FRIDAY NOTE (9/29/17)

Events of the Week:  

Math:  We introduced the numbers 9 and 10.  We’ve been working a lot with part, part, whole (total).  Example, 4 and 5 are parts of 9 (whole/total).  The students may refer to these as “hidden partners”.  Your child should be able to identify numbers 0-10 now.  We will be assessing this skill in the next couple of weeks.

Language Workshop: Our focus this week was on color review.   Our book for the week was Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?.  We read and practiced retelling this story.  We also made our own “Brown Bear Reader” to add to our Independent Reading boxes.  Earlier this week I send home the assessments for Parts of a Book and Author/Illustrator in your child’s folder.  The students did an amazing job!  All scored proficient on Parts of a Book and on the duties of an author and illustrator.  As always, if he/she is not proficient in these skills, then please practice them at home because I will reassess at least one more time before the end of the quarter.  

Reading Workshop:  Students have been doing a wonderful job during Literacy centers!  While I am meeting with small groups working on sight words, letters, and letter sounds, students have been busy engaging in literacy games.  They play alphabet bingo, color words match game, they are detectives and find letters of the week in magazines and cut them out, they play various smartboard and iPad letter games, ect.     

Writing Workshop:  Each day we wrote a sentence from the story Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?.  As a class we set at the carpet with a clipboard and talked about what we were going to write for the day.  Once we decided what our sentence was we counted the number of words in the sentence.  We used sight words and color words to complete the sentence.  After writing each word we would go back and reread to figure out the next word in the sentence.  Once the sentence was complete, students went back to their seats to draw a picture to match the sentence.  We call this process “Interactive Writing”.  Look for these papers in their folder.  Your child should be able to read each page to you independently.

Word Study: Our sight word was “see”.  It popped up a lot in our reading and writing this week.  We practiced building “see” with cut-out letters and writing it correctly.  Our letters for the week were “Nn”, “Oo”, “Pp” and “Qq”.  Don’t forget to practice letter and sound identification at home with your child.  Your child should now be able to identify the letter and sound for letters Aa-Qq.

Content Workshop:  We did several different color mixing experiments.  We mixed colors in water, we made a colorful project using coffee filters, and we finger painted to make secondary colors.  Be sure to ask your child about the different activities we completed.  What a fun way to end our day each day!  

Important Dates:

• Oct. 5 ~ School Pictures
• Oct. 7 ~ Fall Festival (5-7:30 pm on the elementary playground)
• Oct. 11 ~ End of 1st Quarter Reading Journey
• Oct. 12 ~ End of 1st Quarter
• Oct. 12 ~ Cox Care Mobile
• Oct. 13 ~ NO SCHOOL (Fall Break)
• Oct. 16-17 ~ Parent/Teacher Conferences (see below for details)
• Oct. 18 ~ Book Orders Due (see folder)
• Oct. 27 ~ Halloween Party (more details to follow)
• 
  

Sight Words

Your child should be able to recognize these words within 3 seconds.  It is very important that you practice them at home with your child, as we will be adding new ones each week.    

I     the     see     like     is    my    a   

1st Quarter Assessments

Next week we will begin assessing over 1st Quarter skills.  Some of the skills we will be assessing over are letter identification, sight words, counting to 25, sorting.  If your child has already scored “Proficient” in an area, he/she will not be assessed over that skill again this quarter.  Please be sure to practice at home!

Reading Journey

I hope you and your child have enjoyed completing the Reading Journey.  Please return the Reading Journey activities page by October 11th.  We will celebrate our reading journey and have a read-a-thon in our classroom the next day.  We will begin another Reading Journey very similar to this one for second quarter.  Be looking for more details to come home.   

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Parent-Teacher conferences will be held October 16th and 17th.  All parents are expected to schedule a conference time.  You may sign-up online at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090848a8a92fa0f49-fall   I look forward to meeting with you.

Next Week:

• Our theme will be Fall.  We will learn about informational (non-fiction) books.  
• In math, we will review numbers 0-10.
• Our sight word will be “it”.
• Our letters for the week will be “Rr”, “Ss”, “Tt” and “Uu”.  

Have a Great Weekend!!

Mrs. Vaughn

FRIDAY NOTE (9/22/17)

Math: We are learning to count, and write numbers 5-8. We are also learning about the hidden partners that make up these numbers (6 and 1 make 7).

