March 16, 2015

Hello, Parents. Below you  will see a message about a new, student/teacher-focused, school-wide fundraiser raffle that is happening this week.

 I have a free raffle ticket for each of my students. Wednesday, during our library time they will get to  put their ticket in an envelope of their choice --- an envelope that corresponds to a one-on-one or small-group invitation/opportunity  being offered by an ABS teacher.

Please click on the blue(here)link below, and introduce your  child to the raffle choices.  That will help them be prepared for Wednesday. 

If your child wishes to buy tickets additional tickets (@ $0.25 apiece) you can send in the cash  or coinage, and they will be allowed to visit the library before Morning Meeting to purchase raffle tickets.

I'm sorry for all the fundraising during this season, but I think this is quite creative, it actually involves the children, it invites them to make a decision,   and it asks them what they LIKE out of all the choices available (giving you parents and giving us teachers an interesting  insight into what makes this  kid or that kid tick!).

Any amount is appreciated. If you could send in something like $2.00, that would buy your child eight tickets to choose many interests or maybe they'll just stuff one raffle box! 

Thanks, and good luck. 

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Hello Families,

FAP is excited that this week begins our first ever Lucky U activities raffle.  

In case you didn't have a chance to read up on it yet, here are a couple key details:

- Every student receives 1 free ticket

- Additional tickets are for sale all week at 25 cents each, with a suggested limit of $5

- Students will choose which activities they want to enter for a chance to win

We have been very fortunate that so many of the Williston Schools faculty and staff have volunteered their time, resources and creativity to come up with a wide range of choices for students to enter to win, some happening during the day at school and others taking place outside of school hours.  In order for you to be informed, and help your child make great choices you can view the options HERE.

Please let your teacher or FAP rep know if you have any questions.

March 15, 2015

Hello Parents! 

Wow! We have been busy. 

Can you help at home with your child's research?  We are hard at work on our animal-research papers. There is a section in your child's classroom research packet that says, "Come up with three cool facts about your animal." By that, I mean, "think about your animal, and think beyond what it eats and where it lives and what it looks like. Think instead about three interesting questions you have about your animal, and write down what you find. For example, if you are studying chimpanzees, you might wonder, "Can chimpanzees learn sign language the way gorillas can? Or you might ask about the dragonfly you are studying, "Are there dragonflies anywhere in the world that are poisonous? Or, do people eat dragonflies anywhere in the world?" Since kids usually need guidance to think out of the box on topics like this,parents, you can really help them -- both with coming up with the interesting questions and with safely navigating the internet to find the answers.  So, please help your child this week on this task.  Then, send in via  email or hardcopy what you have discovered!  I hope we'll have most of our research writing done by Friday. 

The Horizon Band plays to sell-out crowd!   The WSD variety show, Friday, was a blast. The Horizon Band, including Erik Urch and Harry Bowen on guitars, played "I've Just Seen a Face" by  the Beatles, and "The Letter" by the Boxtops. I'll send the link in a follow-up email.  Also, congratulations to Adam Curtis for his violin performance and to many Horizon alumni who performed. Mrs. Powers and I felt so proud. 

The Big Basket Raffle: we need donations!   Because I was busy with the Variety Show, I guess, I fell a little behind on promoting our Big Basket Raffle. I will forward a flyer and an explanation to you right after I send this email.   Please consider donating. We don't have much time left.  Thanks, guys. Every little bit helps. 

Choose Your Own Adventure (last Friday).  I am sure you already heard all about your child's "Choose your own adventure"  adventure  on Friday. It was great fun for the teachers, too. I played snow soccer with the kids, and it was wonderful to interact with them in a whole new way. 

Conferences: see the schedule on our class blog, and email me your preferences for meeting times. 

Have an awesome  week, everyone. Looks like we have a lot of 41 degree days ahead of us. Hooray!  We have a "pool" going in the classroom. Every student has picked a day when they think the snow will entirely leave the  hill from  behind  our classroom. 

Ask your child which day he or she picked (and why). 

Mr. B.