Week of September 23

In Phonics we will learn about the letter Hh as in hat. We will use compound words, identify initial sounds and recognize rhyming sounds.

Our new Reading Story is called Julius. It is an Animal Fantasy. We will discuss how people and animals work and play together.  We will work on the comprehension skill, Character.

In Math we will work with the number 0, number sequence, and whether two groups have more, fewer or the same as.

Our first class book is beginning to circulate. When it comes home, read it with your child, feel free to write a comment and send it back the next day!

 

We read our first word this week by blending! Ask your child to sound out the word Log!

Don’t forget to send snack daily!

Monday is Day 4. We have Gym. Don’t forget your sneakers!

To celebrate the letter H next week, we will have Hat Day on Friday, September 27th!

We are celebrating Jonny Appleseed’s Birthday on Thursday, September 26th. Please send in your child’s favorite color apple by Wednesday of that week. We will graph, sort, and taste apples while we learn about how they grow, their parts and what we can do with them!

Week of September 9

Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones’ Nifty Newsletter (Week of September 9^th)

Our Phonics letter will be “Oo” as in octopus. The letter Oo is a vowel and has 2 sounds. We will focus on the short sound, but will also introduce the long sound that “says its own name”. Mrs. Shearn our Occupational Therapist came in to work on fine motor activities with us to prepare us for learning the letter O next week.

Our new Reading story is called Plaidypus Lost. We will work with the comprehension skill sequence.  Sequence is something that happens first, next and last. Our new sight words will be little and is. Please review the sight words in the envelope nightly.  Half sheets of homework will come home Monday thru Thursday.

In Math we will continue working with number 1 through 5, solve projects using objects, use one to one correspondence to compare objects and decide whether one group has more, fewer or the same.

~Last week our class met their 4th grade Reading Buddies from Mr. Leibig’s homeroom! Boys and girls were matched up with 4th graders to listen to stories and eventually practice their own reading skills. Be sure to ask your child about his/her buddy.

~The School-wide Book Fair will also take place next week, September 9-13. Information was enclosed in your child’s folder. **Parents will be able to shop and/or browse with their child on Monday night from 4-7:00 p.m. if interested. Kindergarten will be shopping in school on Thursday, September 12th.  If you are planning on sending money with your child make sure it is in a sealed envelope labeled with their name and Book Fair.

Please remember to send snack daily.

Be sure to clean out the “Left at home” side of the folder nightly and to send back anything on “Bring Right back”

 

Special Schedule

Monday – Gym                             Tuesday- Computers                        Wednesday – Art

Thursday – Library                 Friday - Music

Week of September 2

Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones’ Nifty Newsletter (week of September 2)

 

There will be no school Monday, September 2. Have a great holiday weekend!

A Few Reminders

 Your child needs a drink and a snack every day. There are several children that have had no snack.  Please bag their snack separately and label it “snack”.  If your child’s snack requires a fork or spoon, please send it.  We do not keep these in the room.

Please discuss with your child if they are buying a lunch and what they should choose.  We’ve had a few children order lunch because it sounded good, but they really had a packed lunch.

Students should continue to practice their 4 digit identification number. They will need this to purchase lunch, take out library books and to log into the computer. Numbers were sent home on Thursday; if you need another copy please send a note.

 

Be sure to help your child complete homework nightly. It is usually only a quick half sheet to reinforce what we are learning in school. It should not take long. If it becomes a problem please send a note and we will do what we can to help. 4 sight words were added to our sight word envelopes. Please review the words often and keep them in the envelope in your child’s folder. If you would like to work ahead, there is a list of words in the plastic sleeve of your child’s folder.

 

Please send a change of clothes to be kept in your child’s cubby in case of accidents or messes.

 

Put your child’s name on everything.  Many students have the same backpack, lunch bag, coat etc.

 

Friday, September 6th is Picture Day. Forms are in your child’s folder. Please dress your child in dress code approved clothing and send in your picture forms and money.

