Project week and night was a wonderful success. We learned about keeping our bodies healthy by exercising, sleeping well and avoiding electronics before bedtime, eating foods that are good for us and limiting sweets, brushing our teeth, and using lotion and sunscreen on our skin. All of our scholars were so interested in learning about keeping healthy and enjoyed sharing ideas and thoughts in our class discussions.
Our unit culminated with Project Night! It was very exciting to see all of the fantastic, creative, and unique projects displayed for all ATE parents to enjoy. Thank you parents for assisting your child to create and display wonderful projects and being there to support your child as they presented their projects to our community.
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Project week and night was a wonderful success. We learned about keeping our bodies healthy by exercising, sleeping well and avoiding electronics before bedtime, eating foods that are good for us and limiting sweets, brushing our teeth, and using lotion and sunscreen on our skin. All of our scholars were so interested in learning about keeping healthy and enjoyed sharing ideas and
Our unit culminated with Project Night! It was very exciting to see all of the fantastic, creative, and unique projects displaying for all ATE parents to enjoy. Thank you parents for assisting your child to create and display wonderful projects and being there to support your child as they presented their projects to our community. Learning our phonograms and achieving mastery is essential for reading and writing! All words are made up of sounds and by blending those sounds together we are able to read words. At this time in Kindergarten we are learning one new phonogram per day (Monday thru Thursday) and are tested on those phonograms on Friday. Each day we review all the phonograms learned to date along with one new phonogram. Also, it is expected that each child practice phonograms orally for 5 minutes as part of daily homework. I am concerned that many students are not practicing his/her phonograms daily. Students have expressed to me that not only do some not practice, but they don't even have any Spalding phonogram cards. The cards will be practiced on a daily basis through the first semester of 3rd grade, at least. It is a fantastic investment for your child to not only purchase the phonogram cards but to diligently practice the phonograms daily. Next week we will be learning or, ck, wh, and ed. These four phonograms should be pulled from your deck of Spalding phonogram cards along with the phonograms learned to date. We have learned a-z, sh, ee, th, ow, ou, oo, ch, ar, ay, ai, oy, oi, er (her), ir (first), ur (nurse), ear (early), wor (works), ng, ea, aw, and au. The phonograms we are learning for the week are on the Kindergarten News and I will begin to send home an email on Monday of our weekly phonograms. Your child's Bi-Weekly 12 will be sent home Monday with your child's mastery level of the taught phonograms. If your child does not have mastery of the phonograms taught by the end of the quarter your child will be unable to earn a 3 - meets grade level standard- for phonograms. Please continue to practice and master our Spalding phonograms!
Literary and Historical Figure day will be Friday, November 17. Your child is invited to dress up as any Historical Figure or as a character from a story we have read in class. The following is a list of our Literature stories: Casey Jones, Johnny Appleseed, The Dog and His Shadow, The Grasshopper and the Ants, The Tortoise and the Hare, The Lion and the Mouse, The Fox and the Grapes, Little Red Hen, Momotaro: Peach Boy, The Bremen Town Musicians, and Little Red Riding Hood. I am looking forward to seeing all of our scholars dressed up and representing a Literary or Historical Figure. Reminders:
Our Specials Schedule: Monday: Art Tuesday: Music Wednesday: Art Thursday: PE Friday: Art It has been a great week listening to our scholars decoding words, reading sentences, and comprehending a story. I have seen so much perseverance this week with our first reader, Mac and Tab. This week we took time to get familiar with guided reading groups including, reading in small groups, reading to an adult, and staying on task. We also worked on building our stamina to sit and read up to 15 minutes independently. I also modeled daily how to decode a word using our fingers, using picture clues to decode an unknown word, and blending quickly to read the word. Most scholars did not receive a new book this week however, next week we will be having parent volunteers coming into our classroom to listen to your child read. With repeated reading to an adult your child should begin to level up to the next book. Keep up all the hard work and perseverance and don't forget to have your child bring his/her book daily!!
