Field Trip!

On Wednesday June 14 we will be bringing the kindergarten classes on a field trip to the Fluvarium in Pippy Park!

Parents: Permission slips will be sent out with next weeks newsletter! Contact me if you misplace or need an extra form!

This field trip is going to be part of our science curriculum. The students will learn about different animals and their life cycles! We will get to see baby fish, eggs, and ducklings if we're lucky!

Remember to mark the date on your calendars!

The bus will be leaving from the school at 10am. Parent's aren't permitted to ride the bus with their children, however there is a section on the permission slip if you are able to sign up and volunteer for chaperone on our trip!

Join us and have a blast with the kids! Maybe you'll even learn something too :)

Bullying Facts

In lieu of recent bullying reports in the media throughout the country, I am making a post to help inform you of some bullying facts.

1. Over 3.2 million students are victims of bullying each year. 
2. Approximately 160,000 teens skip school every day because of bullying.
3. 17% of American students report being bullied 2 to 3 times a month or more within a school semester. Take a stand in your community by hosting a Bullying Policy Makeover event customizing your school’s anti-bullying policy. 
4. 1 in 4 teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4% of the time.  
5. By age 14 less than 30% of boys and 40% of girls will talk to their peers about bullying. 
6. Over 67% of students believe that schools respond poorly to bullying, with a high percentage of students believing that adult help is infrequent and ineffective.
7. 71% of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.
8. 90% of 4th through 8th graders report being victims of bullying.
9. 1 in 10 students drop out of school because of repeated bullying.
10. As boys age they are less and less likely to feel sympathy for victims of bullying. In fact they are more likely to add to the problem than solve it.
11. Physical bullying increases in elementary school, peaks in middle school and declines in high school. Verbal abuse, on the other hand, remains constant. 

These facts come from DoSomething
Check it out for more information on bullying.

Sink or Float?

There are many different activities that you can do at home with your child. Today's activity I have to share with you is a water activity.

Keep a towel handy!

For this activity, you will need:

• One large container filled 2/3 with water
• A variety of random household items (make sure you take a near equal amounts of floating items and items that sink)
• Tablecloth or paper towels (Prepare to make a mess)

Show your child each object (kids usually love seeing some of their toys included) and ask which items they think will sink, and which will float. Ask why they think some things will sink or float, then let them place the items in the water and find out!

Kids have a blast with this activity!

Butterfly Life Cycle!

Each year for the kindergarten science curriculum, the school orders caterpillar eggs from a company online for monarch butterflies. This is a great experiment you could also do at home with your kids. The kit includes:

• Plastic containers to contain the caterpillar
• A package of eggs
• Caterpillar food

Place one food puck in a container, followed by 2 caterpillar eggs. Put the containers out of reach, and then the waiting game begins. Throughout the next few weeks, you can check the containers with your child each day to see the caterpillars grow larger and larger. Eventually they will form a chrysalis on top of the containers. I advise you take the lids off the containers carefully, as to not disturb the chrysalis, and attach them to the lid of a large container so the butterflies will have room when they emerge. Once the chrysalis is formed, the butterflies will develop and emerge in approximately 10 days. Don't be alarmed if you see red, blood like liquid when the chrysalis breaks, this is normal. The butterflies will need food once they emerge. I use cotton balls soaked in sugar water. Once the majority of your butterflies have emerged (typically 90% survive this far) you can take them outside once their wings look dry, and set them free!

It's a relatively simple experiment that the kids love over and over again every year.