week of October 2, 2017

Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones’ Newsletter

Week of October 2, 2017

***In Math, we are working on Topic 15, Position and Location of Shapes.  Our new amazing words are: inside, outside, above, below, left, right.  At home, you can continue to practice all colors, shapes, sizes, sorting and grouping objects, and counting as high as you can, as well as numbers 0-10. 

***In Reading, our new story is: Smash, Crash and we will be discussing characters within the story.  Our new amazing word are: signals, proper, perfect, dud, pirates, fabulous.  At home, you can continue to practice all letters and sounds, rhyming pairs, and stretching out words to make all of the sounds (dog stretched to /d/ /o/ /g/).

Handwriting- We continue to go through the capital letters making them with the wood pieces, in the air, on the door with a flashlight, and with dry erase.  In your child’s folder is a guide for letter formations for the capital letters if you would like to practice them at home.  We remind the class to always start the letters at the top as well as hold the pencil correctly and to take their times with the strokes.

***Science and Social Studies- We have worked on Apples and Fall this past week.  We graphed apples according to color, made a graph of apple products, described apples, learned about Johnny Appleseed, used our 5 senses with apples, and did a writing activity with them.  We will be learning about the topic of Science in general and what it means to be a scientist. 

***AR book logs for September will be collected on Monday, October 2 and the new ones will be passed out that day.  Please remember that the goal is at least 15 books per month and there will be monthly incentives as well as prizes given out at the end of the school year for lots of reading done the entire school year.

***Fall Festival Information:  Please also send in the money for the fall festival as soon as possible so that we can purchase the supplies for the day.  We still need your help and participation with sending the money in for the festival, the committee is waiting on it.  Many thanks.

***Reminders:  Please continue to check folders each day and clean them out from that day’s papers and sign and return anything that is stamped.  Please also continue to review sight words and read each night.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.  Please also read over all of the new calendars that are coming home for the month of October.

Important Dates:

Monday, October 2- wear blue to prevent bullying, Day 4, NSE PTO meeting 6:30 pm

Thursday, October 5- Kindergarten Fall Festival

Monday, October 9- No School, Teacher In Service

week of September 25, 2017

Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones’ Newsletter
Week of September 25, 2017
***In Math, we are working on What words can be used to describe the position and location of shapes?   We will work on: inside and outside, above, below, or on, in front of, behind, or next to (beside), left and right, and acting out problems to problem solve.   Please continue to work on shape and color identification as well as counting as high as you can.  We also have learned how to write 1 and 2 in Handwriting and will be working on 3 and 4. 
***In Reading, our new story is: Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip with Kindergarten and we will be discussing classifying and categorizing within the story.  Our new amazing word are: bakery, park, library, fire station, post office, chaperone.  We are working on the beginning sounds in words and identifying words with the same beginning sound.  We will continue to work on rhyming pairs as well as syllables.  We are practicing every letter and every sound in random order as it comes up in class.
***Handwriting- We have been working hard on learning the capitals and have made quite a few in our handwriting practice.  We continue to practice correct pencil holding, appropriate coloring, and letter and number formation.  Activities like play doh and Legos are great for improving hand strength.
***Science and Social Studies- We have been identifying US symbols following the story of “We are so Proud” and also working on rules and appropriate behavior for school.  We are excited about the new season of Fall and be looking into different Fall activities. 
***The red Spartan Folders that are marked with each child’s name and a Please Return label should be reviewed and the papers signed and returned in the folder as soon as possible.  They contain some of the assessments that we have started and would like you to have an opportunity to review them before sending them back.  Any questions, please contact us.
***AR book logs for September will be collected on Monday, October 2 and the new ones will be passed out that day.  Please remember that the goal is at least 15 books per month and there will be monthly incentives as well as prizes given out at the end of the school year for lots of reading done the entire school year.
***Fall Festival Information:  Please also send in the money for the fall festival as soon as possible so that we can purchase the supplies for the day.  We still need your help and participation with sending the money in for the festival, the committee is waiting on it.  Many thanks.
***Reminders:  Please continue to check folders each day and clean them out from that day’s papers and sign and return anything that is stamped.  Please also continue to review sight words and read each night.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. 

Important Dates:
Monday, September 25- Day 9
Please don’t forget to wear sneakers on gym days, thank you!

week of September 18, 2017

Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones’ Newsletter

Week of September 18, 2017

***In Math, we are working on Identifying and Describing Shapes.   We will work on: rectangles, squares, circles, triangles, hexagons, as well as the solid figures and identifying the flat surfaces of solid figures.  We will continue to work on describing and sorting by color, shape, and size.    Please continue to work on shape and color identification as well as counting as high as you can.

***In Reading, our new story is: Plaidypus Lost and we will be discussing the Sequence of the story.  Our new amazing words are: platypus, lost, market, around, found, groceries.  We are working on the beginning sounds in words and identifying words with the same beginning sound.  We will continue to work on rhyming pairs as well as syllables.

***The small reader that came home with a Please Sign and Return stamp can be read together and then logged on the AR sheet.  We found the sight word “am” and read it together as well as worked on coloring the illustrations.  Thanks for reading at home. 

***We read a book all week on “Whole Body Listening” that helps us follow the SPARTY way.  We have enclosed a clean copy of all the things we need to be a whole body listener for your reference.

