Girls leading in the joy of science exploration. Thank you Teacher Gigi and the whole Kindergarten class for giving us this moment today. Priceless.

It’s Fine Arts emphasis week!  Monday, Tessa Evans from the Valley Dance Ensemble – Cache Valley Center for the Arts came to school to lead us in a “dance” of the children’s book, The Dot, by Peter H. Reynolds.  What fun!!!  Ms. Evans used the text of the story to invent creative movements; kinesthetically bringing heightened understanding to the words as the children participated in the process of moving their whole bodies with meaning.  Tessa enticed reluctant participants like a master, and every child tried something new that day!   If your child came home bubbling about their experience, you may want to sign up for Ms. Evans classes at CVCA!  We are so grateful for her time, energy and talent! Thank you Ms. Evans!!!

Check this out!

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Oh my goodness, after Winter Break time has really been flying! I can hardly believe it’s true but it is almost time to re-register for next year! Begin to think about your plans — I’ll be sending an email with information about 2014-2025.

We’ve been collecting pictures throughout the month — Enjoy!

Today was the 100th day of school!  Thanks Teachers for making this such a fun day!

I have been wanting to share this post with you since last fall,  and this week we got a little bit of technology that makes sharing fun and easy!  Thanks Carl and Jeri Malouf for the brand new printer/fax/copier/scanner! 🙂 Each year Teacher Marie has an entire week that focuses on Jan Brett, one of her favorite children’s authors.  Jan Brett is an extremely talented illustrator who uses the concept of “the frame” in many of her book pages. Inspired by this idea, Teacher Marie gives the children a piece of paper that is blank with the exception of the  fine line of a frame.  She asks them  to use their imagination to draw a picture and when they are done, each student dictates the story told in the picture.    I love the open ended nature of this activity, and the results are delightful!

A huge shout out to Morningside families! Thanks to your generosity, our winter food drive collected more than 3 times as much food as we did last year! Hunger is no small issue in Cache Valley.  It felt so great to be able to take the boxes of food to the Cache Valley Food Pantry this week.  We really made a difference!

Over the next two weeks Morningside School will be collecting nonperishable food items for the Cache Valley Food Pantry!  This is a great opportunity to talk with your children about sharing with families in our community who are struggling.  Please bring items for donation Monday, December 9th – Friday, December 20th.

Wednesday, December 18th, we will be caroling at the Cache Valley Senior Citizen’s Center (next door) at 11 AM & 12:40 PM.

Thursday and Friday, Dec 19 & 20 is our Annual Polar Express Party.  Students are invited to wear pajama’s and bring a pillow or blanket! We will have special activities, a special audio presentation of the story and will enjoy hot chocolate and cookies for snack.  If you’d like to come to help, please email Jacqui.

Please pay tuition for December before the 20th so that we are able close out the books for the year.  Thanks so much!

Winter Break is December 23-January 3, our first day back is January 6.  Have a wonderful and safe Winter Break!

Thank you for helping to make our scholastic book drive for the Bear River Head Start program a success!  With the bonus points from your purchases, we were able to donate about 30 books for their  lending library at Head Start!   Each book donated has a bookplate that says:

“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”   – Dr. Seuss

From the Families at Morningside School

Thanks again for your participation — getting books in the hands of EVERY child is a GOOD thing!

Each year we prepare Thanksgiving Feast for the entire school! It is a great tradition! This year we served Turkey, Mashed Potatoes, Stuffing, Peas, Cranberry Sauce, Rolls and Teacher Marie’s famous delectable Mini Pumpkin Pies! Mmmmmm. Yum. There is much to be thankful for, but this year we are especially thankful for the time we get to spend with your beautiful children. <3

This month I have been asked several times what I think makes Morningside special.  “Holy Cow!,” I said to one person, “Do you have all day?” Honestly though, if I had to pick the 2 things at the top of my list, they would be our incredible teachers and our music program!  Morningside is truly a wonderful place to work and play.  I know parents often only get to see small bits of our day and usually in time of transition so I am posting these video clips to share a little bit about what makes Morningside a great place for young children.  Enjoy!

Oh and don’t forget we will be having Halloween parties on Wednesday, October 30th and Thursday, October 31st. Kindergarten students will have their party on Thursday only. Please have your child come to school in costumes without weapon-like toys or masks. Children can bring Halloween treats for their classmates. (20 treats per class is a good estimate – non-candy items are welcome — pencils, stickers etc) We will be sending home treat bags!