 

Every Friday of the school year is Spirit Day! This is optional.  It is done to promote school spirit and enthusiasm for our sports teams.  The children are allowed to wear any North Schuylkill t-shirt and uniform bottoms. 

 

At times, it is very chilly in our classroom. If you would like to send something with long sleeves to keep in their cubby please make sure that it does not have a hood and is dress code appropriate.

 

We had so much fun on our “Chester Chase” this week. We tried to find Chester the Raccoon from “The Kissing Hand”. He lead us on a chase to find the important places in our school building, but had to return to his book after leaving us a cookie treat. We will continue to read theme books to welcome us to Kindergarten and to school.

Academics next week include: Math, we will be working on numbers 1-5 and working with the manipulatives and materials that we will be using throughout the course of the year. Saxon Phonics, we will continue to work on the letter Ll and move on to letter Oo, so that we can write it, make its sound, identify it, and identify words that begin with the letter. Sight words that we will be working on include I, am, the, and a. Please ask your child about these words and if they can find them at home or in the community.

We began Reading with the story, The Little School Bus this week. Watch for your Family Times newsletter to come home with details about our upcoming story and skills we will be working on in Reading. Please review the Amazing words, the ordinal numbers first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth, letter recognition of letters Aa, Bb, Cc, Dd, and Ee, the story element “character”, and the high frequency words I and am.

We thank you for your continued involvement and participation in your child’s Kindergarten year. Please write a note or send an email if you have any questions or need any additional information. Thank you!

 

week of August 26, 2013 (welcome back!!)

A quick reference guide to Mrs. Borden/Mrs. Jones’ Kindergarten Room (2013-2014)

Please keep this information in your child’s folder to use during the year! Thanks!

-       We want you to be well informed on what goes on in the classroom and in Kindergarten.  Our newsletters for the week will be sent on a Friday.  Please check the school calendar, the PTO newsletter, and the NSE weekly and monthly newsletter.  Please read them all for the information about what is happening.

-       All of this information will be in your child’s folder.  It must come to/from school every day in a book bag.  They will need both every day to transport important information and their belongings.  Please check both sides of the folder each day and take out the left at home papers.

 -       If there are any questions, please feel free to write a note and put it in your child’s folder, we will write back that day.  Or you can call at (570) 874-3661 ext. 3237 and leave a message.  You can also email us at: jborden@northschuylkill.net or ajones@northschuylkill.net .  Please also check our blogs under the North Schuylkill Website, under the Elementary School tab, under Homework Helpline, and click on Borden, J.

 

-       Our homework will be explained in greater detail in the next few weeks.  Homework is a vital part of your child’s learning and we feel it is important to show your children that you value their learning by continuing to practice at home.  Kindergarten follows the homework policy stated in the NSE handbook, please review it and follow the policy.  Our homework should not take a long amount of time and we want it to be a positive experience for you at home. If it is not going well please let us know so that we can help.

 

-       An extra set of clothing should be sent in as well to keep in their cubby in case of an accident or mess.  With anything that is sent into school, we asked that it is labeled clearly.  For extra clothing or coats, winter accessories, book bags, etc., please either write your child’s name in the tag or use a sticky label that can be removed at the end of the year. Writing our room number (237) might be helpful as well.  Many items end up in the lost and found each year and are never reclaimed.

 

-       Please also have snack in a separate bag/container and labeled as such.  This is especially helpful if your child brings their lunch and avoids any confusion.  Please make us aware of any allergies as well, especially when birthdays and parties start to take place.

 

Listed below is an example on how to label any money or information that needs to be handed in and should be placed in an envelope.

