Sunday, August 18, 2013

Welcome to Kindergarten!

Hi, my name is Mrs. Brinks and I am so excited to be your kindergarten teacher this year!  I hope you have been enjoying your summer!  My family and I have enjoyed biking and rollerblading this summer and we are hoping for a few more warm days to do a little more boating.

These last few weeks, I have found myself spending more and more time at school getting our classroom ready.   I am looking forward to meeting you and your parents and introducing you to our classroom.  We have an open house planned for Wednesday, August 28th from 4:00-6:00.  Also, our first day of school will be on Tuesday, September 3rd beginning at 10:00 for Kindergarten Orientation.  You are welcome to bring in your school supplies during the open house or on our first day of school.  

Here are a few things you might consider bringing to school to share with our class:
·         2 glue sticks
·         2 boxes of 24 crayons
·         1 box of Kleenex
·         1 container of wet wipes (or similar)

Here are a few personal items you will also need:
·         3 two-pocket folders (labeled with your name)
·         1 back-pack (no wheels please – they don’t fit in the lockers)
·         1 towel or small blanket for rest time (labeled with your name)
·         5-8 of your favorite picture books from your home collection.  We will begin the year with book boxes, starting with 5-8 of your own books.  Please use the enclosed labels to label your books.  You will use these during read-to-self time for the first few weeks of school and then you will get to take them back home. J

We have so much to learn and discover together in Kindergarten.  It is going to be a fun year of learning, growing, and making friends.  I hope you are as excited as I am!

Enjoy the rest of your summer! 
I will see you soon!


~Mrs. Brinks


Dear Kindergarten Parents,

As you do your school shopping, I’d like to ask that you please select clothing and shoes that maximizes your child’s ability to be independent with dressing for recess and using the bathroom at school.  Your child will need tennis shoes for gym; I am requesting that these shoes be Velcro or Z-straps (No tie laces please!).  With having 22 students in our classroom, I want to be able to nurture, teach, and meet all of their needs; however, the more independent they can be with ‘the little things,’ the more quality time we will be able to spend engaged in academic activities. J Also, you might want to consider keeping a change of clothes your child’s backpack.  I have some extra clothing on hand, but students always feel better when they have their ‘own’ clothes to change into.   Kindergarten is a busy place, children often wait until the last minute to use the bathroom, which can lead to accidents; plus, you never know when a spill will take place in the lunchroom.

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me @ sbrinks@mcbain.org.  I will also be posting updates on our classroom blog.  I am looking forward to partnering with you this year!

Thanks so much,
Sherry Brinks