Mrs. Fillmore's Class Blog

**Please make sure you are reviewing your child’s classwork each night.  Monitoring your child’s classwork is a great indicator of how your child is doing in the class. If for some reason your child doesn’t finish his/her classwork in class, I will send it home for homework to be completed at home and returned the next day.  Thank you for your support!

What we did during our week:

Language Arts: We had a fun week learning all about letters A & Z.  We learned what sound each letter made, how to recognize a uppercase/lowercase letter and how to write the letters on the line. Next week we will focus on letters B and Y:)

Writing:    In writing, we are learning how to write our names correctly inside the lines and also writing letters correctly inside the lines.  Please practice with your child how to write their name with the first letter being Uppercase and the remaining letters all lowercase.  For example, if your child’s name is Cooper, we do not want to see your child writing their name in all uppercase like this: COOPER. Instead we want to see: Cooper (Uppercase C and the rest lowercase).  Please let me know if you have any questions with this:) Next week we will talk about labeling pictures:)

Math:  We worked on Modules 1-4 in the classroom (exactly the same/ not the same because…).  Next week we will complete lessons 5-9.

Science: We have started learning about our 5 senses: sight, touch, smell, taste and hear.  

Social Studies:  We will continue to go over our classroom rules each day: Looking eyes, hands to self, inside voices, listening ears and walking feet:)  Here are some videos for you and your child to watch at home together:)  

Homework:  We are kicking off a world of learning in Kindergarten!   With learning comes extension activities to do at home with your child to better prepare them for Kindergarten and beyond.  Every Monday, your child will come home with a homework packet. Your child will have a reading log to complete each night, a language art worksheet to complete each night and a homework assignment in their Eureka Math Succeed workbook each night as well.  Every Friday, your child’s homework packet is due, but they will keep their SUCCEED book at home with them. You will not bring the succeed workbook back to school. It will stay at home throughout the whole school year. Dearborn Public Schools purchased a new math curriculum this year, so this will be a learning experience for all of us:)  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Open House: Thank you to those who came to Open House on Thursday.  It was so nice seeing all of you participating with your child with the scavenger hunt!  Please don’t forgot your day and time you signed up for Parent Teacher Conferences. I will send reminders to you at the end of October:)

Donors Choose Project:  I am happy to report that our Donors Choose project has been funded by an ANONYMOUS person. I would like to thank him/her in person and give them a great big hug and thank you!  A whopping $373.40 was donated by this person.  Our students are going to love our new wobble stools at small group learning.  Also,2 claps to the Sleiman family  for donating to our wobble stool project and also the Basma family for donating.  I am so fortunate to have such wonderful, loving and supportive families in Room 42!

Scholastic Reading Club:

Class Code – RKYTJ

Order Due Date – 09/24/18

Subject: Scholastic Book Clubs Class Order Due Date is approaching!

Dear Families,

Did you know? Kids who read for just 20 minutes a day are more successful in school and life. Ordering from Scholastic Book Clubs is an easy way to find the best books that are just right for your child’s grade and interests.

Here’s how:

To order online at https://clubs.scholastic.com/ connect to our class using our Class Code (RKYTJ)

Bonus: This month, you can pick a FREE Book (up to $5) when you place an online order of $25 or more!

As soon as your order is delivered to our classroom, I will send it home with your child.

Plus every order you place earns FREE Books for our class to share.

Happy Reading,

Mrs. Fillmore

Other:

• Please consider buying something from our Scholastic Book Club at: https://clubs.scholastic.com/  Activation code: RKYTJ.  The September orders are due by September 24th.  There are a lot of great books for your child at a very reasonable price and FREE shipping.  Books make for a great gift or even for a family story night:)
• Please make sure you are reviewing your child’s classwork each night.  Monitoring your child’s classwork is a great indicator of how your child is doing in the class. If for some reason your child doesn’t finish his/her classwork in class, I will send it home for homework to be completed at home and returned the next day.  Thank you for your support!
• Please make sure you are logging onto Reading Eggs/ RAZ Kids & Mathseeds frequently.   Please teach your child how to independently log onto these sites on their own. They will learn how to type their username/password in the classroom, so if you could help me out at home with using the same method, I would greatly appreciate it!  We are super lucky that our school has purchased these learning programs for our students at Haigh. I hope every family utilizes these sites often:)
• Please make sure to sign up for the Remind App for up to date texts from the classroom:)  Here is how you sign up:  Remind App.  Here is the link and information needed to receive text messages straight from the classroom:) https://www.remind.com/join/mfillm

