Happy New Year! I hope the Christmas break was fun and enjoyable! Thank you all for your incredible kindness and generosity.  Your thoughtfulness truly warmed my heart!
     Our learning this month revolves around some of my favorite themes - snowmen, hot cocoa and arctic animals! We are becoming pros at addition and will soon start our subtraction unit. We are beginning our Community unit in Social Studies, which is one of my favorites. For any parents that are community helpers, we would love if you would come in to kindergarten and tell us about your special jobs. We did this last year and it was wonderful! The children truly loved hearing about the different occupations. We had a psychiatrist, railroad conductor, police officer, chef and many others--we hope to continue again this year! We are also tracking the weather right now as we are in the middle of our Seasons and Weather unit in Science. The children are finishing up their personal narratives, and we will begin a unit on "How-to" writing next. The letters Q and U will be getting married in Kindergarten, as well. Those two letters are always together and this is fun phonics review for them! The children will receive invitations, dress up and attend the marriage--presided by our own Mrs. Bricker and Ms. Bendish! We will even drink apple juice out of champagne glasses! 
    Children in Kindergarten are also taught the difference between wants and needs. This month, we will share a very special story entitled "The Water Princess." This book shows the children that for many in the world, clean running tap water is not a reality--and that in some places, young girls must walk for hours at a time in order to obtain water for their villages. Last year, our kinder classes raised $500 in order to repair a broken well in Burkino Faso, Africa. Our goal is to repair another broken well this year. We will be selling paper water drops school-wide and putting them up on the windows overlooking the playground. Information will be coming home shortly with more details.
    We are always excited for Catholic Schools Week and look forward to lots of fun events. Please check the Weekly Envelope for a run-down of all the "goings-on" school-wide. We encourage you to share the details of our Early Childhood Evening on January 16, 2020 at 6:30 p.m. with family and friends. We are excited and proud to show off our early childhood programs at St. William the Abbot!
    Wishing you all a happy, heathy, joyful New Year! I am looking forward watching your children continue to grow and learn--it is such a privilege--and so much fun!
                                                      Love, Mrs. Hayes