Mrs. Fillmore's Class Blog

PBIS Celebration!

Dear Families,

On Monday, October 2nd we will be having our first PBIS celebration of the year. This celebration is to recognize your child’s positive behavior for the month of September. Our theme will be Float, Fly, Glide! This event will take place outside, so let’s hope the weather stays pleasant!

Be sure to check the weather forecast and make sure your child is dressed appropriately, students will be outside for 45 minutes.  

Thank you,

Haigh PBIS Committee

I also forgot to mention in my last post that our FIRST book check out is tomorrow:)  Remember: your child will be sending home a library book in their backpack to read at home all week (this book can also be used for the homework reading log):)  Make sure to bring it back every Friday morning, so your child can check out another book for the following week!  If for some reason your child does not bring the library book back before Friday, then they will not be able to choose another book until the previous book is brought back.  Happy Reading to all!

Hello families!

• Your child will be sending home an OCTOBER lunch menu.  Please keep this handy, so you are able to view it and talk with your child about what he/she is doing for lunch.  Also, a school calendar for October went home yesterday with a lot of important dates!  Please make sure to add those dates to your calendar to keep you in the loop:)
• Picture day is TOMORROW:)  If you would like your child to get his/her picture taken, please go online to lifetouch (look at my last post for the link and ID #) to order a package, or you can send in the form with the exact cash (6% tax included).  The photographers do not carry extra cash to give back any change.  Thank you for your cooperation!
• Money for movie night is due tomorrow along with the GREEN slip.  Don’t miss out on seeing Moana at Haigh!
• Homework is due tomorrow and we have gym day!  Please make sure to complete the reading log each night.  Remember, you and your child should be reading for 10-15 minutes each night:)   Also, don’t forget to send your child to school with gym shoes and attire so they are able to participate in physical education!
• Field Trip is coming up (Tuesday, October 3rd)!  Please make sure to send your child to school that day with a BROWN BAG lunch.  Everything should be disposable.  The teachers will not carry any lunch boxes or water bottles at the farm.  Students will also be asked to bring their backpacks to carry their apple and pumpkin home from the farm.  It might be a good idea to empty out any unnecessary things in your child’s backpack before sending them to school on Tuesday:).  If you plan to meet us at the orchard the address is: 10685 Warren Rd, Plymouth, 48170.  You will pay admission once you arrive.

If you ever have any questions please do not hesitate to email me or inbox me on the blog.  I am here to help!  Have a great night!

Hello Families!  Today, your child sent home a picture order form for picture day on Friday, September 29th.  If you chose to have your child’s picture taken, please fill out this form and send back by Friday morning.  Please make sure the form is filled out entirely, exact money is enclosed and that you have added the tax to the total.   A lot of times, parents don’t send in exact cash and the photographers don’t have change to give back.

**You can also purchase the package online.  Just go to mylifetouch.com and enter in the picture ID: LM747227YO (it’s on the order form).  If you do your orders online, there is no need to bring the form to school:)  I signed up my daughter online and it is so much easier!  No confusion, no form to fill out and no money to bring to school:)  Hope this helps!

Correction: In my newsletter, I stated your child will bring a book bag home with your child’s library book for this Friday.  This was a mistake on my part.  I am new and still learning the ropes here at Haigh;)  Your child will bring home a library book, but it will be placed in their backpack, not in a book bag.  Just make sure your child brings their library book back to school by Friday morning, that way they can return the book and receive a new one for the week!  Again, all library books will be in your child’s backpack!

Today was a very hot and humid day in the classroom and tomorrow’s weather looks like the same forecast.  Please send your child to school with a reusable water bottle and summer like clothes.  No open toed shoes please.  Thank you so much!

What we did during our week:

Language Arts and Writing: We worked on recognizing and writing the letter B and the letter Y.  Families, I am trying to promote writing with a tripod grasp when holding a pencil (3 finger grasp).  A child will have a very difficult time if they are holding the pencil as a closed fist.  If you need some pointers on how to teach your child a tripod grasp, I will be more than happy to show you how to teach your child at home:)  

Math: We practiced recognizing, writing and representing numbers 4, 5, and 6. In addition, we learned about rectangles, and triangles.

