Friday Note and September Snack Schedule

Snack Schedule

 Kindergarten will have a snack each day after special classes.We are asking parents to send in snack one time a month.On your assigned day, please send in enough snacks for all the students in your child’s classroom. We currently have 19 students.If you are unable to provide snack on your day, please contact your child’s teacher.

Ideas include:pretzels, cheese sticks, animal crackers, graham crackers, cereal, applesauce, fresh fruit, goldfish crackers, etc.If you are sending in applesauce, please send spoons as well.

Instead of sending in snack, you may send in $2.00-$3.00 before your child’s day.We will purchase snacks for that day.

September Snack Schedule
	1 Myriah	2 Kimila	3 Lindsey	4 Rhett
7 No School	8 Eli	9 Hannah	10 Alexis	11 Teagan
14 Jaiden	15 Devon	16 William	17 Jaxon	18 Hayden
21 Temperance	22 Emily	23 Payden	24 Remy	25 Branyon
28 Emma	29 Mrs. Wenger	30 Mrs. Wenger

Friday Note - 8/28/2015

  This will be the last week for a paper copy of the Friday Note unless I have written confirmation that you need one. If you returned the form asking me to subscribe you to the blog you should have received an email to verify that you want to receive notifications from our blog. 

Events of the Week:  It’s hard to believe that we have three weeks of school under our belt- and what a busy week it has been.

Math: In math, we learned about sorting, classifying, counting, and categorizing data. You should have noticed a Home-School Connection work mat that was sent home on Monday.  With each new topic in Math a new Home-School Connection will be sent home that introduces that topic.  These are for you to complete with your child and DO NOT need to be returned to me.  It’s a great way to practice what your child has been learning in the classroom.

Language Workshop: We continued our theme of All About Me.  Our Shared Reading for the week was Me Too.  We also introduced the sight word is.  Your child should now be familiar with two sight words: I and is.  Practice finding these in books and other writing.  We continued with the Name Game.  We’re learning more about our classmates every day.  What a fun way to make new friends!    

Reading Workshop:  This week we started a unit over reading routines.  During these lessons we will be learning who we are as readers, how to take care of books, what rules we follow during Independent Reading (IR) time, and how to share books with friends.  Our goal by the end of the year is to look at books and read independently for up to twenty minutes every day.    

Writing Workshop: Our predictable chart was, “My name is ____.”  Each day we write a daily message.  As a class we look for sight words, capital letters, and the letters we are learning in the message. 

Word Study: We started learning about the letters in the alphabet this week.  We will learn two letters each week and the sounds they make.  We will practice writing the letters with the correct formation.  This week we learned about Bb and Mm.  Be sure to ask your child the sounds they make and the words they wrote in their Alphabet Dictionaries. 

Content Workshop: We made an All About Me book.  We practiced saying our phone number, address and birthday.  If your child is unable to recite this personal information please work with them at home.  We will continue working in our book next week.   

Important Dates:

Ø  Sept.2 - Volunteer Training 2:00 Clever Conference Center

Ø  Sept. 7- Labor Day-No School

Ø  Sept. 10- Cox CARE Mobile---The Cox CARE Mobile will see infants up to age 18. The Care Mobile is a FREE medical office on wheels with services provided by a Nurse Practitioner.   They will do well check-ups, see sick kids, pre-k physicals & sports physicals. Contact Nurse Holly at 743-4810 if you need to make an appointment. 

Ø  Sept. 12-Grandparents Day 10:00-11:30 am  *Classrooms will be open for visitors during that time as students will be asked to escort their grandparents through the building.  Weather permitting, visitors may park in the open field west of the school as parking around the building may become limited.  Visitors should enter using the K-4 office entrance or the 5-8 office entrance.  The two-story building will not be open during this event. 

