Friday, September 29, 2017

October 2-6
We will be starting our 5th story for Reading, Smash! Crash!   Our focus will be on the story’s character.  Continue to read at home and practice the high frequency words, practice rhyming and counting syllables in words and identifying the letters from Aa-Zz.

For Math we will be finishing up with Topic 15: Position and Location of Shapes.  Be sure to review daily practice pages and review the positional words/concepts inside, outside, in front of, behind, next to, above, below, on, left, and right.

Monday, October 2, if your child wears a blue shirt, they may also dress down.  This is in support of Bullying Prevention.

The Kindergarten Fall Festival will be held on Thursday, October 6th. Students will be permitted to wear gym clothes on Thursday no matter what their special is.

Diane Rowland, will visit with our class on Friday, October 9th.  She will be speaking with the children about Drugs and Alcohol in preparation for the annual Red Ribbon Week, which will be held the last week of October.  Take some time to ask your child what he/she learned and/or discussed at school that day!

New October “AR” Book Buddy recording sheets are enclosed in your child’s bag.  Any student who reads 15 or more books will receive a monthly treat! Congratulations to all the students who met and/or exceeded their September goal! (Don’t forget library books can also be recorded on the recording sheets.)

There is no school for students on Monday, October 9.

Wednesday, October 11th is the next Data Delay.

Thursday, October 12th is picture retake day.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

September 25-29
This week we will be starting our story for Reading, "Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip with Kindergarten".  We will be talking about people in communities and will be learning how to classify and categorize.  Continue to read at home and practice the high frequency words; I, am,the, and little; practice rhyming and counting syllables in words and identifying the letters from Aa-Zz.   

For Math we will be finishing up with Topic 15: Position and Location of Shapes.  Be sure to review daily practice pages and review the positional words/concepts inside, outside, in front of, behind, next to, above, below, on, left, and right.

Our Science theme for the week will be APPLES.  The apple can be any size, color, or kind.  Each day of the week we will use the apples for sorting, graphing, and/or tasting!  We will also enjoy the theme by celebrating Johnny Appleseed’s birthday! It should be a sweet week!!!

Sight Words are assessed once a week.  There are flash cards in your child’s folder that you should be using to review the words nightly.  Some of the class are still on List 1.   When your child moves on to a new list, continue to study the previous words along with the new list.  There will be “review” tests given throughout the year to make sure students know all the words and not just the list that they are working on that week. 

The Kindergarten Fall Festival will be held on Thursday, October 5th.  We are asking that each child please donate $3.00 for the Fall Festival. Please send it all donations by Friday, September 29th if you haven’t done so already!  Students will be permitted to wear gym clothes on Thursday no matter what their special is. 

On Friday, September 29th, I will be checking each student on their 5 number ID.  A treat will be given if they know it.

AR (accelerated reader) lists are due on Friday, September 29.  Each child had to read 15 books to receive the Pizza Hut certificate.  A new October paper will be sent home on October 2.


Friday, September 15, 2017

September 18-22
Our next reading story will be Plaidypus Lost.  In this story, we will tag along with a lively young girl and her constant companion, Plaidypus, as they find adventures wherever they go!  We will be learning to recognize the letters Oo, Pp, Qq, Rr, and Ss, and we will practice the comprehension skill: sequence.   Continue to read at home, talk about story characters and setting, and recognize the letters from Aa-Nn, as well as the high frequency words I, am, the and little. 

In Math we will finish working with Topic 14: Identifying and Describing Shapes. Boys and girls should correctly name shapes (rectangles, squares, circles, triangles, and hexagons) regardless of their orientation or overall size and identify shapes as 2 dimensional, “flat” or 3 dimensional “solid”. 

Word lists will be checked during the upcoming week by Friday, 9/22 and if all words are read correctly, then Word List 2 will be tested next, etc.  If more time is needed with list one, then List 1 words will be checked again the following week before List 2.  Continue to practice sight words daily!!

 The PTO school store will open on Monday, September 18th.   Kindergarten students will be able to shop on a MONDAYS from 8:20-8:45.  Students are asked to shop ONLY on this day of the week and at this time.  Please do not put school store money in your child’s folder.  (Teachers will NOT see it until after the store closes.)  Students should keep it separate in backpacks where THEY can reach it easily for shopping BEFORE homeroom.

The Kindergarten Fall Festival will be held on Thursday, October 5.  We are asking that each child to please donate $3.00.

Also, anyone interested in helping at the Fall Festival, please attend the meeting on Tuesday, September  19 at 6:30 at the Chill Out in Shenandoah.

Book orders are due Monday, September 25.

Friday, September 8, 2017

September 11-15



On Monday, we will begin our 2nd Reading story, We Are So Proud. We will work on recognizing the letters Ff, Gg, Hh, Ii, Jj, Kk, Ll, Mm. and Nn.  Continue to read at home, talk about story characters (who the story is about) and setting (where and when the story takes place), and read the high frequency words I and am.

