June 17th: HAPPY SUMMER!

Dear Families,

Happy last day of school! Thank you for entrusting me with your
children this year and for all of your support at home. We have
had a wonderful year!

I'd like to thank your children, as well. Thank you for a fun year.
We have made many great memories and have learned so much
together this year. I have really enjoyed watching you grow to be
such great readers, writers, thinkers and friends. I am so proud
of you all!
Wishing you all a safe, fun, and happy summer vacation!
Mrs. Lynch

A few highlights from the past few weeks in Kindergarten:

Four Winds

I'd like to extend a huge thank you to Betsy Brown and Karen Parker for being the Four Winds leaders for Kindergarten this year. We have all had so much fun learning and exploring with you. Our final Four Winds lesson was so much fun! We learned about the compass rose and how to use a compass. We even got to apply our compass skills to solve riddles around the school yard.

Button Bay

On Thursday, June 13th the whole school celebrated the end of the school
year with a field trip to Button Bay. We hiked to the nature center where
we saw different species of animals that live in Vermont and then walked
out to the point to see Lake Champlain. Afterwards, we participated in a
sing-along with Ms. Pirog, Ms. Lindsey and Mrs. Tatlock. After a brief
lunch and recess on the playground, we participated in field games
such as: tug-o-war, dress-up relay, sponge relay and hula huts. Then, we
spent some time swimming in the pool. The day was filled with adventure
and lots of fun.

Summer Reading Challenge

I have sent home a summer reading challenge for students. If they choose to participate, every time they read a book (or someone reads a book to them) this summer, they should color in a book on the record sheet. Students who return a signed reading challenge record sheet to me in the fall will receive a prize. 10-20 books will receive a small prize. 50-100 books will receive a larger prize. If students should read beyond 100 books, there will also be a larger prize. Happy reading!

May 10, 2019

It's a busy time of year in Kindergarten!  Thank you to all of you who were able to attend our fairy tale and folk tale plays before April vacation.  We appreciate your support and the delicious treats that you provided for our cast party afterwards.  The children did a wonderful job on the stage and enjoyed the afternoon.  I am in the process of editing video from the performances and will share a private link to families soon.  Until then, here are some pictures from the performances:

Also, thank you to all of you who took time out of your busy spring schedules to attend our Monkton music concert on Wednesday night.  I am very proud of the hard work your children put into learning their song for their performance.  I hope families were able to view student artwork in the Mt. Abraham gymnasium.  The artwork from our Kindergarten students was impressive!  We had a fun time walking through the gallery and participating in an African Dance and Drumming workshop on Wednesday afternoon.

Last month, Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Brown visited our classroom to teach us a Four Winds lesson about clouds.  We learned about cumulus, cirrus and cumulonimbus clouds.  It was fun watching a puppet show, sorting pictures of clouds, and creating our own pictures of clouds.

On Wednesday, May 15th, our class will be hosting the All School Meeting at 8:05 AM in the school cafeteria.  Students will be leading the greeting, singing one of our favorite songs, and sharing some of our recent learning.  All are welcome to attend.

Curriculum Update

Math - Over the past few weeks, we have learned about two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes; explored teen numbers with a variety of activities that provided us opportunities to practice counting by tens and ones; and practiced making number combinations to 5, 6, and 7.  This week we will continue our work with combinations to 5 and teen numbers.

Literacy

• Fundations - Over the past few weeks we have been learning about the digraphs wh, ch, sh, th, and ck.  
• Reading - During reading time, students are actively participating in daily guided reading groups.  Each group works with either me or Ms. Carter to learn a variety of reading strategies and to discuss texts.  When attempting to read unfamiliar words, many students are working on looking closely at words to find parts that they know and blending or "crashing" letter sounds from left to right.  
• Writing - Students continue to write personal narratives while practicing saying words slowly and using details in their pictures and words.  In addition to personal narratives, students have also been writing opinion pieces about some of our read aloud texts. 
• Science - With the arrival of spring, we have been learning about what happens in springtime and life cycles of various animals and insects.  Soon, we will begin to explore food webs, food chains and the transfer of energy throughout the food chain.

Additional Information

Extra Clothing and Shoes - Please consider sending in spare clothes and indoor shoes for students to change into.  Our playground can be very wet and muddy throughout the spring.  Students should continue to bring boots to wear at recess time until the school grounds dry up.

