STAR OF THE WEEK
Thank-you to F. and her Mom for the painting of figures, cupcakes and treats on Friday last week, and her “fishy” guessing jar!
This week’s star is E., whose adventures with Wazo and Zazo brought a sparkle to our cloudy Monday morning! Her special Mystery “guest” showed up today, and we look forward to a visit from her special family guest on Friday afternoon.

Special Guests
In addition to our special family guests, we thoroughly enjoyed our special guitar music sing-a-long with Pastor Peter Lurvey. If your child was singing “Pharoah, Pharoah, oooh, baby, let my people go” to the tune of a song you many have recognized from your past, then that is one special gift from his time with us. We look forward to sharing some of these songs with you at Evening of the Arts at the end of May and K Graduation at the end of June.

We are also very appreciative of Mrs. Carol Seburn visiting our class this week to help us learn about how children who are blind learn the alphabet. In your child’s bookworm bag was a copy of the braille alphabet that the children had an opportunity to see produced on the Brailler in our classroom. She also presented the classroom with a braille copy of each child’s name, and left a 3-D enlarged sample of braille alphabet cards for our writing centre.

Home Reading
Home reading folders have been kept at school this week. Some of the children have been asked “when they can have them back” and I am delighted by their enthusiasm. Enjoyment of reading is one of the biggest predictors of school success for children, so I congratulate you on your home reading commitment and making it a positive, fun experience with your child at home. In your Chime In folder, your child has a sheet on which they are asked to print your current home phone number and the 911 emergency number.

Kindergarten Intramurals
Beginning today, and continuing through the month of May on Wednesdays, all children who wish to participate in Jump Rope Club are welcome to do so in the gym during the lunch hour recess. Children who attend all four meetings of the club are eligible to participate in a jump rope presentation at the Evening of the Arts later this month. This is an excellent start for those students who have chosen to be involved in the Jump Rope for Heart program. If you have any questions about the packages that were sent home with your child on Monday, Mrs. Paul welcomes your call/e-mail (bpaul@bsls.ca).
DATES OF NOTE:
May 3rd The children sang in unison at 12 p.m. CDT in our outdoor sharing of “Sing Sing” on Music Monday.
May 21st No school – P.D. Day
May 26th Evening of the Arts – a presentation of music sung by our class, and played by the violins and band, as well as a presentation from the Jump Rope Club.



STAR OF THE WEEK
Thank-you to G. and her family for some surprises in the Mystery Bag, jellybean guessing jar, and family stories entwined with the adventures of Wazo and Zazo! This week’s star is F., and we look forward to a visit from her special family guest on Friday afternoon. Attached in your child's "Bookworm Bag" for the future Stars are copies of the Star of the Week outline and questionnaire. Just a reminder: we are proceeding in “reverse alphabetical order”.

WELCOME BACK to our friends who were either on vacation or off due to illness.

Earth Day
Thank you, students, for cleaning up the school ground (senior grades cleaned in the surrounding neighbourhood) as one of our activities to mark Earth Day.

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To follow is a copy of a newsletter from the Love and Logic Institute, which I receive on a weekly basis. If you would like to read more, they can be found at www.loveandlogic.com:

Easing Separation Anxiety
Dear Lorianne,

I am often asked, "How do I help my child feel less anxious about going to daycare, preschool or the babysitter?" If you have kids, the odds are pretty high that you've pondered this question and wondered what to do. Listed below are some quick tips:
Remember that kids take their emotional cues from the adults around them.
The calmer and more business-like we act, the easier it'll be for our kids.
Avoid doing too much reassuring.
Strangely, the more we talk with our little ones about how much fun they are going to have, the more anxiety they seem to have. It's as if they reason, "If my parents have to tell me this is going to be okay, maybe it won't."
Make the transition short and sweet.
The quicker you move, the faster your child will calm down once you leave.
Don't look back.
Although it's hard to resist the urge to go back and comfort your child, he or she will calm down far quicker if you keep going and don't look back.

While all children are different, some separation anxiety is normal and healthy. Generally speaking, the tots who feel the most secure when they are with their parents are the ones who feel the most secure when they are away from their parents. A large part of providing this security involves combining big doses of love with good, solid limits. For more tips on parenting secure and confident kids, participate in my LIVE webinar, Love and Logic Solutions for Early Childhood. This exciting and informative two night session will broadcast Monday, May 3 from 7:00pm-8:00pm MDT AND Tuesday, May 4 from 7:00pm-8:00pm MDT.

Thanks for reading!
Dr. Charles Fay

DATES OF NOTE:
Monday, May 3 - Music Monday BSLS students will be heading outdoors to sing a song at 10 a.m. – we will be singing in unison with hundreds of thousands of children in support of music education. For more information visit www.musicmonday.ca.
LIBRARY DAY – due to a low number of students having books on Wednesday, we will have library day on Friday to give the students time to bring their books back from home.