News: 

FRIDAY, WE ARE CELEBRATING OUR 100TH DAY OF SCHOOL!!!! Please check HOMEWORK for our special 100 Day Sharing Homework. Also - on Friday, please send your child to school with some kind of small snack to share with the class (a large box or bag of goldfish, gummy bears, skittles, cheerios, etc. are good examples). We will be mixing all of the snacks and counting 100 items for our "100th Day Hash". Please see the classroom clipboard in the morning if you are interested in helping out for our 100th Day! I can't believe that we have already been in school for almost 100 days!!! 


We are in need of LOTS AND LOTS of empty Capri Sun boxes!!!! If you have any please send them to school with your child! Thank you very much!!! 

We are REALLY running low on classroom supplies. If you are able, we are in need of lysol wipes, gluesticks, index cards, and items are our classroom store. 

Community Service Project: Every student at Inland Leaders is required to participate in a Community Service Project of his or her choosing. The requirement for kindergarten students consists of 8 hours of service. The 8 hours of service can be split among several community service projects. Projects in the past have included: collecting food and clothing for homeless shelters, collecting and donating to various organizations and charities, volunteering at senior citizen homes, animal shelters, and the humane society. Each child is then required to present their project in class. Presentations in the past have included: posterboards, journals, slideshows, books, and pictures documenting the project from start to finish. This is a great way to serve the community as a family. Completed projects will be due and presentations will take place at the end of our school year, but we wanted to tell you about it now so you have time to start thinking about what you would like to do.

Upcoming Events:  
Friday, February 1: 100th DAY OF SCHOOL!
Monday, February 11: NO SCHOOL!
Monday, February 18: NO SCHOOL!
March 11-22: SPRING BREAK!


What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE.

Letter Team:  ONG (like in SONG) and ONK (like in HONK).  

Reading: This week we are reading books all about our 100th Day of School! 

Writing: We are practicing writing a Step Up to Writing paragraph with a topic sentence, three things about that topic, and a conclusion sentence. 

Math: We are starting to learn how to subtract and discussing how that is different than addition. Some of us are getting tricked by the signs, so please help your child to remember to look at the sign and tell you if they are supposed to add + or subtract -. You can also help at home by asking your child subtraction stories. For example, if I had five cookies and ate 2 of them, how many cookies would I have left?

Leadership: Self-Control

Flashcards: Don't forget to make new flashcards for each sight word and letter team. New words for this week are: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE and new letter team is ONG/ONK.
  
Reading: READ your books in your book bag, READ your fluency EVERY NIGHT, READ those old books in your book box, and READ online at RAZ KIDS!!!!!

Math: Correct/Fix circled problems on math homework. NOTE: NUMBERS THAT ARE REVERSED ARE NOW BEING GRADED AS INCORRECT... WE ARE WORKING ON WRITING ALL NUMBERS CORRECTLY. Practice sorting, counting, and naming the value of coins in your bank. Have your child demonstrate how he/she can trade coins for a larger value coin (example: five pennies for a nickel, etc.) 

Writing: WRITE EVERYDAY! Try writing a Step Up To Writing paragraph!

SPECIAL SHARING HOMEWORK!!!!!!: We would like our students to practice counting to 100 by collecting 100 things to bring to school. Help them choose something small like beans, buttons, Cherrios, M&Ms, etc. Help them put their collection into a paper “mystery bag” (like a brown paper lunch bag that we cannot see through!). When they bring it to school, the class will try to guess what they brought! Students may bring their collection in any day this week, just like they would sharing. Please try to bring it in before Friday!

Weekly News January 22-25

News: 

I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing three-day weekend with your  families! 

I submitted our Scholastic Book Orders so they will be arriving in the classroom in a few short weeks! 

We are in need of LOTS AND LOTS of empty Capri Sun boxes!!!! If you have any please send them to school with your child! Thank you very much!!! 

