Friday Reminder

Just a reminder to please send in your weekly reading slips tomorrow, so we can maintain our lead:)

Also, tomorrow is Dress like your Favorite Athlete.  They can wear a sports team shirt/logo, or wear shorts.  If you run short on ideas, the McBain Varsity Boys just won Regionals and are beginning their run for State, so a McBain shirt would be very appropriate:)  They can also wear funny socks, as we will be Reading in Our Socks during Read-to-Self time.

Kindergarten Round Up for Next Year

Parents:

If you have a child that will be 5 years old by September 1st and is planning to attend

McBain Elementary this fall, please call NOW to register!  231-825-2021.

Feel free to pass along this email, if you know of someone else that has a little one ready for Kindergarten. Any questions, give Mrs. Hill at call 231-825-2021.

Thank you

Newsletter Updates for the Week of March 16th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Tues., March 17th—Irish Dance Assembly @ 12:45

-Wednesday, March 18th—Library

-Fri., March 20th—Fav. Athlete/Read in Your Socks

-Thursday, March 26th—Safe Boundaries Presentation—9:30-10:00

-Friday, March 27th—Pajama Day

-Thursday, April 2nd—Report Cards Home

READING MONTH: 

*After week 2, our class is still in the lead.  But, the other Kindergarten classes are trying to close the gap, so keep reading & sending in those slips—Go Team!

The Reading Month Committee has several fun dress-up days planned on Fridays:

*March 20—Favorite Athlete & Read in your Socks—Dress up like your favorite athlete &/OR Funny Socks

*March 27—Rest Day/Pajama Day

RECESS/PLAYGROUND: 

I realize that this time of year is extremely difficult to dress your child for recess.  Please continue to send snow pants and boots—as the playground still has snow, mud, & puddles and the kids come in VERY wet!  You are welcome to send your child a sweatshirt so if the temps get warmer as the day goes, they can wear a sweatshirt vs. winter coat.  Spring is on its way—It officially begins this Friday—Yay!

ASSESSMENTS: 

It is that time of year again! We’ve been diligently working on assessing the students for upcoming report cards. Special thanks to my faithful parent/grandparent volunteers who help me complete many of these assessments—it is a time consuming task! As the year progresses, the expectations continue to increase as we prepare for first grade.

READING: 

This week our class will be reading stories about how to stay safe in bad weather. Children will also learn about severe weather conditions, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, earthquakes, droughts, and floods.

Vocabulary: safe, prepare - make a list and gather materials for a weather supply kit. Include items such as a first aid kit, canned food, and a battery-operated radio.

*Letter of the Week—we will be reviewing the letters h, e, f, r,b, l, k, & ck

*Sightwords—of, for, & have

*Beanie Babies—This week we will introduce Flashy the Peacock who helps us Expand our Vocabulary as we find and use interesting/fancy words while speaking, reading, and writing.

WRITING: 

This week we will continue writing and drawing our own ’small moment’ stories, as we work on including details & feelings.  We will also complete a couple of journals related to St. Patrick’s Day.

MATH: 

We will continue to work on addition using number lines and manipulatives.  We will create several fun graphs this week; one using Lucky Charms and another graph of our Pets; we will then interpret and analyze the data together.  We will also practice finding numbers and identifying patterns on a number grid.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will continue our Social Studies Unit—Me on the Map. We will be learning about maps, globes, and our place in the world—Country, State, & City.  Our Post Office is open in the dramatic play area for students to practice writing and addressing letters, as well as sorting the mail.  We will also read some narrative & informational texts related to St. Patrick’s Day.

Please be sure to return your child’s library book

on or before Wednesday!

Reminder

Just a reminder to please remember to send in your weekly reading slips tomorrow morning (Friday). The kids are so excited about their early lead and we want to keep it!!

Also, tomorrow is "I am an Athlete."  I suggested that the students wear shorts, a jersey, or uniform, & some of the girls suggested wearing skirts - all perfectly great ideas!  Students can also bring in a flashlight to read with during Read-to-Self time.

Another quick reminder about recess: We are ALL excited about the warmer weather and melting snow BUT the playground is still covered in wet snow and mud, so, PLEASE continue to send your child with snow pants and boots so that they can stay dry during recess:)

Newsletter Updates for the Week of March 9th

-Friday, March 13th—Dress Up—I Am An Athlete (Flashlight)

-Monday, March 16th—Delayed Start (10:00)

-Tuesday, March 17th—Irish Dance Assembly

-Wednesday, March 18th—Library

STUDENT OF THE WEEK: 

Our student of the week is Landon Kirt. Landon enjoys going to the beach and playing football.  His favorite place to visit is the Great Wolf Lodge! He loves the thrill of racing and aspires to be a go-cart racer when he grows up! Congratulations to Landon on being Student of the Week!

READING MONTH: 

*After week 1, our class is currently in the lead with 1136 minutes read!! But, the other Kindergarten classes are not far behind, so keep reading & sending in those slips—Go Team!

The Reading Month Committee has several fun dress-up days planned on Fridays:

*March 13—I Am an Athlete & Read with a Flashlight—dress in shorts OR sports uniform AND bring a flashlight to read with.

