Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a joyful and peaceful break. I am excited about the New Year 2020 and I am looking forward to new changes. Did anyone make any New Year’s goals? We will be talking about goals when we return from break. What is a goal? How do we make goals and how do we achieve goals? So, let’s see what type of goals our Kindergartners will make for the new year. It should be fun!

Dates to Remember:

Monday, January 6 – Students return to school from break.

Wednesday, January 8 – PBIS (Positive Behavior Intervention System) assembly. All students on green for the month of December will earn reward for December. Students with 0-6 yellows, no blues and no reds will earn December reward.

For the month of January we will be testing; DRA (Diagnostic Reading Assessment) NWEA Winter Assessment in Reading and Math and unit tests for Report Card Marking 2. Card Marking 2 ends January 17.

Peek at the Week:

Daily Five/Literacy: Review short vowel sounds and focus on short vowel “o” in CVC words. Identifying digraph “th” words with “th”beginnings and endings. (thumb, think, math, bath). Recalling two words that rhyme.

Writing: Opinion writing on favorite season. Students will write what their favorite season is and write the reason why it is their favorite season. We will learn about the four seasons so we can identify what one is our favorite season.

Science – We will start a new unit on weather. We will be learning about different weather conditions (rainy, cloudy, sunny). We will also track the weather daily while learning how to graph the weather.

Math – Lesson 23 – Identifying and making a set that has one more. Lesson 24 – Identifying and making a set that has one less. Lesson 25 – Matching and counting to compare a number of objects by stating which quantity is more. Lesson 26 – Match and count to compare two sets of objects. Which quantity is less.

Enjoy the rest of your break as I look forward to seeing you all on Monday, January 6, 2020.

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Monday, December 16 – Math homework packets will be passed out and will be due on Friday, December 20.

Wednesday, December 18 – Late Start. Students report to school an hour later than regular scheduled time.

Thursday, December 19 – Holiday classroom party will be from 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Let me know if you would like to help out at the party. We have 22 students in our classroom.

Friday, December 20 – Mrs. Polgar’s class will have a pajama day on Friday. Your child can wear their pajama’s to school and get cozy in the classroom.

Holiday Break begins Monday, December 23 and students report back to school on Monday, January 6, 2020.

Peek at the Week:

We will be reviewing letters and sounds of the alphabet and sight words we have learned from card marking one and card marking two.

Reviewing beginning and ending sounds in words. Reviewing CVC words with short vowel a.

Reading Comprehension – recalling facts about informational text. Sequencing and retelling fiction texts. Comparing “The Gingerbread Man”story by various authors. Introducing a problem in a fiction story and recalling the problem in a story.

Writing – We will begin an opinion writing piece on “The Gingerbread Man” series of books. What was your favorite Gingerbread book?

Math – Lesson 18 – Comparing more than and the same as. Lesson 19 – Comparing using fewer than and the same as. Lesson 20 – Relating more and less to length. Lesson 21 – Comparing sets informally using more, less, and fewer. Lesson 22 – Identify and create a set that has the same number of objects.

Social Studies – We will take the Social Studies test next week and review the terms; needs, wants, goods, services and trade. Students will take a multiple choice answer test. They will choose the best answer.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Monday, December 9 – In preparation for the report card marking in January, I will be sending home a Card Marking 2 Study Guide. It is a content review to go over with your child.We will be reviewing the content on the study guide over the next two weeks and when we return from our Holiday break. Report cards will be going out the week of January 20th.

Upcoming Events:

Holiday Boutique December 10-12, 2019

Howard PTA will sponsor our Howard’s Annual Holiday Boutique. Your child can purchase holiday gifts for family, friends, teachers and pets. All items are $2.00 each (tax included). Fill out the Holiday Boutique list in your child’s folder if you would like your child to purchase gifts. Send the list along with cash or check (made out to Howard PTA) with your child by Tuesday, December 10.

Holiday Class Party – Mrs. Polgar’s class will be having a Holiday party on Thursday, December 19 at 1:30 pm. If you would like to help out at the party please let me know.

