HOOT#27

Last week we made ice-cream chilled with liquid nitrogen. 

Thank you, Chris Pieper for the tasty scientific treat!

Also, a gigantic "thank you" goes out to all of you 

who helped out and participated at TISA's garage sale last Saturday.

This week's events:
Monday, 2:30 at the Guadalupe Gym -- Student of the Month Assembly -- Congratulations to Neenah Johnson and Asher Dean!
We will go to the park earlier on Monday (please check with me in the morning if you'd like to join us).

Thursday: Joan Livingston and Theresa Dovelpage will be doing a book reading/signing for the kiddos. They will have copies of their nifty spanish/english book available for sale and can sign them :)
It's a cute book- http://www.amazon.com/Cousins-primos-Bilingual-Spanish--English/dp/1613700776/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460329867&sr=8-1&keywords=the+cousins+and+the+magic+fish

Thursday 3:00pm-3:30ish: Shadow Puppet Stories from Africa (kindergarten room)

Reminders:
Growing Green fundraiser's deadline: April 19
​TISA's lottery is still open. Please spread the word to families who appreciate our integrated arts curriculum.​

This week's letter combination (digraph): wh (focus: question words)
punctuation mark: ?
numbers: skip counting by 5s

The following materials will be available for this week's homework on Monday at dismissal. Please feel free to pick and choose what best fits your child's needs. Also, please continue to read with your child every day.

HOOT#26

Well, I got my old desktop upgraded last week from Vista to Windows7, so I feel like am on this planet again! It's time to post a few fun photos...

Middle-Eastern Music with Meg

Middle-Eastern Dance with Julia

Easter egg hunt

and the harvested eggs...

Finger-knitting took kinder by storm

Spring colors are all the rage

Explora in bubbles

Congratulations to the students of the month: Neenah Johnson and Asher Dean!
The school assembly will be held at Guadalupe Gym next Monday (April 11 at 2:30pm)

Reading and writing update:

• common 2-letter combinations (digraphs): ch, th, sh, th, wh
• sentences, capitalization, punctuation (.!?,)
• lowercase letters in! uppercase letters out! (pardon the exceptions)
• current topic: "something that I know about" (informational narrative) e.g. horses, cats, coyotes, Jurassic World, Pocahontas, Pac-Man, Easter Bunny
• finding teeny-tiny words in longer words (e.g. there is a "cop" in helicopter)

Math

• working with the concept of place value (grouping by 10s) 
• measuring
• subtraction versus addition 
• try playing the card game "Garbage/Trash" (You can check it out on Youtube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQDRobHfwwA )

Homework
Tuesday (due Wednesday): write and draw about what you like most about kindergarten, or write to me about what you'd like to do in April

Wednesday (due Thursday): measure and draw your family members
Please continue to read with your child 20-30 minutes every day.

The children have taken spool knitting to great lengths! I'd love some yarn donations!

Learning Ally is a great site that TISA uses. It offers thousands of audio titles which support oral language development as well as reading. I am setting up an account for each child and will email you each with information on how to stock your own audio libraries. We are listening to How to Train Your Dragon at school.

And finally, the town is teaming with activities! Twirl has come out with a schedule and so did the ToolBox. Here is their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/thetoolboxtaos/

HOOT#25

HOWEWORK:
Tuesday: We are working with the letter Z this week. Please make a letter z or cut out words that have the letter in them and create a collage.
Wednesday: We are working on subtraction this week. Please write or draw a subtraction story problem (with numbers below 10) and bring it to school.
Please continue to read with your child every day and encourage a response piece (writing or drawing) or a reading log.

THIS WEEK
Monday -- Fabulous Bubbles with Explora! -- Playtime at Filemon Sanchez Park (1:30-2:30 on Mondays)
Tuesday -- Pizza money due

Please give your money to your teacher instead of the front office. 
On your envelope don't forget to include:
Name -- Grade -- # of Slices
Cheese or Pepperoni -- Amount Enclosed ($2/slice)

Wednesday: The children are rehearsing for their flamenco performance with Julia. Please join us for their exciting dance on Wednesday, April 20 from 2:30 to 2:45 in the kinder room.