Housekeeping items:

• • If you send money in for your child’s school lunch, please place his/her money in an envelope, label your child’s first and last name on the envelope, my name (Mrs. Fillmore) and what the money’s for.  The lunch ladies have a lot of money to go through on a daily basis, so using this easy method will help with any confusion. We will also you this method for any field trips we may have during the school year.
  • If your child is bringing a home lunch, it is OK to pack a juice for the lunchroom!  Remember to pack a water bottle each day for the classroom:)
  • Please pack your child’s snack SEPARATELY from your child’s home lunch.  This will help your child become less confused about what is for lunch and what is for snack.  Thank you:)
  • Please make sure you are reviewing your child’s classwork each night.  Monitoring your child’s classwork is a great indicator of how your child is doing in the class. If for some reason your child doesn’t finish his/her classwork in class, I will send it home for homework to be completed at home and returned the next day.  Thank you for your support!

• Please read my latest blog post about tying shoes.  Thank you!
• Please make sure you are aware of what days we have for specials.  I revised our specials under the link “Special Schedule.”

*Monday~ P.E. (GYM) and Library book check out!

Tuesday~ Music

Wednesday~ Technology

Thursday~ Music and Art

*Friday~ P.E. (GYM)

(Children will check out one book each week as long as they have brought back their book from the previous week. Children will bring home their library book on Monday and will keep their book until the following Monday).

*On gym days, please send your child to school in gym attire, i.e. gym shoes, comfy clothes, no skirts, sandals, slip on shoes etc.  Mr. Peecher will not allow students to participate in gym if they do not have the appropriate physical education attire. Your child’s safety is our #1 priority.  Thank you!

Upcoming Events:

September 19th- Late start.  All students will start school at 9:40 a.m.!

September 21st- Homework packet due

September 24th- FIRST library check out!  Please make sure to read this book throughout the week (you can even use the book for the homework reading log:)) and place in your child’s backpack Monday morning for a new book from the library!

September 27th- Homework packet due

September 28th- NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten and Young 5’s only!

October 12th- Half day for students.  Students dismiss promptly at 11:40 a.m.

Parents: I am in search of a newly used CD/radio for the classroom.  Sadly, my radio stopped working this week and we haven’t been able to listen to any CD’s in the classroom:/   If you could donate a radio to us, the students and myself would greatly appreciate it.  Thank you for considering:)  Have a great weekend!

Tomorrow is our Open House from 6-7:30 p.m!  Please make sure to read over the note that was sent home in your child’s folder and also posted on the blog.  If you misplaced the letter, here is what it entails:

You are invited to open house on September 13th, 2018 from 6-7:30pm.  The purpose of Open House is for your child to show you around the classroom and the school.  This will allow for you to see where your child goes to gym, art, music and where they eat lunch in the cafeteria.  With open house being only a couple weeks into school and for confidentiality reasons, please save all questions about your child’s progress for conferences, which will be at a later time. There will be sign up sheets, in the classroom,  for Parent Teacher Conferences in November. Conferences are the time where we can talk together all about your child and how they are doing so far. Thank you so much for your cooperation. We look forward to meeting you at Open House and getting your child excited about school!

For open house, I will have a sign in sheet and a scavenger hunt when you walk into the classroom. Please make sure to sign in and grab a scavenger hunt to complete with your child:)

Don’t forget: you will sign up for November conferences at Open House!   Conference sign up’s will be at the back table in my classroom.  Make sure to find a day and time that works for you…it will fill up FAST! 

Also, if you would like to volunteer for classroom parties, events at the school, other items etc. please ask me for a volunteer form at open house:)

Homework packet: The homework packet is due every Friday morning.  Please make sure to complete 1 worksheet each night, along with a math lesson from the SUCCEED math workbook.

