Friday, December 14, 2018

Week of December 17-21, 2019

Hi Families,
I can't believe it's the last school week of 2018! We will be busy this week finishing up our projects and work for the year.

Here is what we have coming up:

Important Dates
12/17-21: Spirit week! Please note the spirit days are totally optional. If your child does not participate he/she should wear a school uniform.

Monday: pajama day
Tuesday: festive socks (wear with school uniform)
Wednesday: ugly sweaters
Thursday: holiday hats, antlers, elf ears, headbands (wear with school uniform)
Friday: Holiday colors/free dress

Thursday, 12/20: Classroom holiday celebration, 11:35-12:40. If you'd like to come or send something in for this, please contact our room parent Kate Alves. All are welcome to come in and help!

Language Arts
This week we will finish our work with the short o sound and begin working on the /k/ sound for c.
New sight words: play, little
We will continue learning about storytelling and why people tell stories.

Math
This week we will wrap up weight and begin working on capacity.

Thank you for reading! Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.

Friday, December 7, 2018

Week of December 10-14, 2018

Hello Families!
So far in Room 4, December has been all about working and giving and helping others. Hopefully your child told you a little bit about the family we have adopted for our school's December charity drive. You will find more information about them and what to give below.

Here is what we have coming up:

Important Dates

Thursday, 12/20: Room 4 Winter Celebration, 11:35-12:40. An email from Kate our room parent went out about this earlier in the week. We would love lots of parent volunteers for this; all are welcome!

Week of 12/17-12/21: Holiday Spirit week. The spirit day themes are as follows--

Monday Dec 17 – Pajama Day
Tuesday Dec 18 – Festive Socks
Wednesday Dec 19 – Ugly sweaters
Thursday Dec 20 – Holiday hats, antlers, elf ears and headbands
Friday Dec 21 – Holiday colors/Free Dress


Please note these spirit days are TOTALLY OPTIONAL and kids should wear uniforms if they choose not to participate. On Tuesday and Thursday they should wear uniforms with their festive socks and head gear.

Friday, 1/11: Kinder filed trip to the Sacramento Theater Company production of Mary Poppins Jr. We will leave at 9:45 am and return at about 12:15pm. Please return the permission form no later than Wednesday 12/12. We can only take 5 chaperones on this trip. I will give first priority to those who did not attend the pumpkin patch trip. Thank you for understanding.


Camp Fire Victims Charity Drive
Our family is adopting the Custer family this season. I have included some information about them to help you when deciding what to give.
Subreena Custer (mom)
Caliegh (2)
Wyatt (10 months)
Subreena is pregnant with a baby boy and due on January 15th.
This family lost their home and vehicle in the Camp Fire. They would appreciate gift cards for food and money (Visa gift cards, etc) to help them find a new place to live and a new car.

The class and I brainstormed ideas about what to get this family. We thought gift cards for Wal-Mart, Target, grocery stores, and/or Amazon would be good ideas. We also thought they may appreciate some gifts like new books for young children. Of course, we appreciate anything you and your family can give.
Together the class and I will be writing letters to the Custers and we will decorate a box with all of your donations. If you're out and about this weekend please pick up a gift card for the Custers. Thank you for your generosity.

Language Arts
This week we begin a new comprehension unit on authors and the stories they write.
We will focus on the short o sound and practice the new sight words he and has.
We will write an informational paragraph about how to stay warm in the cold.

Math
This week we continue the measurement unit with weight. We will use balance scales during our lessons to compare weight and then to find equal weights.

Thanks for reading everyone! Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.

Friday, November 9, 2018

Week of November 12-16, 2018

Hello families,
November is off to a super start. We've been talking and writing about what we are thankful for in preparation for the Thanksgiving holiday. It's hard to believe we are wrapping up our first trimester. I am looking forward to meeting with all of you during our conference week!

Here is what we have coming up:

Monday, 11/12: NO SCHOOL; Veterans Day observed

Friday, 11/16 and the week of 11/26-30: Minimum days for parent/teacher conferences. On these days I will walk the kids to the cafeteria at 11:40am. You are welcome to pick them up then from our line or to pick them up at 12 when they are finished eating. Kids who go to 4th R will eat in the cafeteria and a 4th R staff member will pick them up at 12.

Week of 11/19-23: NO SCHOOL; Thanksgiving Holiday

Friday, 11/30: Last Friday of the month free dress.

Language Arts
We are reading and writing about what living things need to survive. The kids are learning about the features of informational text, such as headings, labels, and captions. We are working on writing a paragraph about how to take care of a cat.

Math
This week we continue working with shapes. We will focus on 3-dimensional shapes.

Thanks for reading, everyone!
Please don't hesitate to email with any questions or concerns.

Friday, October 26, 2018

Week of OCtober 29-November 2, 2018

Hello Families,
Our first field trip was a success! Thank you to all of our parent chaperones for helping our day go smoothly. We loved having all of you.
If you have photos from the day please email them to me at carrie.relles@gmail.com

Here is what we have coming up:

Important Dates

Saturday, 10/27: PH harvest festival, 3-6:30 pm. I hope to see all of you there!

Wednesday, 10/31: Halloween. This is an orange and black spirit day. Kids can wear orange and black or uniforms. No costumes! We will celebrate Halloween with snacks and crafts at 11:35 when the kids come back from lunch. Thanks again to Kate Alves for organizing this. If you'd like to help, please come to room 4 at about 11:20.

