Wow!  It's hard to believe that the second week of school has already come to a close!  We are enjoying getting to know your kids and are looking forward to all the learning that is ahead of us this year!

The past two weeks we have been learning classroom routines, getting to know each other, making new friends and learning about all the great things we will do this year.  Ask your child about the game "Zoom" or what their favorite center is during free choice.  We know that it's hard to get a lot of details out of Kindergartners about their day, but keep encouraging them to share with you-- conversations are an important part of oral language development! 

The first few weeks have been HOT and the days are long which means your children are probably coming home exhausted and maybe even a little grumpy.  Don't worry!  I promise they will adjust to the schedule and build stamina for the long days! 

Here are some reminders and announcements for the next few weeks:

Wednesday, August 31st: Ice Cream Social
Join us outside for our annual ice cream social!  Ice Cream will be served from 5-7pm.  Ms. Murphy will be scooping from 5:00-5:30--stop by to say hi!

Last day to submit recipes for the Birch Cookbook fundraiser!  I've entered my favorite recipes!  Do you have any to share?  If so, go to typensave.com
Click on login and then where it says "contributor" type your name (or your child's)  The login is birchbulldogs and the password is 45jry
Thanks!

Thursday, September 1st: NO School/ Assessment Day (1 hour appointments)
This is an assessment day for students.  If you did not attend back to school night, please contact us to sign up for a one hour assessment appointment.  If you have children in older grades check with your teacher if they are planning on having their students in for assessments too.  I believe that Kindergarten is the only grade at Birch assessing this district-wide assessment day.  Kindergartners are just starting out, so we have a lot of assessments to administer to get them started at Birch!  Most other grades are able to fit all of their assessments into the school day. but we have so much going on and so many new things to learn that we can't quite fit it all in!  Thanks for helping us get your kids started off right!

Friday, September 2nd: NO SCHOOL- Professional Development Day for Teachers
We have a lot of great work to do at Birch to make our instruction and your childrens learning the best it can be!  Professional development days are designed to help further our teacher's expertise and to plan and problem solve to make sure each child is achieving at their full potential.  There's a lot of work that goes into each day we teach and these days help us be better equipped for daily instruction.  Enjoy your day off!

Monday, September 5th: NO SCHOOL- Labor Day

Friday, September 9th: Picture Day!
Individual picture day is on September 9th, please make sure your child returns his or her picture order forms by this date!  There are different backgrounds to choose from, so make sure you fill out the form!


Bulldog Jog Fundraiser
The Bulldog Jog is one of two annual fundraisers for B.E.S.T.   This fundraiser focuses on physical fitness and health eating habits.  Students are challenged to collect donations for this fun and healthy event. All students grades 1-5 walk or run a 1-mile course.  Kindergarten students run a short 50-yard dash. Be sure to send your student in footwear appropriate for the walk/run. Our goal is to raise $17,000 this year.

This year the bulldog jog will take place on September 23rd.  Please check out the Birch B.E.S.T. Website for more information on this event and other Birch happenings!