Weekly News: November 29

Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week off with your families! There is A LOT going on in these next three weeks so please take a moment to read...

I very much enjoyed meeting with all of you during our parent conferences and felt that our discussions were extremely beneficial. Looking forward to spending the rest of the year with you and your child!

We are surprisingly running out of a few classroom supplies so I have updated our "Classroom Wish List". Please visit this page if you are able to donate in any way. Thank you!

After my latest assessments, I have moved around a few students for reading groups. This week, if your child is bringing home a book that has been previously read, please know that I am focusing on fluency with your child.

Upcoming Events:


Monday, December 6th: Our Drama classes proudly present, "A Classic Christmas". Come support your ILCS friends (and Miss Reeve!) and see a great show! The show will take place at the Bryant St. campus church at 6:00.

Wednesday, December 8th: SANTA WORKSHOP 12:00-3:00 open at our West Campus for kiddos to come by and make a fun Christmas craft (for a small fee per item made). If you are able to help out at this event, please contact Michele or PTO :)


Thursday, December 9th: ILCS WINTER PERFORMANCE 5:30-7:00 at the Parkview Middle School Fine Arts Building. Our class will be singing "Jingle Bells" with the other kindergarten classes! Come watch your adorable children!!

Friday, December 10th: SUPER SANTA SHOP for all ILCS kids to shop this year will take place 2:00-7:00 at the Bryant St. Campus!!!!

Friday, December 10th: Our next Kindergarten Copy-Staple Party! Mark your calendars now!! :)

Friday, December 17th: Our Kindergarten Christmas Centers & Pizza Party - more information to come!!

What Are We Learning This Week??:

Sight Words: BY, OUR, WHO, THING, THINK.

Letter Team: GE/GI (the soft sound of G which sounds like J, like in GENIE and GIRAFFE) and INK (like in PINK, SINK).

Word Family: INK.

Leadership Theme of the Month: SELF-CONTROL. We will also be discussing GENEROSITY in our classroom and how we can give to others and show our generosity during the holiday season.

Reading: In the 1st trimester, we learned many strategies to help us with our decoding and reading. Now we will begin discussing the way our reading makes us think. We will study and learn about SCHEMA and MAKING CONNECTIONS. Check your child's GO Folder for a special Parent Newsletter all about this new study! This week, we will read books about the holidays, Santa, generosity, and our poem of the week, "S-A-N-T-A".

Writing: We are learning to add details to our writing using the 5 W's (who, what, where, when, why). We are learning to write more than one detailed sentences on the same topic. 

Math: This week, we will begin MATH TIMED TESTS. Students will be timed on addition skills and move up levels at their own pace. We are also learning the addition "DOUBLES" in our fun DOUBLES SONG.

Homework: November 29

There will be NO more monthly homework calendars! Check back on the website EACH WEEK to read what we are learning and the homework for the week! Also, check out and print our NEW READING LOG on the Attachment Library page.

Every day and each week, homework should consist of:


READING:

• Make new flashcards for the new words and letter teams. 
• Study flashcards EVERYDAY! 
• Read Book Bag books 3 times each everyday! 
• RAZ-Kids Reading and quizzes - these quizzes will come back to me so I can see how you are doing!
• Have a parent read to child, asking HOTS comprehension questions before, during, and after reading. 
• Initial the Reading Log. 

WRITING: 

• Sharing - Write two sentences about a way you can give and show generosity during the holiday season. Draw a picture to go with your sentence. Sharing is due any day this week.
• Write sight words - Practice writing your sight words (challenge: write a sentence with each sight word!) Due Friday.
• Write a story -  write a short story consisting of two-three sentences on one topic. Don't forget your details, Neat Nancy penmanship, and proper punctuation. Due Friday.
• Take a practice spelling and dictation sentence test on Thursday to prepare for your Friday test!

MATH: 

• Our new math curriculum (with a homework component) will begin sometime after Christmas. Until then, go over the SAXON MATH page in your GO Folder each day, helping your child with any concept that is difficult. 
• Practice the following math concepts as needed:
• Write numbers 1-30 (challenge: 1-100). Focus on number reversals!
• Read numbers 1-30 (use number flashcards if your child is still struggling with number identification out of order).
• Practice counting 5s and 10s.
• Practice telling time to the hour and half hour.
• Practice counting money (pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters). 
• Practice making patterns (AB, ABB, ABC, AAB)
• Practice what number comes before, after, in between.
• Practice larger than, greater than, less than, fewer than.
• Practice days of the week and months of the year. 
• Practice addition (story problems are great too!)