 

The Child’s Name (ex. Jane Doe)

What the envelope is for (ex. lunch money or book order)

The amount of money (ex. $25.00)

Mrs. Borden/Mrs. Jones Kindergarten Rm. 237

 

-Notes that come in for your children should also be clearly labeled. A note is needed for a child leaving school earlier than dismissal time, a child that is being picked up by a parent instead of riding the bus, a change in the person picking up the child, and if your child is absent from school. Below is an example of what information should be included in the note.
　　
　Dear Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones,
My child, Jane Doe, will be picked up at 2:00 pm on Wednesday, September 1, 2010 for a doctor appointment. She will not be returning to school that day.
Thank you, Mrs. Doe

 





Please read the NSE handbook and refer to it during the school year. Kindergarten follows all policies on homework and school attendance. Please see the information on the dress code and follow it accordingly. Our gym day is on Day 4, the children must wear sneakers in order to participate, even in the winter when some may wear boots to school.

Please label everything that comes into school so that it can be returned in a timely manner. Also, we ask that no toys or personal belongings come into school for recess time; they tend to get lost or broken.
　

All children have all privileges (snack, recess, free choice time) when they start the day. If there are rules broken during the course of the day, the child will sail his/her boat to the islands. This will lead to time lost from our classroom privileges. We encourage positive behavior and like to reward those children who follow the rules of our classroom and school building. We do not use whole class punishment but like to use whole class rewards. In the event that there would be behavior issues, we will encourage participation from home in order to have a successful and positive school year.

A final note on how the classroom is run and what to expect during the course of the year. In the classroom, there are two certified teachers that hold degrees in elementary education, early childhood education, special education, and reading. There will also be a part-time paraprofessional that has a highly-qualified status to work with the children under the direction supervision of the teachers. We differentiate instruction in the classroom to meet the needs of all of the students based on their abilities. There is much working together in groups and a team mentality in the classroom. We also value the importance of learning centers and having the students’ input in their learning.

All children have the ability to learn and we want them to succeed



We thank you for your cooperation in these important matters and look forward to working with you over the course of the school year. Thanks in advance for all your participation in Kindergarten!

Week of May 13th

In Math we will review all concepts taught this year and continue to work on our addition and subtraction facts.

Our new Reading story is called The House That Tony Lives In. We will discuss the setting of the story and who helps to build a house.

In Phonics we will work on combination or, er and the vowel pattern rule vc’lcv . When we have a word we must separate words into syllables, label the vowels, consonants and separate the consonants with a division line.

Everyone did a nice job on their End of the Year Kindergarten test and on DIBELS. We are very proud of their hard work and progress this year!

*Field Trip to Ringling Bros. Circus—Thursday, May 23rd Information is included in your folder. Please send it back ASAP.

 

*Kindergarten Graduation—Tuesday, May 28th in the high school auditorium

 

Last Day of School – May 31st Early Dismissal

week of May 6-10, 2013

In Phonics, we will learn digraph ee like in sheep and be reviewing all digraphs we have learned thus far. (sh, voiced and unvoiced th, long and short oo, ch)

  In Math, we will be reviewing concepts such as money (coins and their values) time (to the hour) estimating, counting patterns (1s, 2s, 5s, 10s) and addition and subtraction stories.

  Our new Reading story is called The Night Worker. We will work on the skill plot with a realistic fiction story.  We will also be working on exclamatory sentences and complete sentences.

We just took our last Dibels test of the year and we are working hard on our word writing and writing a sentence for our end of the year Kindergarten test.  Please also review letters, sounds, and words that begin with each letter.  Keep up the good work!

Please do not send toys to school.  Thanks for your cooperation!

Just a reminder that Kindergarten DVD orders are due by May 8th.  Thanks!

Monday will be Day 2, Book Exchange, Please remember your books.

*Field Trip to Ringling Bros. Circus—Thursday, May 23rd

please send back Field Trip paperwork if you have done so already

*NSE carnival day- Friday, May 24

*No school for Memorial Day-Monday, May 27

*Kindergarten Graduation—Tuesday, May 28th

*Early Dismissal for last day of school- Friday, May 31