What is Christmas?

What does Christmas mean to us? This is what we had to say......



Aloha K-1 Families,

May songs of joy fill your home with warmth and your heart with happiness this holiday season.

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau`oli Makahiki Hou,
Mrs. Lee

Holiday Joy

Just wanted to share some of our exciting holiday activities of the week.......

Holiday Joy - Kizoa Video Maker

Aloha Parents,

The special 'K' t-shirts were distributed today.  Before wearing it, place a thin cloth over the design and iron for about 30-40 seconds to set the design.  Turn the t-shirt inside out and repeat the ironing. Make sure your iron is set on the wool/cotton setting, and that you don't use the steam setting (no water).

Our Winter Program will be full of holiday spirit with singing and dancing.  Parking is limited at the Social Hall, so you might consider arriving early. All Kindergarten students should wear the teal colored t-shirts with dark shorts/pants/skirts to school.

The next red letter date is Thursday, January 22nd! That is the 100th day of school and an important milestone as it marks how much progress the keiki have made in the school year. They will be 100 days smarter and more responsible!

We'll be celebrating the special occasion by having everyone from the Kindergarten level wear a t-shirt decorated with 100 of their favorite items that are sewn, tied, or hot glued on.  You can be as creative as you like, but consider lightweight, small, and non-perishable items. Examples of objects could include sequins, buttons, pom-poms, etc. You could group them in 2's, 5's, or 10's which will help boost their counting skills, randomly, or in any way your child would like.

Our fabulous 100th Day Parade, with all the students wearing their awesome t-shirt creations, will walk through many classrooms on January 22nd for everyone to see!

Dates to remember:

• Tuesday, December 16th - Library books due
• Tuesday, December 16th - December Book Share, myON, and IXL (Category G) assignments due
• Wednesday, December 17th - Holiday Invitation RSVP due
• Wednesday, December 17th - Goodie Bags (optional) due
• Thursday, December 18th - Goodie bags and classwork taken home
• Friday, December 19th - Winter Program beginning at 8:30 in the Social Hall. After the Kindergarteners' performance, everyone will return to class for photos. The Holiday Picture Frame craftivity, followed by our luncheon, will begin at 10:00. 

As the Holiday Season approaches, may your home be filled with peace, love, and the laughter of your keiki.

A hui hou,

Mrs. Lee

Holiday Invitation

Sending a special invitation to the K-1 families...........

Personalize a free invitation The Kindergarten keiki will be given a special K t-shirt on Friday, December 12th.  The K t-shirt should be worn, along with  dark shorts/skirts/pants and school shoes for the Winter Program. Bright sparkly yellow headbands have been made for this event too. The Winter Program for the younger grades begins at 8:30 in the Social Hall. The Program for Grades 1-8 begins at 9:30.  Consider arriving early as parking is very limited .  If you plan to attend the Holiday Luncheon, you are welcome to drop off any items to the classroom between 6:30 - 8:15 AM. If you wish to share Holiday Goodie Bags, please bring them in by Wednesday, December 17th. Goodie Bags as well as classwork (craftivities) will  be distributed on Thursday, December 18th. Stay tuned, Mrs. Lee

The Spirit of the Season

Christmas means many things for different people. Here's what it means for us!

A free picture slideshow by Smilebox

'Tis the Season,

The special 'K' t-shirts will be distributed tomorrow. Before wearing it, place a thin cloth over the design and iron for about 30-40 seconds to set the design. Turn the shirt inside out and repeat the ironing. Make sure your iron is set on the wool/cotton setting, and that you don't use the steam setting (no water).

Our Winter Program will be full of holiday cheer with singing and dancing. Consider arriving early, well before 9am, due to the limited parking at the Social Hall.  All Kindergarten students should wear the bright yellow t-shirts with dark shorts/pants/skirts to school.

A few dates to remember:

• Friday, December 13th - myON Reading assignment due.
• Wednesday, December 18th - If you wish to share Holiday Goodie bags, kindly bring them in by this date.
• Thursday, December 19th - Holiday Goodie bags and classwork to be distributed. 
• Friday, December 20th - Winter Program in the Social Hall beginning at 9:00. After the Kindergarteners' performance, everyone will return to class for photos. Please advise if you plan to sign your child out early, otherwise, dismissal is at 11:30am.

As the Holiday Season is approaching, may your homes be filled with lots of love, laughter, and yummy smells!

Looking forward to an exciting 2014! Keep them reading as they are making good progress in developing their reading skills.  Practicing their skip counting by 2s, 5s, and 10s are also encouraged!

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau`oli Makahiki Hou!
Mrs. Lee

The Polar Express

We hear the silver bell at Christmas time because we believe in Santa, the elves, and the North Pole?  Do you hear it too?