***Fall Festival Information: There will be a meeting at the Chill Out in Shenandoah on Sept. 19th at 6:30 pm.  If anyone is interested in helping out, please send in a note with your name, phone number, and email address so that we can get you on the contact list.  Thanks in advance!  Please also send in the money for the fall festival as soon as possible so that we can purchase the supplies for the day. 

***Reminders:  Please continue to check folders each day and clean them out from that day’s papers and sign and return anything that is stamped.  Please also continue to review sight words and read each night.  If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us. 

Important Dates:

Monday, September 18- Day 4

Please don’t forget to wear sneakers on gym days, thank you!

week of September 11, 2017

Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones’ Newsletter

***Reminders: Please check folders each day. Take out any papers on the Left at Home side and complete or sign any pages on the Bring Right Back Side as soon as possible. If you have any questions on: Accelerated Reader, Sight words, Identification number, snack, extra set of clothes, or anything else that was from a previous newsletter, please refer back to our blog or feel free to write a note or send an email.

***In Math, we are working on Sorting, Classifying, Counting and Categorizing data. This topic will continue next week. We have been working so hard on sorting objects by color, shape, and size and working on using describing words for these objects.  We will be taking our first Math assessment on this topic as well.

***In Reading, our new story is: We Are So Proud and we will be discussing the Setting of the story.  Our new amazing words are: proud, cooperation, float, preparation, creation, and guide.  We are going to be clapping out syllables in words and are working on letter names, corresponding letter sounds, and words that begin with each sound. 

***The small reader that came home with a Please Sign and Return stamp can be read together and then logged on the AR sheet.  We found the sight word “I” and read it together as well as worked on coloring the illustrations.

***We have started our Handwriting Without Tears program and so far we have been working on the lines and curves needed to make some of our capital letters.  We are also working on picking up our pencil and holding it correctly and have been doing some fine motor activities in Centers to improve our handwriting.

***Fall Festival Information: There will be a meeting at the Chill Out in Shenandoah on Sept. 19th at 6:30 pm.  If anyone is interested in helping out, please send in a note with your name, phone number, and email address so that we can get you on the contact list.  Thanks in advance!

***Sight Word Testing: will formally begin towards the end of next week.  We done some assessments on List 1 and those lists have stars by them in their folder.  Please continue on practicing those words each night.  Thanks for your cooperation!

Important Dates:

Monday, September 11- PTO meeting at 6:30 NSE cafeteria

Tuesday, September 12- NSE picture day

Wednesday, September 13- 2 hour data delay

Thursday, September  14- Hearing screenings

Friday, September 15- Dress Down Day ($1 donation)

Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones’ Newsletter

Please read carefully (this newsletter and all of the papers included in the folder this week)!

It was a great first week! We are settling in and learning our new routines and expectations. Just a few reminders to help our classroom run smoothly:

Please check folders each day. Take out any papers on the Left at Home side and complete or sign any pages on the Bring Right Back Side as soon as possible.

Accelerated Reader bags, logs and books were sent home this week. There is no written homework but we expect children to read with someone each night. Sometimes there will be books in their bag that they can read to you, most times you can read to them and have your child pick out the letters and words they know. You can also use books from home to add to your log. At the end of the year students with the most books read receive prizes. See note in AR bag for additional details.

Sight words will also be practiced each night in place of written homework. Begin with the first list. I will test students and put a star under the list when they’ve read it correctly you can then move on to the next list. Cut out the flashcards as you work on them and keep them in the envelope included in the communication folder and begin working on List 1.

Help your child learn their Identification number. This number was sent home in their welcome letter. If you need it again, please let me know. It will be used to get lunch, log on to the computers and check out library books.

Please send a snack each day. We have an early lunch so we will grab a quick snack while we work in the afternoon.

Don’t forget to send a dress code appropriate extra set of clothes to keep in your child’s cubby. Please put it in a bag (a gallon size Ziploc works great) and label it with their first and last name.

LABEL EVERYTHING! Make sure backpacks, lunch bags, coats etc. are labeled with first and last names. All money being sent to school must be in an envelope labeled with first and last name, teacher name, what it’s for, and the amount included.

Thank you to the Swails Family for donating pencils, glue sticks and crayons! If you’d like to donate to our classroom, we are always in need of Clorox Wipes, Ticonderoga Pencils, and tissues.

This week we began our Envision Math Series. We are working on Sorting, Classifying, Counting and Categorizing data. This topic will continue next week.

We will begin our new Reading story, The Little School Bus by Pamela Paparone. We are using this story to talk about school and bus safety, following directions, and characters in a story. This story will be continued into next week with other Back to School literature. Ask your child about the books we’ve read this week. The Kissing Hand was one of our favorites. We even had a scavenger hunt throughout the building looking for Chester the character from our book and important rooms in our building. We didn’t find Chester but we did find a cookie for our hard work!

Picture Day will be on Tuesday, September 12^th.  Forms are in the folder. Please send back as soon as possible.

Fall Festival Meeting will be held Thursday, September 7th at 2:00 in the Cafeteria. Volunteers must have clearances the day of the festival. You do not need to be a PTO member. If you don't have clearances but would like to help you can attend the meetings, prepare materials or make donations.