Week of November 26th

Hello everyone!  I hope you enjoyed your holiday!  We have just 3 weeks of school before our next holiday break!  I'm hoping you found some time to help your child decorate his/her holiday tree.  I'm looking forward to seeing those tomorrow!  Also, if you still have your child's craft bag, please return that asap.  

This week:
Sight Words: is, of, so, many, where
Theme: Reindeer
Literacy Skill:  Craft and Structure
Story Element: N/A
Comprehension Strategy:  Questioning
Math:  Comparing Numbers to 10
Writing: Writing with Sentences
Phonics: Pp
Phonemic Awareness Skill:  Single Sounds

Important Dates:
December 3: Candy Cane Lane Store Begins
December 4: Mistletoe Magic
December 5:  Minimum Day
December 14:  Christmas Centers

Mistletoe Magic:
We will have a holiday performance on December 4th. All grade levels along with Crams Chorus will be singing a holiday song! It will be held at Immanuel Baptist Church and the show will begin at 6:00. Kindergarten will be singing “Go Tell It on the Mountain”. This is a very special voluntary event. Your child does not need to be present this night. We will be practicing and learning the song as a grade level and if so not wish for your child to be a part of this practice, please let me know. Like I said, it is a fun and special holiday event and we hope all the students will participate. 

Christmas Centers:
We will be having some fun Christmas centers on December 14th from 9:30-11:15.  I'm looking for at least 5 parent volunteers that day.  I will also have a sign up sheet coming out on Bloomz with some items I need for our special centers.  I know how busy this time of year can be so I'd like to have that organized early.  I am also asking for each student to bring 25 small trinkets (no food) to pass out into each student's stocking.  Small trinket ideas are pencils, small toys, erasers, a sticker.... Please send these small trinkets any day before December 12th in a bag clearly labeled "Stocking Stuffers" and your child's name.  

Toy Drive:  Cram is having a toy drive.  If you have a new unwrapped toy you'd like to donate, please send it in a bag clearly labeled "Toy Drive".  Thank you!

Candy Cane Lane Store:
This store gives your child an opportunity to shop for small gifts for his/her family members.  More information will come home about this very soon.  


Homework:
Homework will be back to usual this week.  Please click on the homework tab to see the share topic.  

Please contact me if you have any questions.  

Week of November 12th

This week:

Sight Words: Review all words
Theme: Thanksgiving
Literacy Skill:  Key Details
Story Element: Setting
Comprehension Strategy:  Connections
Math:  Comparing Numbers to 10
Writing: Writing with Sentences
Phonics: Nn
Phonemic Awareness Skill:  Onset and Rime

Important Dates:
November 13-16: Minimum Days
November 15:  Stone Soup Day
November 16: Spirit Day- Dress up as your favorite fictional book character 
December 4: Mistletoe Magic

Mistletoe Magic:
We will have a holiday performance on December 4th. All grade levels along with Crams Chorus will be singing a holiday song! It will be held at Immanuel Baptist Church and the show will begin at 6:00. Kindergarten will be singing “Go Tell It on the Mountain”. This is a very special voluntary event. Your child does not need to be present this night. We will be practicing and learning the song as a grade level and if so not wish for your child to be a part of this practice, please let me know. Like I said, it is a fun and special holiday event and we hope all the students will participate. 

Stone Soup Day:
We will be making Stone Soup and scarecrow cupcakes in class on Thursday. Please send your item in tomorrow so I can be sure we have everything. Thanks for your help.  

Parent Conferences:
Please plan to arrive to your scheduled conference a few minutes early.  Conferences are scheduled back to back.  Plan for parking and there will be some gates open. You are not required to check in through the office. 

Tuesday November 13th and Thursday November 15th conferences will be in our classroom.   


Homework:
There is no homework this week however,  it would be a good idea to continue practice sight words and reading daily. There is no need to check the homework tab because I have not updated that. 

Please contact me if you have any questions.  

Week of November 5th

This week:

Sight Words: Review all words
Theme: Scarecrows
Literacy Skill:  Key Details
Story Element: Setting
Comprehension Strategy:  Connections
Math:  Comparing Numbers to 10
Writing: Writing with Sentences
Phonics: Nn
Phonemic Awareness Skill:  Onset and Rime

Important Dates:
November 9;  Minimum Day
November 12:  No School
November 13-16: Minimum Days
November 15:  Stone Soup Day

Stone Soup Day:
We will be making Stone Soup and scarecrow cupcakes in class on November 15th.  I am asking each child to bring something for our stone soup day.  Please check your child's backpack on Tuesday to find out what your child has been assigned to bring and let me know if you are unable to provide that item.  Thanks for your help.  