Every Friday we will have a phonogram and spelling test. At this time, your child will be tested on the new phonograms taught throughout the week. For example, today's test included ay, ai, oy, oi. When practicing these phonograms you should present them this way: student "ay"; student "ai" parent "cue" student "not used"; student "oy", student "oi" parent "cue" student "not used". The reason is English words don't end in "i". On the back on the ai and oi phonogram cards you can write not used as a reminder for when practicing. Please feel free to ask for clarification or if you have any questions at any time. Also, our spelling words will be the words practiced in class and for homework Monday-Wednesday. On Thursday your child should write the words without markings. This week we began to recognize 1-2 Super Scholars each day. Super Scholars are chosen based on following our class rules, demonstrating our core virtues, and always striving to do his/her personal best. At the end of each day Mrs. Trujillo and I discuss who demonstrated being a Super Scholar throughout the day and the following morning the names of students chosen will be listed on the board. As a Super Scholar your child may sit in a chair next to me during our read alouds, color with markers instead of crayons, be my personal helper, and at the end of the day is able to choose a homework pencil out of the bucket. I will sharpen the pencil, if requested, and the pencil is only to be used at home. Once a child has been chosen as a Super Scholar 3 times he/she will be presented with a Super Scholar certificate. Everyone is very excited to enter our classroom to find out who our Super Scholars are and are absolutely thrilled when his/her name is on the board!
Homework is progressing wonderfully! Students are working diligently to complete nightly homework and I am seeing a lot of improvement in our daily Spalding oral and written phonogram review. Next week we will begin learning our 2 letter phonograms. Please continue to review daily phonograms 1-26 (a-z) along with our new phonograms. The math activity book will be sent home on Monday. Once all math homework has been completed we will not be sending home the math activity book for the remainder of the week. For example, if Lesson 3.2 and 3.3 are assigned for the week and your child completes Lesson 3.2 on Monday, the book will be sent home again on Tuesday. If your child completes Lesson 3.3 on Tuesday, the math activity book will not be sent home on Wednesday. It will allow for Mrs. Trujillo to more effectively check in homework. If you ever have any questions or concerns about homework please do not hesitate to ask me in person or email me. Questions about Spalding grip, number formation, phonograms, etc. are always welcome. Unfortunately we have had a lot of sickness in our classroom these past few weeks. Kleenex and hand sanitizer is always available and encouraged! We always use hand sanitizer before snack and after coughing or blowing our noses. As a reminder if your child is absent for any reason you must call the attendance line at 623-218-6607 to leave a recorded message of your child's name, teacher's name, and reason for absence. Also, if your child visits the doctor and is diagnosed with a contagious infection please call our nurse, Beverly Perialas, to inform her. Mrs. Perialas is required to send home a notice to all parents of any contagious infections in the classroom for example, strep throat or pink eye. If you have a doctor's note for any reason you can either drop it off to Mrs. Perialas or have your child bring it to me and I will pass it along to Mrs. Perialas. Our goal, as always, is the safety and health of all our scholars! Reminders:
Our Specials Schedule: Monday: PE Tuesday: Art Wednesday: PE Thursday: Music Friday: Enrichment (Poetry) Each day during calendar we count by tens and ones the number of days we have been in school. Our calendar helper asks the class, "How many days have we been in school?" The entire class responds using a complete sentence, "We have been in school (as of today) for 29 days." Then, we clap as we count the number of days we have been in school. Scholars are expected to be able to count from 1-100 by the end of Kindergarten. Our scholars will be able to count to 180!