If you need some tips on how to complete math homework, make sure to check out this parent tip sheet! https://s3.greatminds.org/spree/material_files/files/000/014/146/original/parent-tips_gkm1ta.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline&Expires=1536681785&Signature=N5gcqClByfJQ-MKmrsNUKqjQHq~eXYXqS5JoHCpTq2WNYuu5viS-3GMvi0AB~9mxNIF3FxH9J7uYZTkJgix9yd~PBM9GiY2L383GZGg1miLnYCUjv5G9OlfjBRfwakhyUhjdN~tAuKdYUjqfOzq~tW~mzRXYAUlNMbDr1nfN2VHifWAF4El49PGk084uh~43mIgtdAugswV3FLQEU8~pD1zwBc6VmGmC735fz1hc6e-MGH-yCtiMDFYckyQXAhBsRX6PTWms9tp4ddQ2S-rhwgM~Ufs1RUHyNL0~n3Fu3PsOvNWcbhMNRGZKJQe76BjF8Ciq03lo6R~rzrBHuevNAw__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAJHJV4Q37CWDLBWFA

Half Day: This Friday, the students will have a half day of school.  Students will be dismissed promptly at 11:40 a.m.  Please make arrangements for your child to be picked up.  Thank you!

Snack: We are a NUT FREE classroom.  Please make sure you are not sending any peanuts, peanut butter, trail mix, granola (with nuts), etc.  for snack.  Always make sure to send a reusable water bottle for the classroom:)  We appreciate your understanding and support.

Please help the PTA figure out what movie to play at our Fall Family Movie night….click on the link below to cast your vote:)

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdpmoopA6_0zhqqy6Z2Vcv7WR0_ORVlV0CK0rg_i-7mOhnAZA/viewform

Since this is our first “official” newsletter, please make sure to read in its entirety, there is a lot of important information.  Thank you!

What we did during our week:

Language Arts: We have been learning the letters to our first and last name.  Next week we will focus on letters A and Z:)

Daily 5: We have been working hard during one of our Daily 5 rotations called “Word Work.”  Next week we will learn about “Work on Writing and Read to Self” during our Daily 5 block:)  Here are some pictures of the students working during “Word Work.”  Enjoy:)

Writing:    In writing, we are learning how to write our names correctly, inside the lines.  THis will be something we focus on for a couple weeks.

Math:  We have been counting and identifying numbers all this week.  Next week, we start our journey in our new math program Eureka Math.  

Science: We will start learning about our 5 senses: sight, touch, smell, taste and hear.  

Social Studies:  We will continue to go over our classroom rules each day: Looking eyes, hands to self, inside voices, listening ears and walking feet:)  Here are some videos for you and your child to watch at home together:)  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVVNQ2q1D1s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DZW9EkvtrI

Homework:  Next week we are kicking off a world of learning in Kindergarten!   With learning comes extension activities to do at home with your child to better prepare them for Kindergarten and beyond.  Every Monday, your child will come home with a homework packet. Your child will have a reading log to complete each night, a language art worksheet to complete each night and a homework assignment in their Eureka Math Succeed workbook each night as well.  Every Friday, your child’s homework packet is due, but they will keep their SUCCEED book at home with them. You will not bring the succeed workbook back to school. It will stay at home throughout the whole school year. Dearborn Public Schools purchased a new math curriculum this year, so this will be a learning experience for all of us:)  The SUCCEED workbook will be coming home with your child on Monday with instructions. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Open House: You are invited to open house on September 13th, 2018 from 6-7:30pm.  The purpose of Open House is for your child to show you around the classroom and the school.  This will allow for you to see where your child goes to gym, art, music and where they eat lunch in the cafeteria.  With open house being only a couple weeks into school and for confidentiality reasons, please save all questions about your child’s progress for conferences, which will be at a later time. There will be sign up sheets, in the classroom,  for Parent Teacher Conferences in November. Conferences are the time where we can talk together all about your child and how they are doing so far. Thank you so much for your cooperation. We look forward to meeting you at Open House and getting your child excited about school!

