Volunteers Needed

Grade one still needs volunteers for our inventors workshop next week. Please scroll through and add your name to any date and time where you are available to help (minimize the screen to see Ms. England's class at the bottom of the sheet). Thank you so much for your support!

Sign-up Sheet

Ms. Keane's September Birthdays!

Over this month we go to celebrate 2 students birthdays, Ariana and Unana. We had some delicious treats with some fun friends. Check out the photos below: 

Lower School Update - October 2, 2017

Learning Community Assemblies

Learning Community D will have their first assembly on Friday starting at 8:15 am in the auditorium. We hope you can join us!

The Eagle Way

It’s Kindness Week at Graded! While we work on developing and recognizing kindness every day at school, this week we highlight and celebrate what it means to be kind. Here are some ways that you can do the same at home, courtesy of Polk County Schools:

1. Try to find some reason to say “thank you” to your child each day. Let them know you appreciate their work even if it is their assigned chore.
2. If your child complains about what they do not have, ask them what they do have to be thankful for.
3. Encourage your child to write thank you notes for gifts they receive. Buy them their own stationery and stamps that reflect their personality.
4. Be the first to suggest a random act of kindness when you see the opportunity.
5. Volunteer together as a family and participate in charitable activities such as working at a food shelter, a senior home, or donating clothes and toys to organizations.   
6. Establish a “family meeting” time once a week; perhaps over dinner on a special night. Keep a basket on the table all week for members of the family to write kind acts or words sent their way or that they tried to do for someone. Review the basket and thank each other during the family meeting. The slips of paper in the basket can be simple things that show a kind spirit and might say something like: I washed the dishes when it was not my turn. I called my sick aunt. I helped a friend who fell on her bike. I made a point to smile at a person I passed by who looked sad and angry. I opened the door for someone and let them enter first. I offered to carry a package or book for someone who was overloaded. Mom made my favorite dinner. My brother washed the car without being asked. Plan family projects to show kindness to others.
7. Keep recycling bins in your home to be kind to the environment.
8. Talk with your children about being kind to animals. Take a stray animal to a shelter. Discuss that we show kindness by giving the proper care required for an animal (food, water, exercise, vaccinations).

Wear Blue on Tuesday

As part of Kindness week, we ask that all students wear blue shirts to help “Stomp out Bullying” and promote inclusivity and kindness. At home we encourage you to ask your children about their kindness and gratitude activities each day this week and ask how they can continue the connection to their home life.

Family Movie Night

Thank you to those of you that were able to join us for our first Family Movie Night last Friday. It was a big success and we plan to have more in the future. A special thank you to our Lower School PTA Reps for all their hard work on making it such an enjoyable evening!

Student-Led Conferences

This year we will schedule Student-Led Conferences during the afternoons of October 24, 25, and 26. This means students will be dismissed at 11:30 am each of those days and conferences will take place in the afternoons. During Student-Led Conferences, children from K5 to 5th grade will lead parents through a number of activities to demonstrate their learning, and also determine goals for the upcoming trimester (parents of our youngest children in K3 and K4 will have parent-teacher interviews). Sign up for the conferences will begin on Friday, October 6 at 10:00 am. A reminder email will be sent on Thursday about conference sign up.

Teacher Appreciation Week

The PTA has planned a fantastic week of events, treats, surprises and prizes for our incredible faculty.

HOW CAN YOU PARTICIPATE?

Volunteer: Come help at one of the events throughout the week. Please send us an e-mail at rodrig.garza@gmail.com and gabrielavieiraborges@gmail.com for more  details.

Make a donation: Please consider an amount of R$50 or more per child. All contributions will help pay for a week of festivities for teachers!

Thank You Note: Assist your child writing a note for each teacher describing how special they are. Please find attached a sample of the note.

Donations + Thank You Notes will be collected from Sept. 25th through October 10th. Please place them in the sealed envelope labeled "Teacher Appreciation" that is provided, drop it off at the booth located at the Student Center/ Cafeteria Hall, or send the envelope to the Lower School Office.

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O PTA está organizando uma semana fantástica com eventos, guloseimas, surpresas e prêmios para os nossos incríveis professores.  Venha participar conosco!

