Kinder News – 11.16.2009

Thanksgiving week schedule: Please be aware that the Thanksgiving week schedule that was printed in the Handbook is incorrect. Here is the correct schedule:

    Monday 11/23: regular school day

    Tuesday 11/24: regular school day

    Wednesday 11/25: 12:30 dismissal

    Thursday 11/26: no school

    Friday 11/27: no school

Monday: Scholastic book orders are due Monday. This will be the last book order purchase for the year. The next book order will be after the winter break. Monday is also our 60^th day of school!

Tuesday: The 8^th grade class will be hosting a teacher Thanksgiving luncheon on Tuesday from 12:00-1:15. I will need parent volunteers who have been through VIRTUS training and been fingerprinted. The students will go out to lunch at 12:00 with the other students in the school and will remain outside for recess until 12:35. I will need parent volunteers to watch them on yard duty and then bring them into the classroom for rest time. Please let me know if you can volunteer. Thank you!!!!

Wednesday: School will be dismissed at 12:30 for the Thanksgiving break. Students will NOT have spirit dress on Wednesday.

Fall Fundraiser: Last Friday, the students took home a book of raffle tickets. This is our biggest fundraising event of the year. The drawing will take place on 12/14/09.  Students can also have the opportunity to sell the tickets at Good Shepherd Church after all the masses on Saturday and Sunday.  Please call or email Bob Terry (310.954.8308 rterry@fwg.com) if you have an interest in participating in the church sales. 

Reading activity idea for home: “Match that Picture” – Before reading the book aloud, look at all the illustrations and discuss them with the child. Invite the child to point to and name interesting objects in the illustrations. Then read the story aloud to the child while he or she looks on. Have the child find words in the text that match the objects in the illustrations. If there are illustrations without matching words, list the words on a piece of paper and discuss the meanings.
Homework

MATH: Review or complete the math sheet your child is bringing home daily.

Minibook: The letter “Ff” minibook will be sent home on Monday and will be due on Wednesday.

Bring: Bring items from home that begin with the letter “Ff” on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

READING: Don’t forget to mark the Reading Calendar. Please read with your child for 10 minutes or let your child read to you..

In Class We Are Learning

Phonics                         

Letter Ff

Word wall: like             

Math

60^th day of school

Pennies

Patterns

Religion

Citizenship

5 senses are from God

Discuss Sunday’s gospel

Social Studies

Unit 1 review

Language Arts

Identifying capital and lowercase letters

 

Kinder News – 11.16.2009

Norm’s uniform: Norm’s uniform will be at the church on Thursday, November 19^th from 2:30-5:00pm.

Thanksgiving week schedule: Please be aware that the Thanksgiving week schedule that was printed in the Handbook is incorrect. Here is the correct schedule:

    Monday 11/23: regular school day

    Tuesday 11/24: regular school day

    Wednesday 11/25: 12:30 dismissal

    Thursday 11/26: no school

    Friday 11/27: no school

Book fair: book fair information We will have our annual Scholastic book fair December 4, 5 and 6. A letter was sent home last week explaining the event. If there are any questions please ask Maria Sebastiani (Vanessa’s mom) or myself.

Reading activity idea for home: “Creating a Character” Invite the child to choose a character from a favorite book. Help the child find descriptive passages that tell about the character. Then invite the child to decide how the character would dress and act. For example, the child can put on a read cape and carry a basket of goodies. Have a dress-up day when the child dresses up as the character and reads portions of the book aloud.

Homework

MATH: Review or complete the math sheet your child is bringing home daily.

READING: Don’t forget to mark the Reading Calendar. Please read with your child for 10 minutes or let your child read to you..

In Class We Are Learning

Phonics                         

Review letters Bb, Hh, Mm, Rr, Dd, Ii

Word wall: and, like             

Math

Pennies

Identifying time to the hour

Ordinal position to fourth

Pay for items using pennies

Religion

Citizenship

God knows how they feel and wants them to share their feelings

Thank and praise God for their feelings

Express what makes them feel peaceful

Discuss Sunday’s gospel

Social Studies

Unit 1 review

Language Arts

Identifying capital and lowercase letters

 

Kindergarten retreat

The Kindergarten retreat today was great! Ms Ciccarello did an amazing job of organizing the day.  The students had a great time!

The theme of the retreat was “giving thanks”.  Students drew pictures, heard stories, sang, danced, took a walk and looked for things we are thankful for, make friendship necklaces and told our friends why we are thankful for them.

Enjoy the pictures!

 

 

Kinder News – 11.9.2009

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TUESDAY-Parent/Teacher Conference: Tuesday is parent/teacher conferences. There is NO school for the students. A schedule of appointments was sent home with the students on Friday. Please review your time. If there are issues with the scheduled time, please come talk to me about rescheduling.

WEDNESDAY-Veteran’s Day: There is NO school on Wednesday for Veteran’s Day. Enjoy your day off!

