I was so happy to receive a visit from a former student, Annelise and her family. They brought warm cinnamon rolls - how sweet! Annelise had not seen Scottie in a long time, so she held him in the picture.
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Thank you to the PTO for providing pizza and cookies, and to each of the students for bringing something for our Holiday Party. We had our book exchange, ate some snacks, and played Holiday Bingo. Thank you to all the parents, grandparents and other relatives that came to our party. Enjoy your holiday break~!
Thursday (Dec. 15) we were fortunate to be a part of a videoconference on Awesome Opossums, sponsored by the Texas Wildlife Association. We learned a lot about these nocturnal animals. The students are ready to learn and take notes. The handler had 2 Virginia Opossums named Jack and Jill. They squirmed around a lot! Opossum Fun Facts
Opossums have changed very little since the time of the dinosaurs. Jacks, Jills and Joeys Male opossums are called Jacks, females and Jills, and young opossums are called Joeys (like young kangaroos). Playing dead If necessary, opossums can “play dead” to discourage predators from eating them. They “faint,” bear their teeth, drool, and omit a foul odor from their anal glands. They are able to do this for 40 minutes to 4 hours. Opossum characteristics · Opossums weigh on average 10 pounds. About the same size of a house cat. · Opossums range in length from 21 to 35 inches long, from nose to the tip of their tail. · Opossums only live from 2-4 years of age. · Opossums are the only marsupials in North America. They give birth to 8-20 young in each litter. Young are “born”after only a 2 week gestation period and then move to the pouch for 8 weeks. · Opossums travel on their mother’s back for 4 weeks after leaving the pouch, before they are fully independent. . Once oppossums reach maturity, about 4 months old, they typically live on their own, rather than in family groups. . Opossums are nocturnal, however, their eyesight is poor. They have an abundance of whiskers and an excellent sense of smell. · It is very difficult for opossums to carry the rabies virus because their body temperature causes them to be an unsuitable host. I'm setting up this blog in hopes that we can begin using it in 2012. As we approach the holidays, I have a lot of cool books and crafts we plan to do this week. We had an excellent videoconference last week with Santa (courtesy of the Vanderbilt University Virtual School). Today we had an exciting videoconference with Santa, via the Vanderbilt Virtual School in Nashville. We were able to share him with several schools around the country. We wrote letters to Santa and we had several students (Chloe, Briana, Sameet, Mathew and Beryl) lucky enough to have their letters read and questions answered. Santa’s helper made a comment about the excellent drawings from the students at Highlands. During the course of our videoconference, Santa shared these fun facts with us: Reindeer Facts Donder and Blitzen are the oldest – their names mean thunder and lightning because they are FAST Rudolph is the youngest one. He has a son named Barney (he also has a red nose). The red noses are just genetics at work. The most mischievous reindeer is Vixen. Reindeer are chosen by those that show initiative and can dance and hop around. They have to be trained and go through a lot of schooling. Though Santa only uses 9 reindeer, he has 30 that are ready to fly (they need breaks, you know) and 25 more are in school. They use Christmas magic to fly and lift the heavy sleigh. Santa Facts Santa’s parents died when he was very young and he was orphaned. He doesn’t have any children. What he really wants for Christmas is Peace on Earth. He loves cookies and sugar cookies are his favorite. He has a very nice sleigh with 200 lights and a stereo. He doesn’t use headphones because he’s a safe driver and he wants to concentrate. He does have a GPS. How does he reach so many homes in one night? Well, it’s a lot of planning. He uses the time zones and the arc of the earth to make the sleigh go faster. Oh, and he adds a little Christmas magic. One child asked: “what happens if there’s no more Christmas spirit?” to which Santa replied, “If they don’t believe, Santa doesn’t mistreat them and will do his best to deliver to anyone.” In his free time, Santa likes to think about new toys, do a lot of planning for his next trip, and travel to schools and hospitals. He also likes to have snowball fights. He has whittled all his life. He used to go fishing with his dad when he was young and help tend the nets. Also, he uses doors for entry in a lot of homes (especially those without chimneys) and talks to the moms and dads that are waiting up for him but he’s very quiet so he doesn’t wake any children. When asked how much he weighs, he replied,” about 300 pounds.” His favorite foods are broccoli and cauliflower (cookies and candy too). He loves hot chocolate with peppermint canes and marshmallows. His favorite book is The Night Before Christmas. His favorite animal is the reindeer, but he also likes rabbits. Elf Facts There are thousands of elves. The head elf is named Mistle Tricks. Some of the elves ride on the sleigh with him. When asked if he’d ever lost one, he said, “well, one fell out once and landed head first into a snowdrift, but he was okay.” |
AuthorI am a retired First Grade teacher in Texas. I have two children, two daughters-in-law, a grandson and granddaughter. Our beloved pup, Rocco, went to heaven this year. He was 15 years old. I've been married 37 years. I would love to hear from any former students! Archives
January 2021
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