Newsletter Updates for the Week of May 13th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Wednesday, May 15th—Fieldtrip to Kettunen Center

-Monday, May 20th—Delayed Start

-Friday, May 24th—Fun to Be Fit (1:00)

-Monday, June 3rd—Track & Field (afternoon)

-Monday, June 10th—Last day of school

FIELDTRIP—WEDNESDAY

We will leave school around 8:30 and return around 2:30.  Your child will need—a sack lunch, appropriate clothing for outside activities, & sunscreen (if desired). Just a reminder that Kettunen Center is also collecting non-perishable food items and paper products for the Feed the Need Project.  We will provide a morning and afternoon snack and bug spray if needed. :)  We are looking forward to a fun day of learning—outside!!

FUN TO BE FIT: 

Our 3rd Annual Fun to Be Fit Day is scheduled for Friday, May 24th beginning @ 1:00.  I am looking for a few parent volunteers to come in and help supervise a small group—it’s easy for Kindergarteners to get lost in the sea of runners :)  I am also looking for a couple of volunteers to provide 12 pks of bottled water for our class after the event.  Please let me know if you’d be willing to help out in any way. :)

BEHAVIOR: 

As we wind down the school year, it gets harder for the students to focus and their behavior tends to decline.  The nice weather last week seemed to really ‘trigger’ this.  I’ve reminded the students that we still have a lot to learn in Kindergarten and that the rules and expectations have not changed.  I am also giving an extra incentive by offering a special treat each Friday for those students who

haven’t moved their clips all week long. :)

READING: 

Our focus letter for this week is the letter Yy and our focus text is Franklin Plays the Game, which we will use to work on identifying character traits and author’s purpose.  We will introduce the sight words  him & with.  This week the students will also complete their end of the year Dibels benchmarking.

WRITING: 

This week we will revisit Small Moments stories from earlier in the year.  We will read several mentor texts and use them to identify the qualities of these types of stories.  We will also complete a journal page reflecting on our fieldtrip to Kettunen Center.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will continue our study of lifecycles—focusing on butterflies, frogs, and chicks.  Our chicks should be hatching mid week—hopefully NOT while we are on the fieldtrip :)  It is an exciting miracle to watch—and the students are very excited!

MATH:

This week we will practice building numbers 1-30 using base-10 blocks and writing our numbers 1-100.  We will continue to work on addition using beans, unifix cube trains, and touchpoints.

Photos - Building 3D Shapes

Newsletter Updates for the Week of May 6th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Wednesday, May 15th—Fieldtrip to Kettunen Center

-Monday, May 20th—Delayed Start

-Friday, May 24th—Fun to Be Fit (1:00)

-Monday, June 3rd—Track & Field (afternoon)

-Monday, June 10th—Last day of school

 STUDENT OF THE WEEK: 

Our student of the week is Makayla Vanderhoef.  Makayla enjoys art, role-playing in the dramatic play area, and learning about outer space.  Her favorite place to go is to McDonalds and when she grows up, Makayla aspires to be a farmer.  Congratulations to Makayla on being Student of the Week!

FIELDTRIP: 

I still have a few students who need to send in their permission slips, photo releases, & $2.50 for our upcoming fieldtrip.  Your child will need—a sack lunch, appropriate clothing for outside activities, & sunscreen (if desired). Just a reminder that Kettunen Center is also collecting non-perishable food items and paper products for the Feed the Need Project.  We will provide a morning and afternoon snack and bug spray if needed. :)

FUN TO BE FIT: 

Our 3rd Annual Fun to Be Fit Day is scheduled for Friday, May 24th beginning @ 1:00.  I am looking for a few parent volunteers to come in and help supervise a small group—it’s easy for Kindergarteners to get lost in the sea of runners :)  I am also looking for a couple of volunteers to provide 12 pks of bottled water for our class after the event.  Please let me know if you’d be willing to help out in any way. :)

READING: 

Our focus letter for this week is the letter Vv and our focus text is The Flower Garden, which we will use to work on vocabulary, text structure - classifying, & comprehension.  We will introduce the sight words  for & they and we will continue to reinforce the digraphs th, ch, wh, & sh at several of our stations.

WRITING: 

This week we will wrap up our Unit on Informational Text—the students will be bringing their books home to share at the end of the week.  They will also be bringing home their April Journals to share with you.  This week we will complete two Type 3 Writings related to seasons and the weather.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will wrap up our Science Unit on Weather and Seasons.  We will be reading several books related to chicks and their lifecycles, as we anxiously await hatching day—next week.  We will also be reading some books about moms, as we prepare for Mother’s Day.

 MATH:

This week we will introduce the Quarter and practice making some fair coin exchanges.  We will also continue to work on skip counting and addition.  We will be reviewing several math concepts in preparation for end of the year assessments.  The students really enjoyed creating 2D & 3D shapes out of straws, toothpicks, and marshmallows last week.  I will post some of the photos on my blog so that you can check out their engineering and architectural skills. :)

Newsletter Updates for the Week of April 29th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Thursday, May 2nd—Fall Soccer Registration @ NMC

-Wednesday, May 15th—Fieldtrip to Kettunen Center

-Monday, May 20th—Delayed Start

-Friday, May 24th—Fun to Be Fit (1:00)

-Monday, June 3rd—Track & Field (afternoon)

-Monday, June 10th—Last day of school

FIELDTRIP: 

We are planning a field trip to Kettunen Center on May 15th.  Please be sure to return the permission slip, photo release, and $2.50.  Also, we are able to take up to 5 parent chaperones on the bus—if more want to go, you are welcome, but you’ll have to car pool :)