Language Workshop:  Our theme this week was Colors. We read several color books such as, Rain, A Bad Case of the Stripes, Purplicious, and One Red Rooster.  We’ve been focusing on naming the parts of a book (front cover, back cover and title page).  We also have been learning to name the jobs of both the author (writes the words) and illustrator (draws the pictures. I will be assessing them on this next week.   

Writing Workshop:  We started labeling our picture in our reading log. Each day we had a different color word. The students drew a picture of something that color then labeled it with the sounds they heard.  We also practiced writing the letter for the day using correct formation.  

Word Study:  Our sight word for this week was “like”.  This week we learned about the letters Jj, Kk, Ll, and Mm.  We practiced finding the letters and learned the sounds they make.  We found pictures that begin with each sound.  Students were able to engage in various Smartboard games to reinforce letter recognition and the sound the letters make.   

Important Dates:

Sept. 26 - Hurricane Relief Fundraiser

Sept. 29 - Volunteer Training 9:00-9:30 Please call the office (743-4810) if you plan to attend.  This must be completed if you would like to volunteer at school.

Oct. 5 - School Picture Day (order forms will be sent home the week before)

Oct. 7- Fall Festival (see below)

Reading Journey

I hope you are finding time each day to read with your child.  Make this a special time for you and your child and have fun!  I love seeing all the pictures of the different places they are reading.  When reading with your children, please encourage them to point out our sight words and letters we have learned.

Next Week:

• Our theme will be Color Review.  We will focus on the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?.
• In math, we will be learning about 9 and 10.
• We will focus on the sight word “see”.
• Our letters will be “Nn, Oo, Pp, and Qq”.

Parent Note 9-15

Math:   This week we learned how to count objects to 4 and 5 and how to write the numbers correctly.  Please continue to look over the math pages carefully.  If one side is not finished, that is okay.  You can do it together at home, but you do not need to return it to school.  

Language Workshop:  This week we read Who Said Red? and began our focus on identifying colors and color words.  We introduced the colors red, yellow, and blue.  We started writing in our reading logs this week.  Each day we focused on one color, drew objects that are that color, and then labeled the pictures.  The students did a great job with this new activity.

Writing Workshop:   Each day I picked a different student to dictate a sentence for me to write.  We are focusing on print concepts during this time.  We are learning that we write from left to right.  We start with a capital letter and use punctuation to end our writing.  As a class we look for sight words, and the letters we are learning that week in the message.  We also practiced writing the letters “Hh” and “Ii” correctly.

Word Study:   Our sight word for this week was “the”.  This week we learned about the letters Hh and Ii.  We practiced finding the letters and learned the sounds they make.  We found pictures that begin with each sound.  Students were able to engage in various Smartboard games to reinforce letter recognition and the sound the letters make.

  

Important Dates:

• Sept. 1 - Oct. 20 - Box Tops Contest - Keep sending them in!
• Sept. 19 - Cox CARE Mobile (call the nurse for an appointment)

• Sept. 21 - Watch DOGS Pizza Night 6:00-7:00 (more information below)
• Sept. 26 - Hurricane Relief Fundraiser (see below)
• Sept. 29 - Volunteer Training 9:00-9:30  Please call the office (743-4810) if you plan to attend.  This must be completed if you would like to volunteer at school.
• Oct. 5 - School Picture Day (order forms will be sent home the week before)

Hurricane Relief Fundraiser:  On Tuesday, September 26th, Clever FBLA will be collecting cash and coin donations at the high school volleyball game and the middle school football game.  All donations will be given to Convoy of Hope to provide supplies to hurricane victims in Texas and Florida.  All PreK - 4th grade students will get into the games FREE this night!!

Sight Words - Keep Practicing!

I   is   a   my   the

Next Week:

o   We will continue learning about color words.

o   In math we will learn about numbers 5-8.

o   We will learn about the letters Jj, Kk, Ll, and Mm.

o   Our sight word will be “like”.

Have a Great Weekend!!

Mrs. Vaughn

PIZZA NIGHT FOR DADS AND KIDS

WHO ARE WATCH DOGS?  Dads who volunteer at school K-4

WHEN IS THE FREE PIZZA NIGHT FOR DADS AND KIDS? Thursday, Sept. 21

WHAT TIME? 6:00 pm

WHERE?  FEMA/Cafeteria

HOW DO I SIGN UP?  Call 743-4810 to register

COME AND GET INFORMATION ON THE PROGRAM!