Important Information and Reminders:

1.        Please be sure to send all money to school in an envelope with:

a.       Child’s Name

b.       Teacher’s Name

c.        Purpose of Money (i.e lunch money)

d.       $ Amount

2.       When the weather gets too hot, too cold, or too rainy, we will have inside recess.  It is a good idea to leave a small toy in your child’s backpack for inside recess. 

3.       Please make sure to write your child’s name inside of his/her lunch boxes, jackets and coats.  It is amazing how quickly our lost and found fence gets filled up! 

4.       Lunch is at 12:00 each day, which makes for a long morning for little kiddos.  Please make sure your child eats a well-balanced breakfast to ensure that they do not become hungry before lunch time.

SIGHTWORDS

Has your child said anything about sight words??  In kindergarten, we learn sight words.  These are common words that tend to “pop up” all over the place.  By mastering words, such as our sight words, children become more fluent readers.  Also, it is so much fun to see the boys and girls get excited when they find a sight word in a book and can read it!  These are the sight words we have learned so far.  Your child should be able to read each of these words.  Please practice them at home with your child.   

I       is     

Shapes Assessment

You will notice a shapes assessment paper in your child’s folder.  After we spent last week learning to identify five basic shapes (circle, square, rectangle, triangle and hexagon), I assessed your child over their knowledge this week.  They were given a score depending on how accurate your child identified these shapes.  Each score corresponds with an achievement level (advanced, proficient, basic and below basic).  Definitions for these terms are as follows:

Advanced:   *Goes above and beyond meeting the standard

*Very few of our assessments in Kindergarten lend themselves to the possibility of advanced        

Proficient:    *Meets grade level expectations regarding understanding of the standard

                   *Consistently and independently demonstrates understanding of standard

Basic:           *Shows some success on assignments related to standard

                    *Meets expectations on only some parts of the standard

Below Basic:  *Rarely shows success on assignments related to standard

                       *Does not meet expectations for understanding of the standard

If your child did not score Proficient on the shapes assessment, please continue to work on this skill at home.  We will continue on to work on this at school as well.  This is how your child’s performance will be reflected on the kindergarten progress report. 

Continue reading books towards our Reading Journey!  Feel free to email me pictures while completing the reading activities.  We will share these during calendar time.

Next Week:

·         Our theme will be Families.  Please complete the family page that was sent home today and return it on Monday.  We will share these with the class.    

·         In math we will finish our topic over sorting.

·         Our sight word will be a.

·         Our letters for the week will be Rr and Ss. 

Have a Great Weekend!!

Mrs.Wenger

Friday Note

Friday Note 8-21-15

Events of the Week:  I can’t believe how quickly the week has gone and how much we are learning each and every day. The children are working hard to follow the rules and are enjoying their special classes.  Below you will find a “sneak peek” of the week.  Our literature block is divided into different workshops.  These workshops each have a specific format and target.  For example, in Language Workshop we focus on a Shared Reading book and discuss/find vocabulary, sight words, concepts of print (amongst other things) and complete literature responses.  In Writing Workshop, we focus on learning and practicing the strategies necessary to be good writers.

Language Workshop: This week we started our “All About Me” theme.  Our Shared Reading for the week was Things I Like.  We introduced the sight word “I” this week.  Be sure to practice finding "I" in books and other writing. 

Writing Workshop: Our predictable chart was “I am a ____” (boy/girl).  Each student dictates a sentence and then the teacher models writing it on the chart paper (see below).  This week we focused on the fact that words are written from left to right. 

Reading Workshop: We started playing the Name Game.  This is a fun way to learn more about our classmates and the letters in their name.  What a fun way to make new friends!

Math:  In math, we started a unit on Shapes.  We identified and learned the attributes of rectangles, squares, circles, triangles, and hexagons.  

Sight Words:  Sight words are common words that tend to appear often when reading and writing.  By mastering words, such as our sight words, children become more fluent readers.  Each week we will add a sight word or two to our list.  Students will be assessed each quarter over these words.  They should be able to “read” each sight word within 3 seconds. A great way to practice these words with your child is to make a set of flash cards. 

