Kindergarten Monthly Newsletter
Meadow View Elementary
Introduction
Hello! Welcome to our kindergarten newsletter. We will do our best to update this newsletter at the beginning of every month so be on the lookout for the updated link. This will give you an insight into your child's month at school as well as some tips and tricks for at home practice. When you read this newsletter, be on the lookout for important reminders or announcements for the month. Thank you!
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS
What do you need to know for this upcoming month and year?
September
-Please be sure to send in a change of clothes in case of an accident if you have not already done so.
-Please be sure to pay your child's $7 for a class shirt and $6 for the school fees.
-If your child is a car rider, please pick them up between 3:15- 3:20. It is important that they are picked up at this time in order to keep the afternoon pick ups on track.
-When there is no school, the before and after school program is closed. Please keep that in mind when there are school closings.
-We have a scheduled professional development day on Thursday, September 19th. This means that your child will only come to school half a day. On this day, car riders should be picked up at 12:20.
-Candy Man fundraising information will be coming home with your child soon so please be on the lookout for that information.
-If your child's class has a take home folder please check it every day. This is one of the ways we communicate with parents.
-If you feel that you need to refer your child to the school counselor click the link below to send a referral. This referral goes straight to the counselor at our school and is not discussed with the teacher UNLESS requested.
October
-If you have not paid your child's school and shirt, please do that ASAP.
-On October 2nd we will be getting a visit from the Once Upon A Flame theatre group during school hours.
-School pictures are on October 7th. Please keep this in mind and be on the lookout for more information.
-We will be having a lock down drill on October the 10th. This will be our first drill of this kind. We will be practicing and talking with students about this drill prior to our first practice so they are prepared.
-October 16th is our very first field trip. We will all be going to Mike's Farm for a magic show, the pumpkin patch, and then some apple cider tasting. This field trip costs $13 per student. They will have a permission slip in their folder that also needs to be filled out.
-Candy Man Fundraising information will be coming home with your child soon so be on the lookout for that.
-We will have another professional development half day on October 17th. This means that car riders will go home at 12:15 and buses soon after.
-Please practice your child's letters and/or sight words at home. This is essential to their reading.
November
-We will be attending a field trip on November the 12th. This field trip is to North Side High School for a play. This field trip costs $5. The money and permission slip are due on November the 8th. Parents do not attend this field trip due to space.
-Parent teacher conferences are 11/5-11/7. These are required for us. If you have not signed up for a conference please contact your child's teacher to do so.
-There is an early release day on November the 8th. This is a Friday this time so please be aware of that.
-We do not have school on Monday, November the 11th.
-We will be having our Thanksgiving Feast on November the 22nd. All feast items are due November 20th so please make sure to check your teacher's list and get those items in by then. We will be doing this as a grade level but each class must provide their own food. This will be so much fun for the kids and we are so excited!
-There is no school from November 27th- November 29th. Students will return to school on December 2nd.
-Please write your child's name in all jackets.
-There is a lost and found located outside of the gym. If your child is missing something please remind them to look.
December
-We are collecting hygiene items to go along with our standard of learning wants vs. needs. These items are specific to your child's class so please look out for your item and send them in. These items are due on December the 13th.
-Polar express day for Kindergarten is December the 19th. Your child can wear pajamas to school this day and we will enjoy some special treats.
-Winter fest is December the 5th. Please come out to enjoy some free fun! There will be lots of holiday games and some sweet treats. We hope to see you there.
-We do not have school for winter break starting on December the 23rd. Students will return to school on January 2nd.
-There is a different theme for each day this month that is located on the calendar sent home with your child. Be sure to show us your best holiday spirit.
-There is a lost and found located outside of the gym. If your child is missing something please remind them to look.
-Please write your child's name in all jackets, hats, and gloves.
January
-There will be a lockdown drill on January the 10th in the afternoon. This will be our 2nd drill of this kind.
-Be sure to check your child's folder daily for spelling words, announcements, and what we are learning.
-January the 17th is the end of the grading period.
-There will be no school January the 20th (MLK Day)- January the 22nd.
-We will be completing middle of the year testing in the coming weeks. Please continue to work with your child at home.
March
-The week of March 2nd through March 6th is Read Across America week. There are themes for dressing up each day. Please join in on the Dr. Seuss fun!
-March 10th- March 12th will be the spring book fair. There will be more information coming out about this soon.
-March the 12th is a half day for students. Please put it on your calendar to join us that evening for a literacy night. This will be a fun night full of literacy games.
- March the 13th we will have a lock down drill in the afternoon.
