Miss Reynolds' Report
November 12, 2015
At Tatem we take care of ourselves, each other, and our school.
Halloween Party
Thank you very much to all the parents who helped to make the Halloween party such an exciting event. Decorating the pumpkins with stickers especially was a big hit with the children! I loved how so many children also dressed up for the day. I am glad to see so many children come back to participate in the Halloween Parade. They got to see the teachers dress up as dominoes!
Homeroom App
In the future, my newsletter will not contain as many pictures. I think the immediate pictures from the day on this app are a great way to see what happens in Room 200.
Mystery Reader!
All About Me!
The students have loved getting to know Chase through his "All About Me" weeks. I've found it to be such a positive way to have the students get to know their classmates better and learn from each other. I hope Chase is enjoying his week! Tomorrow, we will be writing Chase's "All About Me" book. I'd love to hear any feedback you've heard from your child about the activities they've enjoyed.
Upcoming Students:
Isabel week of 11/16-11/20
Augie week of 11/30-12/4
Eme week of 12/7-12/11
Curriculum Corner
Room 200 have discussed the importance of a family. Students have shared the "gifts" they can give to their family and how a family can be a "gift" to them. It is clear that the students value their "family time." Next week, we will focus on family traditions, especially around the holiday season. Please begin to have those discussions at home. For example, one of my family's traditions for Thanksgiving is to run a "turkey trot" as a family and watching football! (Hopefully with the Eagles winning!!!)
Math
Room 200 has learned how to count by 10s. We played an indoor counting by 10s hop-scotch and a skip counting game on abcya.com that the children LOVED. Additionally, the children were able to identify and record teen numbers in ten frames. Also, we've introduced comparing numbers. The children explored their learning by playing "top-it" and comparing numbers on pumpkins. They greatly enjoyed both learning opportunities. Kindergartners have begun to look more closely at a number line. We started to learn that we can hop along a number line like a frog. The kids made great predictions before they were asked to hop forward or backward.
Fundations
Room 200 is continuing to learn new letter sounds and review previously learned sounds. Thus far, the children have learned the following letter names and sounds: t, b, f, n, m, u, i, o, c, a, g, d, s, r, and e. The children have now been exposed to all of the short vowel sounds. We have also learned how to write each letter using our own writing tablets. The letters t, b, and f all are "sky-line" letters and we begin writing them on the "sky-line". Letters n, m, u, i, and r are "plane-line" letters and we begin writing them on the "plane-line". Other letters begin on the "plane-line," but are "plane-line" round letters. Those letters include o, c, a, g, d, and s. The letter 'e' is a "special e" as it starts just below the plane line.
Please reference the Fundations Sound-Alphabet chart in the blue folder from Back-to-School Night to help reinforce our learned sounds. Many students are doing great recognizing their sounds. Please continue to reinforce these sounds at home!
Journeys
Journeys newsletters are now online at my eboard! Please feel free to review these so you are up to date on what we're learning in reading.
Students have completed Lessons 6 and 7. We learned the sight words 'I', 'like', 'the', 'and', 'see', and 'we'. We read the book, My Five Senses by Aliki, to help introduce what our senses are. Also, a BrainPop Jr. video accompanying this new learning. The students then created their own 5 senses poster using magazine clippings. The children worked so hard to explain what they picked worked. For example, one child chose a flower for the sense of smell. The child said 'I can smell flowers in the springtime.' I was a beaming teacher during this activity.
To introduce the comprehension skill, comparing and contrasting, Mrs. Custer and I compared and contrasted the letters in our last name. The children found that e, s, and r are found in both our last names. The children were then asked to share were the remaining letters in 'Reynolds' and 'Custer' would go. The children were able to take away and apply how to use a Venn diagram with their first names with a friend in the class. It was a great exercise!
We have read Chrysanthemum and Lily's Purple Plastic Purse, to analyze characters. We were able to compare and contrast the similarities and differences using a Venn diagram between Chrysanthemum and Lily in their stories.
Writing Workshop
Writing Workshop is going wonderfully in Room 200. The students have been working on writing another personal narrative about a time in their life. Through the mini-lessons, the children learned how to plan page-by-page before they begin their writing. Additionally, the children were able to learn how to stretch out words slowly as they labeled their pictures. Applying the learning in Fundations has been great when they need to stretch out words. They have learned to add more detail to their pictures by including the setting, other people, and action in their picture. This past week, the children went back to add sentences to their writing to tell a story about their pictures on each page. It is remarkable to see the growth since September!
Uncovering our High-Frequency Words
Searching through magazines for things that represent our 5 senses
Finished! :-)
Technology on my E-BOARD
In the future, there will be a folder dedicated to educational mobile apps that can be downloaded to your devices. I am working with a group of other teachers to provide the best apps for learning at home. Stay tuned!
Important Events!
Wednesday, 11/18/15- PTA Meeting 7:00PM-9:00PM
Thursday, 11/19/15- Tatem Fall Enrichment Ends
Wednesday, 11/25/15 - Student Half Day Dismissal
Thursday, 11/26/15 - Friday, 11/27/15 - Thanksgiving Break
Tuesday, 12/1/15- Tatem PAC Meeting 3:15-4:15
Thursday, 12/3/15- Friday, 12/4/15 - Tatem Holiday Shop
Reminders!
- Your child's library book is always due back Day 3 of the following cycle. Day 3 this cycle is tomorrow, Friday November 13th, 2015. Thank you!
- November Scholastic Book orders are due Monday, November 16th. There are some great holiday books that make great gifts in the 3 flyers that were sent home yesterday. I will be placing at 3 P.M. on Monday. If you wish to order books, please click here. Remember to use the code: PCYMV so we can earn more free books for our library!
- Go through and empty your child’s folder daily. Reviewing papers with your child reinforces what goes on at school!
- Please reserve a time for "Mystery Reader," if you haven't already done so!
Miss Reynolds
Tatem Elementary School
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Email: areynolds@haddonfield.k12.nj.us
Website: http://www1.eboard.com/eboard/servlet/BoardServlet?ACTION=BOARD_SHOW&SITE_NAME=haddonfield&BOARD_NAME=areynolds&SESSION_ID=cach07ygglvxt4803
Location: 1 Glover Avenue, Haddonfield, NJ, United States
Phone: 856.429.0902
Twitter: @kschultztatem