During our Singapore Math time we are learning our numbers 1-10! Not only are we counting to 10 but we are representing the numbers with our fingers, using five and ten frames with counters and dice, counting using body movements, and writing our numbers with Spalding formation. Give your child a number 1-10 and ask them to show you the number using their fingers. Then, ask your child to show you a different way to show that number. This activity builds a child's number sense. Meaning, if a child holds up 5 fingers on one hand to show the number five followed by a different way, one hand with 2 fingers and one hand with 3 fingers, a child is able to understand that the number 5 is 5 regardless of which 5 fingers are used to represent the number. Number sense is defined as: Number sense essentially refers to a student's “fluidity and flexibility with numbers,” (Gersten & Chard, 2001). He/She has a sense of what numbers mean, understands their relationship to one another, is able to perform mental math, understands symbolic representations, and can use those numbers in real world situations. Math Solutions It is essential for a child to develop number sense in their early years. To help build your child's number sense play board games which involve numbers and counting or read number books and have your child show you the number with either his/her fingers or manipulatives. Manipulatives can be blocks, pasta, beans, beads, anything that can be easily counted and manipulated. Also, ask your child to find numbers at the store or have your child place "4" apples into a bag. Engage your child in learning numbers and helping them to develop number sense. Math is engaging, exploratory, creative and most of all, fun!! Reminders:
Our Specials Schedule: Monday: Music Tuesday: PE Wednesday: Music Thursday: Art Friday: Music I am very happy to announce our Classroom Coordinator for KC! Esther Parsons, Zoey's mom, has volunteered to help coordinate activities for our wonderful group of scholars and families. Mrs. Parsons will be able to explain the activities which will take place outside our classroom for families to get to know one another in a social setting. For our classroom, Mrs. Parsons will be sending out emails to families asking for donations for our Quarter celebrations, volunteers for reading groups, and, if needed, volunteers to help with assembling books and other classroom help. I'm sure you will be hearing from Mrs. Parsons soon!!
Bi-Weekly Week 5 will be sent home in your child's folder next week. I apologize, Mrs. Trujillo and I were unable to complete all the assessments this week due to a shortened week and picture day. One section of the bi-weekly is rhyming words. Scholars are asked which words rhyme: cat/dog or cat/hat? Rhyming words can be challenging for some scholars because it is an auditory activity used to build a child's phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the understanding that spoken words consist of sequences of sounds. Many scholars will listen to two words and hear the first sound as in hop/pop or hop/hat and think the two words rhyme because of the same first sound. By reading rhyming poems and books you can draw your child's attention to the ending sounds and develop phonemic awareness. When reading a rhyming poem or book ask your child, "which words rhyme?". If your child answers incorrectly give him/her the correct rhyming words and point out the ending. For example, hop/pop rhyme because they both end in "op". Soon your child will be hearing and saying rhyming words all on their own! Reminders:
Our Specials Schedule: Monday: Art Tuesday: Music Wednesday: Enrichment (poetry) Thursday: PE Friday: Art Homework begins for our amazing Kindergarten scholars next week. On Tuesday your child will bring home the Kindergarten newsletter. The left column will be used to outline the week's homework and a place to initial Monday - Thursday that homework has been completed. Each day your child will bring home his/her homework to be completed and returned the following day. Mrs. Trujillo will be checking in homework daily and returning it on the "Take Home" side. Homework directions are located in the bottom box and Spalding letter formation will be on one side of the Spalding Homework sheet and the phonograms to practice will be on the other side. It is very important that your child is completing his/her homework daily. Homework offers practice to say and write our phonograms with fluency and accuracy while working towards mastery. Your role as a parent during homework is to practice phonogram cards, guide them with formation of letters, and praise them for perseverance and wisdom as they embark on this new journey!