Science: We are still learning about our 5 senses. This week we focused on Touch and Hearing.

Social Studies: We are still practicing and getting better at our procedures every day!  Please ask your child about our 5 golden rules we follow each day to keep them on “Owl is good.”

Other: Wednesday we had an assembly from the Dearborn police and their police dog.  I posted some pictures of the assembly on our blog…check it out!

A Glimpse into next week….

• Next week we will be looking at and working with apples in preparation for our field trip!
• Book Check out will start next week!  Your child will bring a book home from the library and place it in their backpacks.  Please return the book before each following Friday, so your child can recheck out a new book:)  Also, once we start leveled books, I will be sending them home in your child’s book bag.  This won’t happen for another month or so.  For the mean time, please continue to read books from home, the Dearborn public library or on reading eggs:)

Important Information:

• Field Trip forms for the Apple Orchard were sent home, please have those returned, with money in an envelope by September 29th.
• Please remember to empty your child’s green folder every night on the side that says “KEEP at home” and sign the communication log. 

Housekeeping items:

• Homework packet: We had all students return their completed homework packet this Thursday!!  Woo hoo!  The only thing I noticed, is that some parents did not fill in the reading log each night.  Please make sure to write the title of the book and check off how the child read the book each night:)  Thank you!
• Sandals:  It seems a lot of our girls are wearing open toed shoes into the classroom.  Although, these shoes may be cute and stylish, they make for very dangerous situations on the playground and running on wood chips.  To ensure all our students are safe during recess time, I am asking all parents to send their child to school with a CLOSED toed shoe.  Please no open toed shoes and or sandals.  If your child comes to school with them, I will call home for the parent to send shoes to the office.  Thank you so much for your understanding…safety must come first for our babies:)  On Gym days (Thursday and Fridays), make sure to wear appropriate gym attire: gym shoes, pants, etc.
• Water Bottles: Please make sure to send in a REUSABLE water bottle with your child each day.  A disposable water bottle is not ideal for the classroom.  Disposable bottles make for a huge accident in the classroom, if spilled.  Please find the bottles that have a spout or a straw inside the cup.  Thank you for your cooperation in this matter:)
• Snack: Don’t forget to send in a light, HEALTHY snack with your child each day.  Please keep this snack SEPARATE from your child’s home lunch.  Snacks should be placed in a quick, accessible place where your child can grab from in their backpack.  This will make snack time less confusing for our children.  Thank you!
• Lunch: Please communicate with your child or myself (on the communication log) if your child is receiving a school lunch.  Some kids come to school and are not sure what they are doing for lunch.
• Shoes laces and Pants: Teaching your child how to tie their shoes and properly unbuttoning or buttoning their pants, will help your child become more independent learners in the classroom.  Although I would love to tie all 23 shoes in the classroom, it would take up most of my time and take away from teaching our students.  Also, teaching your child how to unbutton his/her pants will make for less accidents in the future.   Thank you for your understanding.

Upcoming Events:

September 29th – Picture Day!

September 29th – Field Trip form & money due

September 29th- Outdoor Movie Night slip (green) and money is due

October 3rd – Kindergarten Field Trip to Apple Orchard

I hope everyone is enjoying this Indian Summer we have been having in September!  We have a hot weekend ahead! 

Today we had the privilege of having the Dearborn Police K9 team come to Haigh Elementary!

Officer Worf showed us how strong his sense of smell was and Officer Morse answered a lot of our burning questions about the police force!  Enjoy the pictures from today’s assembly:)

Hello Families!  Tomorrow the Kindergarten homework packet is due!  Please make sure to place it in your child’s folder tonight:)  It is also gym day tomorrow,  so please make sure your child is wearing gym shoes and appropriate gym attire.

Reminder: There is NO SCHOOl Friday, September 22nd for Kindergarten ONLY!