Donors Choose Project:  Parents, I am need of your HELP!  I started a donors choose project to raise money to buy wobble stools for your child at small group!  My students could really benefit from wobble stools to help aid in the active child for small group learning! Sometimes, students are at small groups for 10 minutes or more and we tend to see a lot more fidgety students after the 10 minute mark. Reading, writing, mathematics, science and social studies can be less of a stress, if the students can “wobble” and learn at the same time! Please help me and the students of Haigh to make small group learning fun and enjoyable for every child! We would greatly appreciate it if you donated towards our project!  Please consider donating…any amount can and will help our children. Thank you! https://www.donorschoose.org/we-teach/5452723?cachebust=1536162590042

Scholastic Reading Club:

Class Code – RKYTJ

Order Due Date – 09/24/18

Subject: Scholastic Book Clubs Class Order Due Date is approaching!

Dear Families,

Did you know? Kids who read for just 20 minutes a day are more successful in school and life. Ordering from Scholastic Book Clubs is an easy way to find the best books that are just right for your child’s grade and interests.

Here’s how:

To order online, connect to our class using our Class Code (RKYTJ)

Bonus: This month, you can pick a FREE Book (up to $5) when you place an online order of $25 or more!

As soon as your order is delivered to our classroom, I will send it home with your child.

Plus every order you place earns FREE Books for our class to share.

Happy Reading, Mrs. Fillmore

Other:

• Please consider buying something from our Scholastic Book Club at: scholastic.com/bookclubs Activation code: RKYTJ.  The September orders are due by September 24th. There are a lot of great books for your child at a very reasonable price and FREE shipping.  Books make for a great gift or even for a family story night:)
• Next week I will be sending home your child’s login for RAZ kids and Reading Eggs.  Please have your child visit these sites in addition to their homework that is starting next week.  Or, these FREE educational sites would be perfect for weekend learning:) Please teach your child how to independently log onto these sites on their own.  They will learn how to type their username/password in the classroom, so if you could help me out at home with using the same method, I would greatly appreciate it!  We are super lucky that our school has purchased these learning programs for our students at Haigh. I hope every family utilizes these sites frequently:)
• I am still learning all the wonderful parent faces of Room 42.  I have multiple family members that I need to remember, multiply that by 24 students, it sure is a lot of faces to remember.  I promise you, that I will know your face by the end of September (or sooner I am hoping;)) I really appreciate your understanding and patience!
• Please make sure to sign up for the Remind App for up to date texts from the classroom:)  Here is how you sign up:  Remind App.  Here is the link and information needed to receive text messages straight from the classroom:) https://www.remind.com/join/mfillm

Housekeeping items:

• • If you send money in for your child’s school lunch, please place his/her money in an envelope, label your child’s first and last name on the envelope, my name (Mrs. Fillmore) and what the money’s for.  The lunch ladies have a lot of money to go through on a daily basis, so using this easy method will help with any confusion. We will also you this method for any field trips we may have during the school year.
  • If your child is bringing a home lunch, it is OK to pack a juice for the lunchroom!  Remember to pack a water bottle each day for the classroom:)
  • Please pack your child’s snack SEPARATELY from your child’s home lunch.  This will help your child become less confused about what is for lunch and what is for snack.  Thank you:)

• Please read my latest blog post about shoe tying in the classroom.  Thank you!
• Please make sure you are aware of what days we have for specials.  I revised our specials under the link “Special Schedule.”

*Monday~ P.E. (GYM) and Library book check out!

Tuesday~ Music

Wednesday~ Technology

Thursday~ Music and Art

*Friday~ P.E. (GYM)

(Children will check out one book each week as long as they have brought back their book from the previous week. Children will bring home their library book on Monday and will keep their book until the following Monday).

*On gym days, please send your child to school in gym attire, i.e. gym shoes, comfy clothes, no skirts, sandals, slip on shoes etc.  Mr. Peecher will not allow students to participate in gym if they do not have the appropriate physical education attire. Your child’s safety is our #1 priority.  Thank you!