Peek at the Week:

Letters of the Week – Qq, Xx, Zz We will review sight words we have learned.

Daily Five-Literacy – Learning about medial sounds. Recognizing short vowel (a) in CVC words (bat, cat, map, cap). Recalling facts from informational text books using text and pictures for understanding.

Writing – Continuing new learning about Reindeer. Learning to write facts about reindeer with the use of a word map and picture map.

Math – Measurement – capacity. Comparing volume using more than, less than, and the same as. Exploring conservation of volume by filling up containers to explore conservation. Understanding how many units fill a space.

Social Studies – Learning about trade through role play. How do we trade and why do we trade?

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Wednesday, December 4 – PBIS Assembly. Students on green for the month of November are acknowledged at the assembly. Cookie decorating reward for the month of November. Students who had 0-6 yellows, 1 blue and no reds will participate in the month of November celebration. Students of the month for November are; Luke Stortini and Leah Alqaragholi. Congratulations!!

Upcoming events – Mrs. Polgar’s Holiday party will take place on Thursday, December 19 in the afternoon. Further details will be forthcoming. If you would like to volunteer to help out at the party, please let me know.

Friday, December 20 – Howard Holiday Sing-a-Long in the afternoon. Mrs. Polgar will also have a pajama day in class. So, students may wear their pajamas to school on Friday before Holiday break.

Holiday Break – Monday, December 23 through Friday, January 3. Students report back to school on Monday, January 6.

Peek at the Week:

Letters of the Week: Uu (umbrella) Jj (jump) and Bb (bear) Sight words: for, are

Daily Five/Literacy: Reviewing beginning and ending sounds. Beginning work on medial sounds. Recognizing short a sound in cvc (consonant-vowel-consonant) words. Responding to questions with a read aloud. Recalling information from a read aloud using teacher provided questions. Continuing work on retelling strategies. Vocabulary in informational text – studying unfamiliar words.

Writing: Informational writing on reindeer. Gathering facts learned from informational text and using a picture map, word tree and using sentence stems to compose an informational writing piece.

Math – Unit on measurement. Identifying if an item is heavier or lighter. Comparing objects with measurement of weight. Using sentence stems with heavier than, lighter than, and the same as with measurement. Using sets of different objects on a balance scale.

Social Studies – Learning about goods and services. Identifying that community workers provide a service. Listing types of services workers perform. Types of goods that people (consumers) purchase (buy).

I was unable to post my Blog over the weekend because the site was down.

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Monday, November 25 – There will be no math homework this week. I will not be in on Monday, I have to serve on jury duty. I am not sure at this time if I will be in on Tuesday as well.

Wednesday, November 27 – No school.

Thursday, November 28 – No school.

Friday, November 29 – No school.

Students return to school on Monday, December 2.

I hope you all have a peaceful and joyful time spent with family on Thanksgiving break.

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Monday, November 18 – Parent Teacher Conferences from 4-7 pm. Scholastic book orders are due on-line only.

Friday, November 22 – Fall re-take pictures.

Peek at the Week:

Letters of the Week – Cc (cat, corn, cupcake) Ee (elephant, egg)

Vv ( vacuum). Sight words – my, he, she,

Daily Five/Literacy – Recalling two words that rhyme through text and poems. Recognizing the first and last letter of a word in text and writing. Responding to a read aloud and recalling information from read aloud with text/story questions. Continuing retelling stories and sequencing for comprehension.

Writing – Informational writing unit on turkeys. Students will continue learning new facts on turkeys and will write new facts with sentence stems. Turkeys can ____. Turkeys have _____.

Social Studies – last week we learned about needs and wants. This coming week we will learn about goods. Students will identify things that people buy or grow to consume or use (goods).

Math – Module 3 – Measurement Lesson 1 – Compare lengths using terms taller/shorter. Lesson 2 – Compare length measurement with string. Lesson 3 – make a series of longer than shorter than comparisons. Lesson 4 – compare length of linking cube sticks to 5 stick. Lesson 5 – which cube stick is longer than or shorter than.

Please remember to pack shoes for your child to change into if your child wears boots to school. The boots make the floor and carpet wet in the classroom. Also, gloves and hats for outdoor recess.

