip is not until December, the class needs the money by Friday in order to buy tickets for the show and ensure seating.

We are asking each child to donate 12 cans of drink (not water) for the WMPCS 10-year celebration. If you can provide more than 12 cans, great! If you are unable to contribute that many, please contribute what you can. If it is easier for you to contribute money to go toward the purchase of your share, please feel free to do so. Deliver your cans and/or contribute to the purchase of cans by Monday, November 8. Thank you for your assistance in meeting our required goal of 1000 cans.

Please review the list of volunteer opportunities printed on the back of the newsletter sent home Monday of this week. (The list is also posted in this blog.) We need your help and ask you to return the volunteer participation form (detach on dotted line) located on the back of the newsletter. Indicate your preference for participation and provide your selected dates for volunteering on the related lines available. Please include money for drink cans, if applicable -- for celebration as above mentioned -- with the completed form. We ask you to please consider participating in at least one volunteer experience for the year.

Thank you for your help. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Room Parents,
Lisa and Margaret

Hot Dog Hot Lunch

The next hot lunch is scheduled for Wednesday, November 10. The cost is $3.50 and is due no later than the afternoon of Monday, October 8.

Spelling Words -- Week 10/25

Please review the spelling words for this week located in the left column of the blog. Group 1 is studying "u" words; Group 2 is studying "th" words; Group 3 is studying "er" and "ir" words; and Group 4 is studying how to spell words such as temperature and laughed.

Spelling Words -- Week 10/18

Please review the spelling words for this week located in the left column of the blog. Group 1 is studying "o" words; Group 2 is studying "sl" and "sm" words; Group 3 is studying "ie" and "oa" words; and Group 4 is studying how to spell the months of the year.