Parent Conferences:
Please plan to arrive to your scheduled conference a few minutes early.  Conferences are scheduled back to back.  Plan for parking and all parents must enter campus through the office.  

Thursday November 8th conferences will take place in room 15.     
Tuesday November 13th and Thursday November 15th conferences will be in our classroom.   


Homework:
Nightly Reading, Share homework and practice sight words.  
There will be no nightly homework.  

Please contact me if you have any questions.  

Week of October 29th

This week:

Sight Words: are, now
Theme: Halloween
Literacy Skill:  Retell
Story Element: Sequencing
Comprehension Strategy:  Questioning
Math:  Comparing Numbers to 10
Writing: Writing with Sentences
Phonics: Cc
Phonemic Awareness Skill:  Syllables

Important Dates:
October 31:  Halloween Centers 
November 5: No School
November 9;  Minimum Day
November 12:  No School
November 13-16: Minimum Days
Parent Conferences:
If you have not signed up for a confrence, I will be contacting you via bloomz to let you know what time I have scheduled you.  I am looking forward to meeting with everyone to talk about your child's progress.    

Halloween Centers:
We will be having some fun Halloween centers on October 31st and I would love to have any board approved volunteers on that day.  Our centers will run from 9:30-11:15.  Let me know if you can help during that time.  


New Behavior System:
Every child will bring home a colored note each day.  The color of their note will tell you how your child's behavior was for the day.
Green:  I Had A Great Day!
Your child did a great job following our classroom rules today.
Yellow:  I Had An Okay Day!
Your child needed a few reminders throughout the day.
Red:  I Had A Sad Day!
Your child had difficulty following the rules at school today.  There will be an attached note with an explanation and you will need to sign and return the note the following day.   

We review our rules and expectations in the classroom several times a day.
On the carpet, your child is expected to:
1.  Have a "listening body".
2.  Raise their hand to speak.

On the playground, your child is expected to:
1. Listen to the campus monitors.
2.  Be kind to others

During Learning Stations:
1.  Work quietly
2.  Stay in one spot.
3.  Work the whole time.
4.  Get started right away.

Please ask you child for his/her note daily.

Please contact me if you have any questions.  

Week of October 22nd

This week:

Sight Words: what, you
Theme: spiders
Literacy Skill:  Craft & Structure
Story Element: N/A
Comprehension Strategy:  Questioning
Math:  Counting Sets to 20
Writing: Writing with Sentences
Phonics: Tt
Phonemic Awareness Skill:  Syllables

Important Dates:
October 22: Red Ribbon Week

October 25: Barnes and Noble Reading Night 3-8 pm
October 31:  Halloween Centers 

Parent Conferences:
Please be sure to sign up for a conference time by Thursday, October 25th.  If you have not signed up, I will be scheduling the time for our conference.    

Halloween Centers:
We will be having some fun Halloween centers on October 31st and I would love to have any board approved volunteers on that day.  Our centers will run from 9:30-11:15.  Let me know if you can help during that time.  


New Behavior System:
Every child will bring home a colored note each day.  The color of their note will tell you how your child's behavior was for the day.
Green:  I Had A Great Day!
Your child did a great job following our classroom rules today.
Yellow:  I Had An Okay Day!
Your child needed a few reminders throughout the day.
Red:  I Had A Sad Day!
Your child had difficulty following the rules at school today.  There will be an attached note with an explanation and you will need to sign and return the note the following day.   

We review our rules and expectations in the classroom several times a day.
On the carpet, your child is expected to:
1.  Have a "listening body".
2.  Raise their hand to speak.

On the playground, your child is expected to:
1. Listen to the campus monitors.
2.  Be kind to others

During Learning Stations:
1.  Work quietly
2.  Stay in one spot.
3.  Work the whole time.
4.  Get started right away.

Please ask you child for his/her note daily.

Please contact me if you have any questions.  

Week of October 15th

This week:

Sight Words: with, my
Theme: owls
Literacy Skill:  Craft & Structure
Story Element: N/A
Comprehension Strategy:  Inferring & Making Connections
Math:  Counting Sets to 20
Writing: Writing with Sentences
Phonics: Aa
Phonemic Awareness Skill:  Syllables

Important Dates:
October 22: Red Ribbon Week

October 25: Barnes and Noble Reading Night 3-8 pm

Parent Conferences:
Information on how to sign up for a parent/teacher conference will be coming home tomorrow in your child's red folder.  Please follow the instructions to set up a time that works for you.  If both parents want to be present, please coordinate one time that works for both of you.  Thank you!


New Behavior System:
Every child will bring home a colored note each day.  The color of their note will tell you how your child's behavior was for the day.
Green:  I Had A Great Day!
Your child did a great job following our classroom rules today.
Yellow:  I Had An Okay Day!
Your child needed a few reminders throughout the day.
Red:  I Had A Sad Day!
Your child had difficulty following the rules at school today.  There will be an attached note with an explanation and you will need to sign and return the note the following day.   

