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 18^th.   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.

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 11^th.   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. 11^th 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 12^th.  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 15^th will be a Spartan Dress Down Day.  Students are asked to bring a $1 donation if participating.

Congratulations!  You made it through the first week of Kindergarten!

There will be NO SCHOOL on Monday, September 4^th due to the Labor Day Holiday.  Enjoy!

·      Thursday, September 7^th 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. 4^th, as the Fall Festival will be held on Thurs. Oct. 5^th.) **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 12^th @ 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 1^st PTO meeting will be held on Monday, September 11^th @ 6:30 in the school cafeteria. 

·      The September Scholastic Book orders are due by Wednesday, Sept. 7^th.  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!!!

May 22-31

Kindergarten will practice for graduation on Monday, May 22 and possibly if needed, Tuesday, May 23 in the mornings at the High School.  Please try to have your child at school for these practices so he/she will know what to do for the evening ceremony on Tuesday. Students may be walking to the high school, so please dress your child in shoes for walking.
Tuesday, May 23 is the big day!  Kindergarten Graduation will be held in the High School Auditorium beginning at 1:00 pm.   Doors will open at 12:45. The ceremony will begin promptly at 1:00 PM, so be sure not to be late and allow time for parking! Tickets were sent home on Friday.
Remember students will be wearing caps and gowns and will NEED to wear a WHITE-COLLARED shirt for the afternoon performance Shoes will be visible so plan accordingly.  Girls should not wear hair accessories that will get in the way of the cap.
PLEASE NOTE:  Graduation caps, gowns, and TASSELS must be returned to the teacher after the graduation ceremony when signing out your child.  Tassels are NOT to be taken home (which is different than previous years).
            

Thursday, May 25 we will have a Petting Zoo for Kindergarten.  Students who have earned their monthly reward for behavior will visit the petting zoo from 12:30-1:00.
           

Friday, May 26 will be the PTO Carnival/Fun Day. This is a day of fun and games put together by the PTO.  Please dress your child for the weather and apply sunscreen as needed. Students should wear sneakers and clothing for outdoor activities.  (No dresses or skirts please—gym attire preferred!)

Monday, May 29 there is no school.

Tuesday, May 30 and Wednesday, May 31 are full days.  May 31 is our LAST day of school.

May 15-19

       For Reading we will continue Unit 6 with the story Building Beavers.  We will discuss Main Idea and review the short vowels, focusing on short /e/. 

            For Math we will finish with Topic 13, Sorting, Classifying, Counting, and Categorizing Data.  Students will tell how things are different, how they are alike, and to sort things into different groups.  Take some time and review the daily pages.

Important Dates

Friday, May 19-- Graduation practice at HS.  We are walking to HS, please wear comfortable shoes.

Monday, May 22-- Graduation practice at HS. We are walking to HS, please wear comfortable shoes.

Tuesday, May 23-- Graduation at HS at 1:00.

Thursday, May 25-- Petting Zoo

Friday, May 26-- Carnival Day

Monday, May 29-- NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, May 31-- Last day of school.

May 8-12

For Reading we will continue with Unit 6:  Building Our Homes.  The next story will be titled, “Old MacDonald had a Woodshop”.  We will be talking about what tools you need to build things.  We will review the short vowel sounds and review “characters.

To wrap up our work with the letter Q and combination “qu”, on Friday, 5/12 we will all take part in the Wedding of Q and U!   The wedding will join two letters that will be making a new sound together.  They will be joined in a union that cannot be broken.  The wedding will take place in the gymnasium, reception following.  The girls and boys can dress up.  The students will take part in many of the traditional roles of people at a wedding.  

            For Math, we will finish with Topic 12, Measurement and begin Topic 13, Sorting, Classifying, Counting, and Categorizing Data.  Students will need to tell how things are different, how they are alike, and to sort things into different groups.  Take some time and review the daily work mats.

            NSE will be having a Scholastic Book Fair from Mon, May 8-Friday, May 12.  Students will be able to shop at school and there will also be a Parent Shopping Night on Monday, May 8^th from 4-7 pm.  Our class also will have time to shop in school during our scheduled Library class on Wednesday. Please note that due to a change in PA state laws we will now need to charge tax on all book fair sales, be sure to send in extra for tax!!

            On Wednesday, May 10^th the Teens Against Tobacco group will be holding their annual Kick Butts Day event at NSE.  Students should wear sneakers!! (RAIN DATE will be Thursday, May 11^th)

 All library books will need to be returned on our next exchange day—Monday, May 8^th. 

            Kindergarten Graduation will be held on Tuesday, May 23^rd at 1:00 pm in the NS High School Auditorium.  Specific details about parking, seating, etc. will be sent home closer to the date.  Due to limited seating, each Kindergarten student will be limited to 5 tickets.  If a small child (non-school age) is going to sit on an adult’s lap, they will not need a ticket.  Your Kindergarten child is not part of the count.  No one will be admitted to Graduation without a ticket.  Graduation tickets will be sent home on Friday, May 19^th.  **If tickets are misplaced, we will not be able to replace them.

May 1-5

Monday, May 1^st and Monday, May 8^th school will be extended.  NSE dismissal will be 3:45 both days!

For Reading we will begin Unit 6:  Building Our Homes.  The first story will be titled, “Building with Dad”.  We will be talking about how a school is built.  We will review the short vowel sounds and will finish our work with the sounds /y/ and /kw/ for the letters Y and Q. On Thursday, 5/4, the girls will finally get to be Queens for a Day!

            For Math, we will continue with Topic 12, Measurement.  We will be comparing objects by length, height, capacity, and weight.

     NSE will be having a Scholastic Book Fair from Mon, May 8-Friday, May 12.  Students will be able to shop at school and there will also be a Parent Shopping Night on Monday, May 8^th from 4-7 pm. 

         In May, the Reading teachers will begin the end-of-the-year testing with each Kindergarten child.  Children will need to write a dictated sentence or two, recognize, write, and give the sound of every letter of the alphabet, be able to provide a word that begins with every letter sound, and be able to write as many words correctly in 10 min.  Please review at home!!

Kindergarten Graduation will be held on Tuesday, May 23^rd at 1:00 pm in the NS High School Auditorium.  Specific details about parking, seating, etc. will be sent home closer to the date.  Due to limited seating, each Kindergarten student will be limited to 5 tickets.  If a small child (non-school age) is going to sit on an adult’s lap, they will not need a ticket.Your Kindergarten child is not part of the count.  No one will be admitted to Graduation without a ticket.  Graduation tickets will be sent home closer to Graduation.  If tickets are misplaced, we will not be able to replace them.