Newsletter 6

Important Dates

*October 23- Late Start

*October 25- Picture re-takes

*October 25- Book Orders Due!

*October 30- Late Start

*October 31- Makers’ Day

*October 31– Halloween party and Halloween Parade at 3:20pm

Communication

Lately, I have had some parents say they have not been getting my communication about
our class. I do my best to keep you informed of important dates and what is going on
in our room. These are the ways I have been and will be communicating with you for the
remainder of the year:
I have an email group of all of the parents that have given me their email
address (I asked for these at back to school night and in my first emails too.) If you
or your spouse is not receiving these, please contact me and I can easily add you.
I am assuming that all people in the family are getting the information I send. 
Mr. Hubble sends out a blog every week to all of the families at our school and
there is ALWAYS a link to our classroom blog at the bottom. I usually post newsletters
and monthly calendars and sign-ups on the blog. If you have not seen these, you may
want to go back and read all of the posts from the beginning of the year to make
sure you have all important information. 

Please check with others in your family and make sure they are receiving the emails
and checking the blog so that we are all on the same page! 

I am sending this newsletter home on paper to make sure everyone has a chance
to read it. The rest will be electronic. 

Thank you!

This Cycle

In handwriting we are focusing on starting our letters at the top and pulling the line
down to form our letters. Please practice writing letters at home. *Make sure your
child starts at the top when making a letter. In Writing, we are beginning to write
stories on paper and sketch the pictures to help us tell what happened. In our
social emotional learning we are talking about thinking with our eyes, which means
we think about what we are looking at. We are practicing this in class, especially
during group time. Please use the concept of ‘thinking with our eyes’ at home!
In social studies we learned about the words past, present, and future. We learned
how we all have a past. I sent home a timeline for you and your child to work on
together and send back in (by the end of the week if possible). We are going to
share these in class and then put them in a class book so we can continue to enjoy them!

Halloween

We will celebrate Halloween on Thursday, October 31st around 2:15 pm.  The children
may WEAR their costumes to school to wear during the day and for the party and
parade. When you are choosing a costume with your child, please remember that it
should be appropriate for school and not scary for the other children.  If your child’s
costume has a weapon of any kind, please leave it at home. No weapons are allowed
at school. Parents who are assigned to help with the party will be contacted. The all-school
costume parade will be around 3:20pm.  Parents are welcome to come view the parade
and take pictures.  

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Our time frame for conferences will be the week of November 4th. Report cards
will not come home until the week of November 18th. I will be sending out a reminder for
your conference time later this week. I am looking forward to
meeting with all of you and discussing your child’s progress!

Dinges Farm

We had a fantastic morning at Dinges Farms last week!  We learned about different
kinds of pumpkins, went on a hayride and in a corn maze.  We got to jump in a
pumpkin bounce house and go into a spooky semi if we wanted to. We picked a
pumpkin, played on a playground, and had a snack. Thank you to all of the parents
that came to help us!  It was a wonderful first field trip!

Newsletter 4

Upcoming Events

*October 10, 11 –Half Days dismissal at 12:06 pm.

*October 15 – Dinges Farm field trip 8:45am-11:45 am

*Oct. 9, 16, 23, 30 - Late Starts

*October 31- Halloween party

This Cycle

We are learning about the main idea and the details in what we read. We continue to practice telling the difference between fiction and non-fiction texts.  As we read we are learning how to ask questions to make sure we understand what we are reading.   We will study the letters Mm and Aa next cycle and learn how to spell and read the word ‘am’. In math we are practicing shapes and writing numbers correctly.

In handwriting we practiced different kinds of lines we need to write our letters; horizontal, vertical, circles, and slants. In our journals we are working on using letter sounds to write our words.  Please encourage your child to listen for at least the beginning and ending sounds in words as they write. In Science we continue to learn about the weather. In Social Studies we are learning about different ways to tell time and using the vocabulary of past, present, and future. 

The children continue to LOVE the Magic Tree House chapter books we are reading during our quite time after lunch..

Parent/Teacher Conferences

This is just a reminder that even though we have half days for conferences this week and some teachers are meeting with parents now, I will be meeting with you in November to discuss your child's progress. I believe that our Kindergarteners need more time to adjust to school and 'show what they know'! If you feel a need to meet before this, please let me know. 

Login Information

Coming home tomorrow will be login instructions for 3 web- based programs we use often here at school but also have access to at home. These are Lexia Reading Core 5, Raz-Kids Reading, and IXL math. The Raz reading and IXL math are practice sights where each child can read and do math at their level. These sites are for enrichment and/or practice and do not have to be completed in a certain order or completely independently (although we would like the students to benefit as much as possible from using these sites by doing the work on their own). If the work on these sites is too difficult, try another skill or a lower level. The Lexia Core 5 program does have to be done INDEPENDENTLY! Each child works through certain skills in a certain order and needs to master these skills before moving on to the next level. Helping your child complete the Core 5 tasks is actually detrimental since they will then not be able to complete the more complex tasks on their own. If you have any questions, please let me know! I hope you and your child enjoy the extra practice these programs provide!

Flexible Seating

I have introduced some of our flexible seating options. We have different cushions, chairs, and stools that we can use to help us do our best work. Please ask your child about some of the options they have tried!

Halloween

We will celebrate Halloween on Thursday, October 31^st.  The children may wear their costumes to school. We recommend simple ideas, since it will be worn all day.  Please label all the pieces of your child’s costume and/or bag so we can make sure everyone has what they need for Halloween night. When you are choosing a costume with your child, please remember that it should be appropriate for school and not scary for the other children.  If your child’s costume has a weapon of any kind, please leave it at home.  No weapons are allowed at school. Parents are welcome to come view the parade and take pictures.

Have a Wonderful Week!