Have a good weekend!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday, November 12 and Thursday, November 14 from 4-7 pm.

Please be on time for your appointment so that other scheduled appointments are not disrupted. Thank you.

Tuesday, November 12 – I will have a sub for the whole day. I will be in the building for a committee workshop.

Friday, November 22 – Fall Picture Re-takes.

Peek at the Week:

Letters of the Week – Rr (rabbit) Yy (yard) Sight words – it, in, is.

Writing – We will begin a new unit on informational writing. We will learn facts about turkeys from informational text books on turkeys. Our writing will compose of interesting facts we learned about turkeys.

Daily Five/Literacy – Beginning and ending sounds – recognizing the first and last letter of a word. Recalling two words that rhyme through a mentor text or poem. Retelling stories read aloud and stating the beginning, middle and the end of the story. Listening to informational text read aloud and using informational text features to comprehend text.

Math – Finishing up with Module 2D and 3D shapes. Lesson 9 – Objective: Identify and sort shapes as two-dimensional or three-dimensional, and recognize two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes in different orientations and sizes. Lesson 10 – Objective Groups will create displays of different flat shapes with examples, non-examples and a corresponding solid shape.

On Thursday and Friday, I will do an end of the unit assessment on 2D and 3D shapes. Students will be tested on 2D shapes; triangles, squares, rectangles, hexagons, and circles of different sizes. 3D shapes; cone, cylinder, cube and sphere. Identifying the name of each 2D shape and 3D shape along with identifying if the shape if a 2D (flat) shape or 3D (solid shape). Analyzing and comparing 2D and 3D shapes in different sizes and orientations – number of sides, corners, etc. Lastly, describing positional terms such as; above, below, beside, in front of, behind, and next to.

Social Studies – Study of Economics – Learning about Needs and Wants. What do we need to survive? What is the difference between needs and wants. Needs – food, water, air, shelter. Wants – video game, candy, etc.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Tuesday, November 5 – No school. Teacher Professional Development Day

Thursday, November 7 – Parent-Teacher Conferences. Reminders were sent home this week with your scheduled time. Please keep in mind the conferences are scheduled for only 15 minutes. So, please be on time so it does not interfere with other appointments scheduled.

Peek at the Week:

Letters of the Week – Hh (horse, hip, home) Ii (iguana, ice cream) Sight Words – come, and, we

Daily Five/Literacy – Strategies we will be working on producing rhymes, ending sounds – recognizing the last letter sound of a word. Retelling a story – sequencing, understanding the meaning of unfamiliar words by listening for context clues.

Writing – We learn about community service workers and make an opinion about what we want to be when we grow up. Ex. When I grow up I want to be a __________. I can __________.

Social Studies – Learning about economics and important vocabulary. We will learn about needs and identify things that people need to survive.

Math – Geometry Flat/Solid shapes and Understanding Positional Words. Lesson 4 – Explain decisions about classifications of hexagons and circles, and identify then by name. Lesson 5 – Describe and communicate positions of all flat shapes using the words above, below, beside, in front of, next to, and behind. Lesson 6 – Find and describe solid shapes using informal language without naming. Lesson 7 – Explain decisions about classifications of solid shapes into categories. Lesson 8 – Describe and communicate positions of all solid shapes using the words above, below, beside, in front of, next to, and behind.

Thank you to volunteers and our homeroom mom for helping out at the Halloween party. The class had a lot of fun and are looking forward to more classroom parties.

Thank you all for donations of money for classroom parties, materials, supplies and snacks for the classroom. I really do appreciate it as well as the kids.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Thursday, October 31 – Halloween Party 12:40 – 1:30 pm.. After lunch students will change into their costumes and then we will begin our Halloween party. Later we will walk in the Halloween parade at 1:45-2:15 pm. Afterwards we will enjoy donuts and apple juice.

Friday, November 1 – Half-day of school. Dismissal is at 11:45 am.

Tuesday, November 5 – No school. Professional Development day for teachers.

