Our Last Week Together in 2017!

We are so excited to perform our play, "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man" on Tuesday. There will be a school day performance at 8:30 and an evening performance at 6:00. Remember to send your child to school on Tuesday wearing plain clothing (black pants/leggings with a plain black or white top) and please meet at the church at 5:45 for our evening performance. 

We will celebrate the holidays together with fun centers on Thursday. Thank you for signing up on ParentSquare to help with this day. On Thursday, your child will be coming home with their large brown "Busy Bag". This will be filled with all of our Christmas Art, December journals, a small gift for each student from me, and our Christmas presents we have made for mom and dad. 

There are no electives this week and no Success Academy. Electives and Success Academy will resume our SECOND week back to school in January - beginning on January 16th. 

There is NO SCHOOL on Friday and for the following two weeks due to Christmas vacation!!!! This is our last week together in 2017. I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Years and I will see you back at school on Tuesday, January 9th, 2018!


What Are We Learning This Week?:

This week we will have fun and review everything we have learned so far in kindergarten. We will be learning about the different holidays of the season, working on fun Christmas projects, playing fun math games, performing our play, and reading many books about our holiday season. It's going to be a fun week! We are reviewing all of our sight words and letter teams and there will be no fluency and no paper books going home this week, but we will still be taking home library books in our book bags so make sure you are still reading every night!!! 

Weekly News: December 11-15

Monday is Grandparents Day at ILCS! We invite all grandparents who are able, to join us in the Cub's Den (church sanctuary) at 8:50. The TK and kindergarten classes will be performing a few special songs. There will also be a short presentation from our school director, Mr. Gordon, and our school principal, Dr. Urrea, as well as coffee and treats. We ask that all grandparents stay in the sanctuary for the entirety of the presentation, grab a treat, then you are invited to join us in our classroom. We will do a quick craft together and grandparents will have the opportunity to see our classroom. Grandparents day for kindergarten will be over at 9:40. We hope you can attend!


Gingerbread Man Information: 

Details: We will be performing our kindergarten play, "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man" on the evening of Tuesday, December 19th at 6:00. TK will have a small performance at 5:00, then Mrs. Bess and Mrs. Stanley's classes will perform at 6:00, then Mrs. Bobrink and Mrs. Marion's classes will  perform at 6:45. Because of so much going on this evening and the limited amount of parking, we ask you to arrive at the Cub's Den (church sanctuary) at 5:45 to get your costume on and get ready. If you come any earlier, another class will be performing/taking pictures/etc. and we need to be respectful of their time. Please arrive at 5:45. Our rehearsals have been going well and the students are having so much fun! We hope that all parents are able to make this wonderful event! 

Parent Help for the Play: We are in need of parent helpers on the morning of Monday, December 18th (8:00-9:00) to help us with our "dress rehearsal". We will also need parent helpers on the morning of Tuesday, December 19th (8:00-9:00) to help us with our school day performance, and will also need parents to help put on costumes for our Tuesday evening performance at 5:45. If anyone is able to come help, please let us know! The more, the better! Thank you!

Play Costumes: We are providing all of the costumes and props for your children. We ask that your child come to school on Tuesday (the 19th) morning and Tuesday (the 19th) night wearing a plain black or white shirt and black leggings or pants so that it is easier to put their costumes over their clothes :) The only costume that we do NOT provide is the narrator - we ask that the narrators please dress in "Sunday Best".

If you are at the store thinking of us, our classroom would love:

Christmas/Holiday stickers and trinkets 

Baby Wipes 

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: Students will continue to take home leveled Reading A to Z books and library books in our book bags, as well as fluency passages. Please practice reading these sheets and these books every day at home. Please remember that everything in your book bag MUST come back to school every day! 

Writing: We will continue to work on our writing goals as we strive to write three to five sentences every day. Some students will be writing topic sentences, three details, and a conclusion sentence. 