Predictable Chart:  Every few weeks (especially for the first part of the year while your child is still learning about concepts of print) we will make a class book.  It takes us four or five days to do this.  On the first and/or second day we make a list together.  This list is made up of sentences.  Everyone in the class has a sentence that is similar (ex. My favorite color is _____.)  On the third day each child reads his/her sentence and points to each word.  On the fourth day we take two or three sentences and cut them apart between the words.  We practice putting the sentences back together in the correct order.  On the fifth and final day, we make the book.  Each child cuts his/her sentence apart, mixes up the words, and then puts them back together.  Then he/she will glue the sentence on a piece of paper.  To finish the page, the child will illustrate his/her sentence.  All the pages will be put together to make the class book.  We call this whole process a predictable chart. 

I hope you hear your child coming home each day saying, “We are learning to... (Ex: We are learning to find squares.)  These are the learning targets that we focus on each and every lesson.  These learning targets come from our standards that the state of Missouri requires us to teach in Kindergarten.  These standards are called the Common Core Standards.  Every week we will focus on new skills in reading and math.  These skills are posted in our classroom so we can refer to them while learning.  

VOLUNTEER TRAINING We will be conducting our first volunteer training on September 2nd at 2:00 in the Clever Conference Center.  This is a wonderful opportunity for you to be involved in your child's classroom by reading with students, monitoring group and center work, and assisting with other class activities.  Our parent volunteers are required to have a back ground check conducted and the cost is approximately $50.   This is a one time cost to you and will be good for upcoming years (as long as you volunteer at least once a year).  If you are able to volunteer, please consider doing so.  We value our parents and the irreplaceable role that you play in your child's education.  Please contact Ms. Joetta at 743-4810 if you plan to attend.  The Kindergarten teachers would love to have parent volunteers available to help with lunch each day.  Thank you.

Important Dates:

Ø Sept. 7- Labor Day-No School

Ø Sept. 2- Volunteer Training

Ø Sept. 12- Grandparent’s Day 10:00am-11:30am (more info to follow)

~The beginning of the school year can be a difficult time for families.  Getting back into a routine can be challenging both for children and parents.  One idea to help your kindergartner get calmed down for bedtime is to read together each night before tucking him/her into bed.  Reading to your child has SO many benefits—not to mention giving your child some of that precious one-on-one time that kids love so much.  As the year progresses, you’ll be amazed at all the letters and words your child will be able to find while you are reading together.  In fact, we have already learned to look for the word “I”.  Happy reading!

Reading Challenge Information about the first quarter Reading Challenge was sent home this week.  Be sure to work towards meeting your child’s reading goal by reading as often as possible.  Thank you.

 Important Information and Reminders:

• Please be sure to send all money to school in an envelope with your child’s name, teacher’s name, purpose of money (i.e. lunch money), and amount. 

• When the weather gets too hot, too cold, or too rainy, we will have inside recess.  It is a good idea to leave a small toy in your child’s backpack for inside recess. 
• Remember, we are not eating lunch until 12:00 each day.   Even though we eat a small snack, this is a long morning.  Please make sure your child eats a well-balanced breakfast to ensure that they do not become hungry.
• Please make sure to write your child’s name inside of his/her jackets and coats.  It is amazing how quickly our lost and found fence gets filled up! 

*Thanks so much for all the items you have sent in from our wish list.  I really appreciate it! J

    In an attempt to help the environment, we are going to stop sending home paper copies of our Friday Note.  A paper copy will continue to be sent home until August 28^th.   After August 28^th, paper copies will no longer be sent home unless a specific written request for a paper copy is made.  Please fill out the attached paper and return it by Monday.  Our classroom blog is up and running.  Please check it often as I will be posting updates and important information.  Be sure to subscribe to it so you receive an email each time I post on our blog. 

