22-26 de abril

¡Hola Familias!

It has been a crazy, fun, busy week! I am SO proud of these little ones working so hard at swimming lessons--facing fears, jumping off the diving board, paddling away, and enjoying new friendships! I hope you can join us next week any day from 10:10-10:45 to see your child's progress. There is a special invitation for next Friday at 10:10 as they complete their last day of lessons.

We also celebrated el Día de la Tierra (Earth Day) on Monday by making crowns and coloring mini-books about how we can care for la tierra. I encourage you to talk to your child about ways that we can care for the Earth by recycling, reusing or donating items, picking up trash, and more!

While our school days and instructional time was abbreviated this week, we still got a lot of learning accomplished! Here are a few highlights from our week:

*We watched our semillas (seeds) grow in their bags taped to the window! It was fun watching your child's reaction as some seeds sprouted roots and even leaves! Ask your child to tell you about the 4 things that plants need, and about the other experiment we did by planting seeds in soil, sand, rocks, and in a dark cabinet.

*In Bible class, we started talking about Jesus' milagros (miracles). Right away, the kids wanted to raise their hands and share stories they already knew about Jesus' life. Amazing! We learned about la pesca milagrosa, where Jesus' disciples met him for the first time and filled their nets to the breaking! We'll continue talking about more miracles next week!

*We played Bingo in math class this week to practice sumas y restas (addition and subtraction). It's exciting to see your child become more and more fluent in these skills, and even adding and subtracting in their heads at times!

*In writing, we talked about things we like (me gustan) vs. things that we love (me encantan). We also wrote about our favorite moment during swim lessons. This will lead us into our next theme in writing, which is writing about our opinions. 

Immersion Tip of the Week
This week, we'll be celebrating El Día del Niño, or Children's Day, which is April 30th in Mexico and celebrated on different dates throughout Latin America and the Spanish-speaking world. Come join us from 2:35-3:15 on Tuesday, April 30th to have a fun, cultural celebration--complete with costumes AND a piñata!

Reading Tip of the Week
If you haven't read the Rose Park News yet, check it out and read about the Summer Slide program that's going on at school this summer! I strongly encourage you to sign your child up for this FUN summer reading program to help your child stay on level in reading and be ready for first grade! (gulp!)

Upcoming Dates to Remember

*Tuesday, April 30th: Día del Niño celebration (2:35-3:15; parents are welcome!)

*Friday, May 3rd: Last day of swimming lessons. Join us at 10:10am at the Holland Community Aquatic Center if you are able! 

*Saturday, May 4th: LAUP Fiesta! at the Westshore mall. Come visit our HC-SI table, eat some typical food, enjoy traditional music, and see some of the students dance baile folklórico! 

*Wednesday, May 8th and Thursday, May 9th: Half days (11:30 dismissal) for Tulip Time. NO BUS SERVICE on Thursday (normal bus routes on Wednesday).

*Wednesday, May 8th: Spanish Immersion Chapel at 8:30am! Parents are welcome to attend!

*Friday, May 17th: ALL LIBRARY BOOKS DUE! Please start returning your library books. We will be able to borrow books for 2 more weeks. ¡Gracias!

Whew, it's sure a busy time of year! Hope I got all of the information down. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy some photos below!