Monday, 11/12: Veterans' Day Holiday; NO SCHOOL

Friday, 11/16 and the week of 11/26-30: Parent/teacher conferences; minimum days. Please see the attachment from my homework email to give me your top 3 dates and times. On minimum days I walk the kids to the cafeteria at 11:40 am. You can pick them up then or they can eat lunch until 12 and then be picked up. Kids who go to 4th R get picked up at 12. There are no after school classes that week.

11/18-11/23: Thanksgiving Holiday; NO SCHOOL

Language Arts
This week we work on the letter n and the /n/ sound.
Our new sight word is the
We will wrap up our unit on characters this week. We have had some really good work with identifying realistic fiction vs fantasy, retelling important events from stories, and making inferences about characters based on clues from the text.

Math
This week we will work on identifying one less in numbers up to 10. We will finish unit 1 on Wednesday and take the chapter test on Friday. There is no math homework on Thursday.

This week we have our first student of the week, Holden. The student of the week will take home a poster to decorate before their week, and share the poster on Monday morning. During the week the class writes letters to our student of the week. These will be displayed in the classroom with the poster.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Week of October 22-26, 2018

The Jog-a-Thon is here! We are all very excited in room 4 for the kindergarteners’ first of many Phoebe Jog-a-Thon days. In case you missed the emails, we will run at 8:30 out on the back fields. All 96 kinders (and their teachers!) will run together. Please come cheer us on! Don’t worry if you can’t make it; our 5th grade buddy classroom will be out to give us lots of support.
Kids can wear athletic free dress clothing tomorrow, and they are encouraged to wear the new pink shirts they took home today! Because our class had 100% participation in Jog-a-Thon pledges, we earned a special free dress day of our choice. I will be in touch with a date.

As if the Jog-a-Thon isn’t exciting enough, we are heading into ANOTHER very exciting week with our first class field trip on Wednesday!
This is a uniform day, and kids must bring a bag lunch from home. We will eat together at the pumpkin patch before we head back to school.
Chaperones, please meet at room 4 on Wednesday morning no later than 9 am. I will have instructions and groupings for all of the chaperones then. We will take the bus together and return by 12:30.
PLEASE NOTE WE WILL NOT HAVE CENTERS ON WEDNESDAY MORNING.

After our trip on Wednesday we will get to look forward to Saturday’s harvest festival! Thanks to everyone who signed up to run our class booth. If you’d like to help please get in touch with Kate Alves, Ryker’s mom. Her email address is Kate.e.alves@gmail.com
Come in costume and ready for fun!

Lastly, we will celebrate Halloween on Wednesday the 31st with some snacks and crafts at 11:35 when the kids come back from lunch. Kate is organizing this, and we’d love lots of parents to help, so if you’re available, please let Kate know.

In between all of this jogging, celebrating and field-tripping we will also be getting some work done! The kids are amazing me with how independent they are becoming with letter sounds and writing. We will continue our unit on characters in stories this week, and focus on finding and ordering the main events in stories.

In math we will work on finding “one more than” a given number to 10. We will not use math equations yet, but rather focus on looking at quantities of objects and becoming fluent in naming the number that is one more. Watch for this in this week’s homework packet.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions or concerns.


Friday, October 5, 2018

Week of October 8-12, 2018

We had such a great week in Room 4!
 For those of you who missed the school announcements this morning, our Jog-a-Thon totals are in, and together we raised $94,000 to support the arts at Phoebe Hearst. For those who are new to our school, this is $15,000 more than last year, and nearly $50,000 more than 5 years ago. I am so lucky to teach and send my children to a school where we work so hard to give our kids enrichment programs. THANK YOU to all of the Room 4 families for your donations. We have 100% participation this year.

Congrats to our classroom's first Golden Dragon winner, Dylan!

Here is what we have coming up:

Important Dates

Thursday, 10/18 Jog-a-Thon prizes will go home with kids. Everyone is encouraged to wear their gear on Friday for run day!

Friday, 10/19: Jog-a-Thon day! Please come cheer us on as we run. I will send out the schedule as soon as I recieve it.

Wednesday, 10/24, 9:00-12:30 pumpkin patch field trip. Thanks to all our parent chaperones!
They are:
Lindsey Murawski
Abby Jaske
Nattana Lindsey
Theresa Barajas
Nate McGill
Rebecca Frazee
Julia O'Brien
Shayla Khan
Luana Cook
Janelle Reali
Panorea Avdis
Milt Apostolidis
Kate Alves
Cate Williams
Paula Turner

Please be in room 4 at 9:00 am to get your group and hop on the bus with us. We will eat lunch at the pumpkin patch, so parents please send all kids to school with a lunch from home that day.

Saturday, 10/27: PH Harvest Festival. Thanks to Kate Alves for organizing our class booth and to everyone who signed up to help that day!

Wednesday, 10/31: Free dress/wear orange and black. We do NOT wear costumes to school. We will have a small celebration that day 11:35-12:30. If you'd like to come in and help please let me or Kate Alves know.

Language Arts
This week we will wrap up our first comprehension unit on rules at school and at home. We will read a story this week and compare it to last week's informational text.
We will continue to work on letter sounds and shapes. Our focus will be Aa (short and long sounds)
Our new sight word is like.

Math
This week we continue working on numbers to 10. Kids will work on finding pairs that are "hiding" within larger numbers, like 5 and 3 making 8.

Science
This week we focus on the parts and lifecycle of pumpkins as we prepare for our field trip at the end of the month.