DUES
Readathon money (goes towards field trip transport)
Yearbook orders due ($25 each)

PTA NEWS with a bunch of updates
Dear TISA Families - We had our monthly meeting this week and have some exciting news and updates to share with you.  

2016/2017 Committees - We are already planning for next school year and we need your help!  Next year we have plans to form a committee for each PTA event or activity.  The purpose of this is to help spread the workload and to get parents involved.  Attached you will find committee info and ideas for next year.   We appreciate any and all help! 

Pizza Day - Our next pizza day will be Thursday, March 31st.  Reminder: If your child is absent on pizza day and you prepaid, we do not offer refunds.  All sales are final and please keep in mind that this is a fundraiser.  Pizza day is organized and ran by one person with the help of teachers, and it's a very time consuming process.  We do not have time to check and see who was absent that day and then offer refunds.  Thank you for understanding. 

TISA Dragons Basketball Team - Exciting news!  Next year we are planning to form a basketball team.  The team will be open to boys and girls in 3rd-5th grade and we will compete against other Taos elementary schools.  We don't have any other details yet, but Mr. Greywolf is going to work on getting us signed up and ready for next year.  Coaches are already in place and we are going to need lots of help from parents in order to make this happen! More details to come next school year, but in the meantime...go shoot some hoops and get ready for basketball season!

Spring Yard Sale - April 9th is our yard sale and we are asking parents to sign up for time slots. Thank you to those who have already done so!  Please see the email sent out yesterday for additional details, or click on the following link to get started:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20f0944aaad2ca1ff2-tisa1

We know you are excited to get rid of your stuff, but please do not drop off your donations earlier than our first donation session on Wednesday April 6th.  While we greatly appreciate your donations, we simply do not have the space to store your items.  We do not want our teachers and staff to have to deal with extra boxes and bags in their classrooms, and they will get ruined sitting outside...so again, please do not drop off any donations prior to April 6th.  

Contact Mel Scully with any questions! mel@melscully.com

Growing Green Fundraiser - Next week your child be coming home with a small catalog from Growing Green.  Make sure to check backpacks and check out the catalog.  An email with more details and ordering instructions will be sent out next week.  We are very excited about trying this new fundraiser! 

Makey Makey - This month TISA PTA is purchasing a Makey Makey for our Science Club!  What is a Makey Makey?  Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0WbdwWcFQw

Summer Reading Program - Another thing to get excited about! PTA Vice President, Mel Scully, is working hard on planning a summer reading program for TISA students. The PTA is going to be giving away awesome prizes at the very beginning of the school year to our top readers of the summer!  Our goal is to help TISA become an "A" school, and we hope this will be a great way to encourage our young readers and to help reach our goal eventually.   We will be sending out a reading list before the end of the school year, so stay tuned!  

Final PTA Meeting of the Year - Our very last PTA meeting of the school year will be on Tuesday, April 19th at 4:30pm.  We will be needing a Treasurer and Secretary for next year.  The secretary will need to be available to come to every PTA meeting, the treasurer is not required attend every meeting, though it would be helpful. If you can help us with either position, please come to our final meeting or respond to this email.  This year we ran our PTA with just 2 officers, so when we say that we need and appreciate your help, we really mean it! 

One More Thank You - This month we received a $100 donation from a TISA parent.  This was such a nice surprise and we thank you! 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Sadie Acedo - TISA PTA President

sadiebrie@msn.com

HOOT#24

Welcome back to school, Wonderful Kinder Families! I am so glad most of us are healthy now!
It seems like it was a lengthy winter, but spring is definitely well on its way now! We planted a few seeds (yummy peas, radishes, radiant sunflowers) and walked to the park in the afternoon.

We were all happy to see each other after a week of siesta. The children drew some of their memorable spring break moments (Ferris wheel, giant fish, bike chain, grandma's house, Explora, apple juice with auntie, bad hotel food, and video game favorites, just to mention a few) as they shared their recent adventures this morning.

