Happy Holidays - Wednesday, December 20th is the last day of school for students before winter break. Students will return on Monday, January 8th.
Open House - January 5th, 10AM - Noon - We will be hosting an Open House for prospective families on the Friday prior to students returning. Please spread to word to your friends, your children's friends and neighbors. Feel free to grab some Open House postcards from the office if you would like pass them out to interested families. Thank you!
January Lunch Orders - Deadline for ordering: Monday, December 18th. Please complete one order form per student and return the order with payment to the office.
January Lunch Order/Menu
Pizza and FroYo Orders - Now available - Pre-pay second semester FroYo and Pizza Wednesday. You may visit atozconnect.com and navigate to 'products to purchase' or use the form below.
Pizza Wednesdays Order Form - 2nd Semester
Volunteer Hours Update - We would like to thank all of our families who regularly contribute their time and grocery card proceeds to the school. We truly appreciate your efforts and could not operate without you! The total volunteer hours logged to date are 2,162, with 8 families logging over 60 hours. Eighty-eight families are logging hours on AtoZconnect. If you have questions about how to log your hours, please contact Tiffany Fontaine at [email protected].
Playground Slide Update - A new slide has been ordered and will be installed for the new year.
Elective of the week - Mindfulness - In the mindfulness elective, students learn to quiet their minds to relieve stress and reduce anxiety. We spend 10-20 minutes meditating and then the rest of the class is dedicated to calm, relaxing activities like puzzling, drawing, and crafting.
WEEKLY HEALTH TIP - By Mrs. Best/P.E. Teacher - Health Tip #15 - Change The World - Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to teach our middle schoolers about leadership. We talked about how they could be leaders of peace. The lesson?
“We must lead ourselves well before we try leading others.”
We talked about good leaders and bad leaders throughout history. I hope that our conversations about this foundational leadership lesson has stirred their hearts and minds to make a conscious effort to develop good character and practice core virtues on a daily basis. Legend has it that the following words were written on the tomb of an Anglican bishop (AD 1100) in the crypts of Westminster Abbey:
“When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser I discovered the world would not change – So I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country, but it too seemed immovable. As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it. And now I realize as I lie on my deathbed, if I had only changed myself first, then by example I might have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement I would then have been able to better my country, And who knows, I might have even changed the world.”
Sled-mageddon Event - Date TBD - the end of January or the beginning of February. Look for more information to come. Don't miss out on the action. For more information and how you can get involved, contact David Martin, [email protected]
After School Activities
Choir - New students are welcome to join us for the second semester. Junior choir (2nd-5th) meets Tuesday mornings at 7:10 - 8:00 am in the music room. Middle school choir (6th-8th) meets after school from 3:15 to 4:15 pm. Please contact Gretchen Moritz at [email protected] or complete the form below and return it to the office.
Junior Choir Registration Form - 2nd Semester
Middle School Choir Registration Form - 2nd Semester
Orchestra - I will be offering orchestra again next semester on Mondays and Wednesdays. Our Sinfonietta meets from 3:15-4:15, and our Chamber Orchestra meets from 4:15-5:15. Cost is $190 per student (per semester). Please tell me by December 21st if you are interested in joining one of our orchestras!
Our first class will take place on the 8th of January, and I'll have a much more thorough calendar out to you within the week!
If you are a returning student, please make out a check to RMAE for $190, and either put it in my mailbox or hand it to me in person. If you are wanting to join orchestra, please fill out the attached form, and we'll schedule a time to place you in an orchestra!
Orchestra Registration Form - 2nd Semester
Yoga - Yoga is coming to RMAE! Tuesdays, 3:05-4:05 pm, for grades K-5. Ascend Health and Wellness Kids Yoga classes consist of everything you could ask for in an adult yoga class - Sun Salutations, Warrior Poses, Inversions, Twists, Stretches, Breathwork and Savasana - BUT is all done in a fun way that resonates with KIDS! We include some yoga games and a brief talk about a yogic/mindfulness theme each week. Your kids will leave class having exercised, relaxed and connected to other kids, and, most importantly, to themselves!
Yoga Registration Flier
Classroom News
2nd Grade - The 2nd graders shared their family's holiday traditions by using a PowerPoint presentation this week.
4th Grade - Happy Holidays to our class tree! We readopted my class tree that was planted with my last year's class. This Project Learning Tree activity is call "Adopt a Tree." We have a class "Tree Log" to record our class observations about our tree. My students and I were noting both qualitative (sense based) and quantitative (measurable) observations in our science journals about the tree and the habitat around the tree. We are hopeful that our seedling will make it through it's first winter. They noted that it is 8 1/2 inches or 21.5 centimeters tall. One student commented that "some of its spiky needles are brown and looks like it may be dying". Another student thought it may be going dormant for the winter. We will compare and contrast the changes in our tree in the spring and hope it shows new growth and sheds those old needles. As a Random Act of Kindness, my 4/5th graders have added a strand of garland to all our saplings around RMAE for the holidays.
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