Cal

The Graduates

Looking Back...

This year went by so quickly.... or did it?

I am so happy that all of the kids did so well throughout this year. I couldn't have done it without Mrs. Branham's help each and every day. She worked in small groups with many of the kids. She gave them some needed help to guide them through the Reading Mastery skills, sight words, math skills, and all kinds of other things.
A million thanks goes out to Mrs. Branham from me, the kids, and parents!!!

I also wanted to thank all of the parents for all of their help. We had an absolute blast all year with the fun parties! It wouldn't have been so much fun without Jane Muller and Michele Countryman at the center of it all. They are wonderful moms who dedicated a LOT of time and energy into being the room moms.

Thank you to Jane and Rob Muller, Carrie Kirk, and Michele Countryman for coming in on Wednesdays and helping the kids take their AR tests. That is a very big task that takes a lot of time. It was so wonderful that they took the challenge of testing all of the kids each week!!

Thank you to all of the parents for their continuous support and kind words of encouragement to me and your children. Together as a team, we helped teach your children so much in and out of the classroom.

Good luck in 1st grade to you and your kids. You will love Miss Bayt! She is a wonderful teacher who loves her job. She will challenge your kids to be the best that they can be. Please continue to show all of the love and support you did throughout all of their school years!

Please email me at any time at EClouse@sjoa.org. I asked the kids to come by and visit me any time. I hope they take me up on that offer!

One Last Field Trip

Even though plans changed at the last minute, we still had so much fun! It's great to have a group of flexible kindergartners. We couldn't have asked for better weather. Those tricky weather forecasters made us a little nervous for rain, but God watched over us and let us enjoy a morning of fun in the sun!

"I thought leprechauns were tiny?!?"

We had a unexpected visitor come into our classroom over St. Patrick's Day week. Every time the visitor came by we weren't in our classroom. The leprechaun left a note for us to explain why he kept messing up our classroom!!
It read:
Roses are red,
Violets are blue.
I will be back,
to come and see you!
Love, The Leprechaun

So, as promised in the note, the leprechaun came back to visit. He came on St. Patrick's Day with gold coin treats. The kids were so excited to FINALLY meet a real leprechaun. Some were a little confused though.
They said:
"I thought leprechauns were tiny?"
"Didn't they come through the window to get into our classroom?"
"He's a really big leprechaun!"

Overall, we had so much fun with the thoughts of the leprechaun in the classroom when we weren't there. He meant no harm! He just wanted to come and play with the kids!

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! Anyone up for some green eggs?

After reading Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, we decided to try some green eggs and see if we liked them! Of course, the kids were very unsure about eating GREEN eggs... but to their surprise, it tasted very good.

"It tastes just like yellow eggs!", one student commented.

We had fun measuring eggs and drops of green food coloring to make the eggs look just right. After taste-testing the green eggs, the kids enjoyed taking a break and coloring a picture of the cat in the hat.
A special thanks to Michael who was our photographer during the cooking of the green eggs!

Catholic School's Week- FUN!

Every school year, we take a week to celebrate the reasons why we love being a Catholic school. We celebrate by having fun dress up days like crazy sock day and mix and match day. The middle school students travel to other Catholic schools to join them in an all school mass.
Our class discussed some of the differences between a Catholic school and public schools. The major reasons the kids thought of included daily prayer, going to mass weekly, and discussions about God, Jesus, and Bible stories.
At the end of Catholic School's Week, we have a fun filled afternoon with a teachers vs. 8th graders volleyball match and an all school carnival! The kids have a blast playing and socializing with the entire school during the carnival. It is so much fun!

The Art of Making Rosaries

The primary grades were treated to a activity to make bracelet rosaries. A couple from St. Joan of Arc parish volunteered their time to help our students make some beautiful rosaries.
The kids used string, beads, crucifixes, and loving care to make their rosaries. It took a lot of patience from all of the grades to string and knot their bracelets.
A special thanks goes out to the volunteer couple who came in to teach the kids how to make a beautiful rosary.

The Math Fair

Every year the Chatard High School senior honors math class come to visit SJA. They create various math lessons and activities that all of the grade levels can enjoy. This year's kindergarten class had fun in the estimation hallway and with the Chatard students.
In the main hallway, there were 10 different estimation stations. Each SJA student had the opportunity to answer each estimation question. The questioned varied from how many marbles are in the jar to how many cups of flour are in this mixing bowl.
We really enjoyed the Math Fair! Thanks Chatard High School and The SJA Math Team!

Did I mention that I'm a dentist too?

Recently a student of mine, Andre, approached me during rest time. With a sad voice and a tear in his eye, he said, "Mrs. Clouse, my tooth hurts really really bad!" I had noticed he had been wiggling the same tooth for about a week. Every time I looked at him, he had his fingers in his mouth wiggling away. I knew his tooth had to be sore because it had been wiggled so much!
I told him to come closer and open up his mouth so I could take a look. I touched his tooth and thought it was going to pop right out! I asked his permission to pull it out and of course he said, "YEAH!!"

By this time, all of the kiddos who were resting were watching what was going on.

I washed my hands off and said one more time, "Are you sure?" He said he was ready.

So, with one pull... it was out! I smiled at him and he said, "Are you going to pull it?"
I laughed and showed him the tooth! He could not believe it. He proudly walked around and showed his classmates his tooth. He told everyone that it didn't even hurt!

We had a special guest visit SJA on January 10th. He is a member of the Harlem Globetrotters. He is known by the name of Moo-Moo. One of the 3rd grade students, Maggie, won a prize which allowed Moo-Moo to come to SJA. He gave a very inspirational speech about healthy living.
The Globetrotters are going to be performing at Conseco Fieldhouse on MLK Day at 2:00pm.
Thanks Maggie and Moo-Moo!!