Today we had our first music lesson with Mrs. Toone. Photo below :)

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend!



Friday, September 28, 2018

Week of October 1-5, 2018

It's October! We have a very busy month ahead filled with reading, math, pumpkins, our first field trip, the jog-a-thon, and the harvest festival!
Please read on to see what's coming up

Important Dates

Monday 10/1: Homerun Reader launch. We will go to announcements on the big yard to learn about the Homerun Reader program. Kids will log their minutes reading outside of school to earn Rivercats swag and a ticket to a Rivercats game in the spring!

Friday 10/5: Room 4 to work in the garden, 8:50-9:20. Please join us! The more the merrier!

Friday, 10/19: Phoebe Hearst jog-a-thon. Kindergarteners usually run first, but I will send out a schedule as soon as I receive it. You’re all encouraged to come cheer us on. It’s a very fun day with music, encouragement and snacks.

Wednesday 10/24: pumpkin patch field trip. Please remember to send in permission slips and $5.50 asap. If you’d like to chaperone and you’ve been fingerprinted by the district, this is your last call. I am sending chaperone names to the office this week!



Saturday 10/27: PH harvest festival. Look for an email from our room parent Kate Alves (Ryker’s mom) about this.

Language Arts
This week we will work on reading informational text and discuss its features (table of contents, glossary, index. etc). We will work on identifying letter sounds and blending sounds orally to make words. We will work on writing together in order to solidify the writing conventions of capitalizing the first word in a sentence, using spaces between words, and ending sentences with an end mark.

Math
On Friday the kids took their first math test and did very well! Tests in kindergarten are as much about teaching test-taking procedures and strategies as they are about the math concepts. As the year progresses they will look forward to test days because they are a chance to shine and show our smarts!

Science
This week we will take our plants unit into studying pumpkins before our field trip on the 24th. We will start with the life cycle of the pumpkin.

Thanks for reading! Please reach out if you have questions. carrie.relles@gmail.com

Friday, September 21, 2018

Week of September 24-28, 2018

Hello families!
We’ve had another super week in room 4. This week we really started getting into our curriculum, and the kids were superstars. They deserve some rest and lots of fun this weekend!

Here is what we have coming up:

Wednesday, 9/26: Kindergarten Apple Day. Please send your child to school with one apple. We will read a little bit about Johnny Appleseed and do several lessons with our apples before we eat them. The kids' apples can be any size, variety or color.

Friday, 9/28: class picture day/free dress
Photo ordering envelopes went home Friday. Please note all students will take a photo, even if you choose not to order.

Friday, 9/28: Jog-a-Thon pledges due to school. You can send these into the classroom or turn in to the office. Our jog-a-thon fully funds our arts program, thanks to all of you, our generous Phoebe families and friends. Thank you in advance for collecting donations!

Friday, 10/19: Phoebe Hearst jog-a-thon. Kindergarteners usually run first, but I will send out a schedule as soon as I receive it. You’re all encouraged to come cheer us on. It’s a very fun day with music, encouragement and snacks.

Wednesday 10/24: pumpkin patch field trip. Please remember to send in permission slips and $5.50 asap. If you’d like to chaperone and you’ve been fingerprinted by the district, this is your last call. I am sending chaperone names to the office this week!

Saturday 10/27: PH harvest festival. Look for an email from our room parent Kate Alves (Ryker’s mom) about this.

Language Arts
This week we will continue reading, writing and talking about rules at school and home. We will begin focusing on sounds letters make and using these sounds to blend words. We will also work on finding nouns in sentences.

Math
We have begun to work on writing numbers. Look for writing practice in the homework this week. We will also work on a little bit of addition and subtraction.

Science
We have begun a unit on plants. This week we will focus on apples as we celebrate apple day.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Please don't hesitate to email carrie.relles@gmail.com

Check out the photos below from our first day in the garden! 







Friday, September 14, 2018

Week of September 17-21, 2018

Hello Families!
I am exhausted after this busy school week, and I'm sure your children are as well! It's been so much fun writing, reading, counting, drawing, practicing routines and getting to know one another better. Thank you to everyone who came to Back-to-School night. I hope you found the evening informative; so sorry to have rushed at the end of the first session!

Here is what we have coming up:

Important Dates 
Today, 9/14: Movie night! I hope to see all of you here tonight!

Monday, 9/17: First art lesson with Ms. Jane, 8:15-9:00 am

Tuesday, 9/18: First day of centers with adult helpers, 8:00-8:50 am. Thank you to everyone who signed up to help with centers this year! For the first time in a few years we have more helpers than volunteer positions, and this is wonderful! This is a big part of the kindergarten day, and the kids love this time. I couldn't make it happen without parents who are so generous with their time.
As a reminder, our volunteers are as follows:
Tuesdays:
Alves
Frazee/Hammond
Brokaw
Apostolidis

Wednesdays:
Kain
Mulligan
Lindsey
Richards

Thursdays
Williams
Murawski
Jaske
O'Brien

If any volunteers would be willing to work in the room every other week, please let me know. We have one more parent who would like to join the fun.

If you have a day when you can't make your centers commitment, please let me know! I will find a replacement for you.

Friday, 9/21: Room 4 will work in the school garden, 8:50-9:20. Please join us if you can! Younger siblings are welcome.

Wednesday, 9/26: Kindergarten Apple Day. Please send your child to school with one apple. We will read a little bit about Johnny Appleseed and do several lessons with our apples before we eat them. The kids' apples can be any size, variety or color.