-March 16th is a teacher workday. We look forward to seeing your kiddos back at school on Tuesday that week.
-Don't forget to wear your green for St. Patrick's Day on March the 17th.
-Kindergarten registration is April the 1st for the upcoming school year.
-Kindergarten will be going on a field trip the second week of April. Not all classes are going on the same day that week so please be looking for information coming from your child's teacher.
-Spring pictures are April the 23rd. Please be looking out for more info concerning this.
-Conferences may begin happening this month so be on the lookout for more information from your child's teacher.
What are we Learning?
September
We are learning:
-Letters/Sounds
-Writing our Numbers
-Colors
-Beginning Sounds
-Parts of a Book
-Alike and Different
-Letters vs. Words
-2D Shapes
-Counting and Sorting
-Writing with Letters and Symbols, Capital, Finger Spaces, and Punctuation
-Classroom Routines and Procedures
October
We are learning:
-Letters and Sounds
-Writing our Numbers
-Colors
-Beginning Sounds
-Parts of a Book
-Alike and Different
-Counting up to 10
-Letters vs. Words
-2D and 3D Shapes
-Sorting
-Writing with Letters and Symbols, Capital, Finger Spaces, and Punctuation
-Sight Words
November
-Letters and Sounds
-Writing and Representing Numbers 0-10
-Sight Words
-Counting to 25 by 1's
-Beginning and Ending Sounds
-The Parts of a Book
-Alike and Different
-Letters vs. Words
-2D Shapes
-Counting and Sorting
-Writing with Letters and Symbols, Finger Spaces, and Punctuation
December
-Writing and Representing Nmbers 0-20
-Sight Words
-Counting to 50 by 1's
-Beginning and Ending Sounds
-The Parts of a Book
-Writing with Letters, Symbols, Finger Spaces, and Punctuation
-Making and Comparing Numbers
-2D and 3D Shapes
-Alike and Different
-Vowels
-Word Families
-Rhymes and Syllables
-Counting by 10s to 50
-Blends
-Characters and Setting
-Informative Writing
January
-Vowels
-Counting on from a number
-Sight Words
-Counting by 10s and 1s to 100
-Measurement
-Addition/ Subtraction to 5
-Decomposing numbers to 10
-Writing date and full name
-Writing with finger spaces, capitals, punctuation, and spelling sight words correctly
-Opinion and narrative writing
-Explain your thinking
March
-Vowels
-Counting on from a number
-Counting 1s and 10s to 100
-Sounds in words: blend/segment
-Comparing shapes
-How many more to make 10?
-Addition/Subtraction word problems
-Decomposing numbers to 19
-Writing date and full name
-Writing with finger spaces, capitals, punctuation, and spelling sight words correctly
-Narrative writing
-Opinion writing
-Explain your thinking
Upcoming Events
September
-Candy Man Fundraising Event
-Professional Development Day September the 19th
October
-Candy Man Fundraising Event
-Mike's Farm Field Trip on October the 16th.
-Professional Development Day on October the 17th.
-Picture day on October the 7th.
November
-Parent Teacher Conferences are November 5th- November 7th.
-Early Release Day on November 8th.
-No School on November 11th.
-Field Trip to the Three Little Pigs play on November 12th.
-Thanksgiving Feast November 22nd.
-No School November 27th- November 29th.
December
-Book Fair is December the 3rd- December the 9th.
-Winter fest is December the 5th.
-Polar Express Day is December the 19th. (Kiddos can wear pajamas)
-Winter Break is December the 23rd-January 1st. Students will return January 2nd.
-There are themes for each day this month so be sure to show your holiday spirit.
January
-There is a lockdown drill on January the 10th in the afternoon.
-There is no school on January the 20th for MLK Day. There is also no school January the 21st and 22nd due to professional development days.
-Report cards will come home on January the 29th so be on the lookout for those.
March
-March 2nd-6th is Read Across America Week. There are fun themes for each day so be sure to visit your child's folder for that information.
-March the 12th is a half day for students. This is also our literacy night so be sure to join us from 5:30-7:00 for fun literacy games.
-March the 16th is a teacher work day.
-March 27th is the last day of this quarter so be sure to keep working with your kiddos.
-Some teachers are conducting conferences this month so be on the lookout for more information concerning that.
A HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL OF THE AMAZING VOLUNTEERS WE HAD THIS LAST MONTH!
