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10/8 - NO SCHOOL
10/16 - Scholastic Book Fair
10/25 - Volunteer Coffee
10/26 - Breakfast With Dad
10/27 Truck or Treat 8:30am - 11:30am AHS
10/27 Disney Breakfast 8:00am- 10:00am
10:30 Haunted Hallway 3:00 - 5:00pm AHS
10/31 - Halloween Parade
11/5 - PTO meeting
11/6 - NO SCHOOL/PDD Day

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Thank you to everyone who has signed up for volunteer opportunities at Bryn Mawr School.  Please remember, that in order to volunteer, you must have an up to date CORI on file at the Superintendent’s Office.  Also, I will hold a volunteer coffee on October 25th at 9:00.  This will last approximately 30 minutes and will help to acclimate you to the expectations and routines of Bryn Mawr School.

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As we have done in years past, we would like to have each of our students invite a Special Person to Lunch.  We like to coordinate this near Thanksgiving with an emphasis on the many things we all have to be thankful for.  Each classroom will be given a specific time from 10am-1:00pm to follow in a separate email.  For your planning purposes, the dates are as follows:

Kindergarten   Tuesday, November 20 th

Grade 1   Monday, November 19th

Grade 2   Friday, November 16th

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The Bryn Mawr School Halloween Parade will be held on Wednesday, October 31st at 1:00pm.  Students will parade around the building twice.  Parents are invited to spread out around the building to observe this spooktacular event.  In the event of rain, sadly, we will be unable to hold the parade.

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Please find attached a schedule for visits to our Scholastic Book Fair being held on October 16th.  Each classroom will visit the book fair for a short time.  You are welcome to join your child for this visit to the book fair according to the schedule.

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The beginning of the school year is all about starting good routines. It’s a great time to discuss how to choose “just right” or “good fit” books. Think about the Goldilock’s story…books shouldn’t be too easy (we become better readers with some challenges) and books shouldn’t be too hard (we get frustrated and discouraged).

How do you get a good start with your child’s independent reading this year? Help them choose “just right” books. Try a strategy called “I PICK”

I:  I can look at a book.

P:Purpose-Why do I want to read it?

I:  Interest- Does it interest me?

C:Comprehension- Do I understand it?

K: Know- I know most of the words.

Keep in mind the 5 finger rule for finding “just right” books:

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Warm October greetings from second grade! It was wonderful seeing so many of you on Curriculum Night. As we told you then, we will be beginning our math fact homework and monthly math fact checks this month.  October also means we are beginning our new science studies with our first topic being Animals and Their Habitats.  Room parents will be arranging for our first classroom party to be held on Halloween.

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The first month of school is complete and our students are settling in to their school routines nicely. However, one of the most important parts of a student's success at school happens at home. Sleep!

According to the National Sleep Foundation, school age children (defined by ages of 6-13 years old) should be getting anywhere between 9-11 hours of sleep per night (it can be as little as 7-8 hours or as much as 12 hours depending on the child).

It can often feel like there just  aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything we want. Like good diet and exercise, sleep is a critical component to overall health.

The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests the following guidelines to help your child fall asleep, stay asleep and establish good sleeping habits:

Make sufficient sleep a family priority. Understand the importance of getting enough sleep and how sleep affects the overall health of you and your children. Remember that you are a role model to your child; set a good example. Making sleep a priority for yourself shows your children that it's part of living a healthy lifestyle—like eating right and exercising regularly.

Keep to a regular daily routine. The same waking time, meal times, nap time, and play times will help your child feel secure and comfortable, and help with a smooth bedtime. For young children, it helps to start early with a bedtime routine such as brush, book, bed. Make sure the sleep routines you use can be used anywhere, so you can help your child get to sleep wherever you may be.

Be active during the day. Make sure your kids have interesting and varied activities during the day, including physical activity and fresh air.

Monitor screen time. It is recommended to keep all screens—TVs, computers, laptops, tablets, and phones out of children's bedrooms, especially at night. To prevent sleep disruption, turn off all screens at least 60 minutes/1 hour before bedtime.

Create a sleep-supportive and safe bedroom. Your child's bedroom should be quiet, comfortable, and dark (a nightlight is acceptable for children afraid of a dark bedroom). To avoid the bad habit of needing a television turned on to fall asleep, do not put a television set in your child's bedroom. It is fine to allow security objects, such as a special blanket or stuffed animal, to be a part of the bedtime routine. Use the bedroom for quiet time and sleeping only; do not use the bedroom for time outs or as a room to send your child for punishment. The bedroom needs to be associated with positive feelings, not negative ones. In your final interaction of the evening, give a hug or a kiss, say goodnight to your child, turn off your child's bedroom light, and leave the room. The final interaction should be predictable, deliberate, brief and yet sufficiently warm and reassuring to your child. Support bedtime by keeping the rest of the house quiet and relatively dark.