Upcoming Events:

September 13th- Open House 6-7:30pm

September 14th- Homework due & P.E. day

September 14th- Half day for students.  Students dismiss promptly at 11:40am

September 19th- Late start.  All students will start school at 9:40am

September 28th- NO SCHOOL for Kindergarten and Young 5’s only

October 12th- Half day for students.  Students dismiss promptly at 11:40am

Your child may be away for a couple hours a day, but I want to assure you they are having fun, making friends and learning a lot!  Here are some pictures of the students enjoying “Exploration Time” (probably their favorite part of the day lol)!  Enjoy:)

Hello again:)  Majority of my students will be coming home with Emergency Cards.  Please review the front of the card and fill out the back of the card and return by tomorrow, September 7th.  Please, please make sure to sign at the bottom of the form.  If it is not signed, I will have to send it back again until it is filled out properly.  Thank you so much!

Tomorrow is our first gym (P.E.) day!  Please make sure your child is in tennis shoes and comfy clothes.  If your child is unable to tie his/her shoes, I would recommend buying your child Velcro shoes.  As teachers, we wish we had the extra time to tie 24 shoes a day, but unfortunately it is not realistic.  We want your child to become independent learners in Kindergarten and learning how to tie their shoes is step one!  Please practice tying your child’s shoes at home.  You can watch videos, give incentives, anything that will teach your child to tie her shoes.  If not, Velcro is always a good idea:)  Thank you for your cooperation in this matter:)

Here is a link I found to help your child with tying shoes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdK0kAtq_Og

Hello Families!  I hope everyone had an enjoyable Labor Day weekend…the kids were excited to share some things they did over the 4 days they had off:)

Here are some reminders/updates to help us get through the full week and beyond:)

• The September lunch calendar is coming home today.  If you choose for your child to have a school lunch, please place his/her money in an envelope, label your child’s first and last name on the envelope, my name (Mrs. Fillmore) and what the money is for.  The lunch ladies have a lot of money to go through on a daily basis, so using this easy method will help with any confusion.  We will also you this method for any field trips we may have during the school year.
• If your child is bringing a home lunch, it is OK to pack a juice for the lunchroom!  Remember to pack a water bottle each day for the classroom:)
• Please pack your child’s snack SEPARATELY from your child’s home lunch.  This will help your child become less confused about what is for lunch and what is for snack.  Thank you:)
• The temperature in the classroom is H.O.T.  Please save the fall clothes for when the temperature becomes cooler.  Thank you!
• Friday is our first gym (P.E.) day!  Make sure your child is wearing appropriate gym clothing so they are able to participate.
• If you haven’t done so, please turn in your child’s emergency clothes, headphones, kissing hand homework and all paperwork into me by the end of the week.  It is imperative I receive all necessary paperwork for your child.  Thank you.
• Your child is coming home with the first communication log.  Please make sure to read over and initial each day:).  If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.
• Homework will be starting next week.  I will go over homework on my weekly Friday newsletter (be on the lookout:))  Have a great night!

Hello again:).  Just wanted to jump on real quick and remind everyone to make sure to look in your child’s “Everyday Folder” today and everyday:)  I sent home your child’s special schedule as well as our only newsletter that will be sent home.  You can find our special schedule on the blog as well.  Just click on “”Special Schedule”  The remainder of our newsletters will be on this blog!  You can also sign up for  the Remind App.  Here is the link and information needed to receive text messages straight from the classroom:) https://www.remind.com/join/mfillm

Don’t forget: Parent surveys, PG note, Kissing hand homework and school supplies/emergency clothes are DUE tomorrow, August 30th.  Tomorrow is our last “soft” start day.  Your child will begin full days on Tuesday, September 4th and will be released at 3:30pm.

NO school on Friday, August 31st and Monday, September 3rd.  Enjoy the Labor Day holiday!

Hello Families!  As you may have noticed, your child came home with their “Everyday Folder.”  This folder is exactly what it means…it comes to school everyday and home everyday:).  I will have important notes/homework/documents coming home that will need to be returned.  If this is the case, you simply place the filled out paper work on the left side of the folder that says “return to school.”  If the papers are on the side that says “keep at home,” you simply just empty out the paperwork and keep it at home.  This will be a learning process, but just as long as we work towards becoming on the same page, it will be a great year!