Homework due Friday. Please write your name on the Reading Log and staple that to the front of homework. Thank you!

Thanksgiving Feast

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Happy Thanksgiving friends and families!!!

Thank you to everyone who helped make our Thanksgiving Feast SO SPECTACULAR!!! We had a great time!!

Congratulations to our RAZ-KIDS competition winners: Abigail Veerkamp, Ashley Parent, and Elizabeth Mays!!!!!!!!!! You'll be receiving a SPECIAL PRIZE when we get back to school!!!!!

I hope you all have a relaxing week off and wonderful holiday with your families! See you next week!!!

Weekly News: November 15

I hope everyone had a nice four-day weekend and enjoyed the time off with your family.

Parent conferences are THIS week! Please check your day and time on the classroom door. I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's growth and success in the classroom.

We are having a Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast on Friday! The kids will be eating turkey, vegetable soup, corn bread (with homemade butter!), friendship fruit salad, and of course, homemade pumpkin pie! Some of these items, like the corn bread and pie, will be made in class a few days prior to the feast. Thank you for signing up to bring items - please check the classroom door to see what day we will be needing particular items for cooking! Also - we will be making a friendship fruit salad on Friday and each student will get to add their own fruit! Please send a piece of fruit to school with your child on Friday. An apple, pear, banana, or small bag of strawberries or grapes are good examples.

If you would like to come help make this a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast for our kids, you are welcome to join us at 11:15 on Friday.

There is only one more week for the Christmas Book Order!!! Last week, I sent home the November and December Scholastic Book Order! If you would like to order books (perfect for Christmas presents and stocking stuffers!) please log in to your Scholastic account and send those orders BY FRIDAY!

NO SCHOOL ALL OF NEXT WEEK! Enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday with your families!

What Are We Learning This Week?:

This week we will continue to review everything we have learned so far in kindergarten. 

We will also be studying the Pilgrims and Indians, reading about Thanksgiving, and working on fun Thanksgiving projects!!

Again, there will be NO BOOK BAGS brought home this week. INSTEAD, our RAZ-KIDS READING COMPETITION continues!! Continue to log in to RAZ-KIDS online to read books and pass quizzes. Our winner will be announced on Friday!

Homework: November 15

Homework this week will consist of reviewing ALL letters, sounds, sight words, letter teams, shapes, coins, word families, numbers, etc. as well as RAZ-KIDS reading online. You DO NOT need to turn in homework Friday!

We DO have sharing this week. Write one sentence about what you are thankful for. Draw a picture to go with your sentence. Sharing is due any day this week.

Weekly News: November 8

There is NO school on Thursday and Friday. Enjoy the time off with your families!

 

The Book Fair was a great success! Thank you to those parents that volunteered and THANK YOU for the donations to our classroom library!!

Please continue to work with your child on ALL skills. This month, in order to assess what all students have RETAINED, I will be moving over EVERYTHING to the incorrect column and randomizing the order. A correct answer is one that is answered in three seconds or less - this ensures that the student has truly mastered this skill and ensures that students will apply this to their reading to read fluently. These ESGI reports will be reviewed at parent conferences.

100% CLUB!!!: Our goal for all kindergarten students by the end of the first trimester is a 100% retained accuracy in letter ID, letter sounds, sight words, and letter teams. We will be honoring these students on this fantastic accomplishment.

For the next two weeks, there will be NO BOOK BAGS brought home. INSTEAD, our class will have a RAZ-KIDS READING COMPETITION!!!!! Please log in to RAZ-Kids to get started. The student that reads the most books AND passes the most quizzes will receive a special prize!!!

 

Next week is parent conference week. Thank you to those parents that have signed up for a conference - I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's growth and success in the classroom.

Our kindergarten classes will be having a combined Thanksgiving Feast on Friday, November 19th. Please see the classroom door for a sign-up sheet if you are interested in donating your time or supplies. Thank you! We are looking forward to a wonderful Thanksgiving celebration together!

What Are We Learning This Week?:

The next two weeks, we will be reviewing everything we have learned so far in kindergarten.

We will also be studying the Pilgrims and Indians, reading about Thanksgiving, and working on fun Thanksgiving projects!!

Homework: November 8

THE ONLY HOMEWORK this week will consist of reviewing ALL letters, sounds, sight words, letter teams, shapes, coins, word families, numbers, etc. as well as RAZ-KIDS reading online. You DO NOT need to turn in homework on Wednesday OR next Friday!