Welcome!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

The Blog Update With No Photos...

     Hi everyone!  Sorry I missed out on updating our blog last weekend- I was away for the weekend for a good friend's wedding, and, no, I did not make the cupcakes for that event!  Last night was our school's annual auction, and before I go any further, no, I am not posting any photographs of our totally radical parents from last night's awesome event!  Nor do I have any video of said parents performing, either!  What a great time!  On behalf of the faculty, staff, and students, I'd like to extend a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone for donating your time, talent, and money to this fundraiser!  It was a great success, and we cannot wait to see what wonderful improvements can be made to our already-wonderful school thanks to last night!  I'd also like to applaud Mr. and Mrs. Mackintosh for being wonderful MC's all night!  We were definitely very entertained!  Owen- you should be proud!

     As I sit here in my office, iced tea in hand, music on in the background, ready to blog away, I have noticed that apparently the website my blog uses is having difficulty uploading any photos = ( Unfortunately, this means my blog would be somewhat boring if I continued to type with no photos to post!  Therefore, I am going to have to postpone an in-depth blog update until tomorrow (or whenever this problem is fixed!)  In the meantime, here are some notes for what we can expect this week! 

Monday- the children will be practicing their "dance" for International Day!  International Day is this Wednesday, May 1st.  Mrs. Rodarte and Senora Mandeville have been working on a short Chinese performance for this multicultural celebration, and they ask that our First Graders wear (if possible) their black uniform pants and white uniform shirts on Wednesday.  If you don't have these items, please don't stress! The performance will be just as great!  Parents, please feel free to join us on this special day!  We are also looking for a few parents to help us out at our table on Wednesday(setting it up, stamping children's passports, keeping an eye on things, etc).  If you are free Wednesday, please contact either Ms. Hudson, Mrs. Rodarte, or our room parents, Mrs. Marchis and Mrs. Dudley.  Thank you!

 Tuesday- our Christian Service parents will be coming in and working on another great Christian Service project in our classroom!  This time the project is part of the preparation for the May Procession, happening on May 10th.  We always enjoy working on Christian Service projects, helping us to remember our favorite rule, WWJD? = )

Speaking of Tuesday, our mass this week will take place on Wednesday, not Tuesday.  So shorts are fine on Tuesday!

Finally, Friday, from 1:30-2:30, is our Mother's Day project!  This event is for DADS ONLY!  We have 6 or so dad's who have already signed up (looooong ago on Back to School Night).  If you are a dad and are interested in volunteering for this project, or you are available to donate requested items for this project, please contact me by WEDNESDAY!  Thank you! 


Let's hope that the blog website will allow me to upload pictures sometime this week! We have lots of catching up to do! 

Take care! 
~Ms. Hudson





 

 
    
   


Saturday, April 13, 2013

It's been a while!

     Wow! I can't believe the last time I blogged was before Easter Break!  I hope everyone had a blessed Easter and enjoyed their time with their family and friends!  The kids have told me all about their breaks (well, at least what they remember!)

     Since our last blog, the Firsties had a small Easter celebration in our classroom.  Since the celebration occurred during Holy Week, we definitely kept things centered around the true meaning of Easter.  Here are some photos from that celebration:
The class made these colorful tombs with the help of some wonderful parent volunteers

We passed on the traditional cupcakes and opted for "breaking bread"with round crackers and grape juice, along with some Swedish fish candies = )

The kids seemed to really enjoy their snacks as they listened to the story of Easter.
 Thank you to everyone who contributed to this special celebration of our faith!

     That week was also supposed to be the date of our Santa Barbara Zoo Field Trip, but, well, things didn't go exactly as planned!  There is a saying that came to mind, "You want to make God laugh? Tell him your plans"... well, apparently God didn't want us to go to the zoo that day, but thanks to the help of our AWESOME Firsty parents, we made lemonade out of lemons and headed over to the park for a fun day at the park!  There are too many parents to thank, but I hope each and everyone of them know how much I appreciated their help, enthusiasm, and donations that day!  The kids had a BLAST regardless of the initial disappointment, and it was really due to the ingenuity and flexibility of our parents to help us make the best of things that day.  THANKS A MILLION!!!!

    Speaking of the zoo trip, we did make it there, and we couldn't have asked for better weather!  I understand some parents were sharing photos on the photo stream (an iphone app) all day long, but here are just a few photos from that field trip:
This little fox is apparently native to Iraq, but I wouldn't mind taking him home!
The kids love the train ride! It's our tradition to start off the field trip with this ride around the park.


These lions couldn't get enough sun, and neither could we!

This is my kind of snake...

The two female elephants are 42 years old.  Some of us got to watch them give the elephants a shower.

Some future zoologists

With all of the amazing wild animals around us, this teeny little duckling was a favorite of many Firsties!

Here are some little monkeys visiting the Gorilla exhibit
One of our monkeys hanging around!

Another couple of monkeys

And one more!


They had so much fun they were a little delirious on the ride home = )
***I'm sorry I don't have more photos of other students... I'm sure we will see those in the yearbook!
      We ended our busy week with a special going-away party (complete with Quinn's favorite desserts served on Steeler's plates and napkins, and even Steeler's colored balloons) for our wonderful friend Quinn. Quinn and his family are moving to Pennsylvania, and we couldn't be more jealous of that East Coast state!  They are getting such an awesome family, and we cannot wait for their first visit back!  I'm thinking we need to set up a Skype account in our classroom and Skype with them sometime in the future... = )  We wish them all the best as they begin on this new, exciting part of their life! 

    Next week, along with the week after, are short weeks.  There is no school this Friday, the 19th, and there will be no school on Monday the 22nd.  Teachers will be working on both days to prepare for next year's WASC visit.  We will start off this week with a fun visit from  children's author/illustrator Carol Heyer.  She is the author (and family friend of the Francis family) of the book Humphrey's First Palm Sunday, along with many others!  Check out her website here Carol Heyer .  She will speak to our class about writing and illustrating, and maybe even give the kids a brief drawing lesson!  I'll be sure to post photos about this next week!  

     This Thursday, the students will receive their assignments for their big Social Studies project on our country's national monuments.  Students will pick a national monument out of a hat.  All directions and details will be handed out on Thursday as well.  For those of you who have experienced this fun project with me in the past, you will notice several changes this year.  Look for those changes in the packet to be handed out this Thursday.  We can't wait to see what these Firsties have in store for us this year!  (Emphasis on Firsties, not Firsties Parents... hint, hint, hint) 

     Finally, we are actually out of hand wipes!!! We have plenty of cleaning wipes (Lysol, etc), but we are down to one box of hand wipes.  If each student could bring in two to three boxes, we should make it until the end of the year.  Please help us keep the germs down to a minimum! Thank you!!! 

Until then, enjoy the weekend, and we will see everyone on Monday! 

Take care!

~Ms. Hudson