Happy February! February 1, 2018
So the big question here is…will February be a snowy month? We will go outside under the following conditions: The temperature must be above 20° with the wind chill taken into consideration. Also, there cannot be icy surfaces that would be unsafe for the students or adults. If your child brings in boots & snow pants, I would suggest using a cloth, reusable grocery bag. The handles are long and young students can manage carrying this along with their backpacks. Those students that do not have boots and snow pants will play on the blacktop (that has been plowed). Please help your child become self-sufficient with dressing themselves and keeping track of all their mittens, hats etc. February often feels like a short month- when you consider the Presidents’ weekend and the random snow days. Our class will celebrate the 100th day on Feb. 8th- only if there aren’t any snow days from now until then (ha ha). In reading workshop, students are reading at their independent reading levels. All students are working on solving unfamiliar words by looking at the picture, using the letters sounds and sounding out words and noticing patterns in the text. There are reading behaviors that we hope to notice at this time of year for example: students should match the spoken words to printed words (pointing to words as they read), students should use the illustrations as a source of information and carry the pattern from page to page. Other behaviors to look for are using the first letter and then progress to using the middle and final letter of a word, reading known words automatically, and beginning to think does this sound right, make sense and looks right. One strategy is to skip an unfamiliar word and read the rest of the sentence to help in determining the unfamiliar word. Students then go back and reread the sentence and figure what word would make sense and/or matches the letters and sounds in the unfamiliar word. Practice the sight words each night to help your child recognize these words without hesitation-this will increase their confidence as a reader. As of February, a total of 48 words have been sent home for you to add onto the word ring. The benchmark goal for the second report card trimester is for students to be able to recognize with automaticity 34-42 sight words. By the way, report cards go home on March 23. In writer’s workshop, we are writing “How To Books” and will transition to “All About Books” in the middle of the month. In the past, the popular topics (For How to Books) were how to walk your dog, how to brush your teeth and how to get ready for school. These books should teach someone how to do something. In mathematics, we are moving to a unit on 2-dimentional and 3-dimentional shapes. Students will work on identifying shapes, sorting and classifying shapes by their attributes (for ex. which shapes have three sides, which shapes can roll, etc.). Some of the vocabulary words we will be using are as follows: shapes, circle, square, triangle, hexagon, rectangle, corners, vertices, cones, cubes, cylinders, spheres, solid, sides, faces. During the first week of March (March 1st & 2nd), we will meet again for our second parent/teacher conference. On a separate notice, you will get your time slot. We usually use the fall conference times. If this time does not work for your family, we can reschedule for a more convenient time. Dates to remember: Feb. 2nd -First Friday Family Read- parents/family members welcome 9:00-9:30 Feb. 2nd -Wear Red For American Heart Association Feb. 7th -Minimum Day-dismissal 1:05 Feb. 8th-100th day-if snow days don’t interfere Feb. 8th-7-9 pm. Community information session on the school restructure @ HK Middle School Feb. 9th-Spirit day-Winter Wonderland-Wear White and Blue Feb. 12-16-Jump rope for Heart Jump-a-thon Week-Parents welcome to participate-during our gym class time @Tuesday at 12:55-1:40. Wear sneakers and clothes suitable to exercise. Come join in with your child. Feb. 14th-Valentine Card exchange for students Feb. 19-20 -No School-Closed for Presidents Weekend Feb. 21st-6-8 pm. Community information session on the school restructure @ HK High School Feb. 23rd –Spirit Day-Wear your KES Wear Feb. 23-PTO sponsored assembly-The Dragon King Feb. 26th –Lego Fest 6:00-7:00 Feb. 27th-PTO meeting at 7:00 (Library) Feb. 28th -PTO sponsored assembly-The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe March 1st and 2nd -Minimum Days-Dismissal at 1:05 Parent/Teacher Conferences Thanks for your continued support and cooperation! We have enjoyed working with your children. Kathy Sullivan with Ms. G.
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Dear Families, Jan. 3, 2018 I hope your holiday break was enjoyable and gave you a chance to connect with family and friends. I also want to thank everyone for contributing to our Holiday craft activity and special snack. The children seemed to enjoy the special day. It was nice to see you all before the break. The generous class gift was quite a surprise! You thought of everything (even treats for my dog)! I really want to thank our room moms for the special questionnaire-they asked me about my favorite things. Thank you very much. I will treat myself to something special. Thank you again. January brings on some changes for our students. We will be sending home leveled books for your child to read Monday through Thursday night. In addition, your child needs to practice the sight words that we have been sending home each month. Forty words have been sent home for your child’s word ring. Focus for handwriting continues to be on proper placement. We will encourage students to use lower case letters in their narrative writing. Currently students are writing about their vacation and of course, the snow. Towards the end of the month, we will start a new unit in writing called “how to books”. For example, children might write a book on how to brush your teeth. In addition, during this month I will be meeting with each student individually to assess their ability levels for reading and number sense. This takes a considerable amount of time and it usually takes up most of the month. I will be using these results to help in the planning of instruction. (over) Dates to keep in mind are as follows: Jan. 10-Kindergarten Registration for next year 9:00-7:00 Jan. 11-Kindergarten Registration for next year 9:00-3:00 Jan. 15-No School-Dr. Martin Luther King Day Jan. 19-KES Spirit Day-wear your shirt backwards day Jan. 23-Minimum Day-students leave at 1:05 Jan. 24-Minimum Day-students leave at 1:05 Jan. 26-Kindergarten Donut Day (for Dads)-substitute stand-ins are always welcome @ 9:15-10:00 Jan. 30-PTO Meeting @ 7:00 Jan. 31-Kindergarten Literacy Night @ 5:30 Feb. 2-First Friday Family Read at 9:00-9:30 Thanks for your continuous support. Kathy Sullivan with Ms. G |
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