Community Service Project: Every student at Inland Leaders is required to participate in a Community Service Project of his or her choosing. The requirement for kindergarten students consists of 8 hours of service. The 8 hours of service can be split among several community service projects. Projects in the past have included: collecting food and clothing for homeless shelters, collecting and donating to various organizations and charities, volunteering at senior citizen homes, animal shelters, and the humane society. Each child is then required to present their project in class. Presentations in the past have included: posterboards, journals, slideshows, books, and pictures documenting the project from start to finish. This is a great way to serve the community as a family. Completed projects will be due and presentations will take place at the end of our school year, but we wanted to tell you about it now so you have time to start thinking about what you would like to do.

Upcoming Events:  
Friday, February 1: 100th DAY OF SCHOOL! {more info coming later!}


If you are at the store and happen to think of us, we'd love.... 
Canon Printer Ink #210 and #211
Any sort of small {or big} prizes for our class store
Lysol Wipes 


What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: WOULD, COULD, SHOULD, WALK, TALK.

Letter Team:  ANG (like in HANG, SANG) and ANK (like in TANK, BANK). 

Reading: This week we are studying and reading about Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and the Civil Rights Movement. We will also read books about equality for all people, and our poems “Freedom, Freedom, Let it Ring!” and "Would Have, Could Have, Should Have".

Writing: We are learning how to write three sentences, starting with a topic sentence. I have been modeling a structure for paragraph writing called, "Step Up to Writing" for the students. Kindergarten Step Up to Writing is writing a paragraph with a topic sentence, three sentences about that topic, and a conclusion sentence. For example, "We had a great day at school today. First, we learned place value in math. Next, we colored snowmen at centers. Last, we read books about Martin Luther King Jr. As you can see, we had a fun time at school." 

Math: We have been working hard on addition strategies and counting coins. This week, we will work on telling time to the hour. Students will practice telling the time and writing the time. We will also learn about elapsed time. You can practice this at home by asking your child questions like, "If we go to soccer practice at 4:00 and practice is 2 hours long, what time will we be home?" or "If you go to school at 8:00 and you come home at 12:00, how many hours are you in school?"

Leadership: Our leadership trait for the month of January is SELF-CONTROL. We will discuss many ways to demonstrate self control in the classroom and at home. 

Homework: January 22-25

Flashcards: Don't forget to make new flashcards for each sight word and letter team. New words for this week are: SHOULD, COULD, WOULD, WALK, TALK and new letter team is ANG/ANK.
  
Reading: READ your books in your book bag, READ your fluency EVERY NIGHT, READ those old books in your book box, and READ online at RAZ KIDS!!!!!

Math: Correct/Fix circled problems on math homework. NOTE: NUMBERS THAT ARE REVERSED ARE NOW BEING GRADED AS INCORRECT... WE ARE WORKING ON WRITING ALL NUMBERS CORRECTLY. Practice sorting, counting, and naming the value of coins in your bank. Have your child demonstrate how he/she can trade coins for a larger value coin (example: five pennies for a nickel, etc.) 

Writing: WRITE EVERYDAY! Practice writing a TOPIC sentence then three things about that topic. 

Sharing: Write two sentences about what we are learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and equality. Draw a picture to go with your sentences.

Weekly News: January 14-18

News: 

No School next Monday, January 21st!!! Enjoy the three day weekend!!

A note regarding school security: our classrooms now have locks which are to remain locked at all times.  As always, all visitors must sign in at the office.  Thank you for your cooperation in helping to keep our students safe. 

Students have been doing such a wonderful job on writing last names! If your child is still struggling with this, please practice at home!


Scholastic Book Orders were sent home this week! Students also received a little coupon for the new year! If you'd like to order books, please do so by Friday!!!