Math: We have been working hard on place value - learning tens and ones. You can help at home by giving your child a two-digit number and asking how many tens and ones does it have. "Let's look at the number 16. It has one group of ten and six baby ones. It's number sentence is 10+6=16. We will continue working on fun story problems and playing fun addition games.  

Leadership: Don't forget to ROAR everyday to keep earning those ROAR tickets!

Homework: December 11-15

Flashcards: Make flashcards for our new sight words (WORK, ALL, US, JUST, AWAY), and letter teams (WOR and TION). Study flashcards every day.

Phonemic Awareness: Please work with your child on: rhyming, blending, segmenting, syllables, and beginning/middle/ending sounds. 

Reading: Read the Reading A-Z books from your book bag. Read the library book in your book bag. Read your fluency passage from your book bag. Continue to read the little paper books from your at-home book box. Continue to read TO your child every night, having conversations about the stories you are reading. Continue to log onto Smarty Ants for 10-15 at least a few times a week. 

Writing: Write in your at-home journal every day. Continue to work with your child on the writing goals they need to master. While we ARE all at different writing goals, the in-class expectation is now that each child will write three or more sentences every day. Please reinforce this at home with writing homework.

Math: Continue to work on number ID, number writing, counting to 100, counting forward and telling ONE MORE. Continue to work on shapes and shape drawing. Continue to play Dreambox for 10-15 minutes each night.  Please check your child's report card from first trimester and see the Counting and Cardinality and Geometry areas where they may still need support, as discussed at parent conferences. 

QR Codes: Download and print the QR Code practice pages on ParentSquare. Work on these pages together. 

Turn-In Project: None this week. 

Weekly News: December 4-8

We are FULL of information this week so please take a moment to read carefully so you don't miss out on anything! Thank you!

Next Monday, December 11th is Grandparents Day at ILCS! We invite all grandparents who are able, to join us in the Cub's Den (church sanctuary) at 8:50. The TK and kindergarten classes will be performing a few special songs. There will also be a short presentation from our school director, Mr. Gordon, and our school principal, Dr. Urrea, as well as coffee and treats. We ask that all grandparents stay in the sanctuary for the entirety of the presentation, grab a treat, then you are invited to join us in our classroom. We will do a quick craft together and grandparents will have the opportunity to see our classroom. Grandparents day for kindergarten will be over at 9:40. We hope you can attend!


Gingerbread Man Information: 

Details: We will be performing our kindergarten play, "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man" on the evening of Tuesday, December 19th at 6:00. TK will have a small performance at 5:00, then Mrs. Bess and Mrs. Stanley's classes will perform at 6:00, then Mrs. Bobrink and Mrs. Marion's classes will  perform at 6:45. Because of so much going on this evening and the limited amount of parking, we ask you to arrive at the Cub's Den (church sanctuary) at 5:45 to get your costume on and get ready. If you come any earlier, another class will be performing/taking pictures/etc. and we need to be respectful of their time. Please arrive at 5:45. Our rehearsals have been going well and the students are having so much fun! We hope that all parents are able to make this wonderful event! 

Parent Help for the Play: We are in need of parent helpers on the morning of Monday, December 18th (8:00-9:00) to help us with our "dress rehearsal". We will also need parent helpers on the morning of Tuesday, December 19th (8:00-9:00) to help us with our school day performance, and will also need parents to help put on costumes for our Tuesday evening performance at 5:45. If anyone is able to come help, please let us know! The more, the better! Thank you!

Play Costumes: We are providing all of the costumes and props for your children. We ask that your child come to school on Tuesday (the 19th) morning and Tuesday (the 19th) night wearing a plain black or white shirt and black leggings or pants so that it is easier to put their costumes over their clothes :) The only costume that we do NOT provide is the narrator - we ask that the narrators please dress in "Sunday Best".

