The PTA is having a crazy hair and mix match day fund raiser. Have your students dress in their wackiest outfits and a crazy hair style and bring in $1.00. PTA will collect the money on Friday.

Please remember that face paint, hair paint and wigs are not allowed, however they may wear crazy hats!!!

“Here’s to the bright New Year
And a fond farewell to the old;
Here’s to the things that are yet to come
And to the memories that we hold.”

A few Kindergarten Reminders:

December 17, 2015 is the PBIS Celebration. Students can bring in an electronic or a board game to play during the celebration. Also, students may bring in a special snack to eat during this time if they wish.

December 18, 2015 is the last day before the break. We are going to be having a coloring book exchange and pizza for snack. Please send in a coloring book that is wrapped with your child’s name on the front. We will be playing a game with the coloring books.  Also, please send in $3.00 for pizza, a drink, and cookie decorating.

December 21^st-January 1^st there is no school. Class resumes January 4, 2016.

Thanks,

Ms. Wentland

Who’s in the Mitten?

Kindergarten take-home project!  Students got to recreate their own mitten with their family. After reading the story, “The Mitten” by Jan Brett, they got some wonderful ideas of what could fit inside their mitten!

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 WINTER RECESS!!!

• Our winter (or fall) is beginning to look and feel more like winter!I wanted to give you some information about winter recess clothing (especially since many children in Room 148 have been wishing hard for snow).
• When we go outside for recess, there is not always an adult left in our classroom to be with those children who may not have the proper clothing for recess. Therefore, everyone goes outside for recess.
• It is very important your child be dressed appropriately for the weather.The playground is very open, so a hat, scarf and gloves or mittens are recommended. If there is snow on the ground, your child will need boots in order to be in the snow. These boots must be in addition to another pair of shoes.
• Wearing wet, snowy boots throughout our classroom makes for a damp carpet and slippery floors, as well as wet clothing when we are sitting on the carpet—not to mention cold, wet feet!
• If your child would like to roll around and really get into the snow, snow pants are a must. Since the snow clothes will get quite wet, we often do not wear them home, but pack them up. It would be great if your child brought their snow gear in a separate bag (a plastic grocery bag works great).
• If we end the day with recess, snow clothes will be worn home. In the past, when we have had consistent snow, children have brought spare snow clothing to school and left them on their hook.
• It is best to always have your child prepared to be outside regardless of the forecast because sometimes that forecast changes.
• 

It is familiarity with the English language that precedes and underlies excellent phonemic awareness instruction.  It is this familiarity that allows a child’s decoding to be error-free and their reading to be fluent.  We must skillfully accelerate language learning – both thinking and oral communication – if we are to take a proactive approach to bridge the achievement gap and prevent later reading difficulties.  That is why we encourage our children to hear grammatically correct English through their daily instruction and the literature they listen to.

As Kindergarten teachers, we must provide experiences that make language come alive, dramatically articulating and fluently modeling the sounds of language.  We invite kindergartners to rehearse language as singers, signers, and storytellers.  Lively discussion about quality fiction and nonfiction allows us to connect books with children’s lives and provide the vehicle for explicit teaching of comprehension strategies.

We memorize, recite, and perform language.  We differentiate instruction, honoring children’s initial “magical memory reading” and skillfully transitioning them to guided and independent reading.  We are conscious that listening comprehension comes before reading comprehension.  Our curriculum invites children to communicate and interact.  Developing the child’s capacity for language and thought underlies everything we do in kindergarten.   Please remember to read to your child (in whatever language you are native to) and continue to help our students become proficient in the English language!!!

Kindergarten Holiday Party

On Friday, December 18, we will have our Holiday Party.

We will be doing a class coloring book exchange.  Each student is asked to bring in a coloring book wrapped in their favorite holiday paper with a tag to only indicate who it is from.  It should be wrapped and please only write your child’s name on the tag to tell who it is from.  The students will each get to choose one wrapped coloring book during the Holiday Party in addition to receiving a gift from me J

Each student is also asked to donate $3 to cover the cost of Pizza and a drink by Monday, December 14^th along with a new wrapped coloring book.

Thank you in advance!!!

 Kindergarten Teachers

*PBIS Party is scheduled for Thursday, December 17th, 2015.

Theme: Electronics Day

• 1^st grade is in charge of the PBIS celebration for the month of November.  Since this month and next month are shorter months they’ve decided that we will combine November and December and have one celebration.
• Teachers will hold electronics day at the end of the day (You may have students bring in any electronics of their choice OR board games if they do not own an electronic game).

Hello,