October 27, 2006

October 27, 2006

Dear Families,

During this week we worked with the letter Hh. The kindergartners have started reading!! This week we learned the word a. The kindergartners read the little story called A Present. Reading this booklet over and over will help your child remember that word. We did a lot of evaluation this week. We learned about the human heart and how we can keep it healthy. Many books by Kevin Henkes were read. We enjoyed the play “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”.

Next week we will enjoy our first classroom “party” on Tuesday, October 31st. Students should bring their costumes to school. After the big recess we will put them on. At 1:00 on Wednesday we hope to go to the Traer nursing home. When we return we will eat snack in the room. At 2:30 we lead the costume parade through the elementary classrooms, going into each and every classroom.

Next week we are studying the letter Tt. Sharing for next week will be something that starts with the letter Tt.

On October 29th there will be a Girl Scout Fall Festival sponsored by Girl Scout Troop 419. The festival will take place in the Traer Memorial Building from 3:30 - 6:00. Children in preschool through 6th grade may participate, but children younger than 4th grade need to be accompanied by an adult or older sibling. There is a cost of 50¢ per ticket or 12 for $5 for the activities. There will be a costume contest at 4:30.

A great place to stop while trick-or-treating is the Traer Nursing home. Boys and girls can receive a lot of goodies and enjoy walking around without coats. Check out the Traer Star Clipper for the times to visit the nursing home. (We think that children can trick-or-treat from 6:30 - 7:30 at the nursing home.)

Please write your child’s name on coats, snowpants, boots, hats and mittens. With 32 children in this room, winter items can get mixed up and having names on the clothing is extremely helpful.

Kindergartners may now bring a new box of crayons to school. The new box of crayons may contain 16 or 24 crayons. A few students need new glue sticks also.

Report cards will be going home next Friday. Please check your child’s bag on that day for this important information on how well your child is doing in kindergarten. Conferences will be held on November 7th and November 9th. We look forward to meeting with all our families on those days. You should be receiving a letter with your conference time in the mail soon. If you discover that your scheduled time does not work, please let us know so that we can reschedule it.

There will be no school for students on Friday, November 10th. Please mark your calendars!

Mrs. Owens
Ms. Howard
Mrs. Herink

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November Sharing
October 30 - November 3: Something that starts with Tt
November 6 - 10: Free choice (Friday kids may bring their sharing any day this week.)
November 13 - 17: Something that starts with Nn
November 20 - 24: No Sharing (Week of Thanksgiving)
November 27 - December 1: Something that starts with Mm

October 20, 2006

October 20, 2006

Dear Families,

What an active week we have had! We made applesauce, and we read Frank Asch books. The boys and girls enjoy reading his books because he uses animal characters and has surprise endings. On Monday, Jay Owens, Martin Herker, Carol Waltemate , Jason Bina, and Al Cannon brought the newest Traer ambulance up to the school so that the children could see it. They told them about their jobs and informed them about the equipment they would use if someone were sick or hurt. The apples brought from home were compared, and the different colors of apples were tasted.

Next week we will be studying the letter Hh. Next week kindergartners need to bring something that begins with the letter Hh. If you get stuck, think about a Halloween item! The Wednesday sharing kids should bring their sharing items anyway next week because Wednesday is going to be extremely busy!

On Wednesday, October 25th, the kindergartners and first graders get to go to a play in Cedar Falls at the Bluedorn Gallagher Theater. We are seeing “The Very Hungry Caterpillar”. We will not return in time for lunch so every kindergartner needs to bring their own sack lunch. We will eat them in the classroom when we return. We do not have enough refrigerator space for 32 lunches, so please plan accordingly. The contents of the lunches are up to the families. Milk may be purchased here at school if desired.

Next week we will be continuing to evaluate the students for the report cards. We will be checking to see if they know the letters Ll, Ff, Aa, and Hh and the sounds for Ll, Ff, and Hh. We will also check to see if they recognize the numbers 0-10. We will continue checking them on their addresses, colors, and shapes.

Please remember that our Halloween party is on Tuesday, October 31st. The kindergartners may BRING their costumes to school that day. After the big recess we get dressed up and then travel to the nursing home by bus. When we return we will do some Halloween activities in the room, parade through the classrooms, and enjoy Halloween snacks.

The weather is getting cooler outside, and we try to go outside at LEAST 1 time a day for recess if it is not raining. Please make sure that your child is dressed appropriately for the weather because he/she will go outside whether or not they have the necessary clothing. Remember that if there is measurable snow on the ground, the boys and girls need boots.

We are now warning our families that the school is keeping our thermostats at 68 degrees this winter. Some students may find this temperature a little chilly. We recommend that you send a sweatshirt or sweater to school with your child everyday. They can keep it in their backpacks or cubbies and wear it when they feel cold.
Please make sure that your child has an extra set of clothing in their school bag. Kindergartners have bathroom accidents, lunch tray spills, illnesses that soil clothing, and dirty recess catastrophes every now and then, and they feel more comfortable in their own clothing, especially underwear. We do have some extra clothing here, but it is a lot easier to get extra clothing out of school bags than it is to dig out clothing they will wear out of our supply.

Some children are beginning to arrive to school before 8:10. If the children are not eating breakfast, then they need to wait on the playground for the 8:10 bell unless your family has talked to the teachers. Teachers are not always in the classrooms because we are making final arrangements for the day, and we do not like to leave the kindergartners unsupervised. We realize that clocks at home are set at different times, and that occasionally children get here early. If you bring your kindergartner and you discover that you are a couple of minutes early, you can wait in our little entryway for the 8:10 bell.

We hope you have an absolutely great weekend!

