IMPORTANT UPDATES

Hi! I just finished updating

the IMPORTANT DATES, the HOMEWORK and the RESOURCES/SCHEDULE pages.

Click those blue links, above, for important info!

As always, email me if you have questions.

Hope you're having a great weekend!

Just In Case...

A quick post to tell you that JUST IN CASE you drop in during literacy centers,

don't think I've lost my mind if I look like this:

I have a variety of hats and boppers that I wear during literacy centers...bunny ears, St. Patrick's Day poufs, Valentine hearts, a bee hat...They do actually have a purpose, LOL! They are a visual sign to the rest of the class that I am working with a reading group and that they should see Mr. Ward (instead of me) if they need something. This works well to keep interruptions down while children are working hard at reading with me!

We have 2 field trips scheduled. I will try to post again tomorrow with some details!

Happy (Rainy) Weekend!

Big CHANGES!

Our lunch time has been changed! My ENTIRE class now goes to lunch from 11:10-11:40

Our resource schedule has also been changed! Mondays will now be library and Fridays will now be P.E. We will still have Mr. Riley for P.E. (not the half-time P.E. teacher, Mr. Jones). I'm not sure what will happen this week, since we've already had P.E. and have not yet had library...

Homework, Bus Tags, Agendas, Library Books

First, I wanted to say thank you - the students have almost all had their bus tags and their agendas every day! So thanks for making sure they were prepared all week!

Library books are due back on Friday. After you read together, please have them keep the books in their bookbags till Friday. The students are learning responsibility for their belongings, so I don't collect them in advance.

Also...homework starts this week! You will receive a homework calendar for the remainder of September. When the assignment is a written one, PLEASE have your child write it on that day's date IN THE AGENDA.

Please DO NOT HAVE THEM WRITE HOMEWORK ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER.
This is a NNPS policy, so that K kids get used to using the agenda for assignments.

If it's hard to squeeze the writing all in on the left side of the page, just allow them to spill over onto the right side. I will check HW daily, although sometimes it won't get checked on our shortened Wednesdays.

Thanks for all of your support. I hope you have a great weekend, despite the rain! As always, if you have questions, email me!

"Let's Find Out" Receipts

The confusion we had going with the Let's Find Out money seems to be resolved now. You should receive a receipt no later than tomorrow if we do have your child's money credited correctly. If you don't see a receipt in the agenda pocket by tomorrow after school, please let me know!

Back-to-School Night will be Thursday, October 6 from 6 PM until 7:30 PM. This will be an evening when your child can proudly show you his/her work and explain all the wonderful things we do all day. Please note that I will NOT be able to discuss your child's progress during our Back-to-School night.

Kindergarten progress conferences will be held later in the month of October. I will let you know when I find out that date - it will probably NOT be October 13, when the rest of the school does their evening conferences, since we usually wait to hold our conferences after our PALS testing is complete.

Hope to see you at our Back-to-School Night on Oct. 6!

Hello and happy Saturday! A few short notes:

• I am SO pleased that the students have ALL remembered to wear their bus tags EVERY DAY!! YAYYYYY!!!!!!!!!! I gave them each a little sticker each day to show my appreciation.

• We had our first Treasure Tote yesterday! (Probably not exactly like the pic above, LOL.) This is my reward system...children who have not moved their clip more than twice for the entire week are permitted to choose something from the Treasure Tote. Kids who stayed on Green all week choose first. Then kids who had ONE Stripes (one clip move) during the week. Then kids with TWO Stripes or ONE Yellow (two clip moves) choose. We all clap and are happy for them. The rest of us vow to "do better next week"!

• We currently have 4 students who can say their student number correctly. Please help your child practice both saying and "typing" the number (don't forget to hit "enter" at the end) on the pretend keypad that we sent home. Your child will need to be able to enter the number on the computers in order to log in to do computer work and enter it into the keypad in the cafeteria, as well as say the number in order to check out a library book.
  

•  Homework for next week will be 1) learn to say AND type your student number, 2) practice printing BOTH your first and last names correctly, using uppercase for the first letter only (an example of D'Nealian style letters is in your child's agenda) and 3) read/be read to for 15 minutes each day.
  

