September 23-27, 2013 Newsletter


We had an exciting week in kindergarten. In addition to the Jog-a-thon on Friday, we had great learning happening.

Reading
In our reading program, we learned about the ducbilled platypus as we read the story Plaidypus Lost. We added to our list of Amazing words with: platypus, lost, found, market, groceries, and around. We added two new words to our high frequency word list.: the and little. We learned to recognize the letters:  Oo, P p, Qq, Rr, and Ss. We practiced writing the letters Oo and Pp.  We learned about sequence when it comes to stories and that all stories have a beginning, middle, and ending.

Math
In math we began to focus on the concept of comparing quantities.  We learned the math vocabulary: more, fewer, and the same as. We practiced creating groups of one or two more and groups of one or two fewer. Miss Wilson started to use Munchie Math.  We will do Munchie Math about once every 2 - 3 weeks.  We will use a variety of foods as manipulatives that we will then get to eat when we have finished the activity.

Religion
In Religion, we learned the promise that God are to Abraham, that his family would now Amber as many as the stars. We learned a fun song called "Father Abraham" that really gets us moving. We also learned that God spared Isaac when Abraham passed the test.  Later in the week we learned about the dream of Jacob's Ladder and we each created a Jacob's Ladder out of pretzel sticks.

Social Studies and Science
We learned about the duckbilled platypus and how to use books to find facts about something that we are curious about.  We identified that the duckbilled platypus can be found in Australia, which is both a continent and a country. We found Australia on the globe.

General Classroom News
If you send a drink for your child to have during snack time, please make it plain water. We have had a number of sticky spills from juices and other drinks that children have brought into the classroom.  Your child may certainly still have juice or milk with their lunches. 
A big thank you goes to all who helped with the Jog-a-thon on Friday.
If you are a cleared volunteer please consider helping out in the classroom. I would especially like help between 9:45 and 10:20.  We are also experiencing a shortage of lunch time volunteers. I know that we have an assigned month, but we could certainly use an extra set of hands and eyes especially during the K-2 lunch period which starts at 10:25 and goes until 11:05.  Please contact Mrs. Nicole Munoz if you can help out with lunch times.
As always read Mrs. Schindler's Colt Express Blog for information about school wide events.
Remember that this Friday is a noon dismissal.
Cooler Weather is upon us, but by the end of the day jackets are often not needed and are easily misplaced. Please label your child's coats, jackets, sweaters, etc. with their name so that lost and found items may be returned to their owners.

Information for Week of Sept. 23 - 27

School Pictures Tomorrow - Tuesday, Sept. 24
Don't forget that your child is wear Mass Uniform for school pictures.  Also remember to send in the picture order form.

Scholastic Book Orders - Due Wednesday, Sept. 25
If you are interested in ordering books for your child, you have two options. 1) order on-line using the information from the letter sent home with the book order form two weeks ago, and 2) send the order form with exact payment to school. If you choose option 2, checks should be made payable to Scholastic. You may also send cash, but know that I can't guarantee that I will have change for you right away, if you send more than the exact amount.  On-line ordering typically closes at 10:00 p.m. on the due date, so if you miss the ordering window, please send the order to school the next day.  I will always close the order the day following the on-line due date.

Jog-A-Thon
As mentioned in Mrs. Schindler's Colt Express, the Jog-A-Thon is this Friday.  Please be sure to send in your child's permission form.  We need a separate form for each child in the family.  Jog-A-Thon T-Shirts were sent home today.  Students are allowed and encouraged to wear their Jog-A-Thon T-Shirts on Wednesday and Thursday with uniform bottoms.  On Friday, all students should wear the t-shirt with shorts or sweats and sneakers appropriate for running.

PearsonSuccessNet.com access
In the letter I sent home last Friday, I gave you your child's access code. This code should give access to both our Reading Street Program and enVision Math Program.  If you have trouble accessing the site, try contacting tech support to make sure that your computer is set up to receive the information. If you still have trouble, please let me know so that I can find out if there is a problem that we can fix.