Avoid overscheduling. In addition to homework, many children today have scheduled evening activities (i.e., sports games, lessons, appointments, etc.) that pose challenges to getting a good night's sleep. Take time to wind down and give your children the downtime that they need.

Learn to recognize sleep problems. The most common sleep problems in children include difficulty falling asleep, nighttime awakenings, snoring, stalling and resisting going to bed, sleep apnea, and loud or heavy breathing while sleeping.

Talk to your child's teacher about your child's alertness during the day. Sleep problems may manifest in the daytime, too. A child with not enough, or poor quality sleep may have difficulty paying attention or "zoning out" in school.

Talk to your child's pediatrician about sleep. Discuss your child's sleep habits and problems with your pediatrician, as most sleep problems are easily treated. He or she may ask you to keep a sleep log (tracking their sleep habits over a one- two week time period) or have additional suggestions to improving your child's sleep habits.

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The Art classes has been a very busy place so far this year! My little artists are using new tools, new mediums and creating awesome works of Art! I encourage all parents to get their  children to trace and cut often, you will be surprised in all the areas you'll see improvements in!

Kindergarten has also been working on their tracing, gluing and cutting skills.  They started off making a bingo dauber art piece of their choice. We then made large Uncle Sam pictures, that look awesome! Next we did a two part class where they drew a picture of themselves under the word "Before" then I showed them HOW to NOT make a "potato person" or "stick figure" under the word "After". In 15 minutes they were all making people with "meat on their bones". Ask them to show you, using the study guide I gave them. (I've had parents that learned a thing or two from that lesson!) Lastly we've been working on fall sewing cards, where they decorated a card with holes in a fall them, then learned how to sew a running and overcast stitch. These are great opportunities to get those fingers and fine motor skills working hard!

First grade started off making a flower to go in a Vincent Van Gogh vase for a classroom picture. Next we used pastels to create a Furled Flag with Fireworks! They look SO Patriotic! We are now continuing with pastels to make a beautiful Chalk Explosion picture. My first graders are really dusting off those skills we went over in Kindergarten!

Second grade started off making Doodle Arms which will decorate around a large Art heart soon! Next came our Patriotic themed Radiating Stars...all I can say is WOW! (No worries you'll get to see their work at the May Arts Festival and everything comes home by years end in a portfolio!) Currently they are doing a Half Self Portrait with their names as a fancy accent. I give the toughest (and coolest) projects to my older students...something the younger ones look forward to doing!

My philosophy in Art, (not only as an Art Specialist, Art Therapy trained person, but also AS an artist,) is that we need to teach the basics of art first, get their fine motor skills oiled and working and as we go add more creativity. You can't teach someone to cook without learning how to use the tools, ingredients and equipment...same with Art. In my Art classes it's a balance of Art basics, concepts as well as creativity! I'm looking forward to sharing my classroom with some parent/grandparent Art volunteers very soon! Thank you for offering your time! Thank you ALL for allowing me to play, create and have fun with your little munchkins! Savvy? SAVVY!!! (ask your kids!)

Yours in Art!

Debbie Hughes Johnson

Art Specialist

Pre-K-grade 2

Pakachoag, Bryn Mawr, and Auburn High School

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Thank you to all of the families that joined us for Curriculum Night, it was a pleasure meeting you and we look forward to discussing your child’s progress with you at our December conferences.

The Kindergarten children enjoyed a great trip to the library. Books are due back to the Auburn Public Library by October 17th.

We are learning the letters M, S, P, T and A.

We are learning the following sight words: I, can, the, we, see, a, like. Students are excited to find these words in their classrooms, books, and around their school.

In math we have been counting, writing, and comparing numbers 1 through 5.

We hope that the homework sent home helps you to know your child’s understanding of the concepts learned at school. Please remember the directions for the math homework is located at the bottom of the page. Please make sure your child writes his/her name on the homework. Remember to count and read as often as possible!

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We cannot believe we are already a month into the school year! We want to thank you all again for the tremendous amount of supplies we received for the classrooms. The first graders have been hard at work learning their classroom routines and expectations. We have started the first unit of the Wonders reading curriculum around the theme "Getting to Know Us."  Students should continue to practice their spelling words, high frequency words and read their white books each night.  We have also started our science program and are exploring the Sky and Earth. The students are enjoying completing hands-on explorations to investigate topics such as gravity and stars. In math we are learning about strategies for subtraction. We are looking forward to the school Halloween parade at the end of this month!