October- Newsletter

Happy December!

Thank you to parents who attended the Parent Advisory meetings last week!

For those who missed it, or wanted the link to some great early reading resources that are free to use!

https://ufli.education.ufl.edu/foundations/toolbox/

We got some great feedback and ideas, and one of them was to host a holiday-themed "paint along" the week of December 16th here in our new classroom space in Kiel! Look for an email with an exact date and information to RSVP!

Our next Parent Advisory meetings will be in February, 2025.

Online students will notice a change in their platforms today when they log in -- we have included new logos unique to our program and clickable links to our website! This will help when navigating to things like Clever and iReady, as well as news we post on the website and resources there (see picture below). Shout out to our program leader, Mrs. Owen, for the design reboots!

As the weather turns chilly, we enter a season of celebrations from many cultures and traditions. I have been lucky enough in my years in education to encounter all sorts of cultural traditions among my students, from traditional Christian celebrations (Christmas, Tres Reyes, Guadalupe Day, etc.) to Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights; Hanukkah, from the Jewish traditions; Wiladat Bibi Zainab bint Ali and Fatemiyeh from Islamic culture, both observances centered around women; and the winter solstice, (sometimes called Yule) which lands on December 21st this year. For ancient peoples in the northern hemisphere, winter solstice was the day that the light returned -- from that point in the year, the days grow longer. For our friends in Alaska and Iceland, and northernmost Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia and Canada, they've begun six months of near-night, the sun never rising much above the horizon!

For the penguins at the south pole, however, as well as our friends in Australia, New Zealand and the southern African and South American nations, it is the start of summer. The emperor penguins made famous in the movie Happy Feet will have nearly six months of light from now until June!

Please follow us on Facebook for some fun December hijinks from our favorite office Bard, William Shakespeare. Some people have elf on the shelf-- we have Will on the sill!

Warm Regards,

Sarah Scovell Muraski

Principal

Winter Break for KASD is December 21st through January 1st. Have fun and stay safe!

Right after winter break, we will be starting our Act 20 screeners for all Kiel resident and open-enrolled students grades 5K-3. 4K students will take thier first screener in Spring. Your teacher will reach out to you to schedule a time, which will take about 30 minutes. It is best, especially for the youngest students, to have a parent present to assist in the proctoring. (Parents cannot assist the student on the actual test items, however.) Please see the attached letter for more information on specific skills being measured. Click on the title for more information. All screening must be completed by January 20, to allow for the development of a student reading plan if one is needed.

Check out the variety of free learning activities that are Winter Themed on Teachers Pay Teachers. There are many linked here for you!