The Village School

These letters are from the 2009-10 school year. We will update the website in August 2010 for the 2010-11 school year.

I am delighted to welcome all of you to our Kindergarten and look forward with joy to a wonderful year together. There is much information to share with you pertaining to the start of school – please read this letter carefully as there are many things to remember.

Indoor shoes: aqua socks are great, or soft canvas sneakers. They need shoes that can stay on at school, go on easily and stay on. Please avoid bedroom slippers or backless shoes like clogs or flip-flops, as they may fall off during our movement time and slippers can get very soggy during winter fire drills.

Extra clothing and a cloth bag to store it in: a drawstring bag or canvas grocery bag works well; backpacks are too bulky for our little hooks. Please keep a full change of clothing at school for your child, and replenish when necessary. On cold or wet days, hats, warm jackets, raincoats, rain pants and mud boots are required. We will go outside every day, and will take a walk each Wednesday.

Soup: each child is invited to bring a vegetable to add to our Thursday soup. There will be no soup the first week of school.

All home toys and playthings: personal treasures tend to encourage exclusion; it’s just not that easy to share.

Clothing with commercial images or advertising: please try to avoid as much as possible clothing with advertising slogans, logos or movie/cartoon characters. We will also do our best to keep our school hallways and classrooms free of commercial advertising.

Please escort your child to our classroom door each day. Drop-off time is 8:15-8:30. Please say your good-byes and make your exit at this time so that this transition is finished BEFORE we call the children to morning circle – it is very difficult for everybody to have both happening at the same time!

Each family will have a mail cubby by the office where you will find your weekly newsletter and other messages. Please check your cubby regularly.

When the time comes, I will be asking each of you for a short biography for your child’s birthday celebration. We try to have them on or before the birthday. Each child is asked to bring a gift from nature for the birthday child – a pretty stone, a pinecone, a seashell….(unwrapped of course). Please help them to remember, as each child very much wants to participate in the giving ceremony, and my stash grows thin when many forget! Please note: If you plan to invite your child’s classmate to a party, please do not distribute invitations through the children at school. This is very distracting and stress-causing, even when all the children are included. Please use the family mailboxes by the office for written invitations or just make phone calls to the parents.

A note will be posted outside the classroom to remind families of upcoming birthdays, and the phone tree may be used as well.

We offer after school care for kinders in our Kindergarten room until 2:30. Please speak with our office for more information.

Please join us Thursday September 3^rd at 5pm for a potluck dinner at the Friendly St. Park. Please baring dinner ware (plates, utensils, etc.) for your family as well as a dish to share!

Due to construction at the school, the classroom will be closed until September 7^th. Please feel free to visit on Monday the 7^th and/or Tuesday the 8^th between 10-2. This gives the children a chance to explore the environment, see parents and teacher working together, and proveds a mental picture of where they will be on their very first day of Kindergarten! It’s all so very exciting!

I hope this information is useful to you. I am looking forward to getting to know each of your children and working with all of you. If you have questions or concerns, please let me or our office staff know.

I have last year’s Kindergarten class picture propped up on my desk at home and I am connecting faces with names. It was delightful start to have the Kindergartener’s come into the classroom for a little while that last week of school. I am excited to be their teacher for the next two years and look forward to meeting our new students from other school.

I would like to make home visits with each of you and your child sometime in late August or early September. Ideally I would like to do this before school begins so we can begin getting to know each other and to help your child feel more comfortable in starting 1^st grade with a new teacher. However, I won’t be able to visit with everyone before Sept. 9^th for family reasons. Please call me at 344-4389 or email me at cosbybarbara20@gmail.comif you want this for before school start and we can work out a time for a ½ hour visit.

I will need help setting up the classroom and preparing our supplies. If you can come and help on Monday Aug. 31^st anytime between 9am-6pm it would be much appreciated.

The day before school starts there will be a 1^st Grade potluck picnic at Tugman Park on Hilyard St. from 5:30-7pm—an informal way for new and continuing families to connect. I’ll bring drinks and cups. If you could bring your own silverware and plates, then there will be no waste.

Ø Indoor shoes/outdoor shoes—Indoor shoes are strictly for the classroom and must cover toes and come over the heels 9aqua shoes, battle shoes, or something similar with soft soles are best).

Ø A daily nutritious, but not sugary snack, which can be packed with your child’s lunch.

I’m looking forward to connecting with each of you as we begin our two year journey.

Welcome to the Village School's Second Grade! This year marks the school's 10th year. I am back from a wonderful 8-week family sabbatical in Europe and look forward to seeing all of my returning and new students. I bring with me stories and music from Germany, France, Scotland, England and Finland to embellish the already amazing Steiner-inspired curriculum that I have worked with for the past 8 years.