Sneakers - Recently, children have been excited to wear shoes with laces to school.  If families wouldn't mind spending time at home practicing tying shoes with your children, it would be greatly appreciated.

Here are a few online videos that may assist with their practice.

Tying Shoe Laces Song
Easy Shoe Tie Method
Two Overhand Knot Method

Book Orders - If anyone is interested in placing an order for books through Scholastic, please visit our classroom page online by clicking this link and use our class code HDK8K by Friday, May 24th.

Parent/Caregiver Survey - I hope you will consider participating in our 2019 School Climate Survey which went home in the school newsletter on Friday.  Results of this survey will be used to assist us in setting goals towards improving the educational experiences of our students.  Your participation in this survey is greatly appreciated and will be kept confidential.  If you haven't already filled out the survey, here is the link.  Thank you in advance for your participation. 

March 15, 2019

Last week in Kindergarten, we began an integrated literacy unit on fairy tales and folktales.  During read aloud each day, we have been sharing different versions of fairy tales and folktales and discussing character traits and story elements (setting, characters, problem and solution).  Over the next few weeks, we will be re-telling stories and participating in a variety of literacy, math, and STEM challenges connected to the different titles we read together. 

At the conclusion of our unit, students will be performing a few fairy tales and folktales for families and friends on the stage in the gym.  Please mark your calendars for 1:15 on Thursday, April 18th.  All are invited to attend and there will be a small cast party after the performance for Kindergarten students and their families.

The MCS Read-A-Thon continues throughout the rest of March.  Please have your child bring their yellow reading log to school each Monday so that minutes can be calculated and used to move our cat game piece along the read-a-thon game board.  If your child needs a sponsor, please let me know.  We have a few volunteers who would like to sponsor students with their reading.  Our goal is to have 100% participation from students each week.  This week we had 80%.  Thank you to all who have participated so far.

Please note: Kindergarten minutes can be times that they spend reading their red books (or other books) to you, as well as minutes you read aloud to them.

Curriculum Update

Math - This week, we will begin a new math unit on two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes.  During this unit, students will examine, identify, compare, and sort two and three-dimensional shapes.  The names of the shapes we will be working with are: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, hexagon, trapezoid, rhombus, sphere, cylinder, cube, cone and pyramid.

Literacy

• Fundations - Over the past few weeks we have been practicing placing letters in alphabetical order, and segmenting and writing CVC words.  
• Reading - During reading time, students are actively participating in daily guided reading groups.  Each group works with either me or Ms. Carter to learn a variety of reading strategies and to discuss texts.  I sent home the last of our red sight word books this week.  All students would benefit from practicing their reading at home each night.
• Writing - Students continue to write personal narratives while practicing saying words slowly and using details in their pictures and words.  In addition to personal narratives, students have also been writing opinion pieces about some of the fairy tales and folktales we have been reading. 
• Sight Words - During literacy time, students have been practicing reading and writing sight words.  Please click here for a list of words to practice at home.  
• Science - We recently began a new science unit on force and motion that focuses on pushes and pulls.  We have learned how machines do work for us, have explored how changing the strength and direction of a wrecking ball's push could knock down a wall without damaging houses nearby, and tested different ways to knock down cups while bowling in the classroom.  These activities have been of great interest to the students.

Additional Information

Extra Clothing and Shoes - Please consider sending in spare clothes and indoor shoes for students to change into.  Also, our playground can be very wet and muddy throughout the spring.  Students should continue to bring snow pants and boots to wear at recess time until the school grounds dry up.

Sneakers - Recently, children have been excited to wear shoes with laces to school.  If families wouldn't mind spending time at home practicing tying shoes with your children, it would be greatly appreciated.

Here are a few online videos that may assist with their practice.

Tying Shoe Laces Song
Easy Shoe Tie Method 
Two Overhand Knot Method

Recyclables Needed - We are looking for some clean recyclables to use in the classroom for a variety of upcoming projects.  If you have any clean cardboard, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, we will gladly take them off your hands.

Book Orders - If anyone is interested in placing an order for books through Scholastic, please visit our classroom page online by clicking this link and use our class code HDK8K or send in paper orders to school with checks made payable to Scholastic by Friday, April 5th. 

