Dear Parents,

Welcome to the year 2004! After a round of fighting the flu in December, all of the students of Rose Blossom School were well and back to school as we started the new year. Let's hope and pray that their good health continues!

Parent help continues to be phenomenal this year. We have a new sand table, made by Hannah Davis's grandpa Ken, and put together at school by Ken and Chris, Hannah's dad. Thank you for this beautiful addition to the play yard. Classroom participation from parents, interacting with the children, making games and Xeroxing booklets, and helping to keep the school tidy and clean is greatly appreciated by all of us at Rose Blossom School.

The remodeling project is coming to a close. We are now sporting a new bathroom door, and next is a new play center for the yard, which will arrive soon.

Invitation

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship invites us all to join them as they dedicate their newly remodeled sanctuary on Jan. 25, at 2:00 pm. A reception will follow.

Also for parents, Heart Language classes will be starting on Monday nights in February. They will be free of charge, donation only, to take place at the school from 6:00pm – 8:00 pm. I will be teaching the classes, based on Dr. Marshall Rosenberg's work with Nonviolent Communication.

— Sharon Rose, Director

Happy Birthday!

Drew 1/4/99

Kimberly 1/9/00

Isabelle 1/11/99

Hanna 1/16/99

Rachel 1/31/99

At Rose Blossom School, we celebrate the children's birthdays with an earthly walk around the sun, for as many times as their birthday age. They also make a crown, which they wear for the celebration, and sometimes all day! Happy birthday to our January birthday children.

For Parents: You may have already noticed a new binder on the sign-in counter. It is full of articles of interest about education and other topics for parents. Feel free to read and copy any of the information. There is some good stuff in there!

New Teachers

Welcome to our new teachers, Mary Brody, who has taken over the art room, and Regan Geissmann, an education student, who will be helping us on Fridays.

January Themes

Calendar, Seasons, Winter, Dinosaurs

We are studying the months of the year, days of the week, seasons, and especially the winter season.

Making use of their interest in dinosaurs, the children are playing a phonics and counting dinosaur board game, and also working with pre-writing activities with a dinosaur booklet.

For cooking this month, we plan to 'make' a soup using the story Stone Soup, and then eat a soup that is already made, using the same recipe. There is also talk of a parent bringing in snowman cookies for the children to decorate. Sounds like fun!

Invitation

End of month performances are on Wed., Jan 28th, and Thurs. Jan. 29th, at 10:00 am. Parents, friends, and all family members are invited.

New Student

Welcome to Kimberly Fenwick, who started school this month. Her older brother, Brandon, is a recent graduate of Rose Blossom School.

There are new class lists available on the sign-in counter. Feel free to take one!

Tumbling Tutor

Tumbling Tutor, Mr. Strawberry (Barry Brooks) comes on Monday afternoons to Rose Blossom School for gymnastics and tumbling. This is a fun way to learn from a professional performer! The children participate in a tumbling performance at the end of the school year.

...and, there may be a special tumbling camp this summer!

Seasonal Music

Juliet Goldstein, of Greenwood Arts, comes to us to celebrate the seasons, with a special music and movement program four times a year. The next class will be coming up soon!

Greenwood Arts Winter session will be at Rose Blossom the third week of January, on Wed., Jan. 21st, and Tues. Jan. 22nd, at 11:00 am. The cost if $5 per class, prepaid. See sign up list and pre-pay envelope at the sign-in counter.

Wish List: A used VCR, for use at school, to view the videos of children's performances, and short videos that coincide with our curriculum, such as dinosaur and snow stories.