Waccatee Zoo

It has been one wild roller coaster of sickness in my house.  Between my kids earlier in the week to me later in the week, it has resulted in a really wacky school week.

I'm finally getting around to updating the blog with pictures from our field trip to the Waccatee Zoo.  I didn't get to take as many pictures as I would've liked.  I left with my camera in hand, but no battery in the camera.  Go figure.  That's why I love having an iphone for back up :)

The kids had a blast and really enjoyed feeding the animals and petting the ones that didn't look too intimidating...

The kids felt like true explorers going from one habitat to the next in the middle of the woods...

The amount of energy spent exploring made for an extremely quiet bus ride home...

Ripley's Aquarium

To say we had a good time on our field trip would be the understatement of the year!  We had an absolute blast.  The kids were so excited to see all of the animals we had learned about in class.  They even had the opportunity to touch a few of the animals (stingrays, horseshoe crabs and a SHARK)!

Thanks again to our chaperones who volunteered to come along and help out.  It makes the experience so much better when the kids can move about in small groups and get immediate answers to all of those burning questions that pop into their minds.

The kids are already planning their next field trip.  I keep trying to tell them that Disney World is out of the question. :)

Enjoy the pictures from our trip...

Weekly Update

I am at a conference this week, but will return to school on Wednesday.  As our nation is making a huge shift to the Common Core Standards, we are trying to stay ahead of the game by educating ourselves on how to best implement these standards in the classroom.  I ( as well as Mrs. Carrasquillo and Mrs. Chapman) hope to bring back a wealth of knowledge to our school.

A few reminders for the week...

• Field trip permission slips and money are due Wednesday, February 13th.
• A letter will be going home on Wednesday regarding Valentine's Day.
• Don't forget about our Valentine's dance on Thursday, February 14th!  

Congratulations to our VERY BRIGHT students who received awards at our assembly last Friday (and that was our entire class)!

Principal's List
Tyler Hemingway
Ayla Butler
LaVar Manning
Ambrielle Johnson

Merit List
Joshua Sherman
Ambrielle Johnson
Maci Long
Tyler Hemingway
Ayla Butler
LaVar Manning

Honor Roll
Nyla Avant
James Gregg
Jamessia Williams
Addison Smith
Avery Brantley
Dalayah Phillips
Sincere Huggins

Most Improved
David Manning

A special congratulations to Ayla Butler for receiving the MAPS Math Award!  Ayla received the highest MAPS score from both Kindergarten classes !  Awesome job, Ayla!!

Weekly Update

We officially reach 100 days of school on Wednesday.  We are SO excited!  I have so many fun activities planned to celebrate being 100 days smarter!  Stay tuned for pictures from our exciting day.

Permission slips are starting to come back for our field trip to the Aquarium on February 15th.  Please remember that all permission slips and money are due no later than Wednesday, February 13th.  The cost of the trip is $10 and bagged lunches will be provided by the school unless you want to send a lunch with your child.

On Thursday, February 14th - Valentine's Day - we will have our very first school dance.  The dance will be held from 6 pm - 8 pm in the cafeteria.  Thank you to the PTO for planning this event for all of the students and staff.

Newsletters went home last week updating everyone on future events and announcements.  If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact me or the school.

Have a wonderful week!

By the Sea

All kids have a love for animals - and it seems that most kids have a fascination with sea animals.  Well, as you can probably imagine, our "By the Sea" theme has been a huge hit the past couple of weeks.  We have read numerous books about the ocean and things we may find in the ocean, such as fish, crabs, whales, sharks, jellyfish - just to name a few.

We took a few days this week to concentrate on fish, crabs and jellyfish.  We assembled and read mini books that provided facts about each of these sea creatures (and of course we highlighted our sight words).

To share our new found knowledge, we painted beautiful pictures and included a fact in our best possible handwriting.

We created colorful jellyfish to complete our "By the Sea" scene in the hallway outside of our classroom.  Every time I walk past it it makes we want to head to the beach!

The kids don't know it yet, but all of these facts they've been learning about sea animals are gonna come in handy in a few weeks...we're taking a field trip to the AQUARIUM!!!  Shhhh...don't tell.  We finish up our unit on Friday and will make the announcement then.  But this is a courtesy shout out to you - detailed letters/permission slips will go home next week.

Have a wonderful holiday (for those that get it off)!  See everyone Tuesday!