Friendship February

February, is a time when we make a special focus on friendship in Kindergarten. Throughout this month we will be reading books about friendship, using our Kelso's choices to solve small problems with our classmates, and making extra efforts to show respect and kindness towards others. One way we will be showing kindness towards each other is by making special friendship cards for each of our classmates explaining how they are good friends.  At the end of the month, each child will have an envelope filled with special messages from their classmates

Next week, we will be celebrating the 100th day of school with a variety of activities.  Students are invited to dress like they are 100 years old, should they choose to participate.  I will send a reminder home as soon as the date of our 100th day is confirmed school-wide.

Thursday, February 14th is Valentine's Day.  We will not be celebrating "Valentine's Day" with an exchange of Valentines and a party but will instead be spending time doing activities that focus on friendship and cooperation.  We will also share a special "friendship snack" in the afternoon.  I understand how much many children enjoy this holiday, so, if your child would like to make or bring in a Valentine for their classmates, I will give them an opportunity to share them with their friends.  I do ask that anyone who chooses to bring Valentine's for their classmates please be sure to bring one for all of their classmates.  Students in our class are: Samantha, Carsyn, Hadley, Ian, Ezra, Braun, Emmett, Ava, Colton and Camille.

Thank you to Betsy Brown and Karen Parker for coming to visit the Kindergarten last week to teach us about air during our recent Four Winds lesson.  During this visit, students participated in a variety of activities that helped them explore air and were given the opportunity to design and test parachutes.

Curriculum Update

Math - We have recently begun a new unit in math which focuses on solving addition and subtraction problems, computing with pennies and nickels, and measuring length using non-standard units.  We will also continue to practice counting forward and backward between 0 and 50, starting with any number in that range.  This week, we built a number line 0 to 10 which we have used to: determine missing numerals in a sequence, practice putting numerals in correct order and practice using positional language (before and after) to describe the relationships among numbers.

Literacy

• Fundations - This week we have been practicing uppercase and lowercase letter formation of the alphabet and writing and reading CVC words such as: cat, mop, red, win, mud, etc.
• Reading - During reading time, students continue to practice reading sight word books using early reading strategies.  We practice tracking print with our index finger, look for words we know, and use pictures and initial letter sounds to solve unknown words.  Students bring home red sight word books each week to keep.  All students would benefit from practicing their reading at home each night.
• Writing - Students continue to write personal narratives while practicing saying words slowly and using details in their pictures and words.  Last week, students wrote their first informational text about penguins.
• Sight Words - During literacy time, students have been practicing reading and writing the words: a, and, an, at, am, can, I, is, like, my, on, the, see, to, look, he, she, it, we, be, do, are, go, and this.
• Science - We are wrapping up our unit on hibernation, migration and adaptation this week.  We have read several books about how animals prepare for winter and watched a few science videos to support learning on this topic.  Next week we will begin a new unit on pushes and pulls.

Additional Information

Parent Conferences - Spring conferences will be scheduled in early March, prior to March 8th.  I will be sending home a letter soon offering a variety of dates and times for you to choose from to meet with me.  I look forward to meeting with you to discuss your child's academic and behavioral progress this year. 

Extra Clothing and Shoes - Please consider sending in new spare clothes and indoor shoes for students to change into.

Recyclables Needed - We are looking for some clean recyclables to use in the classroom for a variety of upcoming projects.  If you have any cardboard, paper towel and toilet paper rolls, we would gladly take them.

Book Orders - If anyone is interested in placing an order for books through Scholastic, please visit our classroom page online by clicking this link and use our class code HDK8K or send in paper orders to school with checks made payable to Scholastic by Friday, March 1st. 

A Week With The Gingerbread Man

The month of December was filled with great excitement for the winter holiday and many opportunities to grow as learners.

On December 6th, Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Brown visited the Kindergarten team to present a Four Winds lesson about different properties of rocks.  Students learned about sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rock.  Mrs. Brown also shared a quartz crystal from the Herkimer Diamond Mines in New York.

Throughout the last week of school, we spent our mornings working with Ms. Carter's class on an integrated literacy and STEM unit focused on different versions of the folktale The Gingerbread Man.

On Monday, we read the story of The Gingerbread Man and discussed the story elements: characters, setting, problem and solution.  We then decorated and enjoyed a snack of gingerbread cookies.  We then read The Ninja Bread Man and compared the two books to see how they were the same and different.

On Tuesday, we read The Gingerbread Boy and discussed the story.  In addition to discussing the story, we talked about how the Gingerbread Boy could have gotten across the river without the help of the fox.  Then, students worked together with a given set of materials to design and build a boat to help get the Gingerbread Boy across the river.  We tested the boats to make sure that they all floated and sailed successfully across our classroom water table.  All boats were able to make it across without sinking!

