Wonderland in 1st Grade

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Multi Cultural Day


We ended the year 2008 with celebrations. We studied traditions of various holidays. We learned about Hanukah, Kwanzaa, the Legend of the Poinsettia, Christmas, and Las Posadas. It was fun learning about different cultures and doing fun seasonal crafts. We began with Hanukah. We played the dreidel game. Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (Hei), ש (Shin), which together form the acronym for "נס גדול היה שם" (Nes Gadol Haya Sham – "a great miracle happened there"). Our crafts included making a weaved a mat, called the mekeda, made on the second day of Kwanzaa. We made cards with poinsettias. Poinsettia is a species of flowering plant indigenous to Mexico and Guatemala which is also referred to as the Christmas star. We made traditional Christmas stockings and finished our day with decorating piñatas in honor of Las Posadas. It was an incredible learning experience for all.
We ended the week with Auntie Claus visiting from the North Pole to read us a story and enjoy chocolate milk and cookies. We are looking forward to what is ahead at Chets Creek in the New Year. Happy Holidays!

Polar Express


We enjoyed a great pajama day with Mrs. Meissner’s kindergartner class. We enjoyed the story and the video of the Polar Express. The story is about a boy who’s faith in Santa Claus is rewarded when the Polar Express stops by his house on Christmas Eve to take him to the North Pole to meet Santa. While enjoying the movie we had yummy homemade donuts and hot chocolate.

Chet with the Miami Dolphins


The Miami Dolphins hosted their annual alumni weekend and Mrs. Lankford took me along. It was so exciting. This year they were honoring two famed Killer Bees players, Bob Baumhower and Doug Betters, the anchors of the defensive line throughout the 70’s and 80’s. I attended a pre-game tailgate party and the Honor Roll Induction Ceremony at half-time. The national anthem was sung by American Idol contestant Syesha Mercado and I felt as if she sang right to me. There was a flyover by Navy P-3C jets of the War Eagles of Patrol Squadron SIX-TEEN (VP-16). The flyover was so exciting and very loud. I got to meet the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders who performed for us wearing Santa suits. I also met two players from the only undefeated NFL team and Superbowl champs of 1972, Jim Klick and Mercury Morris. The honorary captains were all members of the pro football Hall of Fame: Head Coach Don Shula, linebacker Nick Buoniconti, quarterback Bob Griese, guard Larry Little and center Dwight Stephenson. It was so much fun. We had the best view from our private box. As you can see, I was held by Mr. Koslowski, another alumni Dolphin player, for the group picture. They all knew my name. The Miami Dolphins, lead by coach Tony Sparano, beat the San Francisco 49ers 14-9. It was a weekend to remember.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Diagnostic Testing

We will be reviewing for and starting our Diagnostic Testing this week. It is very important that your child comes to school on time and rested. Please remind your child to think about the strategies they have learned in Math and Language Arts. We are sure the students will do great. :) Good luck boys and girls! School Rocks!

Thank you for all the goodies for our cast party. Our play was a huge success and so was the cast party. It was a great way to end our week!

Have you checked our our school's lobby? Each class has decorated a holiday item for our silent auction. The auction will be open through 6:00 pm on Tuesday,
December 16th. Please be sure to check it out!