*March 20—Favorite Athlete & Read in your Socks—Dress up like your favorite athlete &/OR Funny Socks

*March 27—Rest Day/Pajama Day

READING: 

*This week our class will be reading stories about different kinds of weather. Your child will be predicting the weather and learning how to describe it.

*Vocabulary:  predict, temperature - Look outside with your child and try to predict what the weather will be like later in the day. Try to predict the temperature for tomorrow.

*Letter of the Week—Kk & ck—help your child find objects that begin with the letter k or end in ck. Make a list of the words.

*Sightwords—was & she

*Category Words: weather words - Make a 7-column table and write the days of the week at the top of each column. Every morning, look outside and have your child write a word under each day to describe the weather.

WRITING: 

This week we will continue to study what it means to write a personal narrative/small moment story.  We will choose our own ‘small moment’ stories to share; which we will tell orally, then plan out onto a  graphic organizer, and then begin writing and drawing in our own booklets, as we stretch our thoughts and feelings across the pages.  It is so exciting to see their enthusiasm and confidence for writing grow!

MATH: 

We will work on collecting survey data using tally marks and practice reading our data results.  We will practice making fair trades with base 10 blocks as we try to reach 100.  We will also be working on measuring length using feet, rulers, and measuring manipulatives.  In preparation for report cards, we will continue to work on addition, counting by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, & 10’s, and identifying & naming 3D solid shapes.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we wrap up our Social Studies Unit on American Symbols and Values as we learn about The Statue of Liberty, The Bald Eagle, The White House, & The Liberty Bell.  Then we will begin our new unit—Me on the Map. We will be learning about maps, globes, and our place in the world—Country, State, & City.  Our Post Office is open in the dramatic play area for students to practice writing and addressing letters as well as sorting the mail.

Please be sure to read the informational letter attached to the newsletter about an upcoming presentation offered to our school titled Safe Body Boundaries.

Weekly Reading Slips

Just a reminder to please send in your child's weekly reading slip tomorrow so we can tally up our classes reading minutes for the week.   I sent home a 'pink' sheet last week and I also sent home another white copy today:)  Keep on Reading!

Newsletter Updates for the Week of March 2nd

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Monday, March 2nd—Reading Month Kick Off

-Tuesday, March 3rd—Dome Theater @ 9:30

-Wednesday, March 4th—NWEA Testing—Math

-Friday, March 6th—Dress Up—Fav. Sports Team

READING MONTH: 

March is Reading Month!  Our Theme this year is Sports—and our class is focusing on Baseball!  Please send in a baseball cap that your child can keep in their locker for the month.  We will read in our baseball caps during read-to-self time each day AND have a photo opp. where each child will be photographed as a ‘Star Reader’ for their own baseball cards, which we will display on our lockers. 

The Reading Month Committee has several fun dress-up days planned on Fridays:

*March 6—Favorite Sports Team

*March 13—I Am an Athlete & Read with a Flashlight—dress in shorts OR sports uniform AND bring a flashlight to read with.

*March 20—Favorite Athlete & Read in your Socks—Dress up like your favorite athlete &/OR Funny Socks

*March 27—Rest Day/Pajama Day

READING COMPETITION: We will be competing against the other Kindergarten classes to try to win a trip to The Wex for ice skating and broom ball.  Attached to the letter I sent home last week is a pink sheet for you to keep track of minutes read at home each week, which MUST be returned by Friday morning of each week. The class with the most minutes of reading will win the Grand Prize trip to The Wex.  If you lose your sheet please feel free to email me with your child’s reading minutes by Friday morning:)  REMEMBER to count time you spend reading to your child, time they spend reading to you, and time spent reading at home on Raz-Kids:)

READING: 

*This week our class will be focusing on the four seasons and how they are different. Children will also be reading stories and poems about the weather in each season.

*Vocabulary: weather, seasons Discuss the four seasons and describe how the weather is similar or different, depending on where you live. Then invite your child to draw a picture of each season.

*Letter of the Week—Bb & Ll

*Sightwords—is, little

*Beanie Babies—We will introduce Skippy the Frog for Accuracy.  Skippy helps us when we come to a word that we just cannot figure out; he reminds us that we can ‘skip’ the word, read on, try to use the context clues to figure it out, and then go back and reread the sentence.

WRITING:  

This week we will edit our February Journals to bring home and share.  We will be writing on opinion piece about our favorite season and why we like it.  In addition, we will begin reading some mentor texts related to ‘small moments’ as we study what it means to write a personal narrative/small moment story.

MATH:  

We will continue to work on identifying 3D solid shapes, reading and writing 2-digit numbers, and counting by 1’s, 5’s, & 10’s.  We will also do some adding with Little Quack and calculators and practice measuring using our feet, as we learn what exactly ‘a foot’ is.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:  

This week we begin our Dental Health Unit. We will read several narrative and informational texts related to Dental Health and learn about the importance of good Dental Hygiene through several hands-on activities. We will also be learning about several important Patriotic Symbols this week—The American Flag, The Pledge of Allegiance, & The Star Spangled Banner. We will also learn what it means to show our Patriotism.

Please be sure to return your February  Book-It Calendar!