Mrs. Wenger’s Kindergarten Blog:  http://mrswenger-kindergarten.blogspot.com

Next Week:

o   We will continue our All About Me theme. 

o   In math we will begin learning how to sort objects.  Be looking for a math paper coming home on Monday discussing our new unit.  

o   We will continue to do our Name Game each day until every student has had a turn.  

o   We will learn to recognize the letters and sounds for Bb and Mm.

Have a Great Weekend!!

Mrs. Wenger

Note from Mrs. Wallin regarding circle drive:

Our before and after school routines have drastically improved since day one!  We are getting students unloaded, loaded, and safely delivered in a timely manner and for that, we owe you a HUGE THANK YOU!!! 

In order to keep things running smoothly, here are the top 5 ways you can help us in Circle Drive:

1.     Line up beginning at 2:45 (12:45 on Fridays) for afternoon circle drive.  This helps us keep the circle drive clear for emergency vehicles the majority of the school day.

2.    Turn right on Brown Street as you exit and continue going straight on Brown at the intersection.

3.    Please have your student ready for drop-off in the mornings.  Finish your good-byes, kisses, gathering supplies, getting unbuckled, etc. prior to departure. 

4.    We try to maintain a smoke free campus, therefore please refrain from smoking in circle drive.

5.    For the safety and efficiency of traffic flow, please refrain from texting/talking on cell phones in circle drive.

This year I will use a weekly newsletter to keep you informed.  In an attempt to help the environment, we try to communicate through a classroom blog.  Our blog will contain information about what’s going on in our classroom.  Occasionally I will post group pictures of our class on this blog.  Your child will not be photographed alone, nor will he/she be identified by name.  Also, last names are never used on the blog.    

After August 28^th, paper copies of our Friday Notes will no longer be sent home unless a specific written request for a paper copy is made.  Our classroom blog is up and running.  Please check it often as I will be posting updates and important information.  Be sure to subscribe to it so you receive an email each time I post on our blog.  Please sign and return the bottom portion of this Friday Note acknowledging this important information.

Mrs. Wenger’s Kindergarten Blog: 

http://mrswenger-kindergarten.blogspot.com

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Please check what applies to you and return on Monday, August 24, 2015.

___ I am aware that paper copies of the Friday        Note will no longer be         sent home.

____ I will access the Friday Note and other important information           by subscribing to the classroom blog.

____ I would like for Mrs. Wenger to subscribe me to the blog.

        Email Address: ________________________________________

____ I need a paper copy sent home each week. 

Student Name: ___________________________________

Parent Signature: _________________________________ 

Thank you for your

understanding and support!!

Friday Note

FRIDAY NOTE (8/14/15)

Events of the Week:  Wow!  The first week of school has already come and gone.  You won’t believe what all we have learned so far!  I hope your little one had as much fun this week as I did.  They are a great group of kids!  We are working on routine activities, such as using the bathrooms, eating in the cafeteria, walking quietly down the hallways, and so on.  The children have made much improvement in only three days. 

A BIG thanks to Hayden for the first day of school goody bags.

                                                                                  

o    Attached you will find a copy of our classroom rules and the reading and math standards that we will be covering this year.

Important Dates:

          Sept. 7—No School-Labor Day

            Sept. 12—Grandparent’s Day 10:00-11:30  (be looking for more details)

                   

• We will have P.E. on Tuesday and Friday.  Coach Wise asks that your child wear tennis shoes & appropriate clothing on these days due to the activities they will be doing.

• If you have not reviewed the items in your child’s packet that was sent home on Wednesday, please do so and return the signed forms on Monday. 

• When the weather gets too hot, too cold, or too rainy, we will have inside recess.  It is a good idea to leave a small toy in your child’s backpack for inside recess. 

• Please place an extra outfit (including socks and underwear) in your child’s backpack.

Lunch Balance:  The price for breakfast is $1.30 and lunch is $1.80.  You must maintain a positive balance in order for your child to eat a school lunch.  You can check your balance on www.myschoolbucks.com.  If you send lunch money to school with your child, please send it in a sealed envelope with your child’s name and my name written on it.