READ-A-THON
Thank you for bringing in your contribution (check or cash) for your child's Read-a-thon. If you'd like to see their record as a reference, please see me. We'll be putting the money toward our end-of-year field trip and celebrations.

TISA'S first YEARBOOK will be coming out in a few weeks. Please sign up with me if you are interested in purchasing one for your family ($25).

UPCOMING EVENTS:
April 14 (3pm) (tentative date) - Kindergarten room: African Shadow Play Stories
April 28 (3:30-4:30) - Kindergarten room: End-of-year celebration and kinder play (Five good wolves and the two bad pigs)

MAY EVENTS:
May 11 (Thursday): TISA Renaissance Fair (vagabond musicians, alchemists, jugglers, lords and ladies, sirens and rat catchers, all welcome!)
May 23 (Monday): Field Day (for the lower grades) at the park (volunteers welcome)
May 26: Last day of school

And since the first day back was as lively as ever, it's time to get some z's....
See you all tomorrow!


P.S. Homework will resume next week. Until then, happy bedtime reading!

Hoot#23

Mascot Contest

Kinder's creative juices were hard at work in February creating entries for the TISA mascot contest.
Just in case the tell-tale facial expressions and the exquisite artwork do not speak for themselves, I will disclose that we were indulging chameleons, the quirky colorful reptilian artists of the animal world. Although we did not win the contest, we now have a herd(?) of chameleons in our class gallery.
Please visit and enjoy their full display of TISA colors.

TISA is proud to announce that we are the TISA Dragons courtesy of the hard and talented work of Hailey Chanler in 6^th Grade. It was a tough choice, but Hailey was voted the overall winner of the TISA mascot contest by staff and the PTA. For her hard work Hailey will be receiving a brand new bike courtesy of the PTA. And student Otto Manley, a 3^rdGrader will be receiving a 4 pack to the Storyteller Theater for his first prize coloring entry. Thanks to all who participated.

Students of the Month

Welcome to our second Student of the Month. At this March assembly, TISA will be celebrating our month's exemplars. Taos war chief, Richard Archuleta, will be our speaker this month. PTA will also be giving out prizes: 5 $20 TWIRL gift cards to our top readers from the  Read-A-Thon, 
and prizes for our Mascot Winners. 
PLEASE NOTE that all students from both campuses will dismiss at regular times (kinder at 3:30) 
from the Manzanares Campus. Aftercare will be also at the Manzanares Campus that day.

DATE: 3/7/16

LOCATION: Guadalupe Gym

Congratulations to these outstanding Kindergarten students of the month: 

Bernice O'Reilly

Vincent Brady

Dr Seuss' 112 Birthday -- In Celebration of

 Reading 

Thank you all for your whole-hearted participation!

Unfortunately many children were sick and could not attend on the day of the Read-a-thon. If the children who were absent are interested in taking a "rain check" for the event, I'd be happy to have them either read at home with family or in school with a volunteer (Megan O., would you be interested?). The PTA is presenting each class with a $20 gift certificate for their participation. 

In kinder the recipient of the gift card will be pulled out  of a hat. 

I will include all absent children with a reading log signed by a grown-up.

You also asked about your pledges for the Read-a-thon. We'll be using the money we raise 

to pay for transportation for the end-of-the-year kinder field trip 

and for kinder's end-of-year celebration (April 28).

You are welcome to write a check for TISA in the next week or two.

This week in kinder:
TUESDAY:
Kinder music performance: SOUNDS OF AFRICA
at 3:00pm in the kindergarten room
costuming for the presentation: bandana (if you have any extra please send them to school + solid color T-shirt)
Hakuna matata! Will see you there!
THURSDAY
Explora is returning for a third session with kindergarten on Thursday

HEALTH UPDATE
There are a few cases of ringworm in the lower grades. Children with ringworm are to attend school. To treat ringworm: the most frequently used meds are tolnaftate, miconazole, and clotrimazole. A small amount is applied two or three times a day for at least a week, during which time some clearing should begin. 

If your child has any skin concerns please visit a medical professional to determine the cause of the condition. 