Friday, 9/28: class picture day/free dress
Photo ordering envelopes went home Friday.

Jog-a-Thon
Today we went to morning announcements on the big yard with the rest of the school for the Jog-a-Thon kickoff. The Jog-a-Thon is our school's biggest fundraiser, and completely funds our art program plus other enrichment activities. Your child will take home their Jog-a-Thon pledge envelope on Friday. The more pledges kids get, the more Phoebe swag they earn, and they have chances to win awesome prizes!
We will run in the morning on October 19.

Language Arts
This week we will begin to focus on one letter shape per day. The kids are building their fine motor skills with lots of writing practice. Many have difficulty with lower case letters, especially b and d. If they have an interest in practicing letter writing on their own, please encourage this! Look for a penmanship guide in thour homework folder that will go home Monday.
We have been reading lots of rhyming poems and books about starting school.
The kids have been writing in their journals daily. We will continue this week with writing sentences and then drawing an illustration to go with the words. Writing can be very frustrating for kids at the beginning of kindergarten, but these kids have not let mistakes get them down! They always try their best, which I appreciate so much.

Math
We have been working on sorting objects, and this week we will work on numbers to 5 in different configurations, math drawings, and expressions. Look for this in the homework starting Monday!

Book Orders
If you plan on ordering from the September Scholastic Book Catalogs, please do so by Monday. I will submit the order on Tuesday 9/16. Just go to www.scholastic.com/readingclubs and enter my classroom code which is FNJKK.
Scholastic books are super affordable, and all of our class orders help to earn books for our classroom! In fact we are only $108 in orders away from earning TONS of bonus points which means TONS  of free books for our classroom! This offer is only good during September, so please order away!
You can order online at www.scholastic.com/readingclubs


Thanks for reading, everyone. Enjoy the weekend.
Please do not hesitate to email if you have questions or concerns. carrie.relles@gmail.com

Friday, September 7, 2018

Week of September 10-14, 2018

Hello Families,
We've had so much fun this week getting to know each other better, establishing classroom routines and expectations, and getting to work! Your children have amazed me with their enthusiasm for learning and their kindness to me and each other. We have a super class. I am very excited for what this year will bring.

This blog is my version of a classroom newsletter. I update it weekly with room 4 announcements, important dates, and curriculum information. This week I have lots if information to share.

Important Dates

Wednesday, 9/12: Back-to-School Night, 5:45-7:00pm. More info below

Friday 9/14: Phoebe Hearst movie night, 6:30pm. I hope to see all of you there!

Friday, 9/21: Room 4 to work in the school garden, 8:50-9:20

Wednesday, 9/26: Kindergarten Apple day. More info below

Friday, 9/28: School picture day/free dress day

Friday, 10/5: Room 4 to work in the school garden, 8:50-9:20

Friday, 10/19: Jog-a-Thon

Wednesday, 10/24: Pumpkin patch field trip, More info below

Saturday 10/27: Phoebe Hearst Harvest Festival


Back-to-School Night
Like last year, we will have two information sessions per classroom this year, so families can hear from more than one teacher. We will meet on the main playground at 5:45. I will begin my sessions after this. Each session will be 30 minutes, so you can plan on attending at 6 or 6:30pm. This evening is for adults. If you need to bring the kids of course that's fine, but they may find it pretty boring! I will be sharing lots of info about our year, field trips, special kinder days, curriculum etc.

Apple Day
This is a fun kinder day when we will learn about apples and how they grow. Each kindergartener should bring an apple to school that day. They can be any color or size. We will use them for several lessons and eat them when finished.

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip
The kids took home a permission slip on Thursday this week. Please sign and return the form with $5.50 to cover the cost for a small pumpkin. Chaperones do not need to pay. If you'd like to chaperone this trip, you  must have fingerprints and TB test results on file in our office. Chaperones do not need to pay to accompany us.

5th Grade Buddies
Today the kindergarteners met their fifth grade buddies. We get together with the kids in Room 8 on Fridays to read, work on projects, or work in the garden together. Be sure to ask your child about his or her buddy. Today the kids got to know each other and read books together in room 4.

Language Arts
We are currently working on establishing classroom routines for working during our language arts time. Next week we will begin working with letter names, shapes and sounds. Each day the kids write in a journal. We begin the year with lots of help from me, and I gradually remove my help as the kids become independent. We have been and will continue to read and discuss lots of stories about starting school and making new friends. The kids have had really nice discussions about these.

Math
Next week we will work on sorting objects into groups. As in language arts, we are working in math on routines to ensure the year runs smoothly.

That's it for now! If you ever have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to email or stop by room 4. carrie.relles@gmail.com

Friday, June 1, 2018

Week of June 4-8, 2018

Hello families!
It's hard to believe June is here. We have lots going on during these last couple of weeks of school.

Important Dates

Tuesday, June 5: Field trip to the Folsom Zoo, 9:00-11:30. Thank you to those who have sent in the $3 for this trip. If you haven't sent this in please do so by Monday the 4th. This is a uniform day and kids will need to bring a lunch from home. We will be eating after we return to school.

Wednesday, June 6: We will watch the room 11 play, "Gold Dust or Bust" at 8:30 in the library.

Wednesday, June 6: We will work in the school garden one last time at 12:00. Please join us!

Monday June 11: Staff vs. 6th graders kickball game, 8:30 out at the baseball fields.