Climate in classroom: It is very hot in our classroom due to the very warm weather we have been experiencing.  We do not have air conditioning, so please make sure to dress your child comfortably and allow your child to bring in a REUSABLE water bottle that has a straw or spout in the cup.  These cups will allow for less spills in the classroom.  Thank you so much!  See you all tomorrow!

P.s. Our newsletter for the week will also be posted tomorrow at the end of the day:).  Be on the lookout!

Hello Families:)  I love checking my email to see we have new families who have joined our blog:)  Please feel free to browse all of the different links on our page and our newly updated “Specials Schedule”, including our book check out day!  If you have a question at any time, please contact me on our blog or by email located under “Contact Information.”

Side Note: I still have 6 families that need to sign up for parent teacher conferences in November.  I will have a clip board with me, before and after school, for your convenience:)  Please sign up with me if you haven’t; Thank you to those that have!  You all will be getting reminders of your date and time as it nears closer to November:)

I hope Homework is going well for everyone!  I loved that some of my students came to school today so excited to tell me what story they read for their reading log!  The enthusiasm is so welcomed and encouraged!  Please make sure your child is completing the homework, with an adult near by assisting the child, if needed.  Homework practice reinforces concepts that will help them in reading, writing, math, science and social studies!  Happy Learning Families!

What we did during our week:

Language Arts and Writing: We worked on recognizing and writing the letter A and the letter Z.

Math: We practiced recognizing, writing and representing numbers 1, 2, and 3. In addition, we learned about circles, and squares.

Science: We are learning about our five senses! This week we focused on sight, and smell.

Social Studies: This week we spent a lot of time getting used to being in kindergarten all day! We continued to go over some rules and procedures.   Please ask your child about the 5 golden rules we follow in the classroom to keep us safe and help us learn: looking eyes, hands to self, inside voices, listening ears and walking feet.  Also, we are learning what it means to be a friend to one another in our classes:)  

Important Information:

Thank you for coming to open house – it was great to see all of you, and share a little bit about each of our classes!  I really enjoyed meeting all of you!

We will be going on a field trip to the Apple Orchard in Plymouth on October 3rd. Permission slips and more information will be sent home next week. The form and money are BOTH due by September 29th.   Thank you!

Homework will start to be sent home next week. It comes home on Monday, and is due by Friday. However, due to a 4 day week, please try and have it in by Thursday.  I have attached reading egg logins and password for each child in the classroom!  Make sure to head over to readingeggs.com and have some fun reading 🙂  The link for reading eggs is also under the tab that says “Educational Websites” on our blog.  Don’t forget to complete the reading log each night (located in your child’s homework packet)!

Please remember to empty your child’s green folder every night and return to school the next day.  

Communication Log Update:  Communication logs will be inserted on the side of the folder that says “Return to School.”  It will be too difficult to take them in and out of prongs each week.  Instead, I will just place the log in the folder for you to see and sign and to keep in the folder.  Thank you!

When you send money in for lunches, field trips, etc. please place it in a bag or envelope and label it with your child’s name and teacher name: Mrs. Fillmore.  Thank you!

Please write your child’s name on their HEALTHY snack  and keep it separate from their school lunch.  Also, please let your child know or indicate on the communication log if your child is getting a school lunch, that way I know who brought a lunch and who is buying a lunch.  Your child may bring in a reusable water bottle in the class.  Make sure you have your child’s name is written on their reusable water bottle.   NO juice please, it makes for a big sticky mess in the classroom, if spilled.

As always email me with any questions you may have.  All my contact information is located under the “Contact Info.”  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Upcoming Events:

September 22nd – NO SCHOOL for kindergarten only!

October 3 – Field Trip to Apple Orchard!

I have attached some photos of the kids working in literacy rotations: playdoh creation, alphabet puzzle, working on writing, and engaging in conversation with blocks.  We talked about ways to be a good friend, keeping the voices at a level 1 (quiet voices), and how to rotate around the room.  We have a lot more to learn, but I’d say, we are off to a pretty great start!