Friday, January 9, 2026

Dear Families,

Happy New Year! I wish you and your families all the best for 2026. I hope you enjoyed your time off with your children and were able to relax, recharge, and make many special memories together.

As we begin this new year, I would like to take a moment to thank you all deeply, from the bottom of my heart, for the amazing and thoughtful Christmas gifts and personal touches. Your kindness and generosity are truly appreciated.

Most importantly, thank you for your continued support of your children and our classroom. Your involvement, encouragement, and partnership make such a positive difference in your child’s learning and growth, and I am so grateful to work alongside all of you.

Our classroom has been buzzing with learning and curiosity this week!

We began the tenth book in our Princess in Black series, and the students were thrilled to jump back into this familiar and much-loved story. We have just one more book left in the series, and there is even more exciting news — a brand-new Princess in black book will be published in July! Our class is already looking forward to reading it with you this summer.

In this story, a new bird character was introduced. Ask your child:

• Which bird appeared in the story? (An emu!)

• What did the emu do to Princess Magnolia? (It smashed the box with party decorations.)

• What was inside the box? (A disco ball!)

• Who came to help Princess Magnolia? (Prince in Pink!)

These discussions help students build comprehension skills and help them to recall the story.

As part of our science and social studies exploration, we continue learning about birds, rocks, clouds, and the moon. This week, we added geography to our learning by studying the map of the United States and beginning our study of state birds. We started with Utah. Ask your child:

• Why did we choose Utah first?

• What is Utah’s state bird?

• Can they explain the story of how this bird became Utah’s state bird?

(Utah’s state bird is the California Gull.) Our class is excited to continue learning about different states and discovering how nature connects to history.

We also read the Wolf Moon poem and added it to our Poem Journals. This poem was challenging, and many of the words were difficult to read. Instead of giving up, the students embraced the challenge, practiced sounding out words, and supported one another. This is a wonderful example of a growth mindset — learning that effort and practice help our brains grow.

In math, students are strengthening their skills through math games and challenges. We are working with bigger numbers, practicing subtraction, and learning that mistakes are part of learning. I have added new math games to keep our classroom thinking, problem-solving, and growing every day.

We continue to enjoy the special books that students bring from home to share with the class. Thank you for encouraging a love of reading and sharing that joy with our classroom community.

Thank you for your continued support. We are off and running as we begin the second half of the year, building on all the progress your children are making.

Have a wonderful weekend, and please keep reading, talking, and playing games with your children — all of these moments support their learning.

Sincerely,

Ms. Demetra