FALL SOCCER REGISTRATION INFO:

Fall Youth Soccer Registration Dates. The Missuakee-Osceola Youth Soccer Association (MOYSA), formally the AYSO/MASA, will be registering soccer players ages 6-11 (before August 1, 2013) at Northern Michigan Christian School on May 2nd from 4-6 and May 9th at Lake City Schools from 6-8 pm. Cost is $30.00 per player.  Teams will be divided into ages 6/7 , 8/9, and 10/11. Please call Dave Skinner at 231-920 1278    (dskinner@nmcs.us) or Diane Eisenga at 231-779-3702 if you have any questions. You can also visit our MOYSA Facebook page to download registration forms and see important announcements and schedules for the upcoming season. If you are interested in coaching or refereeing, please contact Dave Skinner. All coaches and referees will receive training and referees will be paid.  If you cannot attend the registration nights, please send forms to MOYSA, 128 S. Martin, McBain, MI 49657 by May 17^th. 

READING: 

This week we will be working on the digraphs th & wh, as well as the prefix re.  Our focus text is Hush a Thai Lullaby which we will use to work on comparing and contrasting. We will introduce the sight words said & his and students will learn a couple of new apps that they can use during literacy stations on their iPads.

WRITING: 

This week we will continue to work on our newest Informational Booklet; we will spend several days editing, revising, and adding to our books and then conferencing with our peers. We will create a class book about Mrs. Wishy Washy and some of the silly things she washes.  We will also complete a journal page about the different things we like to do on a rainy day.

MATH:

This week we will be using Google Earth to draw a map of our playground.  We will continue to practice identifying and naming coins and 3-D solid shapes.  We will create a Class Number Story Book using pictures and equations to show addition and subtraction stories.  We will also be building 3-D solid shapes using straws, toothpicks, & marshmallows.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will continue learning about ‘weather’ and how the weather changes with the seasons.  We will also continue our study of lifecycles.  The Bell family has brought in their incubator with 24 chicken eggs.  We are anxiously counting down the 22 days until the chicks emerge.

Newsletter Updates for the Week of April 22nd

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Monday, April 22nd—Mileage Club Begins

-Wednesday, April 24th—Gymnastics Assembly

-Thursday, April 25th—Sophomore Carnival

-Saturday, April 27th—Mom to Mom Sale

-Thursday, May 2nd—Fall Soccer Registration @ NMC

-Wednesday, May 15th—Fieldtrip to Kettunen Center

-Monday, May 20th—Delayed Start

-Friday, May 24th—Fun to Be Fit (1:00)

-Monday, June 3rd—Track & Field (afternoon)

-Monday, June 10th—Last day of school

STUDENT OF THE WEEK: 

Our student of the week is Teagan Cotton.  Teagan enjoys fishing, boating, riding his bike, and riding his grandpa’s four-wheeler.  His favorite place to visit is . . . Grandma’s.  When he grows up, Teagan aspires to be an orchard farmer. Congratulations to Teagan on being Student of the Week!

FIELDTRIP: 

Attached to the newsletter, you will find information regarding our field trip to Kettunen Center on May 15th.  Please be sure to return the permission slip, photo release, and $2.50.  Also, we are able to take up to 5 parent chaperones on the bus—if more want to go, you are welcome, but you’ll have to car pool :)

iPADS: 

We've spent a lot of time preparing the last few weeks, talking about the rules and expectations - Our iPad Promise, & discussing responsibility.  Last week we were able to begin using iPads in our classroom.  It is so exciting to see them engaged and being so intensely focused!  We will continue with our typical daily schedule and just use the iPads periodically throughout the day to enhance our learning.  I still strongly believe that children need time for play-based learning and social interactions.  The iPads will allow us to be efficient in our learning goals & develop the necessary skills to be 21st Century Learners.  I am very impressed with what I’ve seen from the students and am so excited for their future!

READING: 

Our focus letter for this week is the letter Ww and our focus texts are In the Rain with Baby Duck and several different Mrs. Wishy Washy books.  We will introduce the sight words was & he and the students will practice reading and writing words with the et, ell, en, ed word families at stations. 

WRITING: 

This week we will continue to work on our newest Informational Booklet; we will spend several days editing, revising, and adding to our books.  We will also create a class book about different animals that hatch from eggs and complete a journal page about Earth Day—how we can take good care of our Earth.

MATH:

This week we will learn about different tools for measuring time and practice skip counting by 10’s, 5’s, & 2’s.  We will also review patterning and practice writing addition and subtraction equations.  The students have learned a couple of math apps on their iPads and we will learn a couple more this week.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES: 

This week we will celebrate Earth Day and learn about different ways we can be responsible and take good care of our Earth and its’ resources.  We will also continue our study on ducks and lifecycles.  This week we will also begin learning about ‘weather’ and how the weather changes with the seasons.

iPads

Today was an exciting day - first day using our iPads.  We've spent a lot of time preparing the last few weeks talking about the rules and expectations - Our iPad Promise, & discussing responsibility.  It was so exciting to see them engaged and being so intensely focused today.  We will continue with our typical daily schedule and just use the iPads periodically throughout the day to enhance our learning.  I still believe strongly that children need time for play-based learning and social interactions.  The iPads will allow us to be efficient in our learning goals & develop the necessary skills to be 21st Century Learners.  I am very impressed with what I saw today from the students and am so excited for their future!!


I just received an e-mail that the movie night - Reck it Ralph - will NOT be rescheduled!  Sorry :(