This morning I was preparing the students for the December character trait of 'Generosity'. The students helped me define the trait as "giving to others". This does not have to be a gift that is bought at a store but could be something such as love or friendship. I shared a story of a girl, Shifra Mincer, who began her generosity in the 6th grade. She began by volunteering at a homeless shelter with her teacher and students from her class. Her generosity grew to mending the clothes of the homeless that were torn or ripped. She then began making pillows for babies in the hospital and the elderly. Shifra willingly gave away her gift of sewing to others to make their day. What an inspiration!

Today we enjoyed the book If You Take a Mouse to the Movies by Laura Numeroff. The mouse was taken to a movie theater and asked for some popcorn. This popcorn started a sequence of events for him and the boy which led them back to the movie theater. There are many other books by this author that your children may enjoy. In fact some students may be bringing some of these books home tomorrow after library.
Today, another Scrip gift card order form came home. Many were asking for a repeat of this sale closer to the holidays. The sale will end in time for you to receive the gift cards before Winter Break.

Welcome back after a well-eaten and well-rested break. The students this morning shared their favorite dish that they ate for Thanksgiving. Pumpkin pie was a big winner with the school. Many of the students went to see new movie releases this weekend so we turned our morning into a movie critic time. The students held up 'thumbs-up' or 'thumbs-down' depending on if they liked the movie or not. It seems as if The Muppet movie was a huge hit with those that saw it. I look forward to seeing it with my family.

The Act of Kindness Assignment for this week is to say "Good morning", "Good afternoon", or "Have a nice day" to their bus driver. They were told to make sure to say it with a smile!

I enjoyed hearing the notes of thanks that the students passed out as their Act of Kindness assignment. Most of the notes sent were because a family member helped with homework or sat and read a story with them. I encouraged the students to continue this assignment and show thanks to the person who prepares their feast this Thursday.
I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy the time with family and friends. I will see you on November 28th.

At the end of October, I blogged about classrooms making ornaments out of recycled materials for the Green Team. One of our very own classes won the contest and will receive a birdhouse. There were 417 ornaments turned in from 15 teachers across our county. Some of the school districts besides Poland that participated were Campbell, Canfield, and Struthers. The winning class for this contest is Mrs. Metzger's 1st Grade class. Congratulations to them! Their tree ornaments made from empty toilet paper rolls were a hit! They have graciously said they will be sharing the birdhouse with the school as it makes its way to our courtyard.

Just a reminder, conferences will be held tomorrow with no school on Wednesday.

Our 1st graders celebrated their annual Pilgrim and Indian Day. The celebration involved many fun activities. The students enjoyed making vests, turkey magnets and coloring pages. At the tepee station, the students enjoyed some snacks while sitting on a blanket with friends. The students even decorated their own cookie with icing and sprinkles. It was a festive way to end the week. Thank you to all the parents that volunteered their time or donated items for this special day.

Our morning announcements have included a Magic Tree House book, Thanksgiving on Thursday by Mary Pope Osborne. As the characters, Jack and Annie, travel back to the 1st Thanksgiving, they realize that the Pilgrim children had many chores. Unfortunately, Jack and Annie do not know how to do the chores the Pilgrim way and are ruining the important holiday. We will find out next week if the first Thanksgiving feast will happen even with their help.

I would like to extend a special 'Thank You' to all the parents and grandparents that were able to visit North today. It was so nice to see so many able to attend.