If you are at the store thinking of us, our classroom would love:

Christmas/Holiday stickers and trinkets 

Baby Wipes 

What Are We Learning This Week?:

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

Letter Team: INK (like in PINK, SINK) and ED (We are learning that tricky Mr. ED goes at the end of the word to tell us that something has already happened - making the word past tense. Mr. ED is tricky because sometimes he makes the "T" sound - like in LOOKED, sometimes he makes the "D" sound - like in PLAYED, and sometimes he says "ED" like in WANTED).

Reading: We are reading many books about the holidays. Students will continue to take home leveled Reading A to Z books and library books in our book bags, as well as fluency passages. Please practice reading these sheets and these books every day at home. Please remember that everything in your book bag MUST come back to school every day! 

Writing: We will continue to work on our writing goals as we strive to write three to five sentences every day. Some students will be writing topic sentences, three details, and a conclusion sentence. 

Math: We will continue working on fun Christmas story problems and playing fun addition games.  

Leadership: Don't forget to ROAR everyday to keep earning those ROAR tickets! 

Homework: December 4-8

Flashcards: Make flashcards for our new sight words (OUR, WHO, THINK, THING, THAT), and letter teams (INK and ED). Study flashcards every day.

Phonemic Awareness: Please work with your child on: rhyming, blending, segmenting, syllables, and beginning/middle/ending sounds. 

Reading: Read the Reading A-Z books from your book bag. Read the library book in your book bag. Read your fluency passage from your book bag. Continue to read the little paper books from your at-home book box. Continue to read TO your child every night, having conversations about the stories you are reading. Continue to log onto Smarty Ants for 10-15 at least a few times a week. 

Writing: As discussed at parent conferences, write in your at-home journal every day. Continue to work with your child on the writing goals they need to master. While we ARE all at different writing goals, the in-class expectation is now that each child will write three or more sentences every day. Please reinforce this at home with writing homework.

Math: Continue to work on number ID, number writing, counting to 100, counting forward and telling ONE MORE. Continue to work on shapes and shape drawing. Continue to play Dreambox for 10-15 minutes each night.  Please check your child's report card from first trimester and see the Counting and Cardinality and Geometry areas where they may still need support, as discussed at parent conferences. 

QR Codes: Download and print the QR Code practice pages on ParentSquare. Work on these pages together. 

Turn-In Project: None this week. 

Weekly News: November 27 - December 1

Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving week off with your families. I am so excited to be back at school. This is such a fun, yet busy time of the year in kindergarten with so much going on. Please take a moment to read through our news and upcoming events so that you don't miss out on anything. Thank you!

Our kindergarten classes are doing a Christmas play this year! I'm sure you have heard all about it! We will be putting on "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man". We started rehearsals before Thanksgiving break and our kiddos are having so much fun learning all of the songs and hand motions. Every student should have received his or her special role in the play, along with a script and CD before break. Our kindergarten classes will be doing two performances in the evening (so that hopefully all moms and dads can attend) on Tuesday, December 19th. Mrs. Bess and Mrs. Stanley's classes will perform at 6:00 and Mrs. Bobrink and Mrs. Marion's classes will perform at 6:45. Please mark your calendars now. This is an event you will not want to miss! We will give more information about costumes, help, and times to be there as it gets closer. 

Make sure you look at our "Reading" section this week, as we are starting some new things in our reading groups! 

Upcoming Events: 

Monday, December 11: Grandparent's Day - more info coming! 

Tuesday, December 19: The Tale of the Gingerbread Man 

Thursday, December 21: Holiday Celebration 

Friday, December 22: No School! Happy Winter Break! 

If you are at the store thinking of us, our classroom would love:

Christmas/Holiday stickers and trinkets 

Baby Wipes 

What Are We Learning This Week?:

Sight Words: AS, NO, KNOW, ABOUT, BY.

Letter Team:  KN (the K is silent, like in KNOW and KNIGHT), and EW (like in NEW and STEW).