On Wednesday, we read and discussed The Gingerbread Girl and students worked together with a given set of materials to design and construct a trap to catch the Gingerbread Man or Gingerbread Girl.  After building their traps, each group shared how their designs would work if they were one of the characters in the book who wanted to try and catch the Gingerbread Man.  We had some very creative ideas to trap the cookies.

On Thursday, we read The Gingerbread Baby which takes place in a snowy setting.  After discussing the story, we challenged the students to work together with materials given to them to design and construct a sled that would hold the Gingerbread Man and successfully get him down a hill of snow.  Following our All School Celebration of S'Mores, we tested the sleds on a small hill of snow in the school yard.  Several of the sleds made it down the hill with the Gingerbread Man inside.  A few either stayed on top of the hill or flipped over at the bottom.

On Friday, we concluded our unit by reading Gingerbread Friends and watching a video of The Gingerbread Man.  Afterwards, we discussed different elements of the books we read and shared our favorite of the books.  We also used Post It notes to vote for our favorites.  The overall winner was The Gingerbread Girl with Ninja Bread Man coming in second.  It was a fun and creative week.  Students know the story of the Gingerbread Man very well, and were even heard playing a tag game at recess during the week singing, "Run, run, as fast as you can.  You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man."

Thank you to all of the families who contributed clean recycling to assist us with these projects.  It was greatly appreciated and put to good use.

I hope everyone had a safe, healthy, and fun holiday break!

CURRICULUM UPDATE

Math

We have begun our third math unit which allows us opportunities to explore counting by 2s, doubling, and even numbers. We also will be using five and ten-frames to add 1 to numbers from 1 to 10, compare and order numbers, and write equations to show combinations of numbers that have a sum of 5.

Literacy

☆ Fundations - We have been practicing all of the lowercase letters in the alphabet and will begin with uppercase letter formation when we return to school after winter break. The keyword associations we have made to each letter include: apple, bat, cat, dog, Ed, fun, game, hat, itch, jug, kite, lamp, man, nut, octopus, pan, queen, rat, snake, top, up, van, wind, fox, yellow and zebra to help students remember the sounds for each letter.  

☆ Reading - During reading time, students are continuing to read short sight word books while practicing some early reading strategies such as: using our eyes to look for letters and words we know; using pictures to support our reading; and using our index finger to point under words as we read. Students also continue to participate in daily choral reading activities with our morning message. Sight words we have practiced include: a, on, look, I, see, my, is, like, go, and, to, can, you, am, and the.

I have been sending home a small, red sight word book each week for students to keep at home. During your reading time at home each day, please feel free to have your child read to you and then you read more challenging books to them. It's a great way to share in literature and to boost your child's enjoyment and confidence in reading.

☆ Writing - Students continue to write every day.  They are growing in their ability to say words slowly with some support and use letters they know to represent sounds they hear in words. Before break, I went through and cleaned out everyone's writing folder and sent home some of their extra pieces so we could start fresh in January. I will continue to collect one piece a week to keep here at school.

Social Studies/Science

We are beginning a brief unit on winter. During this unit, we will explore how the change in season affects our weather in Vermont as well as how it affects the animals and people who live here. We will also be learning about how different animals choose to migrate, hibernate or adapt to their surroundings during this time of year.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Extra Clothing: It is not uncommon for children to get wet at recess, spill something on themselves, or have the occasional accident.  Therefore, I am requesting that each child have an extra shirt, set of bottoms, pair of underwear and socks stored in their cubby at school to be used as needed.  Should there be a time when your child uses their extra clothes, please be sure to send in a replacement for them the following day.

Outdoor Clothing:  We go outside for recess at least once a day if the windchill is 1 degree or above.  All students should have boots, snow pants/snowsuit, a winter jacket, hat and mittens/gloves to wear outside every day.  They also need to have a change of shoes to wear in the classroom.  Students should have sneakers for Monday and Friday PE classes.

Personal Items/Toys:  Just a reminder, as we return to school following our holiday break, children should leave personal items and toys at home.  We have many toys and activities to keep us busy at school and we do not want anything to happen to their personal items should they come to school.    