Our "banks" have been a big hit in the classroom! Students are excited to "earn money" for staying on yellow and green, for making good use of classroom time, and for good behavior throughout the day. On Friday, we had our first visit to the bank and classroom store. Students could trade out their money for larger coins (5 pennies for a nickel, etc) and choose to spend money on a treasure or save it for a larger prize later. Please continue to count money received everyday and reinforce the responsibility of taking care of banks. Also, if you are able, we'd love more prizes for our "class store"!!! Thank you for your continued support!  

Community Service Project: Every student at Inland Leaders is required to participate in a Community Service Project of his or her choosing. The requirement for kindergarten students consists of 8 hours of service. The 8 hours of service can be split among several community service projects. Projects in the past have included: collecting food and clothing for homeless shelters, collecting and donating to various organizations and charities, volunteering at senior citizen homes, animal shelters, and the humane society. Each child is then required to present their project in class. Presentations in the past have included: posterboards, journals, slideshows, books, and pictures documenting the project from start to finish. This is a great way to serve the community as a family. Completed projects will be due and presentations will take place at the end of our school year, but we wanted to tell you about it now so you have time to start thinking about what you would like to do.

Upcoming Events:  
Monday, January 21: NO SCHOOL
Friday, February 1: 100th DAY OF SCHOOL! {more info coming later!}


If you are at the store and happen to think of us, we'd love.... 
Canon Printer Ink #210 and #211
Any sort of small {or big} prizes for our class store
BLACK expo markers!!!! 
Lysol Wipes 


What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: OF, BACK, SAY, SAYS, PLEASE.

Letter Team:  CK (We are learning that CK makes the K sound and helps the vowel to say it's short sound, like in BACK, NECK, PICK, LOCK, DUCK - notice how all the vowels are the short sound!)

Reading: This week we are studying and doing projects with "The Mitten" by Jan Brett. We will discuss and record story elements such as author, illustrator, setting, and characters. We will read books winter and our poems “The Mitten” and "Warm Mittens".

Writing:  We will work on writing three sentences on the same topic and thinking of good topic sentences to begin our writing.

Math: We have been working on addition in the classroom. We are trying to use all of our addition strategies instead of just using our fingers. Some of our strategies include drawing a picture, using a number line, using a manipulative, counting our fingers, memorizing our math facts. Our favorite is putting the big number in our brain and popcorn counting up. In order to practice our math strategies and help the students have a deeper understanding of addition, we have increased the time of our "timed tests". We are encouraging the students to use number lines and manipulatives when working on their tests, explaining HOW they are solving the problem. 

Leadership: Our new leadership trait for the month of January is SELF-CONTROL. We will discuss many ways to demonstrate self control in the classroom and at home. 

Homework: January 14-18

Flashcards: Don't forget to make new flashcards for each sight word and letter team. New words for this week are: OF, BACK, PLEASE, SAY, SAYS and new letter team is CK.
  
Reading: READ your books in your book bag, READ your fluency EVERY NIGHT, READ those old books in your book box, and READ online at RAZ KIDS!!!!!

Math:  For math homework, please correct the circled problems on the Excel Math from each day. Please also continue to reinforce ALL concepts at home that we have learned in class! You DO NOT need to turn these in.. they are simply for you to go over with your child to reinforce concepts they might not be understanding. NOTE: NUMBERS THAT ARE REVERSED ARE NOW BEING GRADED AS INCORRECT... WE ARE WORKING ON WRITING ALL NUMBERS CORRECTLY. 

Writing: WRITE EVERYDAY! Write your sight words, write your sight words in a sentence, write your sight words in alphabetical order, write a story from your life. Just keep WRITING, WRITING, WRITING. 

Sharing: Write two sentences about ways you can demonstrate self control. Draw a picture to go with your sentences.

Weekly News: January 7-11

News: 

Happy New Year and welcome back to school! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and a very Happy New Year with family and friends! 

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO READ THIS ENTIRE SECTION AS THERE IS A LOT OF NEW INFORMATION!

