Dorn's February Dispatch
Principal's Message
100 school days ago...
-The office saw students with "stomach aches" and now children are upset if they need to go home early because they are sick.
-The classrooms, hallways and buses were silent as children were too shy to speak. Now, we can not keep them quiet for more than a minute!
-PreK and Kindergarten students needed to be coaxed into school by their parents, and now they come running in, without so much as a kiss and a wave goodbye to those same parents.
-PreK and Kindergarten students could not make it home on the bus without falling asleep, and now the bud drivers have to work hard on getting them to sit still.
-The office went through many sets of clothes a day for students (especially pants and underpants, if you know what I mean) and now extra clothes are sitting in a pile waiting to be used.
-Hundreds of coats needed to be zipped each day for the children before recess... OK, some things never change!
But More Importantly...
-Shy, quiet preK students now have new preK friends and are comfortable and trusting of the new adults in their lives.
-PreK students who could not even tell you their names can now not only tell you, but can also recognize their names in print and some are even beginning to write the letters in their names down on paper.
-Kindergarten students could barely recognize the letters in the alphabet, and now they are using invented spelling to write full sentences in their journals.
-Sounds for the letters of the alphabet sounded like a different language to the kindergarten students, and now they can tell you almost every sound for every letter.
-First grade teachers read many books to students, and now first grade students read many books to their teachers.
-First grade students filled one line with words, and now they fill two pages with complete sentences.
So much has changed in 100 days. Imagine 5/27, after 175 days! The best is yet to come!
We are now well into our second semester and I would like to thank all of you for your continues support. I hope to see many of you at our parent/teacher conferences in a few weeks. Your child's teacher will contact you if she is requesting a conference. Our students and staff continue to work towards meeting our School Improvement Goals. The data taken from our I-Ready and our Quarterly Assessments administered this past quarter have helped us target areas for improvement as well as identify students who would benefit from additional support and/or enrichment.
One Book One School Program
Mrs. Nawrocki"s First Grade Art Class
Sight Word Challange
Valentine's Day Parties are scheduled for Thursday February 13th
Students may pass out Valentine Cards, parents please do not send any cards with candy/treat attached to it. Please remember that we do not allow any type of food or candy items to brought to school for any party or celebration.
The PTA will provide the food for the parties: Blue Bunny ice cream and Oreo crumbles for the Topping.
Because Dorn students are always Safe, Respectful and Ready to Learn they were rewarded with an assembly.
Parent Teacher Conferences
Your child's teacher will contact you if she would like to meet with you.
K12 Payment Center
Having Fun with Words
1. RHYME TIME- What you'll need:
- Something to write with
- Several sheets of paper.
How to play:
- Give your child a word to rhyme. Write this word at the top of a piece of paper.
- Ask your child to try to come up with as many words that rhyme with the word on his/her paper as he/she can. Write these words down. (Note:Try to choose a word that has lots of rhymes, such as "fun - sun, ton, won, done, run, etc..)
- Next, have your child come with a word for you. Try to come up with as many words as you can.
- Who ever has the most words wins.
2. SCAVENGER HUNT- What you'll need:
- Something to write with
- A piece of paper.
How to play:
- Make a list of objects for your child to find around your home (either inside or outside).
- Draw a box next to each item.
- go over the list with your child so he/she knows what to find.
- Have your child search for each item on the list and put a check mark in the box when he/she finds it.
For Variety, have your child think of a list of items for you to find, too!
This is a fun game to play when you go places, too. Make a list of words that match things your child will see. For example, if you're going to a store, the words "exit" and"sale" are good ones to include. You can also include specific items, such as "bananas" or "bread".
I hope you enjoy playing these games with your children.
We are excited to begin WIN ("What I Need") at Dorn School
So for 3 weeks, 3 days per week, our Kindergarten students will spend 30 minutes with another kindergarten teacher (just to shake thing up a bit). During this time, they will work on targeted phonemic awareness skills. It should be fun and valuable for all kindergarten students! And your kindergarten children will come home talking about what they did in school with a "different" teacher during "WIN" time!!!