FRIDAY-Kindergarten retreat: The Kindergarten class will have a retreat at the Good Shepherd parish center. A letter explaining the day was sent home on Friday. Students will be dropped off at the church and picked up by 12:30 at the church. If your child goes to after care, please make arrangements with another parent to have your child dropped off at church. Students will wear their spirit unifrom and will need to bring a snack. If there are any questions, please ask our room mom, Ms Ciccarello, or myself.

Thanksgiving-Red Bucket Drive: Our room mom has sent out an email regarding the Red Bucket Food Drive. Each family was assigned a food item to donate and $2 to go towards a turkey. You are welcome to drop off the items in the morning before school or send it to school with your child. All the itmes will need to be collected by next Monday, November 16.

Report cards: The students in the school were schedule to receive report cards this week. Kindergarten has a different schedule for report cards. The students will receive report cards in January and in June. We will discuss student progress during the parent/teacher conferences.

Norm’s uniform: Norm’s uniform will be at the church on Friday, November 19^th from 2:30-5:00pm.

Book fair: book fair information We will have our annual Scholastic book fair December 4, 5 and 6. A letter was sent home last week explaining the event. If there are any questions please ask Maria Sebastiani (Vanessa’s mom) or myself.

Homework

MATH: Review or complete the math sheet your child is bringing home daily.

Bring: Bring items that begin with letter “Ii” on Monday and Thursday (long and short sounds).

READING: Don’t forget to mark the Reading Calendar. Please read with your child for 10 minutes or let your child read to you..

In Class We Are Learning

Phonics                         

Letter Ii

Word wall word: and            

Math

Pennies

Identifying time to the hour

Religion

Citizenship

Discuss Sunday’s gospel

Social Studies

Following rules and traffic signs

Language Arts

Identifying capital and lowercase letters

 

Smart Board/Spirit Dress

 

All the classes got SMART boards this week!

Here are some pictures of us playing a missing number game for the 50th day of school!

 

REMINDER: FRIDAY IS SPIRIT DRESS.  WEAR YOUR PURPLE SPIRIT SHIRTS WITH BLUE/BLACK JEANS.

 

Kinder News – 11.2.2009

Halloween: Thank you to all the parents for coming to our Halloween/All Saints Day celebration. All your help and presence was greatly appreciated. All the students had a great time!  Pictures are below. 

Book Order: Monday is the last day to turn in your book order for November.

Reading Calendar: Don’t forget to turn in the October reading calendars.

Homework

MATH: Review or complete the math sheet your child is bringing home daily.

Minibook: The letter “Dd” minibook will be sent home on Monday and will be due on Thursday. The letter “Ii” minibook will be sent home on Thursday and due next Monday.

Bring: Bring items that begin with letter “Dd” on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Bring in items that begin with letter “Ii” (long sound) on Thursday and Friday.

READING: Don’t forget to mark the Reading Calendar. Please read with your child for 10 minutes or let your child read to you..

In Class We Are Learning

Phonics                         

Letter Dd, Ii

Word wall word: the, and            

Math

Identify and order numbers 1-10

50^th day of school

Pennies

Name shape pieces using 3 attributes (shape, color, size)

Religion

Identify their own and others’ feelings

saints

Science

volcanoes

Social Studies

Following rules and traffic signs

Language Arts

Identifying capital and lowercase letters

 

Kinder News – 10.26.2009

Halloween Candy Grams

The student council is selling candy grams during lunch time. They are $0.25 each. Students can purchase the grams and have them sent to anyone in the school. The student council will pass them out to the students on Friday.

All Saints Day

All students in Pre-School, Kindergarten, First, Second and Third grade will dress up as their patron saint. The students will be given their saint names on Monday. We request that each child wear their Halloween costume to school and bring their saints costume. Before the saints parade, eighth grade students will help the students change into their saint’s costume. Every student is expected to be a part of the activity however it is not necessary for you to purchase expensive items. You are encouraged to be creative and use items that you already have at home. (Suggestion for a saint costume: an angel costume)

This is a fun activity and we welcome the parents to come and watch the younger students parade around the school yard dressed as their patron saint.

The parade will begin at 10:00 A.M. Dismissal will be at the usual time, 12:30.

Last year’s Halloween costumes and Saints day costumes have been posted to provide ideas.

Don’t forget your cameras!

Halloween

Students are to wear their Halloween costume to school. Every student is expected to be a part of this activity: however it is not necessary for you to purchase expensive items. Costumes should be in good taste, meaning no weapons, masks, graphic violence, immodest dress or inappropriate slogans. After the saints parade, the students will change back into their Halloween costumes. The eight graders will again help the students change into their costumes.

Students are welcome to bring in treats for their classmates. We will pass them out after the Saints Parade. There are 24 students in the classroom. Please be sure to have enough treats for each student.

Don’t forget your cameras!

Schedule:

8:00 Halloween costume parade

8:30 classroom activities

9:00 snack/recess

9:30 change for Saints parade

10:00 Saints parade

11:00 buddy activity

Homework

MATH: Review or complete the math sheet your child is bringing home daily.