Tuesday, June 12: Kinder play day and family picnic, 9-12. Thank you to everyone who has signed up to help and/or bring snacks and water! We still need lots of help, and would love to see all of you.
This is a really fun day for everyone. If you can't make it to the play day part (9-11), you can still come to the family picnic at 11. Bring a lunch and a blanket and enjoy time with school friends. Hopoefully it won't be too hot!!
In addition to parents to run the games that day, I would also love to have some people help with set up at 8 that morning. Please let me know if you'd like to help.

Thursday, June 14: last day of school/minimum day. I will dismiss the kids at 11:40, when they can be picked up or go to lunch in the cafeteria.

Language Arts
We are still finding time to work on lots of reading and writing during these last few busy days of school! I am working with the kids on reading and spelling words with long vowels and dipthongs (oy, oi, aw, etc). They are doing great with this! We will continue this week.
For writing we will be finishing up paragraphs about what we like to do in the summer.

Math
This week we will work on lessons that look ahead to first grade standards. The kids took their last kinder math test on Friday the 1st.

THANK YOU
Parents, this has been a fabulous school year. Your kids have been such a fun group to work with these past months. I am so grateful for all of the help and support you all have given to me and the kids this year.
Sarah Z'berg went above and beyond as our room parent. Your organization is unmatched.
Heather Young brought us out to the garden twice a month and gave the kids many great experiences with planting, harvesting, and learning about composting.
13 parents and grandparents came in every week to help with our centers time, giving the kids some small group time that they so need.
Mike Beckwith checked in homework every Friday morning.
Lots and lots of you chaperoned our field trips, sent in supplies, and helped out on our special school days.
Thank you everyone for making this year super successful and memorable for our children.

First Grade (wow)
Several of you have asked me about first grade classrooms and teachers. The other kinder teachers and I will work with Mr. McGill this summer to create next year's class lists. We are always very thoughtful in doing this. Our school does not take teacher requests  I can assure you all of our first grade teachers are wonderful, and our children will be in good hands next year.



Friday, May 18, 2018

Week of May 21-25, 2018

Hello Families!
It's hard to believe we have reached the end of May. We are busy getting ready for Open House in Room 4. The kids are very excited to show off their work and classroom on Wednesday evening.

We have LOTS of fun end-of-year activities coming up!

Important Dates

Wednesday 5/23: Open House, 5:30-7:00. Meet on the big yard at 5:30 and then come take a tour of room 4 with your child.

Monday 5/28: Memorial Day; no school

Tuesday, 6/5: field trip to the Folsom Zoo. Thank you to our parent and grandparent chaperones, Dan O'Connell, Jeannette Synhorst, Michele Beckwith, Shelley Eder, and Teresa Woo. We will leave school at 9 and return at about 11:30. Please send a lunch from home that day.
I am collecting $3 from each student to help cover the cost of this trip. You can send this to school any day up until the trip. Thank you!

Thursday, 6/7: Kindergarten/Intermediate sports day. This is run by Coach Moreno and the 6th graders. The kids will play several games outside all morning. They should wear comfortable shoes, sunscreen and a hat.

Tuesday, 6/12: Kindergarten play day/Family picnic, 9-12. Please mark your calendars and look for a sign up sheet for volunteers next week in the kinder yard. We will be out on the fields all morning with the other three kinder classes. We will have several stations with lots of fun things for the kids to do! Stations will go from 9 until 11 and then we will have our family picnic. Everyone can bring a lunch and a blanket and enjoy time with school friends.

Thursday, 6/14: last day of school. This will be a minimum day. Dismissal for kindergarteners is 11:40 am

Language Arts
This week we will continue working on writing opinion paragraphs. Kids will focus on using capital letters correctly in their writing.
Our phonics focus is long u.

Math
This week we will return to geometry for our last unit of the school year.

Thanks for reading! Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have questions or concerns.

Friday, April 27, 2018

Week of April 30-May 4, 2018

Hi families,
I can't believe we are beginning May already! This is such a fun time of year with school activities, exciting learning, and lots and lots of writing!
The kids have been working super hard, and this work is paying off! I tested everyone's fluency this week, and am so proud of everyone's progress. If you 'd like to know how your child did on this assessment, please send me an email.

Here is what we have coming up:

Important Dates

Today, 4/27-Friday 5/4: Scholastic Book Fair in the library. A schedule went home Thursday with days and times for parent shopping. Our class will not go during school time.

Tuesday 5/1: class picture day. We will have free dress for our class group photo. Order forms went home and are available in the office.

Wednesday, 5/23: Open House. This is a really fun evening for families to come and check out all of the work on display in classrooms. Your child will take you on a tour of our room and show off all of their hard work from the year.

Friday 5/25: free dress for the last Friday of the month.

Monday 5/28: NO SCHOOL; Memorial Day

Tuesday, 6/5: final field trip to the Folsom Zoo. We need one more chaperone for this trip. Please let me know if you'd like to attend.

Tuesday, 6/12: KINDER PLAY DAY AND FAMILY PICNIC. Mark your calendars for this fun event! More information to follow.

Thursday, 6/14: last day of school

Language Arts
We have begun focusing on long vowel sounds and spellings in words. This week we will wrap up long Aa and begin Long Ee.
We have been writing stories, and plan to finish these up this week. We will have them on display at Open House on 5/23.

Math
This week we are working on an introduction to area as part of our measurement unit.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Please don't hesitate to email or stop by room 4 if you have questions or concerns.



