Kindergarten Newsletter
August 13th, 2021
What a great first week in Kindergarten!!
Our students and Learning Coaches have made it so much fun starting back to school! Thank you for coming to class this week to get to know our friends and teachers! You have learned a lot this week about Newrow and our online learning school. Be sure you have completed all of your Welcome To Online Learning Lessons in the OLS by today, August 13th, 2021. If you have any questions please reach out to your homeroom teacher or CFA. It is our pleasure to help support you and your student.
Student and Family Highlights
We would love to showcase and highlight your student and your family all year long from school activities, to playing outside or playing a sport, and even celebrating a birthday or family holiday.
If you would like to submit a picture of your child, please email Kelly Pruett at kpruett@okvirtual.org and we will add them to our newsletters each time.
SY21-22 Annual Media Release Form OVCA-ISOK-K12
NWEA MAP Screener: August 23rd - 26th & August 30th - 31st, 2021
We are excited to watch you grow and soar this year!
For our progress growth assessment we will use NWEA MAP Screener. Throughout the school year your student will take the MAPS to monitor their progress and growth. We know hearing the word "assessment" can seem big and scary to both you and your student; so we will be calling it a screener or "eye exam". When you go to the doctor for an eye exam, the doctor is just checking to see what you can see, so he can help fill in what you can't. We are doing the same thing with MAP screener. We just want to "see" what your student knows. We do not expect them to know it all! We are using this critical data to help create an individualized instructional plan for your student this year. Our goal is for each student to grow 1 years growth. In order to achieve that we need accurate data each time they take the MAP screener.
In previous years data shows students who do not have help and complete it on their own show accurate data and show growth at the end of the year. Students who have help have incorrect data and do not tend to show growth at the end of the year.
Attendance to live Class Connects Tips
- Be sure to log into school each day by using your student username and password for lessons and class connects. This will put your student's name under their picture and help them receive attendance for the day. If you are logged in as the LC in class you can exit class, log out of the OLS and then log back into the OLS using your student's information and come back to class.
- If you are in live class and you begin to get lag, can not hear or see class, click on the browser refresh button and it will refresh your session.
- If you have a computer running slow, be sure to clear your browser history and or clear your cookies/cache. Old links slow down the computer. Best practice is to clear your history at the end of each day before logging off and then power down allowing your computer to update overnight.
What to Expect in Kindergarten
ELA
Be sure to work daily each week to complete your ELA OLS lessons to help you master skills we are learning in class and practice. Your student will be assigned 4 Phonics lessons each week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. Your student will have 3 Literature and Comprehension lessons each week on Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday. Your student will have 2 Handwriting lessons each week on Monday & Wednesday. Your student will have 2 Language Skills lesson each week on Tuesday & Thursday..
Friday will serve as a catch up day to complete lessons they did not finish or master with 80% or higher that week or previously.
We will use Seesaw for writing development. More information to come from your homeroom teacher at a later date.
-Writing Development with inventive spelling
-Writing Assignments 1-8
-ABC letter name fluency
-ABC sound fluency
-CVC words & nonsense words
-Sight word memorization
-Beginning Reader’s for repeated
readings to build fluency
-Reading Fluency & Comprehension
Story Time
Math
Be sure to work daily each week to complete your Math OLS lessons to help you master skills we are learning in class and practice. Your student will be assigned 4 Math lessons each week on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday.
Friday will serve as a catch up day to complete lessons they did not finish or master with 80% or higher that week or previously.
-Shapes, colors, & number Fluency
-Read & write numbers to 100
-Count to 100 by 1’s and 10’s
-Patterns
-Basic Measurement & vocabulary
-Compare objects & numbers
-Coin Names & value
-Basic time
-Days of week
-Adding & subtracting up to 10 with objects & pictures
-Speaking in complete sentences to share thinking
Social Studies & PE
PE is also only a few lessons in the course. You will complete 1 PE on Friday as assigned until all lessons are completed in the course. You will complete the OLS PE course before the end of the year. You will also complete a monthly survey from the PE link below. Be sure to keep track of your child's physical activity each day for the survey. They should get 45-60 minutes of physical activity each day.
Science & History
Music or Art
You will have 1 Music or 1 Art lesson assigned on Thursday.
Supplemental Reading Programs & Seesaw App
The Seesaw app will be used for ELA, Math, social emotional development & teacher graded writing assignments to help students grow.
There will be more information and expectations for time usage at a later time.
Log into the OLS
2. Click on the Mind Play course
3. Click on the next lessons in your course to complete:
4. Click on Open Mind Play ( link in blue)
Helpful Tips
Here are some tips to help you get your school year off to a successful start!
- Students with better attendance achieve more success during the school year.
- Make it a point to attend morning meetings at 8:45am each day, even if you have your Class Connect Sessions later in the day.
- Make a schedule and get in a routine for your school day. Make it work for you and your family! (https://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/blog/2015/04/kindergarten-daily-schedule.html This link has a sample if you'd like to look one.)
- Have a notebook or safe place to write all your passwords for your student(s). Be sure to write tech support number down and save it in your phone for easy use.
- Tech Support is 866-512-2273 If you have any technology trouble call them first and then reach out to your homeroom teacher and CFA to let us know so we can support schooling during those troubles.
- Check your email everyday! Best practice is to check it at least first thing in the morning and at the end of the day before you log off for the evening.
- Create a quiet learning space that has all your materials easily accessed. Go through your materials, unpack them and check you have everything on the list. If you are missing materials call tech support and they can send them to you. Be aware of the materials and supplies you have to help you school this year.
- Create a reading area in your home with books, pillows and stuffed animals for reading time.
- Schedule Brain Breaks throughout the day. You can google on youtube.com "Brain Breaks" for many great favorites.
- Expect your student to school for 7 hours (give or take) with breaks and lunches.
- Remember start out can be difficult but making mistakes is okay. Do not be scared to reach out for help!
Learning activities you can do at home for practice
Math Game Time Activity
Cup Stacking:
- Grab 10 cups and practice using one to one correspondence as you stack them and count them from 1-10 for oral counting.
- Hide a small piece of paper in each cup with any number 1-10 written on it. Student will pick up the cup and say the number inside the cup for number recognition.
ABC Story Time Activity
1. Visit your local library and check out some ABC alphabet books to read this week. These books are great to help kids practice saying their ABC's by name and to hear words that make the letter sounds. Students can name the ABC's on each page or echo after you for practice.
2. Create an alphabet book from items in your home. You can draw and color or take pictures of items in your home for each letter of the alphabet. Then write the ABC's beside the pictures. Staples pages together to have you very own ABC alphabet book to read and practice. Students can read these homemade ABC books with ease and success!!
Important Websites To Help You School
Your #1 spot for resources for schooling at OVCA. Policies, calendars, newsletters, staff directory, etc.
Teacher Contact Information
Ashley Neal
(405) 259-9478 ext. 3259
Kelly Pruett
(405) 259-9478 ext. 2167