Ms. Howard, Mrs. Owens, Mrs. Herink

October 15, 2006

October 13, 2006

Dear Families,

The letter Ff was concentrated on this week. We had fun talking about frogs, fire safety, fish, fall, and football. We all practiced stop, drop, and roll and earned a certificate. (Many of the children expressed interest in practicing fire drills at home.) Four high school senior football players visited with the kindergartners. They brought some football equipment with them and told us about the game.

This week the kindergartners brought home 2 little booklets; one about fall and one about fire safety. For “homework” families can read these booklets and have the kindergartner finish coloring the book. Families should also do the activity page(s) at the end of these booklets. Kindergartners that bring the finished booklets back will get to pick out a sticker.

Next week we will be studying the letter Aa and learning about apples. We need every child to bring in an apple by Wednesday. We will be comparing them and making them into applesauce. If you have an abundance of apples at your house, extras would be appreciated.

Sharing for next week is free choice, or it could be something that starts with the letter Aa.

Don’t forget about picture day on Tuesday, October 17th!

On Thursday, October 19th we will be having our kindergarten bake sale. Each child will have some kind of job for the bake sale. Bake sale jobs include poster decorating, packaging, arranging, selling, quarter exchanging, and greeting. Don’t forget to send AT LEAST 6 items. Kindergartners will also be able to purchase items so feel free to send quarters! Each item will cost 25¢.

We will be having our Halloween party on Tuesday, October 31st at 2:15. We will probably be going to Sunrise Hill Care Center for a costume parade around 1:00 that same day. Children should BRING their costume to school that day, NOT wear it to school. The less help they need from adults the better. (i.e. makeup) We have already sent notes to those volunteers that will need to send treats, napkins, or help at the party.

On October 29th there will be a Girl Scout Fall Festival sponsored by Girl Scout Troop 419. The festival will take place in the Traer Memorial Building from 3:30 - 6:00. Children in preschool through 6th grade may participate, but children younger than 4th grade need to be accompanied by an adult or older sibling. There is a cost of 50¢ per ticket or 12 for $5 for the activities. There will be a costume contest at 4:30.

Please check with your kindergartner about the condition of the glue stick in his/her crayon baggy. Because we have been using them a lot lately, some students need to have new glue sticks in their crayon baggie.

We have already been evaluating the children for their report cards. We will be checking the students on knowing their addresses, birthdays, and identifying the numbers 0 - 10. The children will also be expected to correctly count objects up to 10.

Please continue sending coats, jackets, and sweatshirts to school everyday. The weather is getting colder, and the recesses have been chillier. We’d rather have the children get a little warm than shiver through the recesses. We would also like to remind you to send extra clothes with your child to school. The children feel more comfortable in their own clothes if they would happen to need to change them. We would greatly appreciate if borrowed clothes from the kindergarten room would be returned.

Hayley Hart is still in Iowa City at the University of Iowa Hospital. She is improving, but we do not know when she will get to return to school. We have already made cards and a big banner for her. The community of Clutier is planning a benefit bakesale and raffle to support Hayley and her family on October 21st beginning at 10:00. It will be held at Burrell’s Grocery Store.

Have a fantastic fall-type weekend!

Mrs. Owens, Ms. Howard, and Mrs. Herink

October 5, 2006

October 5, 2006

Dear Families,

This week we learned about the letter Ll. We enjoyed reading the book Lions and Gorillas and making our own versions of the story. The students learned about living and nonliving things. We also read the book The Grouchy Lady Bug and practiced counting while adding spots to ladybugs on a worksheet. Attached to this newsletter is an “Ll” poem. We would like our families to read the poem with the kindergartner. The kindergartner should then highlight, underline, or circle the words that begin with Ll. Students that return this type of homework will get to pick out a sticker from the sticker box. There will be a poem for every letter of the alphabet.

Next week we will be learning about the letter Ff. Next week’s sharing needs to be something that starts with the letter Ff.

Remember that picture day is Tuesday, October 17th. Kindergartners are normally scheduled to get their pictures taken at 8:20 SO PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOUR CHILD IS AT SCHOOL ON TIME! (Bus students will not have a problem with this.) If you have special instructions concerning hair or smiles, write us a note, and we will do our best to help your student take a great picture. Children are welcome to change out of special picture outfits when pictures are finished.

Around this time of year the weather gets cooler. We try to go outside for recess everyday, and the boys and girls need to be dressed appropriately. (Some of the children don’t want to wear their coats outside on a chilly day). We have them wear whatever the family sends them in. By the way, one rule our school has is if there is snow on the ground, the students need to wear boots outside. We know that the thought of snow is depressing, but we wanted you to be aware and prepared.

The flu and cold season is coming soon (if it is not already here)! We have had a few sick kindergartners. The illnesses include strep throat and stomach flu. According to our elementary handbook, children need to stay home if they have the following: an earache, severe headache, a fever of 99.6 or above, an acute cold, a communicable disease, mattering or an inflammation of the eyes, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, or untreated head lice. In the handbook there is also a guideline that will help families determine if a child may return to school. Please refer to this so that children do not come back to school too early.

Remember that on Friday, October 31st, the boys and girls will have the Halloween parties. Also remember that there is no school tomorrow, October 6th. Our bakesale is Thursday, October 19th. We need every family to send AT LEAST 6 INDIVIDUALLY WRAPPED ITEMS. Kindergartners will be able to buy items from the bakesale, so please send quarters, too!
Ms. Howard, Mrs. Owens, and Mrs. Herink,

Cut this off and keep for future reference!

October Sharing Schedule
October 9 - 13: Something that starts with the letter Ff
October 16 - 20: Free choice (Aa week)
October 23 - 27: Something that begins with Hh
October 30 - November 3: Something that starts with the letter Tt