Friday Note 9-8-17

Math: This week in math we learned how to decompose within 3 using materials and drawings.  For example, we practiced 1 + 2 and 2 + 1 make 3.  We also discussed the meaning of zero and practiced writing the numbers 0-3.

Language Workshop: This week we read The Pledge of Allegiance, learned what it meant, and learned about our flag. We also talked about our school pledge and learned about respect.

Reading Workshop:  Another successful week of literacy centers!  I was able to begin pulling a few students up in small group to do some sight word building with magnetic letters and play a few games to practice letter recognition.  

 Centers include art, writing, reading, buckets (several different games/activities students can play to practice a previously taught skill) smartboard, tablets and big books.  Their last rotation is “free choice” where they get to pick what center they want to be at.  They do this while I pull students up to work with me in small group.  Each group focuses on a task at their level.  

Writing Workshop: This week we practiced correctly forming letters Ee, Ff and Gg.  Each day we write a daily message.  As a class we look for sight words, and the letters we are learning that week in the message. We have also introduced spacing, capital letters, and punctuation.   

Word Study: Our sight word for this week was “a”.  Students were able to engage in various Smartboard games to reinforce recognition and the sound the letters Ee, Ff and Gg make.

  

Sight Words

I   is   a   my

Important Dates:

• Sept. 1 - Oct. 20 - Box Tops Contest
• Sept. 11 - No School
• Sept. 11 - Math Parent Night 6:30-7:45 in the cafeteria (info coming home today)
• Sept. 12 - No School - Teacher Professional Development Day
• Sept. 13th- Book order due
• Sept. 19 - Cox CARE Mobile

• Sept. 21 - Watch DOGS Pizza Night 6:00-7:00 (be looking for more info)    
• Volunteer Training September 29th from 9-9:30am in FEMA

Thank you so much to the families who came to Grandparent’s Day!  

*If you are signed up on SeeSaw you should be able to see the picture of your child with their grandparent from Grandparents Day. :)

Assessments

You will notice a sorting assessment paper in your child’s folder today.  After we spent last week learning how we can group different objects, I assessed your child over their knowledge this week.  Students were given a score depending on how accurate they were when sorting by a given attribute.  Each score corresponds with an achievement level (advanced, proficient, basic and below basic).  Definitions for these terms are as follows:

Advanced:   *Goes above and beyond meeting the standard

*Very few of our assessments in Kindergarten lend themselves to the   possibility of advanced     

Proficient:    *Meets grade level expectations regarding understanding of the standard

               *Consistently and independently demonstrates understanding of standard

Basic:          *Shows some success on assignments related to standard

               *Meets expectations on only some parts of the standard

Below Basic:  *Rarely shows success on assignments related to standard

                  *Does not meet expectations for understanding of the standard

If your child did not score Proficient on an assessment, please continue to work on this skill at home.  We will continue to work on this at school as well and I will re-test them at a later date.  This is how your child’s performance will be reflected on the kindergarten progress report.

Reading Journey

 Remember to be working on the reading journey for this quarter!  You can help your child meet their reading goal by reading daily with them.  Feel free to email me pictures and we will share them during calendar time.  Thank you!

Next Week:

o   We will start a unit about color words.

o   In math we will continue working on decomposing and writing numbers 1-5.

o   We will learn about the letters “Hh” and “Ii”.

o   Our sight word will be “the”.

Have a Great Weekend!!

Mrs. Vaughn

Message from our room mom :)

Hello parents! My name is Rachel Huett and my son is Max. I will be the room mom this year. Max is my oldest child. So, this is my first time being a room mom. I have received great input from other former room mom's on how to organize things for our parties. I'm open to any suggestions you may have!

This year we will have three parties. I am willing to go shopping for all the party supplies that are needed (goodie bags, snacks & games).To do so I will need $15 for each child. This will be for all three parties! If you could please send this in sealed envelope with my name on it and have your child give to Mrs Vaughn by October 20th, that will be very helpful.

Our first party will be October 27th, 12pm-1pm. The kids will bring their costumes to school. They will put them on before the "parade of costumes". This usually takes place right before the party. More info to come on exact times!

*Please text or email me with your contact info, child's name and any allergies your child has.

Thank you & I am looking forward to a great year!

Rachel Huett

417-693-2197

couponcraze11@gmail.com