Some informative links BUT please go to Dr. for assessment.

http://www.rapidhomeremedies.com/remedies-for-ringworm.html

https://lotrimin.com/ringworm/

http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/understanding-ringworm-basics

HOMEWORK

Do on Monday (due on Tuesday): We are working on an interactive display with an African theme. Please search around your home for items that might qualify (jeep? stuffed animals? fossils? coconut shell? map? book?) Or feel free to create your own African-inspired piece (draw/paint/cut out an African animal/puppet, make a beaded bracelet, or a shaker).

Do on Tuesday (due on Wednesday): Write your own number story (e.g. Quintin saw 4 chameleons in the tree and 5 chameleons on the ground. How many chameleons did he see in all?) Please draw one way you would show how to solve your math problem.

Do on Wednesday (due on Thursday): Bring clippings/artwork/your own paint/color mix that show your favorite colors. Label your items as best you can.

Hoot SPECIAL EDITION!

   HOOT!         Kinder News        Special Edition     3-1-2016                                        

CAMPUS NEWS!   Next year TISA’s lower grades will be housed on the Manzanares campus with a fun playground and an array of outdoor musical instruments!		Support TISA with Testimonials please! Wednesday night is kindergarten fair for preschool families. Some of you might remember attending last year to meet many of Taos’ passionate kindergarten teachers and hear about each school’s approach to kindergarten. This year I ask that you support TISA’s presence in the kindergarten fair with a few lines that attest to your child’s joyful education here. What is it that your son/daughter loves about TISA? Why would you recommend this school to another family? How does TISA support you? What is it that you value about learning at TISA? What are your hopes for our school and your child here? Any anecdotes that your child shared about school at home? Please email me a few kind lines (even a couple words of cheer would be great) and I will be happy to include your words (anonymously, if you wish). Please spread the information to families: Kindergarten night Taos Charter School (gym) Wednesday, March 2, 6pm
Kinder Readathon is TOMORROW (Wednesday)! Come or send a friend to read with your child from 8:30-10:00. Dress cozy (hint: jamies) Bring: A pillow a snack/drink/fruit/popcorn to share AND LOTS OF YOUR FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOKS!
Update about our upcoming kinder performance Date and time: 3pm, March 8 (next Tuesday) Place: kinder room Since there has been a strong pull towards exploring music and movement that goes with the African story-telling theme, we will focus on the musical pieces during next Tuesday’s performance. Stay tuned! The African shadow puppet stories will be presented at a later date after spring break.
Students of the month will be celebrated next Monday afternoon on the Manzanares campus. Kinder is excited to visit Miss Naomi’s 8th grade that day as well. Since the 8th graders have been working on an African heritage unit, the two grades will be collaborating on an African project that day.

HOOT#22

WEDNESDAY, March 2

TISA's annual Readathon and Pajama Day!

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN US for the annual TISA Read-a-Thon!!!

We need as many parents as possible to join us on WEDNESDAY, March 2nd from 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. to read with K-4 kids!!! If you cannot make it yourself, please consider sending a grandparent or a friend to read with your child for this very fun morning! (The goal is for every child to have one adult to read with).

We are raising money for our end-of-year field trip.  We are hoping that every Kindergartner will raise $20 at our Read-a-Thon so that we can achieve our goal. Please help your child find sponsors for the Read-a-thon. (Sponsor sheets are in your child's folder at school.)

The day of the Read-a-Thon is a pajama day!! Kids can come to school in PJs and wear them all day. They can also bring a class snack (muffins, fruit, popcorn, etc.) a pillow, and of course, LOTS OF THEIR FAVORITE CHILDREN’S BOOKS!!!!!

 Amazing Music-Making with Kombucha Marimba last week!

More drumming fun with Sandy, Shea's dad last week and this week!

HOMEWORK:
Do on Monday (due on Tuesday): play tic-tac-toe 

Do on Tuesday (due on Wednesday):  gather your favorite children's books to bring for TISA's Readathon. Jump in your jammies, grab the popcorn, and be a reading champ today!

Do on Wednesday (due on Thursday): Draw an illustration about a favorite book of yours. What happens at the beginning, in the middle and at the end? 

Letter of the week: x

Numbers: 11-19