The second grade curriculum continues the work of moving the children on in developing and strengthening their reading, writing, 'rithmetic and relationship skills. The second grade curriculum uses fables and stories of helpers of humanity (or saints from various traditions) to help frame what we are learning. I will say more about the curriculum at our first parent evening, which will be on September 16th.

Wednesday, September 16th at 5:30 is the first All School/Class Meeting. Following the meeting at 6:45 there will be class meetings in all the grades. I will give a brief overview of the year from 6:45-7:05 and then you are welcome to visit other classrooms (especially if you have children in other grades). I will also want to visit some of the other classrooms as I have three children of my own attending our school.

Indoor Shoes: sneakers or aqua socks work great. Children need to be able to do extensive movement activities without their shoes falling or flying off. Please make sure your child has boots for the wet season. We go out for recess every day.

Extra Clothing: a drawstring bag or canvas grocery bag with extra clothing. Children at this age need a full change of clothing at school. Please remember to replenish when necessary.

Children must have hats, warm jackets, raincoats, and/or rain pants for cold and wet days. Please be responsible for making sure your child has what s/he needs to go out every day. This will help me serve your children better.

Food: All children need food to function properly. Please make sure that you send your children to school with a hearty snack and lunch. Hunger creates a lot of unwanted behavior. In Finland every child gets an organic, healthy lunch provided by the school for free. We don't have this available to us. Please pack healthy snacks and lunches for your children every day. Full tummies = smarter students.

Clothing with commercial images or advertising: please try to avoid sending your child to school with clothing that has advertising slogans, logos or movie/cartoon characters and written words. We will do our best to keep our school hallways and classrooms free of commercial advertising. A commercial free environment cultivates critical thinking in children without encouraging cynicism.

Please escort your child to our classroom door each day. Drop off time is 8:15-8:30. Please say your good-byes and make your exit at this time so that the transition is finished before I call the children to their seats. It is very disruptive and stressful when both are happening at the same time.

Second grade is concluded at 2:30 p.m. every day unless it is an early release day. The first day of school is an early release day that ends at 1 p.m.

You are invited to come help get the classroom ready for the first day of school on Friday, September 4th from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Please remember to send your child to school with his/her flute case (if you took them home at the end of last year). If you are new to the school, you will be making a flute case in handwork class.

P.S. I did not plan a beginning of the year picnic. Please come to the All-school meeting and Class Meeting following the meeting.

I hope everyone is having a joyful summer full of sun and respite. The new school year, however, is fast approaching!

My summer has been quite active. I have taken a few small trips with my family, worked on house projects and kept up with my favorite pastime of reading! I am now beginning to delve into 3^rd grade curriculum materials, arrange classroom furniture, and prepare for the new year! Third grade is a rich year full of ancient stories, farming, house building, cooking, time telling, butterfly hatching and more!

I am planning a class potluck picnic on Thursday, Sept. 3^rd, 5;30 at Friendly Park 927^th and Monroe). This will be a time for everyone to reconnect and will also give us a chance to meet any new families. Please bring your own plates, utensils and some food to share. I will provide the drinks.

I am also inviting students along with their parents to visit and help me in the classroom on Friday, September 4^th from 10am-noon.

The first All School/class meeting is September 16^th at 5:30. There will be a presentation from the Village School Board and Administration. Then, parents will be dismissed for a parent meeting in their child’s classroom. Childcare will be provided.

With the help of the supply fee that the school asks each family to pay, all school supplies will be provided. A backpack to carry a lunchbox and homework folder in may be helpful, but is not required.

I do not require indoor shoes in third grade. When the weather becomes wet and muddy, however, I will require boots, hats and raincoats. Also, please bring a full change of clothes that can stay at school.

Your child will need a snack packed everyday. Pack a lunch as well, or arrange for your child to purchase a hot lunch.

If you and your child would like to donate a potted plant, a box of tissues, or a box of pre-sharpened #2 pencils to the classroom, that would be wonderful.

PS—Please let me know if you plan to attend either the picnic or the classroom help hours by sending me an email-slpowel17@gmail.com. This will be helpful and will allow me to begin a current email list for 3^rd grade families. Thanks!!

Greetings from the teachers of next year’s Village School Fourth Grade! We are hoping the summer break has been enjoyable for all. As the days of vacation come to a close, it is time to start gearing up for the 2009-10 school year, and we are eagerly looking forward to the next year.

Some opportunities to reconnect with familiar faces and welcome newcomers to our class community are fast approaching, including setting up the classroom and organizing supplies. Please call 515-0140 to let us know if you can drop by to help on one or more of the days before school starts; a great way to get a jump start on clocking volunteer hours! In addition, on Wed. Sept. 2^nd, we will hold the Fourth Grade Back to School Gathering, at Tugman Park, located on 36^th and Hilyard. Please bring a potluck item, and we hope to see all of you there!