Next week we will begin reciting our poem, Whole Duty of Children. Each scholar will stand at the front of the room with a buddy and recite our poem which will be graded on a 4,3,2,1 rubric. 4-I recited the poem with feeling and I got all the words right! 3-I missed one or two words, but I still said it with feeling! 2-I asked my teacher for help, but I remembered some on my own! 1-I said it with my teacher, and I can't wait to practice more at home! We began morning copy work on Thursday. As students begin entering our classroom at 7:25 they are sitting at their seats, writing their name twice, and writing 1-3 phonograms. Once Mrs. Trujillo or I have checked their work for accurate formation of written phonograms each scholar may color a picture of his/her choice. For the next two weeks we will be using a separate sheet of Spalding paper for our daily phonograms practice. Our daily phonogram practice is saying and writing our newly introduced phonograms and reviewing 1-2 phonograms during our Spalding block. Lastly, our class and individual pictures will be next Friday, September 8th. All scholars must wear school uniforms for pictures. This is one of my favorite days because I love to see all the scholars picture hairstyles and smiling faces. It's a very exciting day having your school picture taken for the very first time! Enjoy your Labor Day weekend and see you Tuesday!! Reminders:
Our Specials Schedule: Tuesday: Art Wednesday: Art Thursday: Music Friday: PE Thank you to all of our KC families who attended Curriculum Night this past Tuesday. If you were unable to attend, we placed a handout of items discussed in your child's folder. Some highlights included we will be having our annual Spalding Informational Night on September 21st. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about our Core phonics program and how you can help your child at home with practicing phonograms, completing homework, and beginning to read. Your child will begin taking home a leveled reader daily beginning after Fall Break to read for homework and to practice decoding and comprehension skills. Also, our Singapore Math Informational night will be October 26th. This is another enriching opportunity to learn and experience the Singapore approach which enables students to encounter math in a meaningful way through concrete activities before progressing to the pictorial and abstract representation. Lastly, homework will begin the day after Labor Day. For the week of August 28th please work with your child on reciting our poem Whole Duty of Children. Each child will be reciting our poem, with a buddy or independently, during the first week of September.
Next week a copy of your child's first bi-weekly assessment will be sent home. Our first assessment included 8 phonograms, listening to 4 orally spoken words and recognizing the first sound, and sorting and matching for math. These assessments are given one on one with either myself or Mrs. Trujillo. We will try to write as many notes as possible to give you an understanding of what your child's responses included and suggestions for practicing at home. If you have any questions regarding our bi-weekly assessments please don't hesitate to ask. Lastly, we have begun //to send home "Dress Code Reminders". There are written on pink note cards and are reminders of items needing correcting. Please help your child with being able to independently unfasten and fasten belts. Some students wear velcro and magnetic belts which help because of ease of use. Only the top button of shirts may be left unbuttoned and all shirts must be tucked in. Girls must wear bike shorts under skirts/jumpers since we often sit on the floor criss cross. Bike shorts are also necessary for PE and recess time. Again, any questions regarding dress code please feel free to ask. Reminders:
Our Specials Schedule: Monday: PE Tuesday: Art Wednesday: PE Thursday: Music Friday: PE It has been an amazing second week in Kindergarten! We have quickly and proficiently settled into our daily routines. Scholars have done a wonderful job of unpacking their backpacks independently and preparing for our morning Pledge of Allegiance followed by reciting our class rules and Core Virtues. We have been working diligently on learning our Spalding Phonograms and holding our pencil in Spalding grip. We practiced forming our phonograms on our desks with a dry erase marker. You should have seen the looks on their faces when I gave them permission to write on their desks with marker! I had to reassure all several times that it was for learning and it was acceptable to write our phonograms big and small using a marker that would erase! We learned the meaning behind our core virtues of Friendship, Responsibility, and Wisdom through wonderful stories enriched with these virtues. We will learn and practice Citizenship, Courage, and Perseverance this coming week. Your child is excited to demonstrate our Core Virtues and is so excited upon receiving a virtue(s) during our class time. Each day Mrs. Trujillo will staple the virtue(s) you child has earned to the back of the weekly newsletter sent home each Monday. Also, thank you for sending in 2 healthy snacks for snack time. This week's snack time was much smoother since each child was able to enjoy their snacks within our limited snack time.
K-2 Curriculum night is Tuesday, August 22 from 6-7. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about our Core Curriculum, our daily schedule, and our goals for Kindergarten. It is also an excellent opportunity to visit your child's classroom and sit in their seat! I will be happily answering questions and sharing information to make our year of Kindergarten exciting and memorable. Hope to see all of our Kindergarten parents there! Reminders:/
Our Specials Schedule: Monday: Music Tuesday: PE Wednesday: Music Thursday: Art Friday: Music |
Schedule7:45 Morning Message Archives
August 2018
Reminders
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