Practice at Home:  The end of the first semester is approaching (January 18).  If you are looking for additional ways for your child to practice literacy and math skills outside of school, please take a look at the bag of materials Ms. Carter and I sent home prior to winter break with some activities for you to try at home.  All students could benefit from the occasional practice of  naming letters (A-Z) and numbers (0-20) and practicing their counting from 1-100.  

The Latest News in Kindergarten

Welcome back to school!  I hope everyone had a wonderful week away from school.  It is so nice to have everyone healthy and back together again.

November certainly has flown by as we continue to grow as learners.  Over the past few weeks, we have had some exciting learning experiences.  Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Brown have volunteered to visit the Kindergarten team each month to present science and nature activities to the Kindergarten students through the Four Winds program.  In October, we learned about the sun and Earth.  Students explored sunlight and its effect on day and night and the seasons.  In November, students learned about the different causes of erosion (sun, wind, rain and gravity) and worked together to create a model that would protect a hill from washing away. 

We look forward to December's activities and are so thankful for the time that Mrs. Parker and Mrs. Brown have spent teaching us about earth science this fall.

We have also made some recent changes to our choice time centers.  Students have been building relationships with their classmates while using their imaginations during choice time each day.  Our new choice time activities include: building with K'Nex, Lincoln Logs and Legos; playing with farm animals, Troll dolls, and Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head; and creating news and weather stories at our classroom News Station.  At this dramatic play center, students take on the roles of newscasters, camera crew and meteorologists as they interview classmates, report on important events, and predict the weather across the United States.

It looks like winter weather might be here to stay for awhile.  Please be sure to send your child to school with a warm winter jacket, snow pants/snowsuit, winter boots, a hat, and mittens/gloves.  Also, all children need a change of shoes to wear in the school.  Please let me know if you need any of these items. 

CURRICULUM UPDATE

Math

We are just about ready to wrap up our second unit in math. During this unit, we worked with combinations of numbers that make 5 and compared quantities within 10. We also practiced counting beyond 20 (at times, beginning with a number other than 1) and we spent some time learning about two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. We are in the process of learning the names of several shapes: circle, triangle, rectangle, square, hexagon, sphere, cylinder, cube, cone and pyramid.

Literacy

☆ Fundations - We have been practicing most of the lowercase letters in the alphabet. We can now write the letters: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, u, v, w, x, and y. We have also been making associations with words that we know that begin with those letters, and also making associations with keywords such as: apple, bat, cat, dog, Ed, fun, game, hat, itch, jug, kite, lamp, man, nut, octopus, pan, rat, snake, top, up, van, wind, fox, and yellow to help students remember the sounds for each letter.  

☆ Reading - During reading time, students are continuing to read short sight word books while practicing some early reading strategies such as: using our eyes to look for letters and words we know; using pictures to support our reading; and using our index finger to point under words as we read. Students also continue to participate in daily choral reading activities with our morning message. Sight words we've been practicing include: I, see, a, my, is, like, go, and, to, can, you, and the.

I have been sending home a small, red sight word book each week for students to keep at home. During your reading time at home each day, please feel free to have your child read to you and then you read more challenging books to them. It's a great way to share in literature and to boost your child's enjoyment and confidence in reading.

☆ Writing - Students continue to write every day.  They are growing in their ability to say words slowly with some support and use letters they know to represent sounds they hear in words. I am so impressed to see students beginning to apply sight words to their writing!

Social Studies/Science

Throughout the past few weeks, we have been learning about weather. Through read aloud books and technology, we have learned about what causes the weather to change and discussed the different types of weather we see in Vermont. As weather watchers, we have recorded a few different weather forecasts and have been enjoying watching the seasons change.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Snack: Based on feedback received at parent conferences, I have adjusted our daily schedule to include an earlier snack time in the morning in hopes that the children will be hungrier at lunchtime and eat more food at lunch to sustain them longer in the afternoon.  If you are finding that your child is still very hungry when s/he arrives home from school, please let me know.  I'd be happy to add a brief, second snack time in the afternoon. 

Extra Clothing: It is not uncommon for children to get wet at recess, spill something on themselves, or have the occasional accident.  Therefore, I am requesting that each child have an extra shirt, set of bottoms, pair of underwear and socks stored in their cubby at school to be used as needed.  Should there be a time when your child uses their extra clothes, please be sure to send in a replacement for them the following day.

Fall Is Here!