Word list 1 (I, a, and, the to) will be checked during the upcoming week by Friday, 9/16 and if all words are read correctly, then Word List 2 will be tested next.  If more time is needed with list one, then List 1 words will be checked again the following week before List 2.  Continue to practice sight words daily!!

In Math we will finish working with Topic 14: Identifying and Describing Shapes. Boys and girls should correctly name shapes (rectangles, squares, circles, triangles, and hexagons) regardless of their orientation or overall size and identify shapes as 2 dimensional, “flat” or 3 dimensional “solid”. 

Boys and girls have been doing a Super Job with their AR “Book Buddy” books. Remember, any books your child and you read together at home can be recorded on the monthly reading log . 

 The PTO school store will open on Monday, September 11th.   Kindergarten students will be able to shop on a MONDAYS from 8:20-8:45.  Students are asked to shop ONLY on this day of the week and at this time.  Please do not put school store money in your child’s folder.  (Teachers will NOT see it until after the store closes.)  Students should keep it separate in backpacks where THEY can reach it easily for shopping BEFORE homeroom.

Parents and Guardians interested in joining the PTO should sign up and pay $5.00 as soon as possible.  There will be a PTO meeting on Monday, Sept. 11th in the cafeteria beginning at 6:30.  All are invited and encouraged to attend.  The required clearances must be on file in the office before you are allowed into the school to help as a PTO member.  

Picture Day is Tuesday, September 12th.  Money is due at the time of pictures and SCHOOL DRESS CODE is to be followed on picture day!  ALL students will be photographed whether or not pictures are being purchased.  Kindergarten will be photographed early in the morning so be on time to school!  Also, if you DO NOT plan to purchase pictures, please send a note stating you do not want to buy pictures, so we are not looking for an order/money envelope that morning.  

Wednesday, September 13th is a Data Delay.  School starts 2 hours later than regular time.  There is NO special on Data Delays.

Friday, September 15th will be a Spartan Dress Down Day.  Students are asked to bring a $1 donation if participating.

Friday, September 1, 2017



Congratulations!  You made it through the first week of Kindergarten!
There will be NO SCHOOL on Monday, September 4th due to the Labor Day Holiday.  Enjoy!
·      Thursday, September 7th will be the Fall Festival Parent meeting @ 2:00 in the NSE cafeteria.  Any parent or grandparent who would like to help with the planning is welcome and encouraged to attend.  (Keep in mind that all volunteers helping the day of the Fall Festival must have all required clearances on file in the office by Oct. 4th, as the Fall Festival will be held on Thurs. Oct. 5th.) **If you would like to help, but cannot make the meeting on 9/7, then please send a note with your name and contact info. (email and phone#).
·      School picture day will be Tues. September 12th @ NSE.  Picture info/envelopes are being sent home today, 8/31.  ALL students will be photographed regardless of purchase so please dress your child accordingly.  School dress code must be followed on picture day.Payment is due on 9/12, but if you can send it by Monday, 9/11 it would be greatly appreciated, as Kindergarten will be photographed first in the morning and it is difficult to locate all envelopes out of folders that morning prior to being photographed.
·      We’ve begun our enVision Math.  We will continue working on Topic 13: Sorting, Classifying, Counting, and Categorizing Data.   Please review practice pages that come home daily. 
·      For Reading we began with the story, The Little School Bus.  A Family Times newsletter was sent home with details about the story and skills we will be working on.  Please review the Amazing words, the ordinal numbers, first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth, letter recognition of letters Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, and Ee, the story element “character”, and the high frequency words I & am. 
·      Continue to check your child’s communication folder daily.  Items on the KEEP side need to be removed at home. Any money, notes, or items for the teacher to see NEED to be in your child’s folder.  Mrs.Kaminsky doesn’t look through book bags---only the folders!
·      Those interested in volunteering this school year should join the PTO and have a criminal record check, a child abuse clearance, and fingerprinting on file in the office, and complete ACT 126 training before helping with the children at school.  The 1st PTO meeting will be held on Monday, September 11th @ 6:30 in the school cafeteria. 
·      The September Scholastic Book orders are due by Wednesday, Sept. 7th.  Orders can be placed online at www.scholastic.com/readingclub or send in orders and money to the teacher—cash or check made payable to Scholastic.
·      Try to make sure your child has his/her bus tag every day.  The end of the day can be hectic and some children don’t know their bus numbers yet!
·      Keep practicing your child’s 5-digit number and begin practicing daily sight words!!  The first list won’t be tested for at least a week or two!!
**A BIG Thank You to all the parents who have donated supplies and items from our “helping hands”.  Your donations are greatly appreciated.
I hope your child has enjoyed his/her first week and is looking forward to returning on Tuesday!!!