Hello Parents,

Time is flying by and we are already approaching the end of November.  There are a few items and reminders we would like to share with you. 

1.  School will be closed Thursday Nov. 27th and Friday Nov. 28th in observance of Thanksgiving.

2.  Report cards will be sent home with your student on Wednesday Nov. 26th.

3.  We will be having a Pajama and Movie Party on the Wednesday before the break and your students are welcome to pack their pjs to change into at school.  A flyer is being sent home with the students with more detailed information.

4.  The weather is getting very chilly and we will still be going outside for recess and play time.  Please make sure to send your student to school with a nice heavy coat so they are able to go out and stay warm on these days.

We have been enjoying our studies the past few weeks and the students have been involved in a variety of activities.  In History, we have been learning about Native Americans.  The students have chosen Native American names and created necklaces with different symbols.  The have also made beaded belts and canoes.

In Science, we have been focusing on Community.  The students created floor plans of their homes and made collages of items they might find in a grocery store.  We also created a large painted collage of recycled items that the students brought from home.  To end the unit, the students had a Career Day.  They each decided what they would like to be when they grow up, dressed up in proper attire, and presented their careers to the rest of their classmates  and a few students from Upper School as well.  It was a lot of fun and we invite you to enjoy the pictures from Career Day below.

Thanks again for your ongoing support and we hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!!

Ms. Crispen & Ms. Pranke 

Career Day

Aaron, future basketball star
Ben, search and rescue mountaineer
Jason, the architect
Dr. Nakita

Harley, the lawyer to call if you're in a bind

Career Day

Ms. Sydney (Ms. Pranke and I might be out of a job soon)
Firefighter Anthony
President Rohan Menon
Emma, the creative artist

Jaden, "You trash it, we snatch it!"

Career Day

Aditya, animal caregiver
Zach, watch out Ben Roethlisberger!
Fiona, Tae Kwan Do Instructor
Christopher, Video Game Extrodinaire

Matthew, friendly farmer

December Artists & Authors

It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. -Harry Truman

November Artists & Authors

Hello Parents!

Thank you so much to those who contributed to our Diwali Celebration on Friday October 24th. It was a great success and we all had lots of fun. Please scroll down below to see pictures of our class.

Hello Parents!

Thank you again for attending our Back to School night last Wednesday. It was a pleasure meeting with you all and we hope you were able to get a good feel for how your students spend their time at Class Academy. Remember, if you ever have any questions or would like to contact Ms. Crispen or Ms. Pranke, please feel free to email either one of us any time.

**A quick note about homework: Please remember that we are working as a team as parents and teachers to make sure our students are completing their homework to the best of their ability. Please check over each item of homework your student completes to make sure he/she is using good penmanship, correct punctuation, complete sentences, etc. Students should be proud of the work they hand in and it should be clear that they put in their BEST effort.

**Next week marks the celebration of the Indian holiday Diwali. We would love if any parents or family members would like to come in and share or lead an activity for our students to recognize this special holiday. Any day next week would be fine and we would be happy to work around your schedule. Please contact us if you are interested, we would greatly appreciate it!



There are a few important dates coming up that you may want to mark in your calendars:

Monday 10/13 - Please begin to send a pumpkin to school with your student. We will be using the pumpkins for various activities throughout the month.

Wednesday 10/15 - Back to School night for Upper School.

Saturday 10/18 - Maintenance Day.

You may have also noticed the baskets labeled for the various classes in the front lobby at school. These Class Baskets are a great way for our kids to get involved in the auction. Each class has a themed basket. Our Roadrunner Class Theme is "Literary Genius." We are looking to fill our basket with all genres of books appropriate for upper school - mystery, science fiction, reference, classics, comic, puzzles, Sudoku, and gift cards to your favorite book sellers. The items need not be expensive ($1-$15) and they will be in the foyer from Monday, October 13 through Friday, October 24.

Hope you all have a good week!