Look on the classroom bulletin board for the time and date of our first Fourth Grade Parent Meeting soon after school starts. In addition to all of the beginning-of-the-year information, we will also focus on specific volunteer opportunities within the classroom and throughout the school. As you are aware, all Village School families are expected to volunteer in some capacity on a regular basis. We could not do this without you! We encourage all of you to read the Parent Handbook as either a refresher, or a way of learning about our policies and procedures.

As was the case last year, we will again be celebrating birthdays in the classroom. These celebrations will take place at 8:45 a.m. and we invite you to send a healthy treat, and a book donation for our class library is always welcome.

Your child is welcome to either bring a sack lunch from home or purchase a hot lunch here at school. It is also important to send a nutritious snack daily.

We’re looking forward to a wonderful year full of growth and learning for all!

I hope that you are having a wonderful summer and that you are getting ready for a stellar school year.

The Upper School Spanish program will consist of 3 parts: Grammar, Music and Culture. These parts will be presented in themes. The first of which will be “El Yo, la escuela, la hora y el sistema solar” / “The self, the school, the hour and the solar system.”

The Culture aspect will be built around making and eating Latin American food, and watching and studying Latin American film. I know of a few great, age appropriate titles (Adiós Momo, Viva Cuba). If you know of others, let me know. I also know how to make a mean guacamole, but I would love some help in the food prep department. Ideas? Please and thank you.

Spanish class will include music. I will teach some basic Cumbia and Salsa patterns w/ Latin Percussion instruments. Spanish and Classical Guitar will also come into play from time to time. If there is anyone who can teach us some cool dance steps, please contact me.

Grammar includes vocabulary, conjugating verbs, identifying parts of speech in English and Spanish, pronunciation and speaking. This is the area that I need the most help with ASAP. Posters and index cards need to be made.

Dear Parents and Guardians of the 5th Grade,

I hope this letter finds you in good spirits, enjoying the summer weeks and looking forward to the new school year.

The coming fifth grade year will bring a survey of ancient civilizations (Ancient Persia, India, China, Maya, and Greco-Roman). We will explore the origins of writing, mathematics, religion, science, and societal living.

In math, calculations with fractions and decimals will continue and find applications in word problems. We will begin to study geometry. Through the ancient cultures, we will explore number base systems, ratios, and measurement.

In science, we take a geographical look at world biomes. We will study habitats created by streams and rivers, lakes and ponds, wetlands, and estuaries, the shoreline, the ocean (temperate to tropical), the rainforest, deciduous forest, the taiga, grasslands, tundra, and desert. After this geographical exploration, related to climate and latitude, we will study specific plants and their life cycles in another botany block. For more information on the themes of the year, please see the enclosed block rotation.

For our fifth grade class, homework expectations will be around thirty minutes per day. Please be ready to help your child reserve time for this. The students will be given a homework planner and will also be given time to write down (in the planner) the homework that they are given. The hope is to generate sold work and organizational skills, while the workload is still relatively low.

Your child will need the following for the fifth grade:

• A backpack or book bag
• Two three ring binders
• Notebook filler paper
• Lead pencils

The rest of your child’s supplies will be supplied on the first day of school.

I would also like to take a moment to let you know the volunteer opportunities that await you. I am in need of:

• Two volunteer coordinators
• Play helpers (our play is early in the year, November 23-25)
• A bi-weekly rag washer
• Painting helper
• Handwork reader
• A email list organizer (I had a successful Yahoo groups list with my last class)
• Someone willing to make a phone tree

This list can go on longer, but I will stop here for now. I will pass around a volunteer sign up sheet at the first parent meeting, (Sept. 16th is the all-school meeting followed by the first class meetings of the year).

Please look over the following block rotation schedule and let me know if you have any questions. My phone number is 434-9179 and my email is SLROMATZ@yahoo.com

Here’s to a great year!

Susana Romatz

6th Grade

Dear Grade 6 Village School Parents and Guardians,

It's time to again start thinking about school and gathering together our hearts and minds towards this upcoming year. I'm excited and eager to get going having spent a wonderful summer camping, traveling, playing, doing home improvement work, enjoying our garden and preparing for the arrival of our new baby boy (due date-Oct. 28th). I hope this letter finds all of you equally refreshed and filled with enthusiastic anticipation.

To most of you, welcome back, to some of you, welcome. I will be sending this letter by e-mail and US post (with the Village School packet). Generally, I will prefer to use e-mail as much as possible for communications over the course of this year as I've found it to be the most efficient mode of communicating with parents (though I'll always have hard copies of communications available on the table outside the classroom). If you didn't get this letter through e-mail, make sure you get me an updated e-mail address if you have one.