Beginning after the holiday break we will now have each student write his/her first and LAST NAME on all papers, homework, etc.  If your child does not know how to write his/her last name, please practice this at home (it can become part of homework writing!). We will be practicing at school as well. Each student will now have last names written on their NEW Take Home Folders and name tags for support in the classroom. 

Yes, we have NEW Take Home Folders! These will be the LAST Take Home Folder for the year and we will be discussing responsibility and handle and care of these folders in the classroom. There might even be prizes awarded throughout the rest of the year on "Who has the nicest and cleanest Take Home Folder"! 

Also beginning after the holiday break each child will have a “bank” attached to his/her new folder. The “bank” is a ziploc baggie taped to the folder. Each day your child will have the opportunity to earn money at the end of the day - the money will replace the stickers! Students will receive a penny for staying on yellow and green for the day. Students will also have the opportunity to receive nickels and dimes in the classroom as rewards throughout the day. Instead of Treasure Box on Fridays, now they will visit the CLASS STORE! Each student will count money, trade money (example: five pennies for one nickel) and have the opportunity to spend their money on the items that are now “on sale” at the class store. Of course, bigger treasures will cost more money, which I hope will reinforce self-control and teach students about saving. Each child will be responsible for keeping track of their own bank and for counting the money in it. (This too will be great homework practice). Please encourage your child to take care of and keep track of his/her bank, as lost banks and/or money WILL NOT BE REPLACED!  Also, if students forget folders at home, they will not receive money for that day. The bank is designed to teach responsibility and accountability as well as reinforce math skills. This is a great life skill your child will benefit from in the future!! Thank you for your continued support.

The Fresh & Easy Fundraiser has officially come to an end. Please send or bring in your Fresh & Easy receipts dated from September 12, 2012 - December 31, 2012. Please turn these in no later than Friday, January 11th! We are excited to see how much money we made working together for ILCS! Thank you for your participation and your support!

Winter electives and after-school tutoring begin this week! 

Upcoming Events:  
Monday, January 21: NO SCHOOL
Thursday, January 31: 100th DAY OF SCHOOL! {more info coming later!}


If you are at the store and happen to think of us, we'd love.... 
Canon Printer Ink #210 and #211
Any sort of small {or big} prizes for our class store 


What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: WORK, ALL, AWAY, JUST, US.

Letter Team:  WOR (the OR sounds like Mr. ER, like in work and word) and TION (sounds like SHUN like in vacation, invention, connection). 

Reading: This week, we will read books about winter and our poem “I’m a little Snowman”. 

Writing:  We will work on writing three sentences on the same topic and thinking of good topic sentences to begin our writing.

Math: This week, we will make a list of all the addition strategies we can use to solve addition problems. We will practice solving addition problems using these various strategies. We will also discuss "positional words" like above/below, left/right, over/under. 

Homework: January 7-11

Flashcards: Don't forget to make new flashcards for each sight word and letter team. New words for this week are: WORK, ALL, AWAY, US, JUST and new letter teams are WOR and TION.
  
Reading: READ your books in your book bag, READ your fluency EVERY NIGHT, READ those old books in your book box, and READ online at RAZ KIDS!!!!!

Math: We are done with Kindergarten (Saxon) Math and focusing on our 1st Grade (Excel) Math. These are those long math sheets you have seen coming home. For math homework, please correct the circled problems on the Excel Math from each day. You do not need to turn this in. Another new part of math homework will also be counting the money in your "bank" each night. Name each coin and count all of your money!

Writing: WRITE EVERYDAY! Write your sight words, write your sight words in a sentence, write your sight words in alphabetical order, write a story from your life. Just keep WRITING, WRITING, WRITING. 

Sharing: In the second trimester, we will now be writing TWO sentences for our sharing. Remember that sharing is due ANY day this week, but must be turned in by Friday. Please also remember to practice your sharing at home before you read it in front of the class. This week, our sharing is to write TWO sentences about winter activities/things you like to do in winter. Draw a picture to go with your sentences.