Ms. Crispen & Ms. Pranke

Upcoming Events:

• Parents Night Out is this Saturday, September 27th!

• Author Board- An Author Wall has been placed in the office. Each month, one or more students will be chosen to post their published writing on the Author Wall. Each chosen student will present their publication during a recognition ceremony planned for them and their parents.
  Back to School Night is on October 8th at 6:30. One parent per family please.

• Columbus Day is recognized on October 13th. School IS in session!

• Students may begin to bring in a pumpkin for classroom activities starting on October 13th. Each student must have a pumpkin by October 19th.

• Maintenance Day is from 9:00-1:00 on Saturday, October 18th. Everyone is invited to join.

Hola Las Familias,

We hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the remainder of the summer weather!

A goal that we have added to our class curriculum is implementing Spanish into our lessons. Please encourage your students to use this language at home! Some words they have already learned include: their numerals 1-10, their 5 senses, and the body parts they use with their 5 senses.

1 - uno
2 - dos
3 - tres
4 - cuatro
5 - cinco
6 - seis
7 - seite
8 - ocho
9 - nueve
10 - diez

The Five Senses - Los Cinco Sentidos
sight - la vista
taste - el gusto
touch - el tacto
smell - el olfato
hearing - el oido

mouth - la boca
ear - la oreja
hands - los manos
nose - la nariz
eyes - los ojos

Thank you for returning your homework folders on time! Please remember that the homework assigned is a review of current skills, and it is not to challenge the students or take them to the next level. We encourage doing one assignment a night, along with their nightly reading. The picture find is to aid their visual discrimination, assist with reading skills, and encourage higher level thinking.

This upcoming school year promises a very exciting and stimulating curriculum for our Sharks and Roadrunners. We have kicked off in Math with various activities using the students' stuffed bears from home. One activity including measuring the length of our bears and recording the data in a bar graph format in order compare/contrast the lengths with the rest of the class.

In Science, the students have been "getting in touch" with their 5 Senses by doing various activities including a nature walk while paying close attention to various sounds, smells, and visual images. The students also utilized their sense of touch by experimenting with different textures.

The Science lessons led into exciting Writing lessons where the students were encouraged to expand their vocabularies using words to describe their 5 Senses. The students have also had a wonderful time sharing their "Me Bags" with the class. This has provided a great opportunity to get to know each other on a more personal level and explore our hobbies and interests outside of the class room.

Keep up the good work and we'll post more soon!

September 3, 2008

Dear Roadrunner and Shark Families,

Welcome! We are excited to start a new school year and begin our journey through non-stop hands on knowledge! A copy of this year’s school curriculum and class schedule will be sent home tomorrow Thursday (Sept. 4) in your student’s homework folder.
Reading homework will be sent home this week. The reading assignment must be done aside an adult who can assist with vocabulary/pronunciation and question for comprehension, parts of speech, characters, etc. Please sign the post-it on the inside of the book stating your child read to you. Their reading books need to be returned each day and remain in the Ziploc throughout travel. (Thank you for helping keep our materials new!)
A few quick reminders: Roadrunners and Sharks start their day at 8:30. It is extremely important they arrive on time in order to participate during Calendar. Calendar is an essential review of the Math skills and the vocabulary being taught each day. Be sure to pack a nutritious lunch for your student; include an item of protein, fruits and vegetables and a non-sugar drink. Synapses in your child’s brain depend on this…and learning! (We’ll handle the learning, you handle the nutrition. We’re already working as a team, looks like it’s going to be a great year!)
For the first month of school, the Roadrunners and Sharks will be combined into one classroom. Ms. Crispen will be teaching Calendar, Reading, Phonics and Math throughout this month. Ms. Swimeley will be implementing Writing/Theme and Ms. Pranke will be exploring Science with the students.

We are looking forward to a healthy and stimulating school year!

Ms. Crispen, Ms. Swimeley and Ms. Pranke

Welcome Sharks & Roadrunners

Write a welcome message here...