• I will be sending receipts to those families who have paid the $5 for their children's subscription to Let's Find Out magazine. If you have paid and DO NOT receive a receipt in your child's agenda pocket on Monday, please email or write me a note. We have had a mixup...someone sent money with no name attached and we do not know who to credit.

• Please check the agenda daily and remove anything that is in the front pocket. On the page for that day's date, your child will have a color dot or the word "Stripes" to let you know how the day went. I sent home a note explaining the color system, but if you didn't receive the note, let me know!

• Mrs. Cox asks that students do not wear flip flops to school, for safety reasons. We play outside daily, weather permitting, on the playground mulch, and flip flops can present a danger of injury.
  

• We have had art and library this past week. This week, we will also have P.E. and music. Please make sure your child wears closed-toe shoes on P.E. day (Monday).
  

• The new kindergarten class 'went live' yesterday, so we now have 24 students on roll, with 21 in attendance so far.
• We have learned LOTS of songs already, and read books each day. We have written in our journals both Thursday and Friday morning. We have taken a tour of the school and have met Mrs. Eggers/Mrs. Cimbron (library) and Mrs. Pait (art). We have had a fire drill (my class ROCKED!!) I have begun my assessments and will have the children grouped for literacy shortly.
  

 As always, please email me if you have any questions. I hope you have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!

For Tomorrow

• Name sticker (given out at Open House)
• Bus Wristband (given out at Open House)
• Agenda (bought at Open House or you can buy it in the office)
• Backpack labeled with child's name (no backpacks with wheels)
• Lunchbox for lunch or snack, labeled with child's name
• Lunch OR lunch money, if you have not deposited it via MealPayPlus
• Snack (no drink, please...water will be available)
• Hug and kiss goodbye

Also, please send the $5 for Let's Find Out magazine subscription as soon as possible.

Thanks!
We will meet in the gym for at least the first 4 days.
See you soon!

Important News - Read All the Way Through

Just a few quick thoughts. WANTED to post this on Thursday after Open House, but for some reason, we had no Internet (or TV) service with Cox Cable.

• Thanks to all who were able to come to Open House! I talked to 22 families!
• Please make sure your child wears his/her name sticker on Tuesday.
• Please make SURE your child wears his/her bus tag EVERY day.
• Please check the agenda pocket daily for info. We will be sending home so much info that needs to be signed and returned....I'm not even sure it will all fit in that agenda pocket!
• This year, Mrs. Cox would like the children to wear a bus wristband for the first 4 days. It has bus info on it. It's waterproof and the info was written with a Sharpie, so it SHOULD hang in there, LOL. They will be wearing the wristbands home on Tuesday.
• We will meet in the gym in the mornings for the first 4 days at least.
• If you want your child to eat breakfast at school and you did NOT write a note to that effect on the Info Sheet, email me, please.
• Here is our resource schedule. I will update the Resources/Schedules page on this blog sometime before school begins: Monday = PE (Mr. Riley)   Tuesday = Music (Mrs. Gibson)   Thursday = Art (Mrs. Pait)  Friday = Library (Mrs. Eggers and Mrs. Cimbron)
• Due to extremely large class sizes in kindergarten, they will be hiring an additional kindergarten teacher. The office will determine which students are pulled from each classroom to populate the new class. We have no word on when this will occur...

• MY CLASS WILL BE SPLIT FOR LUNCH - LOL, well, that sounds odd. What I mean is this: in an effort to maximize instructional time, AS OF THIS WRITING, it has been determined that half of my class will have lunch every day beginning at 11:15 and the other half will have lunch beginning at 11:20.  They will sit at adjoining tables in the cafeteria, so that Mr. Ward will be able to monitor everyone. They will ALL get their full half hour for lunch. Children will be assigned to one time or the other and will not switch times. The children will be reunited after lunch. Bear in mind that this is NOT set in stone, but as of yesterday, this was the plan. More details as I get them. I am actually excited about this, because it allows us to utilize every moment possible during our morning literacy instruction!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and I look forward to seeing the students again on Tuesday! Check back before then...I will probably post again before school starts!