Happy New Year January 2017

I hope that you all had an enjoyable holiday season with your family and friends.  WOW- Can you believe that it is 2017?   How time flies when you are having FUN!!

My family and I enjoyed being together with each other and with good friends.  Here is some of the fun we had during the break.  Christmas Eve PJ hunts, throwing magic reindeer food out on the lawn with the neighbors, hot chocolate parties, game nights and gingerbread house building contest with friends.   

Let's LOOK BACK at December

 Learning about measurement and making patterns.

 Reading and writing CVC words and studying and reading books from author Jan Brett.  Feeding our "ROCK monsters"!  Hibernation, propagation, migration, insulation with animals in winter.

 Having FUN at the Ogden Nature Center!

       

• THANKS to Everyone

Our STEM Project was a great success!  I would like to thank all of you for being wonderful, amazing parents and thanks for your donations, monetary support and help the day of the project!  The kids had a blast, learned so much and did a fantastic job being proactive and completing their plans.

• WINTER WEATHER

BRRRR!  It’s really cold out there.  Please make sure your child comes to school with a coat, hat, gloves and boots.  Please make sure that all these items are labeled with their name on the items. Students will go outside for recess unless there is heavy rain or major snowfall.

•  Pizza Hut Coupon

I sent Pizza Hut certificates home in the red folder the week we had winter break for December Reading minutes.  Be sure to use them in 30 days or less from the date listed on the certificate.  There is no money needed to redeem the coupon.  The kids are very excited about going to Pizza Hut. Thanks for reading with your child!  Remember, reading in Kindergarten is: doing my homework, someone reading to me, the student reading and finding "snap words", practicing letters and snap words, name writing, reading the pictures in books and retelling a story to someone.

• Behavior Clip Chart    

The Color Clip Chart will be returning to our room starting on January 4th.  Remind your child that they want to set a goal each day to be proactive at school so they can move up the chart.  Green, blue and purple are all colors that a student would want to be on at the end of a day.  If they end the day on yellow, orange or red then that means they are having a struggle managing themselves proactively in the class.  Please ask your child each day the color they were on at the end of the day.  Praise success and encourage change for a new day!

• NEW VOLUNTEER Process    
  

The email below was sent out to all teachers right before winter break.  Please read it carefully and start the process with Mrs. Sluis, the front office secretary.  You have to have this check even to join us on a field trip, helping in class with activities, etc.

Thanks for you understanding and patience with this process.

Teachers and Staff,

If you are expecting new volunteers for your classroom or learning environment please be aware that Federal law requires that all volunteers must have a criminal background check prior to volunteering at a school.  

We have a new volunteer management system in place to perform criminal background check on volunteers. The background check takes up to 48 hours to validate before a volunteer is cleared. 

If you are expecting potential volunteers, please have them contact Valerie Sluis to get details on how to start the volunteer process.  It is no longer in their best interest to just come to the school and expect to volunteer that day.  NO potential volunteer will be allowed in the school until they clear their background check.

Thank you for your understanding to this Federal regulation.  

Sincerely,

Andrew Smith
Building and Systems Administrator

• Learning Focus for January

Writing: We will continue to learn how to construct an idea and write sentences about many things this month.  We will have a special content focus about "EAGLES" in writing.  We will be doing many learning activities around this topic.  The eagle is also our school mascot.  We will learn about expository writing and we will be writing 3 sentences or more of an expository paragraph about eagles and learn about what they eat, where they live, etc.  Each child will be writing a book that they may choose to enter into the “Love Your Library” book writing contest sponsored by the library in February. 

In mathematics, we will learn about weight and capacity as mathematicians this month!  We will be able to compare and measure the weight of 2 objects and say which is heavier, lighter, or ‘as heavy as’.  Also, compare the capacity of different containers and identify which can hold more and less.  Compare the capacity of different containers and identify which holds more. Make reasonable estimates about the capacity of given containers.  We will also begin Unit 10- Compare Sets which is being able to match things in two sets and compare two sets where things are not together, and use the phrases more..than..; fewer.. than..

In Language Arts we will continue to master the 28 sight words that have been introduced throughout the year thus far.  Please continue to practice at home, thanks!  Your child should be able to show 100% mastery of naming all the letters and letter sounds of the alphabet.  Also, knowing the short and long vowel sounds of the vowels in  the alphabet.  Continue to discuss beginning and ending sounds as you read aloud to your child and have your student identify them in text.  Your child should also be able to write CVC words; EX) mud, cap, sat, dog,  etc.

Habit # 5 Seek First to Understand Then to be Understood

We will be studying this habit from the Leader in Me curriculum for the month of January.

January Calendar of Events

Return your red folder and the Hot Chocolate Challenge page signed on January 4th

• 2nd Quarter ends on January 6th, all assignments must be turned in on January 6th in order to be counted as completed in the grading period, so if your child missed a lot of school in December, please make sure they are in school on the 4th so we can get the make up work completed.  Also, if by chance your child DID NOT turn in their Home Learn red folder before the Winter Break please return the bookmark and reading minutes on January 4th as well.  Assignments turned in after the 6th will be counted as a zero in the grade book, so sorry!

• ·         January 6^th- Minimum Day students dismissed at 12:45 PM,  $1 Dress Day

• January 9th- 3rd Quarter begins

• Friday, Jan. 11th- Report Cards will be sent home in the envelope that needs to be signed.  Please remove the report card and keep at home.  Sign the envelope and return to the teacher by Tuesday the 17th.  Thanks!

• Monday, Jan. 16th- NO School Martin Luther King Holiday

  

• Thursday, Jan. 26th- Tree House Museum Field Trip in Ogden.  We ride the bus for this field trip.  I need 3-5 Parent Volunteers.  Please email me if you would like to join us for the afternoon.  We leave at 12:00 NOON and return about 2:45.