Friday, April 13, 2018

Week of April 16-20

Hello families,
\We had a busy week in room 4, and we got tons of work done. I am impressed daily with how much your kids have grown in reading and writing. This is a really fun time of year to work and learn with kindergarteners!

Here is what we have coming up:

Friday 4/27: last Friday of the month; FREE DRESS. Royal Reader River Cats game at Raley Field

4/30-5/4: Scholastic Book Fair in the library. More info with times to come!

Friday, 5/4: Science Night

Wednesday, 5/23: Open House

Language Arts
This week we will read, read, read, and write, write, write! The kids will be planning a narrative using characters from Mo Willems books. We will begin drafting at the end of the week.
We will continue to work on decoding more word with consonant blends.

Math
We will work on weight this week. In class we will use a balance scale. The homework will reflect each day's lesson.

Thanks for reading, everyone!
Do not hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.

Friday, April 6, 2018

week of April 9-13

Hello families,
Spring is off to a busy start in Room 4. We've been having tons of fun reading and writing about Mo Willems, his books, and hilarious characters the pigeon, Elephant and Piggie, and next week Trixie and Knuffle Bunny.
We harvested carrots and planted pumpkin seeds in the school garden this week, and we are ending the week indoors because of the rain.

 Please mark your calendars for upcoming events:

TONIGHT, April 6: THE EVENT at the Sacramento Turn Verein. I hope to see all of you there!

Wednesday 4/18: Room 4  to work in the school garden, 12-12:30. We love helpers, so please join us!

Friday 5/4: Science Night

Tuesday, 6/5: Final kinder field trip to the Folsom Zoo. We will need 5 chaperones for this, and if you haven't helped yet this year we'd love to have you. It's not too late to get your fingerprints done at the district office! Please let me know if you'd like to chaperone.

Language Arts
I have finished teaching all consonant and vowel sounds. Next week we will begin to focus on reading and writing words with long vowel spellings and continue to practice decoding every day.
Next week we will wrap up our Mo Willems unit. We will share opinions in writing and begin the planning process for a new narrative.

Math
This week we will continue working with measurement.

Classroom needs
We would love some more clorox wipes. I clean the tables and doorknobs every day with the hope everyone stays healthy!

Homerun Reader forms went home today for those who participated. These must be completed and returned if you are planning on attending the Rivercats game on April 27th. All instructions are on the form.
Congratulations to our classroom's top reader, Harper! She read over 5,500 minutes!!



Thanks for reading! Have a super weekend.

Friday, March 2, 2018

Week of March 5-9, 2018

Hello!
We've had such a good week celebrating Dr. Seuss and reading that we have decided to continue to read and rhyme with his books into next week. Thanks to everyone who showed all the spirit this week; I know spirit weeks can be a lot for families, but they are so much fun for the kids at school.

Here is what we have coming up:

Wednesday 3/7: field trip to Safetyville. Thanks to our chaperones: Simon de Vere White, Tammie Balestreri, Jen Dewald, Shelley Eder and Teresa Woo. We will leave school at 9:15 and return at about 12 . Please send your child to school with a bag lunch. We will have a picnic before we leave Safetyville.

Week of March 12-16: early dismissal for parent/teacher conferences. I will walk the kids to the cafeteria at 11:40. They need to be picked up by 12:00pm.

Thursday 3/15: Phoebe's Got Talent, 5:30 pm, Sutter Middle School. Room 4 will be represented by Harper playing her harp with her sisters and Beatrix and Kaia in a Hamilton mash-up with their older borthers. If you can't make the show, please be sure to catch the teachers' act at morning announcements on Wednesday 3/14! 😍

March 26-30: NO SCHOOL; SPRING BREAK

Language Arts
This week we continue to work on blending and spelling more and more challenging words. We will use Dr. Seuss books to begin sharing opinions in our writing.

Math
You will notice a change in the math homework this week. We are beginning to transition to a new math curriculum, Eureka Math. Our focus this week is plane shapes. We will work on sorting them, describing their attributes, and naming them.

Back Gate
If you are the last to leave the kinder yard after dismissal, please be sure to close the gate to the front parking lot. This is a safety issue, and I thank you for your help with this.

I have attached some photos below of the Lion Dancer presentation we had this week and of Mr. McGill reading to our class for Read Across America day.
Thanks for reading!





Friday, February 23, 2018

Week of February 26-March 2, 2018

Hello!
Thank you to our field trip chaperones this week and to everyone who helped out in Room 4. We are looking forward to a fun week of rhyming and Dr. Seuss. Please read on to find out what's happening in our class and at school:

Important Dates

Week of 2/26-3/2: Read Across America Spirit Week. Please see the flyer below for specifics.
In addition to these fun spirit days, I ask kids to bring in books by Dr. Seuss from home during this week. They can begin coming in on February 26th, and I will send them home on 3/2. Please clearly label each book you send in with your child's name.

Wednesday, 3/7: Field trip to Safetyville. Thank you to our five volunteer chaperones, Simon de Vere White, Tammie Balestreri, Jen Dewald, Shelley Eder, and Teresa Woo. The cost for this trip is $3 per student and adult. I sent a permission slip with last  week's homework.

Week of 3/12-16: Parent/teacher conferences; minimum days. For these conferences, I do not meet with everyone. If you would like to schedule a conference time, please email me three times that work for you. Please see my availability on last week's homework email. I am happy to meet with anyone to discuss your child's progress and readiness for first grade.

