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

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! 

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

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