Blankets

Happy Friday!
I am sending rest time blankets home to be washed and then returned:)

Thanks,
Mrs. Brinks

Reminder - Parent Teacher Conferences

I am look forward to meeting with each of you tomorrow to discuss your child's progress in Kindergarten and to discuss their next steps in learning.  Here is a quick reminder of your times :)

Fall Parent Teacher Conferences

Mrs. Brinks – Kindergarten

                          November 6, 2014       

12:45	Grace
1:00	Josh
1:15	Akira
1:30	Jack
1:45	Anna
2:00	Aubrey
2:15	Clayton
2:30	Maisie
2:45	Mason
3:00	Chance
3:15	Avallina
3:30	Andrew
3:45	Wesley
4:00
4:15
4:30	Brooklyn
4:45	Reese
5:00
5:15	Olivia
5:30	Landon
5:45
6:00	Charlie
6:15	Xander
6:30	Carlee

Halloween Details

Due to the weather forecast, we will be parading through the school tomorrow, instead of downtown. Parent volunteers should plan to arrive at 12:15.  We will be coming back from lunch and will need lots of help with our costumes.  The parade begins @ 1:00 and will go throughout the Middle School and High School.  Parents/families are welcome to gather in the Middle School Gym to catch the parade as we go through.  We will be towards the end of the parade, so you could watch the parade and then join us as we go through.

Just a couple of reminders:
*Please send your child's costume to school in a bag, labeled with their name.
*Please do not send any toy weapons with your child.

Looking forward to a fun afternoon!

Mrs. Brinks

Newsletter Updates for the Week of October 27th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Thursday, October 28th—Family Night 5:30-7:00

-Monday, November 3rd—No School

-Thurs., Nov. 6th—Parent Teacher Conferences

-Tues., Nov. 4th—Report Cards Home

HALLOWEEN PARTY: 

*Please send your child’s costume to school in a bag (labeled with their name). Students will change into their costumes after lunch.

**Please DO NOT send any make-up or toy weapons (guns, swords, knives, etc.) to school.

***Parent volunteers—please plan to arrive by 12:15 to help students get into their costumes.

SCHEDULE:

12:15-12:45—Change into Costumes

12:45-1:00—Photos

1:00-1:40—Parade Downtown (K-4)

*K will NOT be visiting the 4th grade wax museum.

1:40-2:00—Halloween Activities & Change

2:00-2:20—Halloween Snack

2:25—Recess

READING:

This week our class will be focusing on the shapes they see in nature and in our neighborhood. Children will also be reading about the shapes they see around them.

Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing.

Word Workout

· Vocabulary: materials, nature Invite your child to hunt for shapes found in nature or on materials. Then invite your child to draw pictures of each item.

· My Words to Know

High-Frequency Word: like Write the word like on paper and have your child trace it. Then say sentences and have your child write like each time you say the word.

Category Words: shapes Say simple riddles that include different shape words. Have your child guess each object.

Phonics: t Invite your child to play a game of “I Spy.” Say sentences and have your child find objects whose names begin or end with the letter t, such as I spy a table. I spy a pot.

Comprehension: key details

Invite your child to point out details in the park scene, such as a square sign. Then use different colored crayons to color each shape.

At literacy stations, student will continue to work on rhyming, retelling, syllables, sightwords, letters, & sounds.  Students will also begin using Successmaker on the computer this week.  Last week they enjoyed reenacting The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid of Anything; we will practice retelling the story a few more times, so that they students will have a chance to play all of the roles.  We will introduce 2 new Beanie Baby Strategies this week: Stretchy Snake helps us to stretch out unknown words by saying all of the sounds and then blending them together to make the word; Picturing Penguin helps us with comprehension as we practice visualizing (making a picture in our heads) while we read.

MATH:  

This week we will incorporate several Halloween activities into our math stations as we focus on sequencing by size, number ID, & counting.  We will work on identifying Tricky Teen numbers and play several games related to the teens.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:   

This week we will read several stories related to Halloween and Pumpkins. Today we carved our jack-o-lantern. With elections just around the corner, we exercised our ‘democratic right to vote,’ as we voted on what kind of mouth to give our jack-o-lantern.

WRITING:  This week we will finish up our October Journals with entries about what we will be for Halloween and the shapes that we see around us.  I will save their October Journals to share with you at conferences.

Newsletter Updates for the Week of October 20th

DATES TO REMEMBER:

-Wednesday, October 22nd—Picture Retakes

-Thursday, October 28th—Family Night 5:30-7:00

-Monday, November 3rd—No School

-Thurs., Nov. 6th—Parent Teacher Conferences

STUDENT OF THE WEEK:  

Our student of the week is Chance Southwick. Chance enjoys driving tractors, taking things apart, building, & creating with his hands. His favorite place to go is to Anderson & Girls Orchard, and when he grows up, Chance aspires to be a Cement Truck Driver. Congratulations to Chance on being Student of the Week!

FAMILY NIGHT:  

Our annual Title 1 Family Night will be Tuesday, October 28th from 5:30-7:00. We are asking families to RSVP, so that we can plan for food—PIZZA! In addition to dinner being served, each teacher will have specific learning activities set up in their classrooms, as well as handouts and materials for you to take with you to practice important skills at home. Please be sure to RSVP by this Friday. Hope to see you there!

READING:

This week our class will be focusing on the tools people use every day to help them work, play, cook, and do their chores. Children will also be reading about tools such as utensils to eat, a calculator to add, and a shovel to dig holes.

Here are some activities that you can do with your child to help reinforce the skills we will be practicing.

Word Workout

· Vocabulary: tool, discover Invite your child to hunt for different kinds of tools and tell what each one is used for. Make a list of the tools and read it together when you’re done.

· My Words to Know

High-Frequency Word: a Write simple sentences and leave a blank in each sentence to represent the word a. Have your child write the word a in the blanks. Then read each sentence together.

Category Words: colors Draw simple pictures of tools on paper. Have your child color each tool.

Phonics: p Invite your child to hunt for household objects that begin or end with the letter p. Write each word on a sticky note and have your child circle the p.

WRITING:  

This week the students will work in teams to draw monsters, as they listen for rhyming words & nouns; we will then compare our monsters as we discuss their details. We will also complete a couple of class books related to some classic Mercer Mayer Books: There’s a Monster in My Closet & There’s an Alligator Under My Bed.  We have created several class books so far this year that you will be able to check out at conferences in a couple of weeks. :)

MATH:  

This week we will work on oral counting; at this point in the school year, students should be able to count to 25 on their own.  We will also continue to practice writing our numbers and conduct some sequencing and measuring activities with pumpkins & monster feet.

SCIENCE/SOCIAL STUDIES:   

This week we will continue our study on PUMPKINS. We will also read several fun, narrative texts related to MONSTERS; which will lead us to discuss the characteristics & purpose of fiction/narrative texts—make-believe stories, characters, & events that are written just for fun!