3/26-3/30: SPRING BREAK; NO SCHOOL

Language Arts
This week we will read lots of Dr. Seuss books. The kids will share their opinions of characters and books in their writing. I can tell most kids are spending time reading at home. This time is so important and helps with reading development so much. Please remember to have your child read aloud to someone for at least 10 minutes each day.

Math
On Monday we will take the topic test on decomposing numbers 11-19. Then we will begin a measurement and geometry unit.

Friday, February 16, 2018

February 19-23, 2018

Hello Families!
This has been a super week. We celebrated the 100th Day, Valentine's Day, and Chinese New Year. I am exhausted and grateful we have a three day weekend to look forward to. I hope you all enjoy the extra day with your families,

Here is what we have coming up:

Monday 2/19: NO SCHOOL; Presidents' Day

Wednesday, 2/21: Field trip to see "Rocket the Runaway Engine" at Luther Burbank High School. We will leave at 9:15 and return by 11:30. Please send a bag lunch with your child that day. We will eat at school when we return. Cafeteria lunch won't be available that day.
Thank you to our chaperones Cris Balestreri, Shelley Eder, Melodee Hayes, Teresa Woo and Heather Young.

Week of 2/26-3/2: Read Across America Spirit Week. Please see the flyer below for specifics.
In addition to these fun spirit days, I ask kids to bring in books by Dr. Seuss from home during this week. They can begin coming in on February 26th, and I will send them home on 3/2. Please clearly label each book you send in with your child's name.

Wednesday, 3/7: Field trip to Safetyville. We will need 5 parent chaperones who have been fingerprinted with the district. Please let me know if you'd like to attend.  The cost for this trip is $3 per student. I sent a permission slip with this week's homework.

Week of 3/12-16: Parent?teacher conferences; minimum days. For these conferences, I do not meet with everyone. If you would like to schedule a conference time, please email me three times that work for you. Please see my availability on this week's homework email. I am happy to meet with anyone to discuss your child's progress and readiness for first grade.


Language Arts
This week we continue to work on blending letters and sounds to make words. We will continue reading and working with informational text. 

Math
This week we will wrap up our chapter on decomposing numbers 11-19. Kids will take the topic test on Friday.

Thanks for reading! Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions or concerns.
carrie.relles@gmail.com

Friday, February 9, 2018

Week of February 12-16, 2018

We have had so much fun this week preparing for the 100th day of school!
THANK YOU to all of the families who sent in supplies for our day. All of our lessons on Tuesday will have something to do with the number 100.

Important Dates

Tuesday 2/13: The 100th day of school. I am still looking for 2 extra parent volunteers for this day during our centers time (8:00-8:50). Thank you to Maral and Jeannette for volunteering. Please let me know if you'd like to help.

Wednesday 2/14: Valentine's Day. Kids can wear red, white and pink or their uniforms. We will exchange Valentine cards after lunch at 11:35. Please send in 24 cards, but do not fill out any "to" parts of the cards. This eliminates lots of unnecessary confusion.

Wednesday, 2/21: Field trip to the Sacramento Children's Theater production of "Rocket the Runaway Engine". Thank you to our five chaperones Melodee, Shelley, Cris, Teresa, and Heather. We will leave school at 9:30 and return by 11:30. Because we will return late for lunch, we cannot accomodate hot lunches on this day. Kids need to bring a lunch from home. Thank you.

Language Arts
This week we are writing and reading more informational text. We will read about Chinese New Year, which is on 2/16 this year.

Math
This week we begin topic 11 on decomposing numbers 11-20.

Thanks for reading! Please do not hesitate to contact me with concerns!

Friday, February 2, 2018

Week of February 5-9, 2018

Hello Families!
February is off to a super start in room 4. This month is full of lots of learning and celebrating; it's always one of my favorites. We are very excited to celebrate the 100th day on the 13th. The projects are coming in and they look amazing. Thank you to everyone who has donated food and  other items for our 100th day activities. If you haven't sent these in yet, please do so by Friday the 9th so I can buy anything we are missing over the weekend.

Here is what we have coming up:

Monday, 2/12: NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, 2/13: the 100th day of school. The kids are super excited to celebrate the number 100 and everything they have learned so far this year! All of our lessons on this day will work with the number 100 in some way. I do need 3 extra centers helpers for this day, so if you don't normally help on Tuesday mornings we'd love to have you. It will be 8:00-8:50. Please let me know!

Wednesday, 2/14 Valentine's day. We will have a small celebration after lunch. Kids can bring in Valentine cards for the class, but I ask that they only write their names rather than writing who each card is for. This eliminates A LOT of unnecessary confusion

Monday 2/19: NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, 2/21: Field trip to the Sacramento Children's Theater production of "Rocket the Runaway Engine", 9:00-11:30 am. This is a free field trip to the theater at Luther Burbank highschool. We need 5 chaperones for this trip. I would love to give priority to those parents who weren't able to attend the pumpkin patch trip, so if you have been fingerprinted and would like to chaperone please let me know as soon as possible! **So far I only have 4 volunteers. We need 1 more please.***

Language Arts
This week we will continue to work on blending letter sounds to make words. We will also continue learning about informational text.

Math
This week we begin topic 10: Composing Numbers 11-19. We will be working on  adding 10 + another number to make these numbers.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Please don't hesitate to email with questions.


Friday, January 26, 2018

Week of January 29-February 2, 2018

Hello families,
We have reached the halfway point in the year, and our children have grown and changed so much already. When I look back at the work and photos from September, I am blown away by how grown they all seem now.
February is always a very busy month with fun kindergarten activities. We will celebrate Groundhog day on Friday, the 100th Day of school, Valentine's day, Chinese New Year, and we will go on a field trip on the 21st! We will finish the month by getting ready to read across America.

