- Beginning our Jolly Phonics program - letter S (see more info below)
- Rainbow Day! Signing, drawing and reading about rainbows -the magic of primary colours mixing into secondary colours (the kids loved STARFALL.COM’s “coloured crayon” interactive stories)
- Nearly every student in our class remembering to return his/her library book the first week!
- Masabo Art Starts Performance in the gym - this exciting and upbeat West African music, dancing and storytelling got all the students and teachers moving and grooving :)
- Sorting objects into colours and building patterns with our Big Buddy class
- Finishing our Colour Booklet that we’ve been working on over the past 2 weeks
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE:
Monday - Happy Thanksgiving - No School
Tuesday – PICTURE DAY (FYI: we are usually the first or second class to get photos)
- P.E. with Ms. Hall
Wednesday - Library with Mrs. Gorman (return library books by Tuesday)
Thursday – Visit from Zero the Hero for Day 20 of Kindergarten!
Friday – P.E. with Mrs. Brkovic
- Roots of Empathy Program begins with Mr. Wayne Tresierra (More info. about the program will come after our first session)
WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS WEEK:
We will focus on the letter "a" in Phonics, autumn leaves and APPLES (one of Ms. Gartrell’s favourite things!) As some of you may have read on the “Meet the Teacher” tab of the blog, Ms. Gartrell’s family owns a 125+ year-old apple orchard in the Okanagan. We will read a wonderful book called Chrysanthemum, and identify and count the number of letters in each student's name. We will graph and sort our names as well. We will also focus on identifying and sequencing the numbers 1-10, when we read "Ten Apples Up on Top". This book will help us act out some "addition stories" (e.g. if Megan has 3 apples and Felix has 2 apples. How many apples are there all together) and will be our inspiration to make a class book. As you can see, I love reading books and making class big books. I find some of the most popular books in our class library are the ones the students have made themselves!
Busy Bee & “What Is It?” Sharing Bag - The kids have been very excited for their turn to help as the Busy Bee and taking the “What Is It?” Sharing bag home. Remember educational and/or items that help us get to know a child/family are wonderful for the Sharing Bag (rather than bringing a toy every time). Please do not send any valuable or extra sentimental objects to school. The October Busy Bee calendar is posted on the class bulletin board in the hallway. If your child happens to be away on his/her Busy Bee day, he/she will have another turn the following month.
JOLLY PHONICS: Last week, we began our Jolly Phonics program. I have used this program with Kindergarten students for the past 6 years and I’m thrilled each year by how much the students retain and how enthusiastic they are. Parental support is important to all children as they benefit from plenty of praise and encouragement while learning. The Jolly Phonics program uses a multisensory approach to introduce the forty-two main sounds of the English language with movement and music. The Jolly Phonics program focuses on developing phonemic awareness and emergent reading skills by integrating technology (using our class Smartboard) as well as pencil/paper activities. The forty-two sounds are divided into seven groups. Letters are introduced according to which sounds children can hear most easily, rather than in alphabetical order. The letters b and d are introduced in different groups to avoid confusion. Each sound has an action and song, which helps the children remember the letter(s) that represent it. One-two letter sounds will be taught each week. A corresponding activity sheet accompanies each sound. These worksheets will be completed during class time and will remain at school until the program has been completed. A family sheet with each sound’s action will be sent home once all sounds in a group have been taught. Please take time to review these actions and sounds with your child.
Next week we will begin a new routine: At the end of each day, the Kindergarten students and I talk about their overall day and the choices they have made. Your child will begin recording his/her behaviour by colouring in “How Was My Day?” sheets that are kept in the Back and Forth folders. This will be a quick reference to how your child's day was. If there is something I would like to share with you about your child's day, I will write a quick note. Please take time to discuss each day with your child and ask if they can recall specific examples of their “blue”, “green”, “yellow” or “red” choices. Every day is a fresh start and a chance to do our best! :)
Upcoming Parent-Teacher Interviews on Oct. 19th & 20th
Students will be dismissed at 12:30pm both days to accommodate Parent-Teacher interviews. I will be attending a teacher-training for just the morning of Oct. 20th, which means I will be able to have Parent-teacher interviews both Weds. and Thurs from 1:30-4:00pm. Last Friday, I sent interview request slips home to those families who I have yet to met. After I have heard back from a majority of these families, I will post the interview sign-up sheets in the hallway (likely Oct. 12 or 13). If you did not receive an interview request note from me, it means I am happy with your child’s progress thus far and do not feel we need to met right at this time. However, by all means, if you would like to sign up for an interview please do so once the sign-up sheets are posted.
HOW PARENTS CAN HELP:
- Return school fee forms and payment ASAP
- PAC Senor Froggy Lunch order forms are due the morning of Fri. Oct. 28th
- Permission to Use Photos For Class Purposes: I enjoy taking photos of the children in our classroom and often use photos for projects like class-made books, art work, and nametags. If you would like me to refrain from taking your child’s photo for classroom-use, please let me know
- Parent Volunteers Required: Please send me a note in the Back and Forth (B & F) folder if you are interested in helping.
- Oct. 25th - Field Trip to Sunset Valley Farm. We will be needing a few parent volunteers (sorry, no younger siblings can attend) to help supervise.
- Oct. 27th - Pumpkin Math Stations (in classroom) - 4-5 Parent Volunteers are required to run stations.
- Scrapbooks: volunteers for gluing/stapling student work into scrapbooks – they can be taken home with you or done at school (this will be an ongoing job so I will be asking for helpers every few weeks)
- A HUGE thank you to the Sodke family and Delaney family for signing up to wash pinnies!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
- Oct. 18th - PAC Subway Lunch
- Oct. 19th & 20th - 12:30pm Early Dismissal both days for Parent-Teacher interviews
- Oct. 21 - Pro-D Day (No school)
- Oct. 25th - Field Trip to Sunset Valley Farm and Pumpkin Patch. Cost TBA (my initial estimate is $8-10 which will include busing, corn maze, a tractor ride, and a pumpkin for each student to bring back to school).
- Oct. 27th - Pumpkin Math Stations - 4-5 Parent Volunteers are required. Please send me a note in the B & F folder if you are interested in helping.
Happy Thanksgiving. See you all Tuesday for Picture Day! :)
-Ms. Gartrell