News for Jan. 5-9, 2009

Happy New Year 2009 and welcome back!

I hope that all of you have had an excellent Winter Break. I am expecting to hear a lot of very exciting stories about what happened,  where families went, and/or who came to visit when the students return to school on Tuesday. Hopefully the kids are all well-rested and ready to dive back in for the 2nd half of first grade. Having lost the first week of the month, a national holiday (no school) coming up on the 22nd, and early dismissal each day during the last week of January due to parent conference week, I have a feeling that this month is going to just fly by. We will have to "hit the ground running"!

Speaking of conferences, you will be receiving a conference letter by the end of this week with your scheduled date and time. If you have a serious conflict with either the date or time, we ask that you notify us as soon as possible. If you have more than one student at Baker, it will impact several schedules and may take some time to resolve. We are trying to give you plenty of notice so that work arrangements can be made. This is our ONLY conference of the year, so hopefully employers will be understanding and cooperative.

I spent several hours over vacation indulging in one of my favorite hobbies, reading for pleasure! During the month of January, we will have 2 reading incentive programs occurring simultaneously. Before the students left for break, each was given a "Six Flags 6 Hour Reading Club" packet. Students who complete the 6 hours of reading and return their signed documentation by the deadline will receive a free ticket to Six Flags good for use during Summer Break. We are also halfway through our Pizza Hut "Book-It" reading program. This will continue each month through March. The same reading minutes can be recorded on each sheet and serve double duty! Don't forget that if your child has completed their December minutes for "Book-It", their December calendar should be returned THIS WEEK to receive their free pizza coupon. I hope that many students took advantage of their new books and extra time to keep brushed up on their reading skills!

Just a quick thank-you to the parents who helped at our holiday party and/or sent in supplies to make it a fun time for all: Mrs. Ward, Mrs. Black, Mrs. Hibbert, Mrs. Kemp, Mr. Prado, Mrs. Hanlin, Mrs. McCuan, Mrs. Minniefield, and Mr. Toor. (Hopefully, I did not forget anyone. My apologies if I did.) The class sure did enjoy themselves!

Looking forward to getting 2009 off to a great start. I will see you all very soon.