We review our rules and expectations in the classroom several times a day.
On the carpet, your child is expected to:
1.  Have a "listening body".
2.  Raise their hand to speak.

On the playground, your child is expected to:
1. Listen to the campus monitors.
2.  Be kind to others

During Learning Stations:
1.  Work quietly
2.  Stay in one spot.
3.  Work the whole time.
4.  Get started right away.

Please ask you child for his/her note daily.

Please contact me if you have any questions.  

Week of October 8th

This week:

Sight Words: come, me
Theme: Pumpkins
Literacy Skill:  Key Details
Story Element: Retell, Problem/Solution
Comprehension Strategy:  Inferring
Math:  Sorting/Patterning
Writing: Writing with Sentences
Phonics: Ss
Phonemic Awareness Skill:  Rhyming

Important Dates:
October 10:  Minimum Day
October 12:  Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch
October 22: Red Ribbon Week


Beginning of the Year Assessments:
On Monday you will find the results of some assessments that I have done.  
ESGI:  This will tell you what letters (capitol and lowercase) your child was able to identify with me as well as the sound they make.  Please note, I did not test them on long vowels or the soft sounds of 'c' and 'g' so these will show as incorrect for everyone.  This test will also tell you what numbers, shapes and colors they could identify.  
STAR Early Literacy:  Star Early Literacy is a customized reading test for students to take on a computer. The test is designed for students in grades pre-K through 3 (beginning readers who do not yet read independently or need early literacy skills assessed). Scores range from around 300 to 900.  This test will be given periodically throughout the year and what I will be looking for is growth.  At this time, I consider a score below 450 to be low. If your child scored in the low range, please do not worry.  I will be giving the test again and we will look for growth.  Keep in mind, this is most likely their first time assessing on a computer.  There are many components to consider when a child scores low at the beginning of kindergarten on this test.  
Number Writing:  We have been practicing writing our numbers to 30 on this paper during our station time.  This paper can be found under the homework tab.  At this time, your child should be able to write their numbers 1-10.  
Under the homework tab you can also find an alphabet practice page to print out.  I will be assessing your child's ability to write each letter (capitol and lowercase).  This is also a great "extra" homework activity to work on with your child.

**Please note, if your child can already write their numbers 1-30 and all their letters, there is no need to do this weekly.  You can spend that "extra" time working on phonemic awareness skills.  

This assessment information is for you.  There is no need to sign and return anything.  Please use it as a guide to help your child.  

Name Writing:
Your child should be writing his/her name with a capitol letter at the beginning followed by lowercase letters.  Some students are still using some capitol letters in the middle of their name.  Also, please address capitol letters in the middle of words on the share homework and have them practice it correctly.  These are difficult habits to correct in the long run.  

Healthy Snacks:
If sending a snack with your child to school, please send something that is low in sugar.  If I notice your child is taking out cookies or donuts, I ask them to look for something different.  Thank for your support with this.  

Behavior:
Thank you for your support with our new behavior system.  The students are definitely motivated to earn green notes.  In order for this system to work in the long run, consistency is key.  The students must know that you will be asking for their note each day.  What you guys do with the notes is up to you, but typically if the note has some sort of value, they are more meaningful.  Maybe 10 notes earns a trip to the park.  This is especially key for those students who are struggling with earning greens.  When the students know you and I are consistently communicating behavior,  they're more likely to behave.  Again, thank you so much for your support with this!

Sight Work Books:
Don't forget to be practicing your child's list daily.  Some students have not attempted to pass the first list yet.  

Phonics:
We have gone through the alphabet once, very quickly.  We will now go back over the alphabet, one letter a week.  We will work closely on how to write the letter correctly, the sound it makes and hearing the sound at the beginning, middle and ends of words.  


New Behavior System:
Every child will bring home a colored note each day.  The color of their note will tell you how your child's behavior was for the day.
Green:  I Had A Great Day!
Your child did a great job following our classroom rules today.
Yellow:  I Had An Okay Day!
Your child needed a few reminders throughout the day.
Red:  I Had A Sad Day!
Your child had difficulty following the rules at school today.  There will be an attached note with an explanation and you will need to sign and return the note the following day.   

We review our rules and expectations in the classroom several times a day.
On the carpet, your child is expected to:
1.  Have a "listening body".
2.  Raise their hand to speak.

On the playground, your child is expected to:
1. Listen to the campus monitors.
2.  Be kind to others

During Learning Stations:
1.  Work quietly
2.  Stay in one spot.
3.  Work the whole time.
4.  Get started right away.

Please ask you child for his/her note daily.
Please contact me if you have any questions.