February 3rd - Newsletter Updates

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Fri. Feb. 8th—JR4H Envelopes Due - Keep collecting those donations

-Mon. Feb. 11th—Dental Presentation

-Wed., Feb. 13th - Count Day

-Thurs. Feb. 14th—Kindergarten JR4H—10:00

-Thurs. Feb. 14th—Valentine’s Party @ 12:30

-Fri., Feb 15th - No School - PD

-Mon., Feb 18th - No School - President's Day

-Wed., Feb. 20th - K Report Cards Home

-Thurs. Feb. 21st - 1/2 Day - PTC 4-7

-Fri., March 1st - Pastries with Parents

HELPERS:  This week we will double-up for those students who missed their turn last week:

-Monday—Emmerson & Jose’

-Tuesday—Tessa & Brahm

-Wednesday—Nevaeh & Dayana

-Thursday—Bella & Pearl

LUNCH MENU CHANGES: 

Here is next week’s lunch plan, February 4-8. Monday will be Meat Lovers Stromboli, Tuesday- Bosco Sticks, Wednesday-Pancake Bites and Chicken Sausage, Thursday- Walking Taco and Friday- Meatball Subs. Thank you so much for understanding.

THE 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL:

The 100th day of school is fast approaching!  We’ve had 97 days so far, so we are on track for it to be Wednesday, if Mother Nature cooperates! :) We have several fun activities planned in the classroom and we will visit 2nd grade classrooms to view their 100th Day Collections.  For Kindergarten, we are encouraging our kids to have some fun and dress up like they are 100 years old.

JUMP ROPE FOR HEART & VALENTINE’S DAY:

February 14th is going to be a busy day in Kindergarten!  Our ’Stations for Heart’ begin at 10:00, so please send your child in athletic wear—if they want to wear shorts, please just put sweatpants over them to get them to & from school. :) Parent volunteers, please plan to come around 9:30 to help us transition to the gym.  Also, please be sure to send in a waterbottle—labeled with your child’s name, as they will get thirsty:) Our valentine’s party will begin at 12:30, so parent volunteers should plan to come around 12:15.  Please send your child's valentine cards to school in a baggie or box, labeled with their name.  We will play some games, exchange valentines, and then have ice cream sundaes. Please send in an empty cereal box, ASAP, as we NEED to get them decorated!

READING: 

This week our class will be reading stories about how living things, such as trees, change as they grow. Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing:

· Vocabulary—develop & amazing—draw a picture of a tree and encourage your child to tell facts about trees.

· Sightwords—are & had—Have your child practice writing these words and using them in a sentence.

· Category Words—tree parts—Have your child draw a tree and label the parts—roots, trunk, branches, leaves, etc.

· Phonics—Letter Ee—Help your child think of words that have the short e and long e sound and make a list of each.

· Beanie Baby Strategies—This week we will use Chunky Monkey to read and write words with the en, et, ed, & ell word families & use Flippy the Dolphin to read and write words with the short & long e sounds. We will introduce Helpful Kangaroo who reminds us that if we are trying to figure out a tricky word it’s okay to ask for help, after we’ve tried all of our strategies.

WRITING:  

This week we will complete a journal page about a hibernating animal and create our own booklets to celebrate the 100th Day of School.

MATH: 

This week we will work on writing and building teen numbers using ten frames, base 10 blocks, & links. We will play some games involving 2D & 3D shapes and practice counting to 100 by 1’s, 5’s, & 10’s as we approach the 100th Day of School!

SCIENCE & SOCIAL STUDIES:

This week we will continue to study Motion; we will proceed through the Engineering Process of building & testing out our ramps.  We will continue to learn about what animals do in the Winter—hibernation, migration, & active. We are anxious to see what Punxsutawney Phil predicts for the upcoming weather forecast.

RAZ KIDS:

The students have started reading ‘good-fit’ books on their ipads in the classroom. Last week I sent a letter home with information about how you can access it at home—it is a great resource for young readers! The school generously pays for the subscription, so it is free to our families. You can download the app on a phone, ipad, or tablet, or access it through a computer.  It DOES require an Internet connection.  As they read books, they will move up levels. An important rule that I teach the students is that they have to listen to each book twice, then read it independently twice, and finally take the quiz - we call it the '5 finger rule' - Listen, Listen, Read, Read, Quiz (for those on levels with quizzes). Also, as an incentive, they earn stars to build their rocket ship and robot. I don't let them spend their starts at school, BUT this is something they CAN do at home with the stars they have earned. Once you receive your letter, if you have any issues logging in or navigating the site/app at home, please let me know.  Also, if your child passes a level at home, please remind them to let me know:)

 

PARENTING RESOURCE: 

I’m sure many of you are familiar with Daniel Tiger on PBS Kids, but did you know that there is a FREE app for parents?  It is called Daniel Tiger for Parents.  It includes a menu of topics that young children often struggle with, along with short video clips, strategy songs, & talking points to work through social-emotional issues that young children face. :)

PARENT VOLUNTEERS:

The end of the marking period is fast approaching and we are trying diligently to get all of our assessments completed.  These snow days have set us back a bit, as it takes a lot of time to assess each student one-on-one for each skill.  If you have a morning or afternoon free and would be willing to come in and help with assessments and/or decorate valentine boxes, please let me know:)

Please be sure to return your January Book-It Calendar.