Here is what we have coming up:

Friday, 2/2: PH family dance. This is a fun event in the cafeteria for the whole family.

Monday, 2/12: NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, 2/13: the 100th day of school. The kids are super excited to celebrate the number 100 and everything they have learned so far this year! This week the kids took home directions for two assignments: First, they will need to bring in a collection of 100 items displayed in a creative way. They can get as creative as they want with this! I shared some ideas with the kids, so they should already be thinking about their project. These are due no later than Friday, february 9. On the 100th day they will share their collection.
Second, I sent home ziploc baggies with the kids' names on them this week. They will need to count 100 of some household item, put them in the bag and bring it to school . We will be using these for a few lessons while we count down to day 100. Many kids have sent these in and they are displayed on the back wall of the classroom.
We additionally need a few food items for this day for our 100th day trail mix.  I will have a sign up sheet for this in the back of the classroom beginning next week.

Wednesday, 2/14 Valentine's day. We will have a small celebration after lunch. Kids can bring in Valentine cards for the class, but I ask that they only write their names rather than writing who each card is for. This eliminates A LOT of unnecessary confusion

Monday 2/19: NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, 2/21: Field trip to the Sacramento Children's Theater production of "Rocket the Runaway Engine", 9:00-11:30 am. This is a free field trip to the theater at Luther Burbank highschool. We need 5 chaperones for this trip. I would love to give priority to those parents who weren't able to attend the pumpkin patch trip, so if you have been fingerprinted and would like to chaperone please let me know as soon as possible! **So far I only have 3 volunteers. We need 2 more please.***

Language Arts
We continue this week to work on reading and writing informational text. We are working on blending letters and sounds to make words every day. I listened to everyone read aloud this week, and used the results of this assessment to change the small groups for centers. Kids are with others of similar reading development level, which helps me when I teach small groups two times a week. I will listen to oral reading again near the end of February.

Math
THis week we will finish up with decomposing numbers to 10, and take the chapter test on Friday.

Thanks for reading everyone!
Have a super weekend

Friday, January 19, 2018

Week of January 22-26, 2018

Hello Families!
It’s been another busy week in room 4. We are counting down to the 100th day, and the kids can’t wait. Read on for some important information about our celebration.

Important Dates


Monday, 2/12: NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, 2/13: the 100th day of school. The kids are super excited to celebrate the number 100 and everything they have learned so far this year! During the days leading up to this the kids will have two extra homework assignments: First, they will need to bring in a collection of 100 items displayed in a creative way. They can get as creative as they want with this! I shared some ideas with the kids, so they should already be thinking about their project. These are due no later than Friday, february 9. On the 100th day they will share their collection.
Second, this Monday I will send home ziploc baggies with kids' names on them. They will need to count 100 of some household item, put them in the bag and bring it to school . We will be using these for a few lessons while we count down to day 100.
We additionally need a few food items for this day for our 100th day trail mix.  I will have a sign up sheet for this in the back of the classroom beginning next week.

Wednesday, 2/14 Valentine's day. We will have a small celebration after lunch. Kids can bring in Valentine cards for the class, but I ask that they only write their names rather than writing who each card is for. This eliminates A LOT of unnecessary confusion

Monday 2/19: NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, 2/21: Field trip to the Sacramento Children's Theater production of "Rocket the Runaway Engine", 9:00-11:30 am. This is a free field trip to the theater at Luther Burbank highschool. We need 5 chaperones for this trip. I would love to give priority to those parents who weren't able to attend the pumpkin patch trip, so if you have been fingerprinted and would like to chaperone please let me know as soon as possible!

Language Arts
This week the kids chose animals for their animal reserach projects. Next week they will begin working on their research. Their 5th grade buddies will help with using our laptops to look at the National Geographic Kids website for info about their animals.
We are continuing to work on blending sounds and letters to make words.
Our comprehension focus is learning about the features of informational text.

Math
This week we begin topic 9, More Addition and Subtraction.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions







Friday, January 12, 2018

week of January 15-19, 2018

Hello families,
We survived our first week back, and I am happy to say everyone transitioned from vacation mode to school mode very well! January is typically a month when we get a ton of work done, and we are off to a super start.
Here is what we have coming up:

Important Dates

Monday 1/15: NO SCHOOL; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr day

Wednesday, 1/17: Room 4 to work in the school garden (weather permitting), 12:00-12:30. Everyone is welcome to join us!

Monday, 2/12: NO SCHOOL

Tuesday, 2/13: 100th day of school. More info to follow. We will have a couple of special homework assignments for this, and we will celebrate the number 100 all day. The kids are REALLY looking forward to it already.

Wednesday, 2/14 Valentine's day. We will have a small celebration after lunch. Kids can bring in Valentine cards for the class, but I ask that they only write their names rather than writing who each card is for. This eliminates A LOT of unnecessary confusion.

Monday, 2/19: NO SCHOOL

Language Arts
We will continue to focus on blending sounds to make words in our phonics lessons.
For writing and comprehension we will begin looking at informational text and learning about its features and how it differs from fiction. The kids will choose animals for animal reports.

Math
This week we will finish up the subtraction chapter and take the chapter test on Friday.

Thanks for reading, everyone!
Please do not hesitate to contact me with questions.