A Quick Look into our Time at School
September
Miss Lewis' Class
Mrs. Braman's Class
Miss Smolensky's Class
Mrs. Murtha's Class
Mrs. Turner's Class
Miss Cooney's Class
Mrs. King's Class
October
Mrs. Braman's Class
Mrs. Turner's Class
Miss Lewis' Class
Miss Cooney's Class
Miss Smolensky's Class
Mrs. King's Class
Mrs. Murtha's Class
November
Mrs. King's Class
Mrs. Braman's Class
Miss Lewis' Class
Miss Smolensky's Class
Mrs. Turner's Class
Miss Cooney's Class
Mrs. Murtha's Class
Kindergarten Team
December
Mrs. Turner's Class
Miss Lewis' Class
Mrs. King's Class
Miss Smolensky's Class
Mrs. Braman's Class
Miss Cooney's Class
Mrs. Murtha's Class
January
Mrs. Braman's Class
Mrs. King's Class
Mrs. Turner's Class
Miss Lewis' Class
Miss Cooney's Class
Miss Smolensky's Class
March
Miss Cooney's Class
Miss Cooney's class loved playing with the parachutes they made in maker's space with Mrs. Gran.
Mrs. Turner's Class
Mrs. Turner's class loves getting their books each month that are given to them due to people's generous support.
Mrs. Braman's Class
Miss Lewis' Class
Mrs. King's Class
Miss Smolensky's Class
Mrs. Murtha's Class
What Can be Done at Home to Help?
September
We do a lot of learning at school, but there are some things you can be doing at home to practice what we are learning at school. To start with, you can be working on the letters and their sounds. We want students to be able to recognize both capital and lower case letters and their sounds. This builds the foundation that we need for students to be able to read. Also, ask your child what certain colors and shapes are. This could be as simple as pointing at a hula-hoop and asking them what shape and color it is. Reading with your child is also a simple task that helps expose students to literacy. This exposure can help students develop book handling skills and can also spark their interest in books.
October
Just as there were last month, there are some things that can be done at home to help progress students learning. Letter and sight word practice at home is always important. We do a lot of letter practice at school, but the reinforcement from home ensures they start to recognize those letters sooner. Continue to ask your child about colors and shapes. This can help students really understand them. Also as before, reading with your child is always important. Students will need to understand how a book works before they start reading them. When you read to them, ask them questions about the author, illustrator, front cover, spine, back cover, and title page. Thank you for your continued support.
November
Thank you all so much for all that you do at home to help your kiddos grow. As always, please continue to work with them at home. You can do many things at home to help them. The math workbooks that we sent home are aligned to what we are teaching in the classroom. While we are not collecting these pages, it would be really beneficial for them to be practicing these math skills at home. Sights words are very important and will continue to be throughout the year. Please be practicing your child's sight words with them at least once a day. We are starting to work on writing in our classrooms. You can practice this at home with simple tasks such as having your child help you write your grocery list. Please continue working on how books work with your kiddos. We are going to have students handling books more and more as the year goes on. As always, thank you for all that you do to make your child and our year successful.
December
As always, thank you for all that you all do at home to ensure that your children are successful. We are so lucky to have parents that will give their time and help. There are some things that you can continue to do at home. Sight words are essential to your child's ability to read. Please be working on these daily. As before, we sent home math books with your child towards the beginning of the year. These books align with what we are doing in class. Extra practice with these math skills would be very beneficial. We are still working on writing at school. Please continue to practice writing with your child at home. This can be as simple as having your child help write the grocery list. Please also continue to practice book handling skills at home as well. Thank you for your continued support.
January
Thank you all so much for all that has been done at home to work with your kiddos. There are still some things you can be doing at home to help your child be successful. As before, students can be practicing writing at home. You can ask your child to write about their day or anything simple like that. Students are practicing counting at school and can do this at home as well. Students will also start writing their full name and date so you can ask them to do that at home as well. Students are starting to learn how to read so anytime you can read with them it exposes them to more literacy. You also have a math workbook that was sent home at the beginning of the year that can be used at any time. Thank you for all that you do.
March
As mentioned in all of the months before, there are lots of things that can be done at home to ensure that your child is successful. To start with, sight words are HUGE for Kindergarten. Knowing these words is essential to your child's reading level. We recommend that these are reviewed every night at least one or two times. With that, any time students are exposed to books they are gaining more book knowledge. Please be reading to and with your child at home to increase this awareness. Students are now working on writing more than one sentence with correct punctuation and capitalization. You can have students write stories about their day or any other kind of writing that might spark their interest. Students should also now have a basic understanding of addition and subtraction. You can ask students to solve basic problems to practice this fluency at home. As always, thank you for your continued support.