The Polar Express - slideshow

Holiday Greetings,

Children love Christmas, that's for sure! There are so many fun holiday activities to do with the students in class. So far, everyone enjoyed listening or watching videos of Christmas stories, made a gingerbread glyph,painted a Polar Express scene, and tore paper to create Santa.  Math games included skip counting with snowmen or reindeer and practiced even/odd numbers with mittens.
Since keiki and Christmas go together like bread and butter, they can be sure there are many more fun things to do at this time of the year!

Skip counting is an important skill the keiki need to learn.  This will help them to count a large number of items quickly and to count money. Please encourage them to practice skip counting on a regular basis. Most of them are comfortable skip counting by 5s and 10s, but need to work on the 2s. 

Please have your child bring in a 7"x10" piece of Christmas gift wrap (foil or paper) by Thursday, December 12th for an activity. Mahalo.

Please remember:

• Wednesday, December 11 - Library books due
• Thursday, December 12 - Piece of Christmas wrap due
• Friday, December 13th - Ornament for 3rd Grade Buddy due
• Friday, December 13th - December myON Reading assignment and Book Share due
• Wednesday, December 18th - If you wish to share Holiday Goodie Bags, please bring them in by this date. Distribution will be on Thursday, December 19th.
• Friday, December 20th - Winter Program, 9:00 in the Social Hall.  Please advise if you plan to sign your child out before the 11:30 dismissal.  There will be no Afterschool Care.

Have a nice weekend,
Mrs. Lee

Santa and His Helpers

Santa and His Helpers is a story we made together.  It is so funny.  We enjoyed working on it and hope you like it too.
(Due to technical difficulties, click on the link to read it.  After Storybird moderates the story, all parties will be able to read it here.)
http://storybird.com/books/santa-and-his-helpers/

 A note from Mrs. Lee:

Can you believe that our 100th day of school will be on  Friday, January 25th? I am sure you and your child have been brainstorming what 100 items they would like to collect for their free-standing project board. After making a decision, s/he should count, arrange and display the items in an interesting way. Your child should write the title and the numbers from 1-100 near each item. Displays can be brought in anytime before Thursday, January 24th.
The Kindergarten grade level will also celebrate this monumental day with a snack party. More information will be given in January.

The thing I like best about this holiday season is that it gives me an opportunity to tell all of you how much you mean to me. Mahalo nui loa for being such special and supportive parents who have managed to make our year wonderful. I hope your home is bright with love and joy at this time of the year!  Thank you for the great memories in 2012!
Wishing you and your family good health, love, and happiness in 2013!

Tidbits to remember:

• Thursday, January 3rd - Return to school.
• Thursday January 3rd - Myohoji Temple Field Trip Consent Forms due. Chaperones are appreciated!
• Monday, January 7th - Library books due.

A hui hou,
Mrs. Lee

Mele Kalikimaka me ka Hau`oli Makahiki Hou

Aloha Parents,

Mahalo for your help and cooperation which helps to ensure that your child has success in school.

This is my wish for you: peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies, health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, joy to fill your holidays!
-- D.M. Dellinger

A hui hou,
Mrs. Lee

How Santa Lost His Job

Santa has the best job in the whole world!  Sometimes things get too busy and he is a little late. Muckle, one of Santa's elves, decides to invent the 'Deliverator', who will deliver all the presents on time. That left Santa without a job! You'll need to read the story to discover the surprise ending.
We cut and pasted paper to create elves and wrote about their job with Santa.

How Santa Lost His Job on PhotoPeach

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

We listened to a  wonderful story called How the Grinch Stole Christmas  by Dr. Seuss. The Grinch  is a creature with a heart two sizes too small.  He lives on  a high mountain just north of Whoville, which is the home of merry and kind Whos. The Grinch hears all the noisy Christmas festivities from Whoville.  Very annoyed, he enters a home through the chimney and removes their Christmas presents, roast 'beast', and decorations, preventing Christmas from coming.  However, he learns that although he 'stole' the Christmas presents and decorations from the Whos, Christmas  comes just the same. He realizes Christmas is more than just gifts.  Because of this, his heart grows three times larger.  He returns all the presents and trimmings.  The community of Whos welcomes him wholeheartedly.
After listening to this story we wrote how we could make the Grinch smile.  How would you the Grinch smile?

How the Grinch Stole Christmas - slideshow with music

What is Christmas?

What is Christmas?  It means so many things to us.  Besides receiving gifts, decorating the tree,  and dreaming of Santa, we  know that our family and friends enjoy receiving love from us.  Christmas is also a time to share and be nice to everyone.