Reading: We are reading a variety of books about the Gingerbread Man this week. We will begin taking home leveled Reading A to Z books this week. These books should not be colored or marked! They will come back to school every day. Please read these books with your child, working on various reading strategies as we discussed at parent conferences. Students will also still self-select library books to take home each day. Students will begin taking home fluency passages this week as well. Please read the note about fluency passages in your child's book bag this week and practice reading these sheets every night at home, sending them back to school every day in your book bag. 

Writing: We will continue to work on our writing goals as we strive to write three to five sentences every day. Some students will be writing topic sentences, three details, and a conclusion sentence. 

Math: This week we will learn addition "DOUBLES" in our fun DOUBLES SONG. You can help at home by asking your child doubles addition questions (2+2, 7+7, 10+10, etc.) We will start working on fun Christmas story problems and playing fun addition games. 

Leadership: Don't forget to ROAR everyday to keep earning those ROAR tickets! 

Homework: November 27 - December 1

Flashcards: Make flashcards for our new sight words (AS, NO, KNOW, ABOUT, BY), and letter teams (KN and EW). Study flashcards every day.

Phonemic Awareness: Please work with your child on: rhyming, blending, segmenting, syllables, and beginning/middle/ending sounds. Please check your child's report card from first trimester and see the Foundational Skills areas where they may still need support.

Reading: Read the Reading A-Z books from your book bag. Read the library book in your book bag. Read your fluency passage from your book bag. Continue to read the little paper books from your at-home book box. Continue to read TO your child every night, having conversations about the stories you are reading. Continue to log onto Smarty Ants for 10-15 at least a few times a week. 

Writing: As discussed at parent conferences, write in your at-home journal every day. Continue to work with your child on the writing goals they need to master. While we ARE all at different writing goals, the in-class expectation is now that each child will write three or more sentences every day. Please reinforce this at home with writing homework.

Math: Continue to work on number ID, number writing, counting to 100, counting forward and telling ONE MORE. Continue to work on shapes and shape drawing. Continue to play Dreambox for 10-15 minutes each night.  Please check your child's report card from first trimester and see the Counting and Cardinality and Geometry areas where they may still need support, as discussed at parent conferences. 

QR Codes: Download and print the QR Code practice pages on ParentSquare. Work on these pages together. 

Turn-In Project: None this week. 

Weekly News: November 13-17

There is no school Monday, November 13th due to parent conferences. 

Parent Conferences are this week (Monday-Thursday). Thank you for signing up on Parent Square for a conference.  I am looking forward to meeting with all of you to discuss your child's growth in the classroom. Please remember that because we only have so much time per conference, I'd like to politely ask that you arrive on time so we can make the most of our time together. If possible, please make other arrangements for your children, as parent conferences are for parents and teachers only. Thank you!

Thank you very much for donating to our Thanksgiving Food Box! What a wonderful way to give during this holiday season :) 

Our kindergarten classes will be having a combined Thanksgiving Feast this Friday, November 17th. We are looking forward to a great, big Thanksgiving celebration together! Thank you for signing up to donate items on ParentSquare. Don't forget to bring your fruit for our friendship fruit salad on Friday! Please send a piece of fruit to school with your child on this day. An apple, pear, banana, or small bag of strawberries or grapes are good examples. Each child will get to add his or her own fruit to our fruit salad!  If you would like to come help set up and make this a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast for our kids, you are welcome to join us next Friday at 11:30 for set up.  The feast will begin at 12:00. We need need LOTS of help for set up and tear down! Thank you in advance!

Mark your calendars now! We will be having our very own special kindergarten play, "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man" on the evening of Tuesday, December 19th. We have already started learning all of the songs and we will have "auditions" later this week. Each student will have a very special role in our play. Later this week, we will be sending home lyrics and CDs so that you can start practicing over break. Have fun! 

I am placing our holiday Scholastic Book Order on Friday! Don't forget to get your orders in - books make great gifts for the holidays! 

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

Upcoming Events: 

Monday, November 13: No School - Parent Conference Day 

November 13-15: Parent Conferences 

Friday, November 17: Thanksgiving Feast - more info coming soon! 

