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.

Pumpkins and More

On Wednesday, October 3rd, the Kindergarten classes traveled to the Parker Family Farm in Williston to learn about pumpkins.  Mrs. Parker gave a slideshow presentation of how to grow pumpkins and then gave the students an opportunity to observe pumpkins up close.  She also made some delicious pumpkin recipes for us to try and concluded our visit with a movement activity in which students acted out the life cycle of a pumpkin.  Everyone left with a pie pumpkin and a smile on their face.  It was a wonderful educational experience for all!

CURRICULUM UPDATE

Math

This week, we will begin our second math unit Numbers to Ten. In this unit, students will:

* Quickly recognize how many objects are in a collection (up to 5) without counting

* Compare sets using the words more and less

* Develop number sense with combinations that make 5, and then 10

* Count objects and match the quantity to the written numeral

* Build with two-dimensional shapes

For the past two weeks, we have been counting and comparing numbers, and recognizing and building sets of five using fingers, five-frames, and objects.

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 and g.  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 and game to help students remember the sounds for each letter.  

☆ Reading - We have begun our small group and individualized instruction in reading. Students have been reading short sight word books and learning various concepts about print. We are currently practicing 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 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.

Social Studies/Science

In addition to learning about the life cycle of a pumpkin, we are continuing our unit on the Five Senses.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Walk Around the Pond: This Friday, October 12th, is our annual MCS Walk Around the Pond event.  Most of the Kindergarten students will be walking around Morse Park while some may choose to continue on for the remainder of the walk ( a portion of Pond Road and Rotax Road).  Students should dress in layers and wear comfortable walking shoes.  If you are interested in joining us on the walk, please be sure that you have filled out the necessary volunteer paperwork.   

Four Winds Volunteers Needed: We are looking for a few volunteers to teach Four Winds to the Kindergarten students this year.  The Four Winds program brings natural science to the classroom and gets the kids outside to explore and learn!  Each month brings a new topic on an overarching theme.  The program requires one two hour training session once a month as well as the time spent at home preparing and in the school presenting (approximately 1 hour, once a month).  You do not need to have a science background, just the desire to learn and teach the kids.  It takes at least two volunteers for a successful classroom presentation.  If you are interested or know of someone who might be, please let me know as soon as possible and I will put you in touch with our school's Four Winds coordinator.  Please note: All volunteers for Four Winds must complete the volunteer paperwork and background check before working in the classrooms. 

Parent - Teacher Conferences: Parent-Student-Teacher conferences are quickly approaching.  I look forward to meeting with you in the upcoming weeks to discuss your child’s progress.  In an effort to schedule a conference at a time that is most convenient for you, please take a few minutes to fill out your top three choices on this sign up sheet by Friday, October 12th.  I will do my best to accommodate your preferred dates and times.  All conferences will be 20-minutes in length and students are welcome to attend.  If you prefer a paper sign up sheet, one will be sent home on Friday to those families who have not signed up electronically. I look forward to seeing you soon!

A Few Things...

I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of the families who were able to attend our Open House last Thursday.  It was so nice to see you all!  Your children were very excited to show you their classroom, the great work they have been doing, and their new school.  What a wonderful start to the school year this has been!  I am enjoying every day with your children.  My apologies to the families that I did not have the opportunity to speak with during the Open House.  I look forward to meeting with everyone during our parent-student-teacher conferences in late October/early November.  

Early Release Tomorrow: Students will be dismissed from school at 11:50 Tuesday, October 2nd to allow for collaborative work time for faculty and staff.  

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip Reminder: The Kindergarten classes will be traveling by bus to the Parker Family Farm in Williston on Wednesday, October 3rd to learn all about pumpkins!  We will leave school around 8:30 and return in time for lunch at 11:00.  Children should dress in layers and wear appropriate footwear.  Boots would be great for walking in wet and muddy fields and children should bring sneakers or dry shoes to change into at school.  

Walk Around the Pond Permission Slip: The annual MCS Walk Around the Pond event is scheduled for Friday, October 12th from 1:00-3:00.  Permission slips went home with students on Thursday and need to be signed and returned by Friday, October 5th.  We are looking for volunteers to assist with stations along our walking route and family members to walk with us.  If you are interested in volunteering or joining us on the walk, please be sure to fill out the necessary volunteer paperwork as soon as possible.   

