Waterworks Wednesday

June 22nd

Get ready for some wet fun as Waterworks Wednesday returns by popular demand. On Wednesday, June 22nd, come to school dressed in clothing that you do not mind getting wet. May we suggest a t-shirt, bathing trunks and either flipflops or Crocs. Various water activities will be set up out in the Kindergarten Playground area for children in K-1 to enjoy. Be sure to pack a towel and a fresh change of dry clothing to put on following the water fun. Students are encouraged to bring squirt bottles, clean sponges and waterwands. Please...NO water guns or Super Soakers. As always, please label items from home with your child's name to ensure that the toys are returned to their rightful owners. Many thanks.

We Are Going to the Movies!

We are very excited to announce that there will be another Kindergarten excursion before our school year ends. On Monday, June 20, 2016, the Kindergarten classes at Parnall School will be taking a bus to see Walt Disney's Finding Dory at Landmark Cinemas in the Pen Centre, St. Catharines. We will be leaving Parnall School at 10:15AM and return to the school at approximately 1:00PM.
Parents/Grandparents/Guardians are invited to join us. If you wish for a younger sibling to attend, you will need to drive them to the cinemas in your own vehicle. The cost will be $10.00 per person.

Permission forms with payment are due back at the school by tomorrow morning, June 17th. There is no CASH ON-LINE option for this field trip.

Senior Kindergarten Graduation

Make plans to attend our Senior Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony which will be held on June 29th at 9:30 AM on the primary playground, weather permitting. See your SK grad slide down the slide into Grade one and receive his/her diploma. Be sure to come with lawn chairs, hats, sunglasses and a camera to capture all of the wonderful memories for years to come. We hope to see you there!

Father's Day Breakfast

Thank you to all of the dads who were able to come out for our Father's Day Breakfast yesterday. It was such a thrill for your child to have you here with us, enjoying pancakes and coffee. We hope that you have a joyous weekend with your family. May your Father's Day be filled with lots of loving hugs and heartfelt kisses.

Here are a few memories of our morning together.

Me 2 We Ice Cream Sale

The Parnall School Me 2 We Club will be selling ice cream bars each Thursday throughout the month of June as a fund raising event for the Me 2 We Foundation. Students wishing to purchase ice cream are to bring $1.00 each Thursday morning to purchase their treat. Ice Cream will be sold during second Nutrition Break out of Room 8. This is NOT a Cash on Line purchase option.

EVERYTHING ORANGE EVENT

RANKIN RUN 2016

This Thursday, May 19, students are encouraged to wear orange to promote interest in THE RANKIN RUN FOR THE CURE. Each year, Parnall School is well represented by parents and students at THE RANKIN RUN, a community fundraising event for cancer care in the Niagara Region. All of the money that is raised through this wonderful event stays right here in Niagara to fund cancer support and medical equipment for the Walker Cancer Center at the General Hospital. We hope that you will dress in orange this Thursday and plan to join us for the RANKIN RUN on Saturday, May 29th.

DONATIONS ARE NEEDED

In preparation for the FUN FAIR this June, classrooms are being asked to prepare a 'themed basket' which will be auctioned off that evening. Our children in K-1 have chosen the theme:

MOVIE, POPCORN and PIZZA NIGHT BASKET

We are asking that each classroom family donate (if they are able) an item to be included in our basket. Suggested items might be:

DVD's appropriate for viewing by the entire family

Popcorn (old-fashioned and microwave)

A hot air popcorn popper

A variety of popcorn seasonings

Gift certificates for a local pizzeria

Popcorn bucket and containers

A cozy blanket

Nice paper napkins

Lemonade mix

Juice boxes

Soda pop

Plastic cups and straws

Candy

Items are being collected in a large basket in our classroom.

Thank you for helping us to build a creative and enticing basket. One basket will be chosen through a Silent Auction on the evening of the FUN FAIR as being the most popular. The classroom of students who put that particular basket together will receive a 'cool' prize on the last day of school. We'd love your help in possibly winning that prize. 

Thanks again!

Some Recent Highlights

L.V. built herself a car out of big blocks. "Look, Mom! Look, Dad! I'm driving."

C.J. read the book, Biscuit to the class.

From Caterpillar to Butterfly

We have recently acquired eight Painted Lady Butterfly larvae. The Painted Lady butterfly is the most widely distributed butterfly in the world. It is native to North America, Africa, Europe and Asia. In North America, the Painted Lady can be found as far north as the Arctic Circle. During the winter months, Painted Ladies become concentrated in the southwestern region of North America; in the early spring, they begin to recolonize the northern and eastern regions. 

Our larvae are growing at a very rapid rate. As they will soon be forming a chrysalis, we have moved all of them into a large netted container to provide them with room and tree branches on which to hang. Keep checking back as there will be many dramatic changes over the next several weeks.

Check Out Our New Pets

During the spring season, there is never a lack for ANTS...almost EVERYWHERE! We chose to capitalize on this inevitability by baiting for some of these hardworking insects with a chocolate chip cookie. After breaking up the cookie and leaving it out one evening after we went home, we arrived the next morning to find HUNDREDS of ants devouring the cookie crumbs on the floor. We quickly swept most of them up and placed them in our Ant Farm along with lots of sand, water and some food. These interesting specimens are enhancing our current scientific inquiry on insects. Take a peek.

We have noticed over the past few days that the ants are creating an intricate highway of tunnels throughout the bottom of our Ant Farm. Fascinating!

We've Been Writing in K-1

Using the text THE BEST PART OF ME, Mrs. Visser invited our students to respond to the question, What is the best part of you? Here are some of the Senior Kindergarten children's responses.

We Love You, Mom!

Thanks to all of the Moms and relatives who were able to join us yesterday afternoon for our Mother's Day Tea.
It was wonderful hosting you. Here are a few picture memories. Enjoy!

Have a wonderful Mother's Day, Moms!

May Calendar

The May Calendar is available for viewing and downloading.  Have a great weekend!

CRAZY HAIR DAY

Some pretty crazy hairdos walked through the door this morning. Check it out...

Me To We

The Parnall Me to We Club at is collecting donations for the Hamilton, Ontario Ronald McDonald House. The Ronald McDonald House Organization makes comfortable living accommodations available without cost to families of children who are being hospitalized for a variety of health concerns. Students are being asked to bring in spare change to donate to this worthwhile organization. Throughout next week (May 2-6), representatives from the Parnall Me to We Club will be visiting each classroom every morning to collect money which will then be sent to the Ronald McDonald House Organization. If you are able to make a donation of any amount, we would be very grateful. Thank you.

Tomorrow is CRAZY HAIR DAY

Come to school tomorrow (Friday, April 29th) sporting your craziest hairdo. All students participating in this Parnall School Spirit Day will earn points for their Colour House Team.

Pattern Block Insects

Our latest scientific inquiry on INSECTS led us to extend a challenge to the students in K-1 on Tuesday. Children were first asked to pair up with a partner of their choice and explore the blocks in front of them. They were then asked to create a 'pattern block insect' using hexagons, trapezoids, squares, rhombuses, parallelograms and triangles. For students needing a bit of inspiration, a big book titled Fascinating Insects was set out at the carpet. If children wished, they could flip through the book and look at all of the exotic insect shapes and colours. Here is what our amazing entomologists came up with...