October 6 2008 Weekly Note

October 6, 2008



Dear Parents,
This note is going to be rather lengthy because I want to explain to you to what has been happening with me and what I have to look forward to.
About a week ago, I woke up with some pain in my shoulder. I thought I had just slept in a bad position, but when the pain intensified and my arm went numb, I knew I needed medical attention. On Monday, September 29, I went to see my doctor. It was his strong recommendation that I not return to school for the rest of the week. He also recommended that I get an MRI and see a neurosurgeon. Last week, that was exactly what I did. Thankfully, I was able to get in very quickly. The MRI and neurosurgeon confirmed that I have a herniated disc in my neck which affects my C6 and C7 nerves. This was a condition that came on suddenly and must be dealt with quickly so that I can be free from all of the pain and prevent further damage to the nerve. On Friday, October 10, I will be having surgery at the O’Connor hospital with Dr. Rustamedezh. He is one of the professors at Stanford and even though I have only met with him briefly, I believe that God has brought him into my life to help me. I know many of you are concerned for your child. I, too, share that concern. That is why I will be trying to come into the classroom this week as much as possible to help Miss Beutel with the day to day activities. I cannot guarantee anything because I don’t know when the pain will get to be too much. But, I want to be here with your children and help alleviate the anxieties that the children might have. This is all very confusing to them and their little minds cannot comprehend what is going on. I guess by coming in I just want them to have as much normalcy as possible so that they can be more relaxed. Every morning, I will take the Bible lesson and I will stay as long as I can. In the afternoons, we will see how that works out. Again, I want to be here, but I will need to go home and ice my neck and shoulder. Miss Beutel has been my teacher’s aid for many years and she knows what the routine should be. She is really a wonderful blessing to me and to your child. I know the children love and respect her and that is means a lot to me. She will be taking over the class when I am gone. Another lady, Catherine Albrecht, will also be helping out in the mornings when I am gone. She will do the Bible lessons. She, too, is extremely capable and good with the little ones.
God has certainly blessed me with some wonderful people to help me. I thank you for the prayers that you have offered on my behalf, but please think of these special people too, who are willing to lend a hand.
This week I will not meet with any of you concerning the parent teacher conferences. I just cannot handle it yet. I will try to catch you in the morning if there is anything that I want you to know. We will reschedule our conferences when the first quarter ends. I am sorry about this, but it is the best that I can do.
This week we will read the story All I Am by Eileen Roe. We will also work with the letters W, N, S, and H. I can tell from the blending exercises that we will be reading soon. Wow! What a neat challenge! I cannot wait to see how far they progress throughout the year. In math, we will work with the AB patterns and numbers from three to five. During our circle time, we will talk about leaves and the changes that occur in autumn.
Our Bible lessons will be “Jesus and the People of Nazareth” and “Jesus Heals a Sick Woman.” From these lessons we will learn that some people reject Jesus and some accept him.
I am sure that you have received notices about our Harvest Festival. It really is a fun evening and I hope that you will be able to attend. It is this Friday, October 10, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm. I wish I could see all of the children having fun, but this year it isn’t meant to be. Please come and check it out.
On October 24, at 7:00 pm, your child will be performing on stage prior to the musical that the children in grades one through three will do. It is really important for your child to be here. I know that you will enjoy the evening because it is a light-hearted musical called “Go Fish.” Our kindergarten act is all about cats. Perhaps you have heard your child sing a few bars of our songs. Anyway, let me know if you cannot make it. It will be a fun night.
On October 16, we will still take the scheduled field trip to the pumpkin patch. Mr. Leuhring has tentatively said that he would take the children and be the ‘teacher in charge.’ I am sending home permission slips today. Please have them back to me with the money by Thursday.
I believe that is all for this week. Have a good week and if you have any questions, please email me or call. Thank you for your prayers and understanding.
Mrs. Kronebusch