Next Week:

• Our theme will be All About Me & My Community.  We will also learn about shapes.  We will play the Name Game to learn everyone’s names. 
• We will continue working on routine activities, such as using the bathrooms, eating in the cafeteria, walking quietly down the hallways, following the classroom rules, etc. 

Have a Great Weekend!!

Mrs. Wenger

This year I will use a weekly newsletter to keep you informed.  In an attempt to help the environment, we try to communicate through a classroom blog.  Our blog will contain information about what’s going on in our classroom.  Occasionally I will post group pictures of our class on this blog.  Your child will not be photographed alone, nor will he/she be identified by name.  Also, last names are never used on the blog.  Our classroom blog will be up and running next week.  You will receive more information about our blog next week!

Important Info. & Reminders

ABSENTEE POLICY

Please be sure your child is at school and on time each day!  If you know your child will be absent, please let me know ahead of time or send a note from home so that I can prepare make-up work.  In the event your child is sick, please call the office (743-4810) or send a note upon your child’s return to school.  If I do not receive a phone call or note, the absence is considered unexcused.  If your child has been sick, I must receive a doctor’s note if you wish for your child to stay in at recess! 

Please note the following policy as stated in the student handbook:

“Missouri Law (167.031) states that it is the responsibility of the parent to ensure that children attend school regularly.  Excessive and/or unexcused absences or tardies may be considered educational neglect.  Should a child accumulate more than 10 absences and/or tardies per semester that have not been excused by a doctor’s note or pre-approval in the office, a letter will be sent to the parent addressing the issue of attendance.  In addition, copies of this letter will be sent to both the offices of Division of Family Services and the Prosecuting Attorney.”

LUNCH

Kindergartners will be eating lunch from 12:00-12:20.  If you plan to join your child for lunch, please notify the office as early as possible for lunch count purposes.  Also, please check-in at the office when you arrive.  If you will be eating a school lunch with your child, you will need to purchase a lunch ticket in the K-4 office.  Mrs. Wallin asks that you do not bring carryout food for yourself or your child.

BIRTHDAYS

If your child celebrates his/her birthday during the school year, please feel free to send treats to share with the class. We currently have 19 students in our class. A little secret I’ve learned is to send individual treats such as cookies or cupcakes.  It is hard to cut up a cookie cake and make sure that each student gets an equal amount.  Birthday invitations may not be passed out in class, unless EACH child in the class is receiving one. 

POLICY REMINDERS

·         Students will report directly to classroom or cafeteria upon arrival.  If a student wishes to eat breakfast they must go to the cafeteria first.  Students will not be able to go to breakfast after arriving in the classroom.

·         Students may not be at the school before 7:45 a.m.  If they arrive after 8:05, they will be considered tardy.

·         If you will be picking your child up after school in the circle drive, please use the colored nametags that were sent home on the first day of school.  Since each child will be safely escorted to your car, these color-coded tags really speed up the process. 

·         Also, please remember that if you plan on your child doing anything different than the normal routine at the end of a day (for example, getting picked up instead of riding the bus like usual), please send a note or call the office before 2:00.  We cannot allow a child do anything different without permission from you, so this will make everything run smoother.  Thanks for your cooperation with all these details!

·         In an effort to promote the safety and welfare of our students, parents picking up PreK-4 students should use the north circle drive and parents picking up 5-8 students should use the south circle drive. For some, this will mean two separate pick up locations but we are trading convenience for much greater security.

KINDERGARTEN WISH LIST IDEAS:

If you would like to donate one of these items, our classroom would be very grateful!

·        Ziploc bags (all sizes)

·        Clorox/Lysol-type wipes

·        Hand Sanitizer

·        Items for out art center including:

        Sequins

Foamies

Pipe cleaners

Beads

Stickers

Pom-pom balls