It is finally spring – and time to clean out the old and bring in the new. That must be what the 2nd grade classes were thinking as they prepared for their garage sale.  After their study of money and making change, each child brought in a collection of items to sell.  They priced the items themselves and displayed them on their desks, eagerly awaiting the customers who would come to buy.  I would have to say the best customers were the kindergartners who brought their coins and shopped to their hearts’ content.  They were delighted with their purchases and proudly showed each one to me as they passed me in the hall.  It was a very clever way of making math come alive.  (By the way, if you didn’t really mean to have your child bring that Kate Spade multi-striped purse, just let me know as I am proudly displaying it myself.)

If you weren’t lucky enough to have a 2nd grader to get rid of your unwanted items, you can bring them to the west parking lot this Friday from 8:00-9:30 a.m. and 2:30-4:00 p.m., Saturday from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., and Monday from 8:00-9:30 a.m. and 2:30-4:00 p.m.  The Parents Association is sponsoring the annual Recycled Treasures Drive.  You can get rid of unwanted items and the school gets money according to the weight of what is collected.  It is a win-win situation, so I hope you can participate.

Speaking of participating – if your child enjoys working with rockets or computers, have you checked out the rocketry and computer classes for this summer?  The rocketry class will be held the first two weeks of June, and each day the students make a rocket and go outside to blast them off.  The excitement builds as each day the rockets get more complicated.  If your child can only come for one week, Mr. Thomson will accommodate them – they will just make half of the rockets!  The computer classes offer quite a variety:  Computer Kids’ Corner is for children ages 5-7, and Computer Boot Camp is for the older crowd (grades 3-6).  Both of these classes are taught by Nicole Gaida and will be individualized to your child’s interests and skills.  Grades 5-8 can take a computer programming class, and those in grades 5-12 can meet with Marina Dale to learn how to make a DVD with music, photos and video footage.  There is even the same offering for adults.  It is condensed into two afternoons.  Make sure to register soon so we can determine what classes will be a go and to make sure we have appropriate staff for all classes.

Since it is spring, we would like to clean out our lost and found cupboard.  Anytime you are in the building, please stop in the Lower School Office and check out all the things that have been left behind.

Friday, May 11th:  

The Parade of States for the 3rd graders from 2:00-3:00 p.m. in the Recital Hall

Sunday, May 13th – Happy Mother’s Day

Wednesday, May 16th:

Pre-K Parent Coffee in room 113 begins at 8:30 a.m.  It will be followed by the Pre-K Family Music Time in the Lower School music room.  Spend time with fellow parents and enjoy the music with your Pre-K students.

The last Duty-free Lunch of the year.  Come and join us as we can always use extra hands.

Friday, May 18th:

Volunteer Breakfast from 8:45-9:30 a.m. in the Gallery.  Please attend so we can show our gratitude for all you do during the year.

The 4th graders will have their Author’s Celebration in the library at 9:30 a.m.  Each child has worked tirelessly to create their own book.  Parents have volunteered to come in and work with children one-on-one as editors.  The end result is something that each child is proud of and will cherish for a lifetime.  After the Volunteer Breakfast, please wander over to the library to see what the 4th graders have created.  You do not have to be a parent of a 4th grader to show your support of their hard work.   Besides, they love the compliments.

With all of the activities going on these last weeks of school, I am sure I will be seeing you.