Minibook: The letter “Rr” minibook will be sent home on Tuesday and will be due on Friday.

Bring: Bring items that begin with letter “Rr” on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

READING: Don’t forget to mark the Reading Calendar. Please read with your child for 10 minutes or let your child read to you. Please return the October calendar by the end of the week.

In Class We Are Learning

Phonics                         

Letter Mm, Rr

Word wall word: the            

Math

Identify and order numbers 1-10

Ordinal position to fourth

Religion

Identify their own and others’ feelings

Trustworthiness

Science

Characteristics of geographic features

Social Studies

Describe characteristics of leaders at home and at school

Language Arts

Oral comprehension

 

Last year’s Halloween pictures

I am posting last year’s Halloween pictures.  These pictures can give you ideas for Halloween costumes and Saint’s Day costumes. 

 

Kinder News – 10.19.2009

Character counts week: This week the school will be celebrating character counts week. Below is the schedule for the week. We will have special activities each day.

    Monday: Character counts week will be introduced at the morning assembly by student council. Students will recite the Character Counts pledge.

    Tuesday: Rainbow Day – students will write a goal/pledge relating to the pillar of Caring. All students’ cards will be used to create a large rainbow.

    Wednesday: Buddy Day – Students will wear accessories in the color of red. (ex: jewelry, socks, hats, scarves, sweaters). Students will work with their buddy class to create a pillar representing

the pillar of Caring

    Thursday: Students will write a secret message to their buddy thanking them for their help or relate it to one of the pillars (trustworthiness, caring, fairness, citizenship, respect, responsibility).

The notes will be placed into a balloon and sent to their buddy. The Kindergarten students will receive a balloon/note from their buddy and will get to pop their balloon in order to read the note.

    Friday: Popsicle Day – Students may purchase a multicolored popsicle for $1.00 at recess and have extra recess time. The money collected will be donated to UNICEF.

Friday:

Spirit Dress – There will be spirit dress on Friday. Students will wear their purple Kindergarten shirts with blue or black jeans.

    VIRTUS Training – VIRTUS training will be available at school on Friday, October 23^rd from 8:30-11:30 in the 7^th grade classroom. Parents who want to volunteer at school will need to complete

this training. More information can be found at www.virtus.org.

Halloween & Saints Day Parade: A letter explaining Halloween and All Saints Day parade procedures were sent home on Friday. Please look over this carefully. I will be assigning students their designated saint soon. Please let me know if there are any requests. Students will be designated a saint with the same name or similar name as their own.

Curriculum map: The curriculum map for the first quarter has been posted on its own page on the blog. I will be updating this each quarter.

Reading Activity: I will post a reading activity that can be done at home each week. The activities are from 101 Reading
Activities by Suzanne I Barchers, Ed.D., Marilee Robin Burton, and Beth Alley Wise. I have also added a “Reading Activity” page on this blog. This page will have all the activities I have posted. These are activities that make reading fun for the students and parents. These activities can be altered accordingly. I would appreciate any feedback after each activity.

1. Alphabet Eating: What you will need – alphabet book that deals with food. Read the alphabet book together. Then read the book again, but this time have the child point to and read the words. Next list all the foods illustrated and organize them from A to Z. Some letters will have more than one food, other letters will have none, but include all of them. Now plan what foods to eat over the course of a week, with the intention of eating through the alphabet. Use the letters with several choices to provide a series of menus that are balanced and interesting. Write up a menu for each meal, and have the child read the food words. At the end of the week evaluate the process. Was it fun? Did the child learn some new words and try some new foods?
   

Homework

MATH: Review or complete the math sheet your child is bringing home daily.

Minibook: The letter “Hh” minibook will be sent home on Monday and will be due on Wednesday. The letter “Mm” minibook will be sent home on Thursday and be due next Monday.

Bring: Bring items that begin with letter “Hh” on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Bring items that begin with letter “Mm” on Thursday, and Friday.

READING: Don’t forget to mark the Reading Calendar. Please read with your child for 10 minutes or let your child read to you.

In Class We Are Learning

Phonics                         

Letter Hh, Mm

Word wall word: the            

Math

40^th day of school!

Different attributes to describe shapes

Identify and order numbers 1-10

AB pattern

Religion

Be aware that God creates and loves all people

Identify their own and others’ feelings

Trustworthiness

Science

Characteristics of geographic features

Social Studies

Describe characteristics of leaders at home and at school

Language Arts

Match lowercase and uppercase letters

 

Class Picture Retakes

LifeTouch will be returning to school on Monday for picture retakes.  Students will be able to retake their photos if you’d like.  The Kindergarten class will also be retaking our class picture.  It is important that all the students are at school on time and wearing the proper uniform.

GIRLS: jumper, white sailor blouse, white ankle socks, black mary janes, and tie

BOYS: long pants, gray short sleeve polo, belt and black tennis shoes