Four Winds Volunteers Needed: We are looking for a few volunteers to teach Four Winds to the Kindergarten students this year.  The Four Winds program brings natural science to the classroom and gets the kids outside to explore and learn!  Each month brings a new topic on an overarching theme.  The program requires one two hour training session once a month as well as the time spent at home preparing and in the school presenting (approximately 1 hour, once a month).  You do not need to have a science background, just the desire to learn and teach the kids.  It takes at least two volunteers for a successful classroom presentation.  If you are interested or know of someone who might be, please let me know as soon as possible and I will put you in touch with our school's Four Winds coordinator.  Please note: All volunteers for Four Winds must complete the volunteer paperwork and background check before working in the classrooms. 

Week Four in Kindergarten!

The first few weeks of Kindergarten have really flown by!  The children have been busy making new friends, and learning our expectations and daily routines. They have already begun to absorb so much information in the short time they have been in school and they are very excited to know about everything! I am looking forward to a great year!  

Last week we settled on a weekly schedule that seems to work well for us. It offers times for the children to explore, play and build relationships with peers while also providing ample time for academics. Having a set daily routine and a predictable schedule seems to be of comfort for many of the children. Like many adults, children also like to know what to expect of their day.

Below is a draft of our current weekly schedule. This is subject to change, as needed.

Specials Schedule:

* Monday: PE with Mr. Newton - children should bring/wear sneakers

* Tuesday: Library with Ms. Esterline - library books are due each week

* Wednesdays: Art with Ms. Joni

* Thursday: Music with Ms. Lindsey

* Thursday: Guidance with Mrs. Tatlock

* Friday: PE with Mr. Newton - children should bring/wear sneakers

Curriculum Update

Math
We have begun our first unit of study in math focused on numbers to five and ten. For the past two weeks, we have been sorting our shoes by different attributes, counting and comparing numbers, and recognizing and building sets of five using fingers, five-frames, and objects.

Literacy
Fundations - Fundations is a program that MCS is using with students in grades K-2 to assist in teaching the foundational skills for reading and spelling.  This program emphasizes phonemic awareness, phonics-word study, high frequency word study, fluency, vocabulary, handwriting, and spelling. This week, we have been learning how to write the letters, b, t, f, m and n.  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, and nut to help students remember the sounds for each letter.  

Reading - Students have been exploring the books from our classroom library and have been enjoying our read aloud time each day when we sit together to read and discuss books.  We have been reading a lot of alphabet books to help us learn the names of each of the letters in the alphabet and become familiar with some letter sounds. Students have also participated in daily choral reading activities with our morning message. We have learned a few sight words already: I, see and a.

Writing - Students have begun to write about things they know.  We are learning how to make our pictures represent what we are trying to say with our words and writing words that tell about our pictures.  We also are beginning to think about sounds in words and which letters may be used to represent those sounds that we hear when we say words slowly.

Social Studies/Science
We are currently learning about the Five Senses. During this science unit, we will be exploring how our senses work and we will be learning about how we, as scientists, use our senses to learn more about the world around us.

Additional Information

✩ Lunch/Dismissal Forms - Thank you to all families who have been returning their lunch/dismissal forms to school each week.  These forms are extremely helpful in informing us of what your child will eat throughout the week and more importantly, where they will be going after school.  Please continue to send these forms in with your child at the start of each school week (in their PAWS folder). If plans change during the week, please contact Cindy Castle in the main office at 802-453-2314 or cindy.castle@mausd.org or email me at sharon.lynch@mausd.org as soon as possible.

✩ Birthdays/Holiday Celebrations - Throughout the year, our Kindergarten class will focus projects and special events around the four seasons and building friendship.  While we do like to acknowledge that our birthdays are special days and welcome students to bring in a special snack to share with their friends (if they choose), out of respect for all of our students and families, we do not celebrate birthdays with special parties, or holidays with special gifts.  The one exception that is made each year is at Halloween, when MCS has it’s annual school-wide Halloween parade.

For any family who may be hosting a party during the school year, I would prefer it if any invitations could be given out to students through email or standard mail (a school directory will be sent home this fall), unless all classmates are invited.  In that case, I would be happy to send invitations home with the children in their Friday folders.  I understand the challenges of hosting parties with 10 or more people, but please know that all of these children care about each other and consider everyone their “friend.”  Not receiving an invitation to a party when others do can be very confusing and heartbreaking for children at this age. Thank you for your understanding.