Your child also came home with their first homework sheet.  Please make sure to work on it tonight and return back to school tomorrow or I will extend it until Thursday.  All Kissing Hands will be displayed around the room for your child to see…how special<3

Please make sure to return all paperwork, for the classroom, by the 30th.  I will need the parent survey, PG note and homework by the 30th.  Thank you!  If you have any questions please let me know at anytime:)

We made it through the first day!!  The kids did great and I can’t wait to get to know them better…they are a sweet group<3

Hello again!  Thank you for your patience as we navigate through a new school year:)  Here are some items for you to be aware of:

• A lot of paperwork came home in your child’s folder today.  Please read through everything, fill out the necessary paperwork and bring back the filled out paperwork to me:)
• I will be sending home your child’s “Everyday Folder” with him/her tomorrow about important information in the classroom.  Please read over everything and be sure to send in the parent survey and PG movie note as well by August 30th!
• Classroom supplies are due by the end of this week.  If you weren’t able to bring it in today, don’t worry!  You still have time:)  Don’t forget, I will need emergency clothes and a pair of headphones for your child as well.
•          
• We will have snack EVERYDAY in Kindergarten (even on half days).  We are a NUT FREE classroom!  We have a number of children who have food allergies.  Please make sure to not send in peanuts or nuts with your child for snack.  This includes: peanut butter and jelly, granola bars with peanut butter, seeds, trail mix, etc.  I appreciate your cooperation in this matter!  Also, please tell your child that we do not share any food with our friends in the classroom. Although it is a kind gesture, we can’t risk getting anyone sick in the classroom.  Thank you!
• 
• The temperature in the classroom is very hot and humid. Please make sure to dress your child appropriately for our hot, summer days.  I ask that you do not send your child with open toed shoes.  We go outside to play on the wood chips and open toed shoes are not safe for your child to play in.
•    
• Please make sure to send your child to school with a reusable water bottle everyday.  I ask you do not send in juice as this makes for a messy and sticky situation.  Thank you!
•    
• This week your child will have music:)
• No school this Friday.  Enjoy the Labor Day holiday!
• 

Hello Families and Welcome to our classroom blog!  Here you will find a ton of information about the classroom and our school.  Please take a moment to browse around and look at the different links I have provided for you under the “pages” heading.  I am so happy you are here!

A Few Things:

• Please download and sign up for minute to minute to text updates, from the classroom, on the Remind App.  Here is the link and information needed to receive text messages straight from the classroom:) https://www.remind.com/join/mfillm
• The school day starts at 8:35am!  Remember that the first week of school are half days.  Students will be dismissed at 11:40am promptly!  Please make arrangements for your child for the 1/2 days this week.  Thank you:)  Remember: NO school on Friday, August 31st!  School resumes Tuesday, September 4th.
• Please make sure to pack a healthy snack for your child EACH and every day and a reusable water bottle, with ONLY water inside.  Sending in a reusable water bottle will help aide in less spills and easy access for the students at their tables.  Juice is too sticky and messy, so I ask you only provide your child with water only.  Thank you for your cooperation in this matter!  Just a reminder, a snack will not be provided by the classroom teacher.
• We have a handful of students with severe allergies in classroom that includes (nuts, chickpeas cashews, sesame oil, eggs, peanuts, gluten, dairy, etc). Please reiterate with your child that he or she will not be able to share snacks with friends in the classroom.  This will be something I reinforce everyday as well.  With that being said, we will not be able to have any outside food in the classroom for any occasion.  We will put our students, with allergies, at severe risk by doing so.  Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
• Make sure to bring in all supplies the first day/week of school.  Also, please don’t forgot to provide your child with an emergency set of clothes (shirt, pants, socks, underwear, shoes) and make sure to label all of their clothing items!   You can find much more information in the welcome letter under the heading “Class Info.”  Here you will find all the information needed to make the first week a success!
• The tentative special schedule is posted on this blog as well.  Please make sure you are aware when gym days are and our library check out dates!  This will ensure your child is prepared successfully for these special days at school!
• If you ever have any questions, you can email me at fillmoa@dearbornschools.org or message me on the blog.
• Parents: please come prepared on the first day to help sort all of the classroom supplies you purchased, walk your child around the classroom and show them their table, locker, the bathroom, etc  and last but not least; make sure to spoil your child with hugs and kisses before you leave:)  I can’t wait to meet all of you on Monday, August 27th:)