It was a wonderful week back to school!
I hope everyone had a safe and restful holiday break!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Dear Parents,
A few cases of head lice have been reported at UST this week. It can be spread to other students, so please check your child’s head at home.
Head lice is spread without regard to age or state of cleanliness. The most effective method for control of head lice would be for you to check your children's hair, especially behind their ears and at the backs of their heads before sending them to school.
ALSO: Please advise them not to share combs and brushes, hair bands, hats and towels.
Since head lice can be contracted only from direct contact (they don't leap or fly) with individuals or their clothing or hairbrushes, etc., elimination of the problem will occur when affected children are identified promptly and kept at home until treatment is effective. Please inform the Office if your child has lice or nits (tiny clear or white eggs stuck to the strands of hair) so we can check the other students in the class.
Signs/Symptoms:
• itching and scratching of scalp
• small, flat, wingless, grayish-white insects
• small clear-white eggs (nits) cemented to hair shafts, near the ears, back of neck
Actions:
Considering that children across all grades interact with each other during ECA and on the bus, please check ALL children regardless of age and grade.
• If you detect lice, please start treatment as soon as possible. After shampooing, nits must be manually removed. Shampooing alone will not remove them.
• Keep student at home until treated and entirely nit-free
- Keep checking for any nits and lice daily
• Students with lice may not ride the bus. If your child is found to have lice at school we will call you and ask you to pick up your child. After treatment, bring your child to the Office to be checked and cleared. When cleared the student may be in class and ride the bus again.
• Check and treat entire family if necessary
• Wash combs, brushes, bedding, and clothing in strong detergent and hot water and use a very hot dryer to dry these items to ensure that the lice and nits are dead
• Repeat treatment in about one week - this is very important in order to prevent any new lice from reoccurring
• See your doctor to verify diagnosis and suggest treatment if you wish
Anti-lice Products
Sumisurin (or other lice shampoos) is available at Japanese pharmacies or on Amazon. For use, first wet the hair, then use 20ml of shampoo and rub into the hair. Leave on for 5 minutes before rinsing. We commend disregarding the product instructions and instead applying the following dermatologist recommended application of the shampoo: Use the medicated shampoo for 3 days in a row, as described in the instructions, and then take a break for 4 days (this makes 1 week). Repeat this cycle again for another week (bringing the total to 2 weeks).
Please call us if you have any questions. For an upbeat view and more information, try www.headlice.org
Thank you for your help.
Natasha Dytham
UST Principal
Reading
Dramatizing Characters and Deepening our Comprehension
Our last Reading unit focused on reading fiction texts and discussing story elements, specifically characters. This week we reviewed what we had learned before winter break, then started a new unit. This unit will help students deepen their understanding of characters and the stories we read. Our class learned that actors perform to make characters come alive. As readers, students have been practicing how to act and become the characters in our books by using their voice (volume, tone), gestures, and facial expressions to show how character's feel.
Writing
Strengths / Goal Setting
During Term 1 students created 3 goals (academic, behavior, social). They shared their goals at the October PTC. This week students thought about how much they have grown since the beginning of the school year and took time to share and celebrate their strengths. Afterwards each student read their goals. They asked themselves, "Have I reached my goal? If I haven't, what can I do to continue working toward my goal? If I have, what is my new goal?"
Review nouns / Introduce verbs
During Grammar students learned that some verbs show action. They brainstormed different verbs and acted them out. We reviewed nouns and students completed a Noun vs. Verb word sort. We also practice reading sentences and identifying the noun(s) and verb(s).
Math
Numbers to 20
*Counting and comparing numbers to 20
*Place value (tens, ones)
Our new Math chapter focuses on numbers to 20. This week we practiced counting on from 10 (Ex. 10....11, 12, 13, 14). Students were also introduced to place value (tens, ones). We used hands-on place value materials to "build" numbers to 20 (Ex. 14 - 1 ten, 4 ones / The value of the 1 is 10. The value of the 4 is 4. / 10 + 4 = 14).
Science
Air and Weather
Investigation Focus: Exploring Air
This week we started a new unit in Science. Students used a variety of materials (feather, balloon, foam ball, cotton ball, paper, plastic bag, straw) to explore air. We asked, "What can air do?" We learned that air is a gas, air is all around us, air is matter and takes up space, and air moves from place to place.
Our class was also introduced to the process of engineering, then we made our own parachutes using napkins, strings, dot stickers/tape, and a paper clip. This activity helped our class learn more about air. Students flew their parachutes in the classroom and outside at the playground. We answered the question, "How does a parachute interact with air?"
Process of Engineering
We defined the problem.
We came up with a plan for a solution.
We built a solution.
We tested the solution to see if it works.
Science Vocabulary
air
move
matter
blow
parachute
engineer
canopy
system
air resistance
wind
Have a wonderful weekend!
- Ms. Allison