✩ Scholastic Book Orders - If you would like to place a book order for your child, I will be placing orders on Friday, September 28th. You may send paper orders and payment (please make checks payable to Scholastic) to school with your child or you may visit our online classroom order page and use our class code: HDK8K

✩ Field Trip - The Kindergarten classes will be traveling by bus on Wednesday, October 3rd to the Parker Family Farm in Williston to learn all about pumpkins!  We will leave school around 8:30 and return in time for lunch at 11:00.  The cost of this field trip ranges from $2.00-$7.00 and parent chaperones are welcome to attend.  Permission slips and payments are due to school by Friday, September 28th.  

✩ Volunteers - If you think you may want to chaperone a field trip or assist with an occasional special event in the classroom this year, please be sure to complete the appropriate paperwork (click here) and have it signed by Cindy Castle in our main office.  If you have any questions regarding background checks or submitting paperwork, please contact Jennifer Willey at the MAUSD offices (802-453-6946 or Jennifer.Willey@mausd.org).

The First Week of School!

The first three days of school have been so exciting in Kindergarten!  We have been learning about what it's like to be in Kindergarten and spending most of our days making new friends through play, practicing some of our daily routines, and learning our school-wide expectations. 

Your child may have shared with you that we have been working together to earn "Cat Coins" for our classroom cat coin jar.  This is part of our school-wide positive behavior system which acknowledges students for their positive behaviors.  Each time a student is caught following PAWS (i.e. having a Positive Attitude, Acting Respectfully, Working Hard and making Safe choices), their behavior is recognized with a cat coin.  Each coin collected is added to our classroom jar and when our jar has been filled, we will earn a small classroom celebration.  In addition, our jar of coins is delivered to the main office and our mountain lion is moved to the next rock on its path to the top of our PAWS bulletin board.  Each time a classroom fills their jar with cat coins, the mountain lion moves along its path.  When it reaches its final rock, we have a school-wide celebration.  We are very close to filling our classroom jar for our first celebration.  We are VERY excited!

I hope that your child has enjoyed his/her first few days of school.  I know that many are adjusting to the longer days and have been feeling very tired at the end of the school day.  It may take several weeks until the school schedule becomes a normal routine for some children.  Until then, I apologize for any grumpiness that you may experience at home in the evenings and encourage you to try early bedtimes to help them with the transition.

Curriculum Update

Math - Students are beginning to explore some of our math materials.  This week, we learned how to use pattern blocks, unifix cubes and counting bears.

Literacy
✩ Reading - Students have been enjoying our read aloud time each day.  This is a time when we sit        together to read and discuss literature.
✩ Writing - Students wrote about their hopes and dreams for Kindergarten, this week. 

Additional Information

✩ Lunch/Dismissal Forms - These forms are extremely helpful in informing us of what your child will eat throughout the week and more importantly, where they will be going after school each day.  Please be sure to fill out these forms and send them to school with your child at the start of each school week (in their PAWS folder).  If plans change during the week, please call Cindy Castle in the main office (802-453-2314) or send an email as soon as possible.

✩ Lunch/Milk Money - If you would prefer to add money to your child's account by cash/check, please be sure to send any money to school in a bag or envelope clearly labeled with his/her name.

✩ Lunch Pin # - On Friday, I sent home a paper pin pad with your child's lunch pin number.  To assist your child in memorizing his/her number, please have them practice touching the numbers frequently at home.

✩ Home to School Communication - Be on the look out for your child's PAWS folder which will
contain important communications from school as well as student work for them to share with you and keep at home.  I hope to post a newsletter on our classroom blog at least twice a month and do periodic check-ins with families as needed. 

Should you ever have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me by email anytime (sharon.lynch@mausd.org).  I have my email open during the day and will see when messages have been received.  However, due to my busy schedule with your children, it may take up to 24 hours for me to respond.  Also, please note that I often do not respond to emails after 4:00PM on weekdays or on weekends or holidays.  If your message is urgent, please be sure to call the school office and they will relay any messages to me or forward you to my voicemail.  Should you wish to meet with me in person, please call the school or email me in advance to set up a time for us to meet.  Before and after school drop-ins are not always a great time for me to meet (without prior notice) as I use this time to prepare for my work with the children or to meet with colleagues.

✩ Volunteers - If you think you may want to chaperone a field trip or assist with an occasional special event in the classroom this year, please be sure to complete the appropriate paperwork (click here) and have it signed by Cindy Castle in our main office.  If you have any questions regarding background checks or submitting paperwork, please contact Jennifer Willey at the MAUSD offices (802-453-6946 or Jennifer.Willey@mausd.org).