Weekly Update

You should've received this week's homework packet, field trip information and your child's interim report, as well as DIBELS results in agendas this afternoon.  Please note...

HOMEWORK - Keep homework packets at home so we can avoid them getting lost to and from school.   They are to be turned back in on Friday.  If your child is not completing his/her homework, they are not getting the practice they need to reinforce skills and concepts being learned at school.  Please make sure you are reading every night with your child and practicing their weekly sight words as well.  Learning is a team effort between each child, their teachers and parents.

FIELD TRIP:  We are taking our first field trip on September 28th to Thompson Farms.  Please review all of the information sent home and return money and permission slips by Thursday, September 27th.

INTERIM REPORTS:  Because the first few weeks of school are primarily dedicated to procedures, you will notice that most of the skills are marked as developing.  This simply means we are still working on said skills and your child has not yet reached the point of mastery.  In four weeks your child will receive his/her first report card.  This will be a better reflection on where your child stands in certain areas.

DIBELS - The results form sent home indicates the expected goal for beginning of the year and how your child scored in comparison.  The skills tested were letter name recognition (being able to recognize letters and name them) and first sound fluency (being able to provide the first sound in each given word).  If your child scored below the expected goal, it is important that you are aware of what skills they should be working on at home. 

We celebrate James Gregg this week as our STAR Student.  James has the best smile and always has it on display.  He has wonderful manners and exhibits great citizenship.  Congratulations to James!

First Week Success

We are settling in after three extremely successful days of kindergarten.  Rules and procedures are being learned quickly, which means we can jump right into curriculum this upcoming week.  We are still ironing out some wrinkles with behavior, but that is to be expected in a brand new environment.

We got acquainted with our room this week.  I allowed all of the kids to explore the various areas and the materials they will be using in those areas.  Learning how to use them properly and taking care of them will be included in this week's lesson plans.

Please be checking your child's green take home binder this week for new information, notes from me and a new homework calendar.  I will be keeping you informed as much as possible on what we are learning in the classroom and the exciting activities we have planned.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Week 36

I am out today with a yucky bug of some sort, but want to make sure I update everyone for this week.  Wednesday is GRADUATION!  Can you believe it?  It will take place in the Muli-Purpose Room beginning at 9:30.  There is a reception that will follow.  We hope to see everyone there.

There is NO HOMEWORK this week.  Instead, we will be sending home a summer packet next week full of great activities that will hopefully keep your child in the "school state of mind" and will further prepare him/her for 1st grade.

Don't forget that Monday, May 28th there is no school.  School is closed for the Memorial Day holiday.

We were so busy with DIBELS testing last week (everyone did AWESOME) that I never got around to posting to the blog, which means last week's Student of the Week went unrecognized.  Congratulations to Jamauri Davis for receiving that honor.  This week's Student of the Week is DerryIana Holmes.  She has done an amazing job in the classroom and works very hard academically.

Homework Basics

Every Monday your child will receive two packets that they will complete for homework.  One packet is composed of practice worksheets that reinforce our weekly lessons.  The other packet consists of assignments to encourage parent/child connections at home.  These you will complete with your child.

In addition to the packets, we will also send a printable book home that should be read with your child.  These books will have a greater impact on their reading readiness if read more than once.  The more words a child sees repeatedly, the quicker they will be able to recognize those words in later readings.  Please take the time to document all of the books you are reading with your child in the reading log.

You will also find spelling word flashcards that we will continue adding to every week.  By the end of the year they will have the complete set of kindergarten dolch/sight words that are so critical when learning how to read.

Your child will be graded on timeliness, accuracy and neatness.  Please encourage proper letter/number writing, neat handwriting and completion of homework.

Any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to contact me.