First of all, mark your calendars for a class potluck on Thursday, Sept. 3rd from 5-7pm at Tugman Park which is located in South Eugene on Hilyard St. between 36th and 39th Avenues. I'd like to create an opportunity for the students to reconnect, touch base with the parents and have a chance to meet the new families (there are four as of the writing of this letter) before school begins. I realize that some of you will not be able to make it, you may have prior commitments or may not even be in town, but please feel free to come to only a portion if that is all you can and bring all siblings and family.

For the sake of simplicity, if your student's last name is between A and M (main dish, between M and Z (side dish, salad, dessert). Please try to bring your own dishes, cups and silverware (I'm trying to cut down on paper plate usage this year--we are a Green School now!) and a picnic blanket. I will bring lots of cold lemonade. For those of you unable to come, we'll see you soon enough.

Secondly, I wanted to scheduld our first Parent Meeting for Wednesday, Sept. 16th, following the all-school meeting which starts at 5:30. Please make every effort to be there as these meetings are really the conerstone of our work together in creating an optimal educational environment for your child. This first meeting is especially important as we will be going over the highlights/changes for the sixth grade year and planning out our goals for parent meetings for the whole year. We also will be discussing our first overnight field trip to Pine Mt. Observatory in Eastern Oregon which will happen very soon after the start of school (Sept. 24th and 25th-if we have the drivers/chaperones). The trip is connected to our Astronomy Main Lesson block and gives the students an opportunity to visit a world-class astronomical observatory.

Other important dates:

Wednesday, Sept. 9th--first day of school (early release, 8:30-1pm)
Wednesday, Sept. 16th-All school parent meeting/class meetings
October 19th and 20th--Parent/Teacher Conferences

As far as student needs, here's a checklist:

a waterproof expandable file with protective flap and elastic cord and with dividers or pockets *
at least 200 sheets of notebook paper (wide-ruled)
3 spiral bound notebooks
a higher quality bow compass (these are available at Oregon Art Supply or UO bookstore for $10-20
a 30/60/90 and/or a 45/45/90 triangle (medium size)
a pen/pencil case or pouch
a few pencils, pens and erasers
a mug or cup for water (many still have theirs in the class from last year)
a healthy and nutritious daily snack and lunch
sturdy comfortable shoes for daily movment and PE (no flip/flops or rolly shoes)

Other optional items include:

a simple function calculator
sitting/throw pillow (for reading)
indoor plant
donated book(s) for class library
hanging (refractive) prism for the window

The Village School will be providing all the rest of your student's art supplies and classroom needs, including planners.

*These are for keeping papers organized and will be used instead of a 3-ring binder. If you are not clear what I'm talking about, please ask.

For now, that is all. i look forward to seeing many of you at Tugman Park on the 3rd. I am also looking for some help in setting up the classroom in the 7-10 days before school begins so please let me know if you can help.

Enjoy these last weeks before the shift of gears associated with the start-up of a new school year.

Matthew Bigongiari

7th/8th Grade

Welcome 7th & 8th Grade Families,

The purpose of this letter is simply to say “hello” and help you get your student “supplied” by the first day of school. More detailed information will be forthcoming during the first week of school.

Before we get to our work, we want to gather as a 7^th/8^th grade community and socialize. Please join us for a potluck social at Tugman Park—38^th and Hilyard in South Eugene, Thrusday August 27^th, 6-8pm.

Feel free to call with any questions or just to say hello. We look forward to working with you and your student this coming year.

Always,

Andy Traisman, 7^th/8^th grade Humanities

at22@comcast.net

w 345-7285 ext. 116

h 344-9222

Mr. Justin, 7^th/8^th grade Math and Science

School supply list for Justin and Mr. T

Get everything on this list!

Things you will need to have at home:

Ruler, Protractor, Compass, Calculator, Colored Pencils, Crayons, Good Scissors, Lined paper

***Everything on this list can live at your home and does not need to come to school. You will be provided with these tools in the classroom. You do need to have these at home, so you can do your homework there.***

Things you will need to bring to school

ð 3 ring binder—This will be your daily use binder.

ð Pocket folders-with tabs-for every subject in different colors (appx. 6)

ð Loose-leaf paper (300+ sheets) wide or college-ruled

ð #2 Pencils, Package of 24

ð A package of your favorite writing pens

ð 1 small hand-held pencil sharpener (the metals ones don’t break, get one at the art supply store)

ð 1 highlighter (yellow)

ð 2 Fine-tip Sakura black waterproof markers .05 and .08 are best—art store or office store (no permanent markers, i.e. Sharpies)

ð A pencil pouch for pencils, pens, etc.

ð One water bottle or mug to drink out of—(must be durable and stored in locker)

ð Movement Shoes—No black soles, skid free, laces