November 20-24: No School - Thanksgiving Break! 

Tuesday, December 19: The Tale of the Gingerbread Man 

Thursday, December 21: Holiday Celebration 

What Are We Learning This Week:

This week, we will have fun reading and writing about Thanksgiving and playing Thanksgiving games. We will review everything we have learned so far in kindergarten. We will also be studying pilgrims and indians and working on fun Thanksgiving projects! There will be no new sight words or letter teams until after break and no new QR codes posted. Please take this time to review ALL of our first trimester sight words and letter teams. Don't forget that you can still log on to Smarty Ants and Dreambox over break! 

Weekly News: November 6-10

There is no school next Friday, November 10th due to Veteran's Day and no school the following Monday, November 13th due to parent conferences. 

I can't believe we are already done with our First Trimester of Kindergarten! Parent Conferences are NEXT WEEK (November 13-15). Please sign up for a conference time on ParentSquare. I am looking forward to meeting with all of you to discuss your child's growth in the classroom. Because we only have so much time per conference, I'd like to politely ask that you arrive on time so we can make the most of our time together. If possible, please make other arrangements for your children, as parent conferences are for parents and teachers only. Thank you!

Our kindergarten classes will be having a combined Thanksgiving Feast on Friday, November 17th. We are looking forward to a great, big Thanksgiving celebration together!  We will be making many items for our feast in the classroom together! If you are able to donate items for our feast, we would really appreciate it - be on the look out for the ParentSquare sign up coming soon!  If you would like to come help set up and make this a wonderful Thanksgiving Feast for our kids, you are welcome to join us next Friday at 11:30 for set up.  The feast will begin at 12:00. We need need LOTS of help for set up and tear down! Thank you in advance!

Mark your calendars now!  We will be having our very own special kindergarten play, "The Tale of the Gingerbread Man" on the evening of Tuesday, December 19th. MUCH MORE information to come, but you do not want to miss this, so mark your calendars now! 

The APEX Fun Run is Wednesday! Whether you have received pledges or not, every child will participate in the run. Your child will be getting a special t-shirt to wear on this day, but please send your child to school in appropriate clothing and running shoes on this day.  Thank you!! 

Last week, I sent home our holiday Scholastic Book Order. Scholastic books make great gifts for the holidays and they are super inexpensive. I want to give you a few weeks to shop but I also want to make sure you receive your books before Christmas, so orders will be due the Friday before Thanksgiving break, November 17th. Have fun shopping! 

Upcoming Events: 

Wednesday, November 8: APEX Fun Run

Friday, November 10: No School - Veteran's Day

Monday, November 13: No School - Parent Conference Day 

November 13-15: Parent Conferences 

Friday, November 17: Thanksgiving Feast - more info coming soon! 

November 20-24: No School - Thanksgiving Break! 

Tuesday, December 19: The Tale of the Gingerbread Man 

Thursday, December 21: Holiday Celebration 

What Are We Learning This Week:

Sight Words: This week we are reviewing our tricky W words - WENT, WHEN, WHAT, WAS, WANT. Please continue to practice all sight words that we have learned in the first trimester, especially those your child has misread on their Friday Sight Word Tests.

Letter Team: GE/GI (the soft sound of G which sounds like J, like in GENTLE and GIANT).

Reading: We will read many books turkeys and pilgrims and Indians, as we prepare for Thanksgiving. We will practice all of our reading strategies learned so far. We will continue to read our paper books and books from our class library. 

Writing: We will continue to write at least three sentences on the same topic, focusing on neatness, proper punctuation, capitalization, and spacing.

Math: We will continue to work on our Daily Math, Math Talks, fun Thanksgiving story problems and games, and DreamBox. 

Leadership: For the month of November, our whole school will be focusing on the A of ROAR: Act Safely. We will talk about what that means and how we can act safely in the classroom, while walking, and at recess.