week of September 10

Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones’ Nifty Newsletter (week of September 10) Homework: please complete ½ sheet nightly If you would like to send in an old T-shirt that your child can keep in his/her cubby for the year, please do so next week. It would be helpful to have this old shirt to put over the nice school clothes when we do messy projects throughout the year. Thank you! In addition to the old T-shirt, if you didn’t yet send in a spare set of dress code clothing for your child to keep in the cubbies, please do so. They will all be sent home at the end of year, but it is handy to keep a spare set in case of an accident, spilled food or drink, or mud from outside. This would save parents a trip to the school to bring in clothes if any of that would happen. In Saxon Phonics, we are working on the letter Gg like in Goat. We have already learned the letter Ll and the letter Oo and now we can put all of the sounds together to make our first word, log. We will also be coding short vowels in words. The rule in class is, “if a vowel is followed by a consonant, then the vowel is short and we code it with a breve”. In Saxon Math, we are working on sorting by color and shape. We are also working on counting to 5 and one to one correspondence to 5. We are also working with pattern blocks, tedding bear counters, and linking cubes and reviewing an AB pattern. We also do Math Meeting every day and review months, days, the date, and how many days we have been in school. In Reading, our new story is “Plaidypus Lost”. We will be talking about sequence of story events as well as characters and setting. We will continue to review retelling the story along with author and illustrator. Please don’t forget to label coats, bookbags, lunchbags, and other accessories. If the mornings are a bit chillier and it might get warm by recess, many children take off their coats outside but forget to take them inside. This would ensure that your child would get his/her coat back in the event that it is left outside. There has been a change made with regard to the book fair schedule. Instead of the book fair taking place throughout the entire week of September 10th-14th, students will have a preview on Monday, September 10th. The preview for each homeroom class is five minutes long in order to accommodate everyone in one day. They obviously will not be able to purchase books during the preview, but will have the opportunity to purchase them at the evening sale which will run from 4:00-7:00 P.M. that same evening. Please see attached note for information regarding the Kindergarten Fall Festival. On Monday, there will be chicken patty not chicken rings for lunch. A great big cheer goes out to Ms. Shearn, our occupational therapist, who came to present all about her job for the letter Oo. She not only had lots of fun activities, but helped us make a wonderful bulletin board that is on display outside of our classroom. Ms. Shearn did an Outstanding job! Mrs. Borden and Mrs. Jones would like to send a big Thank You and Great Job to all of the parents and families of our students. The forms that were sent home have been completed on time, homework has been completed and signed, and the envelopes with money have been labeled correctly. The class is doing a great job following rules, walking quietly in a line, completing their work, and being great citizens. We thank you for your continued involvement and participation in your child’s Kindergarten year. Please write a note or send an email if you have any questions or need any additional information. Thank you so much!

classroom reference page

A quick reference guide to Mrs. Borden/Mrs. Jones’ Kindergarten Room (2012-2013) Please keep this information in your child’s folder to use during the year! Thanks! - We want you to be well informed on what goes on in the classroom and in Kindergarten. Our newsletters for the week will be sent on a Friday. Please check the school calendar, the PTO newsletter, and the NSE weekly and monthly newsletter. Please read them all for the information about what is happening. - All of this information will be in your child’s folder. It must come to/from school every day in a book bag. They will need both every day to transport important information and their belongings. Please check both sides of the folder each day and take out the left at home papers. - If there are any questions, please feel free to write a note and put it in your child’s folder, we will write back that day. Or you can call at (570) 874-3661 ext. 3237 and leave a message. You can also email us at: jborden@northschuylkill.net or ajones@northschuylkill.net . Please also check our blogs under the North Schuylkill Website, under the Elementary School tab, under Homework Helpline, and click on Borden, J. - Our homework will be explained in greater detail in the next few weeks. Homework is a vital part of your child’s learning and we feel it is important to show your children that you value their learning by continuing to practice at home. Kindergarten follows the homework policy stated in the NSE handbook, please review it and follow the policy. Our homework should not take a long amount of time and we want it to be a positive experience for you at home. If it is not going well please let us know so that we can help. - An extra set of clothing should be sent in as well to keep in their cubby in case of an accident or mess. With anything that is sent into school, we asked that it is labeled clearly. For extra clothing or coats, winter accessories, book bags, etc., please either write your child’s name in the tag or use a sticky label that can be removed at the end of the year. Writing our room number (237) might be helpful as well. Many items end up in the lost and found each year and are never reclaimed. - Please also have snack in a separate bag/container and labeled as such. This is especially helpful if your child brings their lunch and avoids any confusion. Please make us aware of any allergies as well, especially when birthdays and parties start to take place. - Listed below is an example on how to label any money or information that needs to be handed in and should be placed in an envelope. - Notes that come in for your children should also be clearly labeled. A note is needed for a child leaving school earlier than dismissal time, a child that is being picked up by a parent instead of riding the bus, a change in the person picking up the child, and if your child is absent from school. Below is an example of what information should be included in the note. - Please read the NSE handbook and refer to it during the school year. Kindergarten follows all policies on homework and school attendance. Please see the information on the dress code and follow it accordingly. Our gym day is on Day 1, the children must wear sneakers in order to participate, even in the winter when some may wear boots to school. - Please label everything that comes into school so that it can be returned in a timely manner. Also, we ask that no toys or personal belongings come into school for recess time; they tend to get lost or broken. - All children have all privileges (snack, recess, free choice time) when they start the day. If there are rules broken during the course of the day, the child will sail his/her boat to the islands. This will lead to time lost from our classroom privileges. We encourage positive behavior and like to reward those children who follow the rules of our classroom and school building. We do not use whole class punishment but like to use whole class rewards. In the event that there would be behavior issues, we will encourage participation from home in order to have a successful and positive school year. - A final note on how the classroom is run and what to expect during the course of the year. In the classroom, there are two certified teachers that hold degrees in elementary education, early childhood education, special education, and reading. There will also be a part-time paraprofessional that has a highly-qualified status to work with the children under the direction supervision of the teachers. We differentiate instruction in the classroom to meet the needs of all of the students based on their abilities. There is much working together in groups and a team mentality in the classroom. We also value the importance of learning centers and having the students’ input in their learning. All children have the ability to learn and we want them to succeed. We thank you for your cooperation in these important matters and look forward to working with you over the course of the school year. Thanks in advance for all your participation in Kindergarten!