Kindergarten News 1-29-10

12:30 Release for Kindergarten on Tuesday, 2-2-10:  Next Tuesday is an early release day for MVS, so Kindergarten is invited to stay, have lunch recess, eat lunch in the cafeteria, and take the bus home.  Please sign up for hot lunch or lunch milk with your weekly order form.  They can also bring their own lunch.  Hot lunch on Tuesday will be chicken nuggets, dipping sauce, seasoned rice, mixed vegetables, and pineapple chunks.   Please fill out the attached form so that I know what they’ll be eating and how they’re getting home.  Thanks!

READING:   Our Reading groups are going great!  The children are already awesome readers!  I hope you are enjoying hearing them read their books to you.

PINECONE BIRDFEEDERS:  The children loved that fun and messy project!  Hopefully you’ll attract some hungry winter birds with your new feeder.  Thank you to everyone who sent in pinecones and to all of our wonderful volunteers! 

STRIKER THE DOG:  Anna brought in Striker, a Border Collie dog, for Show and Tell!  She showed us how good he is at tricks.  Nice job Anna!  Thank you Nancy for bringing him in! 

SOUND:  We made guitars this week!  Each child also got to use the Mimio (smart board or interactive white board) to play music.  The white board shows a piano and the notes that you play.  They were able to change instruments and make up their own tune.  After, they played it back and heard their composition.  Cool!  We finished up our sound unit, but don’t worry we’ll continue to make lots of music (and noise) throughout the rest of Kindergarten. 

SHOW AND TELL:  We’re working on uppercase letter formation while reviewing lowercase letter identification and formation.  Bring in any 1 item that starts with ONE of the letters of the week.  Please help them choose an item and help them figure out what sound the item starts with. 

2/1/10: Uppercase letters P, Q, R, S, T

2/8/10: Uppercase letters U, V, W, X, Y, Z

2/15/10: Free choice show and tell

JUNIOR GREAT BOOKS (JGB):  We’ll be spending our read-aloud time reading JGB stories for the month of February.  They’re great stories that I read to them, we listen to them on tape, discuss them, and extend the stories through drama, song, and art.  Next week we’ll be reading The Tale of Two Bad Mice.

THURSDAY IS LIBRARY DAY!  Please send back your books by Thursday, thanks!  Sorry I forgot yesterday, we went today!  But we’ll be back on schedule next week. 

THE SALMON ARE HERE!  The fifth graders raise salmon eggs in their classroom from January until April or May.  They received 200 eggs this week!  Kindergarten joins them for some activities to learn about the salmon life cycle, observe the changes (which are very small), and learn about different fish.  During their time at school, the salmon are kept in a dark tank at about 38 degrees Fahrenheit.  The fifth graders have a lot of math involved determining the rate of growth needed so that the salmon are at the correct stage to release into the river when the river reaches about the same temperature as our tank.  Ask your child if we got upstairs to see the eggs yet.  See if they can tell you what they look like including size and color. 

UPCOMING DATES:

2/2/10 Early Release means a 12:30 release for Kindergarten.  Please fill out the attached form.

2/5/10 Twin Day to show your school spirit.  Have your child plan to dress like a friend and be “twins” for the day.  I try to organize them at school and send home a paper saying who they’re dressing up like and what they’ll be wearing.  They are very good at remembering who has similar shirts, hats, etc. and often that’s how they make their decisions.  I always say they can be triplets, quadruplets, etc. so that no one gets left out.

2/8/10 Cary from the AMC will be leading some Kindergarten activities

from 9:00 – 11:00.  We’ll be playing bird call bingo and going outside for a mini snowshoe adventure.  She’ll provide the snow shoes.  As always, make sure your child has outside winter clothing.  Thanks!

2/12/10 MVS Family Night: Contra dancing (more information coming soon)

2/17/10 Hoop for Heart and Jump for Heart.  Mrs. Doucette runs this wonderful activity and everyone participates whether they raise money or not.  She would love as many volunteers as possible.  You can help during the Kindergarten time slot or help all day!  More information on the time schedule as we get closer.  Pledge sheets have already gone home; if you didn’t get one please let me know.

WISH LIST:

• shoe boxes to decorate for Valentines cards (any size)

Have a terrific weekend! 

Gerri St. Gelais

KINDERGARTEN LATE RELEASE INFORMATION FOR TUESDAY, 2/2/10

STUDENT’S NAME: _____________________________________________________________

My child will (circle one)        bring their own lunch and drink   

                                               Bring their own lunch but they will buy a lunch drink

                                               Buy a school lunch which includes a drink

My child will (circle one)      Be picked up in the front of MVS at 12:30 with the “walkers”

                                             Ride their regular bus home to meet _____________________

                                             Ride the ___________   bus to meet _______________________

Parent Signature: ________________________________________________  Date: ________________

Note: Please call to let me know if any of your plans change.  Thanks! 

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