Howard will host a decorated pumpkin raffle. The Halloween tickets will be sold on Tuesday and Wednesday during lunch. Tickets are $1.00 or 6 tickets for $5.00. If you win you will need to pick up the pumpkin on Thursday. You will be called if you win.

Thanksgiving Food Drive – Howard will be having a food drive with perishables food items (canned food, boxed food, etc.) Each class will collect the food and tally how much is collected. The class who collects the most will win a pizza party.

Parent-teacher conferences will be coming up in November on Thursday, November 7, Tuesday, November 12 and Thursday, November 14. I will be sending home conference time reminders this week.

Peek at the Week:

Letters of the Week – Ww (witch, water-melon) and Ff (fish, farm) Sight words – to, come.

Literacy/Daily Five – Working on ending sounds. Recognizing the last letter sound of a word. Recognizing when two words rhyme. Answering questions from a read aloud using text and pictures as evidence to support answer. Sequencing a story with a beginning, middle and end.

Writing – Opinion writing – learning about spiders with informational text and making an opinion statement in writing. I like spiders or I do not like spiders with a reason in a drawing.

Math – Module 2 Geometry. Learning about geometric flat shapes (2D shapes) – triangles, squares, rectangles, hexagons and circles. Classifying triangles, rectangles into categories using variants and non-examples.

Science – Physical Science – learning about forces and motion. Identifying things that need to be pushed and pulled.

Have a great Sunday!

Mrs. Polgar

Dates to Remember:

Monday, October 21 – Detroit Zoo Field Trip. As a reminder please be sure to pack a brown bag – disposable lunch for your child. Chaperones who are chaperoning a small group will meet in classroom by 9 am. The bus should leave approximately between 9:10-9:15 am. If you are meeting us at the zoo we will meet by the front entrance near the ticket booth. We will enter together as a group so they can get a head count.

It looks like the weather will be 68 degrees but chance of showers. Have your child dress appropriate for weather. Possibly a light hooded jacket. If it rains we can always move into a spot for coverage.

Friday, October 25 – Howard Halloween Bash from 4:30-6:30 pm. Cost is $8.00 a person (PTA member) and $10.00 per person for non-PTA member. No tickets sold at the door. Information was sent home in your child’s folder last week. Please fill out form and return with payment no later than Wednesday, October 23. Checks are made payable to Howard PTA.

Thursday, October 31 – Halloween Party and Halloween Parade. We will be having a Halloween party from 1:00-1:50. The parade will take place from 1:45 till 2:15 pm. Parents are welcome to attend the parade. Students will change into their costumes when they return from lunch. No masks or play weapons or bloody themed costumes are permitted. Please make sure your child has a costume they can put over their clothing and they are comfortable in. If you would like to help out at the Halloween party please let me know.

Peek at the Week:

Letters of the Week: Nn (nail, nose) Ll (lion, lips) Sight words – look, at

Daily Five/Literacy: Understanding/comprehension with informational text about spiders. Understanding text features in a non-fiction text. The difference between a fiction book and a non-fiction text. Working on word work with initial sounds of words.

Writing – Opinion writing – writing an opinion statement how you feel or think about a topic. Last week we wrote our opinion on pumpkins. Do you like pumpkins? This week we will focus on our visit to the zoo. What animals did you like at the zoo?

Math – Topic H – Module 1 – Lesson 33 – Order quantities from 10-1 and match numbers. Lessons 34-35 Count down from 10-1 and state 1 less than a given number. Lesson 36 Arrange, analyze, draw and sequence quantities that are less in configurations. Assessments: writing numbers 1-10. Counting to 30 by one’s. Counting by 10’s to 100. Adding one more to a number and showing one less than a number with cubes. Understanding sequencing arranging numbers in order 1-10 or from 10-1.

Science – Physical Science – Focus on force and motion. What is motion? Do all things move? How do things move? Do I push or pull? Comparing push and pull with activities. Last week we explored our five senses with pumpkins. We had fun discovering our senses with the outside of a pumpkin and the inside of a pumpkin. How does it look, feel, sound, taste and smell.

Have a great day!

Mrs. Polgar