COMO PARTICIPAR

Voluntariado: Venha ajudar em um dos eventos ao longo da semana. Envie um e-mail para

rodrig.garza@gmail.com e gabrielavieiraborges@gmail.com para mais detalhes.

Faça uma doação: Por favor considere uma doação de R$ 50 ou mais por criança. Sua doação  irá ajudar  a oferecer  as atividades  para  os professores  durante  a semana.

Carta de Agradecimento: Incentive seu filho a escrever uma cartinha para cada professor, descrevendo suas qualidades  especiais. Use o modelo em anexo.

Doações e Cartas serão coletadas de 25 de Setembro a 10 de Outubro. Por favor coloque-as no envelope em anexo, endereçado a "Teacher Appreciation" e entregue na secretaria do Lower School ou no PTA booth do Student Center/ Cafeteria Hall.

Upcoming Important Dates

October 3	Blue Shirt Day - Day of Bullying Prevention PTA Board Meeting 1:00 pm (Room E12)
October 6	Community D Assembly 8:15 am (Auditorium)
October 9-11	PTA Teacher Appreciation Week
October 12 & 13	Nossa Senhora Aparecida Holiday (no school for all students)
October 15	Daylight Savings Time Starts
October 17	Parent Coffee: Child Protection at Graded 8:15 am (Auditorium)
October 19	Half Day for Students 11:30 am Dismissal Innovate Conference Begins
October 20	No School for Students Innovate Conference
October 21	Innovate Conference
October 24	Parent Coffee: Reviewing MAP Test Results 8:30 am (Auditorium)
October 24-26	Student-Led Conferences (11:30 am dismissal for students, conferences in the afternoons)
November 1	Halloween Parade 2:00 pm
November 2	Dia de Finados Holiday (no school for students)
November 3	No School for Students

Around the Lower School

Ms. Burnquist's Class Updates

Dear Parents,
This is just a reminder about upcoming dates. Thank you to those of you who volunteered and are helping out. Please continue to send in recycled materials for our Inventor's Workshop next week!
Here are the dates:

First Week of October Change in Days

Oct 2 - Day C

Oct 3 - Day D

Oct 4 - Day E

Oct 5 - Day F

Oct 6 - Day G

October: 4

Magnet Fair

October 9-11 and 16-18

Magnet Inventor's Workshop

October: 19

Report cards are online

October: 24, 25, 26

Student Led Conferences

Wednesday, November 1st

Halloween celebration and parade at Graded

Walk-a-thon

Thank you so much to all the parents who came out and supported our first grade students! The children are all extremely proud of their accomplishment! They demonstrated perseverance and determination to run/walk as many laps as possible in the thirty minute time frame to earn as much as they could for Fundacao Dorina Nowill. We loved having parents and siblings out to join us as well! Thank you all!! 

Please remember to collect the money you raised from your laps and bring it to school as soon as possible. We are presenting the final check to Fundacao Dorina Nowill on Friday. Thank you so much for your continued support!

Very Busy Friday!

We had the busiest Friday so far this year! We started our eventful day with a wonderful community assembly. It was awesome to see what was happening in other classes in other grades, and it was even more fun to get to show off some of our learning!

After the assembly, we quickly headed over to the walk-a-thon. The walk-a-thon was absolutely amazing! We are all extremely proud of the hard work we put in to raise money for Dorina Nowill! This coming week, we have to make sure to collect the money from the people who pledged on our sheets. The money needs to come in as soon as possible so we can turn in a giant check for the foundation!

Thank you so much to everyone who came out to support us and cheer us on!! It really meant a lot to everyone!!

we ended our day by collecting some data. As scientist, we need to come up with our own questions and collect our own data. So, we each created an interesting questions, formulated a few options, and then collected the data from our classmates. It was a lot of fun creating our own tally charts!

Magnets

The first grade team still needs many volunteers for our upcoming inventors workshop. If you are available for any day and time (and for any class) please volunteer to help our budding scientist invent an amazing new toy! The workshop is taking place from Oct. 9-11 and Oct. 16-18. Please just click the link below to sign up:

Inventor's Workshop

We've been preparing for our big inventors workshop (not to be confused with the magnet fair this week on Thursday the 5th)! Here we are exploring the world of magnetic and non-magnetic objects. We were shocked to discover that some of the same items fit in different categories. It is just what they are made out of...