Fall has officially arrived in the school yard at Monkton Central School.  The temperatures are getting colder and the colorful leaves are beginning to fall.  This makes a nice recipe for our science unit on fall in which we have been learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin, exploring the changes in weather and learning how the change of seasons affects plants (especially trees).  This week, the students investigated pumpkins closely.  They used their sense of sight and touch to make observations about the pumpkins and also did some measuring using unifix cubes and plastic links.  Afterwards, we investigated whether or not pumpkins would float or sink.

On Wednesday, we took a walk out behind the school to collect leaves.  We used magnifying glasses to examine the leaves closely to see: stems, veins, colors and various types of edges.  We also sorted the leaves by different characteristics and counted and compared how many were in each group we made.  We are finding that fall is a wonderful time to learn more about nature in Kindergarten!

CURRICULUM UPDATE

Math

Throughout the past two weeks, we have been learning about patterns; counting objects; comparing the number of objects using the words more and less; and exploring combinations that make 5 and 10. We have also been practicing our counting with a movement video focused on counting to 100 as well as our classroom number line.

Literacy

☆ Fundations - Over the past two weeks, we have been learning how to write the letters, b, t, f, m, n, u, i, c, o, a, g, s and d.  We have also been making associations with words that we know that begin with those letters, and also making associations with keywords such as: bat, top, fun, man, nut, up, itch, cat, octopus, apple, game, snake and dog to help students remember the sounds for each letter.  

☆ Reading - During our small group and individual reading groups, students have been reading short sight word books and learning various concepts about print. We are continuing to practice using our eyes to look for letters and words we know; using pictures to support our reading; and using our index finger to point under words as we read. Students also continue to participate in daily choral reading activities with our morning message. They are noticing letters and words EVERYWHERE! Sight words we've been practicing include: I, see, a, my, is, like, go and to.

☆ Writing - Students continue to write about things they know.  They are growing in their ability to draw pictures to represent what they want to communicate. They are also learning how to say words slowly (with support) and use letters they know to represent sounds they hear in words. I am so impressed with how many letter sounds they know already!

Social Studies/Science

We have begun to incorporate our knowledge of the five senses to help us learn about the season of fall.

Choice Time/Outside Time

Once or twice a day, students spend time practicing social skills and building relationships with their classmates through play. Whether we are outside on the playground or in the classroom working at centers, students are using creativity and problem solving skills with their peers as they have fun together. Some of our favorite centers include: wooden blocks and cars, Legos, Play Dough, kitchen, sand, and art.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Extra Clothing: Given the recent changes in weather, I have sent home all extra clothing to be swapped out for a warmer change of clothing.  It is not uncommon for children to get wet at recess, spill something on themselves, or have the occasional accident.  Therefore, I am requesting that each child have an extra shirt, set of bottoms, pair of underwear and socks stored in their cubby at school to be used as needed.  Should there be a time when your child uses their extra clothes, please be sure to send in a replacement for them the following day.

Recess:  We go outside at least once a day if the wind chill is 1 degree or above.  Please be sure that your child comes to school prepared to play outside.  Kindergarten students should bring warm jackets, boots (especially on days when it has been raining), hats and mittens/gloves to school with them.  Our playground is a very windy space.  Even when the sun is shining, the air can feel quite cold.  I have been encouraging the children to dress warmly and remove layers as they need to.

Parent - Teacher Conferences: Parent-Teacher conferences will begin next Monday afternoon. A confirmation of your appointment was sent home with your child this week. If you think you may need a reminder or find that you need to change your conference time, please feel free to send me an email. All conferences will be approximately 20 minutes in length and students are welcome to attend. I look forward to meeting with you soon!

Book Fair: The Scholastic Book Fair is beginning next week at MCS.  Our class will be visiting the book fair on Tuesday during our library time.  If you'd like to send in money for your child to purchase books, please be sure to put it in an envelope or ziplock bag with your child's name on it.  Please see the flyer that went home this week for additional times when you can visit the book fair with your child.

Costume Parade and Halloween Snack: Our annual MCS costume parade will take place on Wednesday, October 31st at 2:30 PM in the main hallway of the school.  Family members are invited to attend.  Students are encouraged to bring a costume to school to change into prior to the parade.  To keep the event positive, we ask that NO weapons (toy or real) or face paint be included as part of a costume.  If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to send me an email.  Prior to the parade, we will have a special Halloween snack in the classroom and read a few Halloween stories.  If you would like to contribute to this special snack, please sign up here before October 28th.