Week of December 18-22, 2017

It's hard to believe we are at the end of 2017. The kids are super excited about the holidays, but they've also been working really hard.

Please read on to see what we have coming up:

12/18-22: Spirit week. Please note all days but Friday are uniform days unless participating in the spirit theme.
       Monday: Pajama Day

       Tuesday: Festive Socks

       Wednesday: Ugly Holiday Sweaters

       Thursday: Holiday Hats and Headgear (think reindeer antlers)

       Friday: Holiday colors/Free Dress

Friday 12/22: free dress and classroom celebration, 11:35-12:40. Thank you to Sarah Z'Berg for coordinating cookie decorating supplies and parent volunteers! I'm not sure what I'd do without your help this year!
You're all welcome to join the festivities; the more the merrier!

Monday, 1/8: first day back at school

Language arts

We've been writing a ton! Stop by the room to check out some work.

We've also been blending and reading words every day. Every student should be spending a few minutes a day practicing reading at their level.

Math

We are finishing up our addition chapter. When we return after break we will begin working on subtraction.

Class wish list items: we are running low on tissues, and cold season is in full swing. We'd love a few boxes to add to our supply.

Thanks for reading, everyone! Have a fantastic holiday with your families!

Carrie Relles

Week of December 4-8

Hello Families!
It's hard to believe we are already in December. The first trimester of school is complete, and your children have learned A TON. I enjoyed all of our conferences during the last couple of weeks. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me to discuss your child's progress.

Here is what we have coming up:

Important Dates

Tuesday, 12/5, 11:35: craft prep for the winter craft fair. We need lots of volunteers for this. Please let me or Sarah Z'Berg know if you plan on helping that day.

Wednesday, 12/6: Room 4 to work in the school garden, 12:00-12:30 pm. We love having parent helpers, so please feel free to join us if you have time.

December 4-13: Goods drive for Mustard Seed school and Loaves and Fishes. Please send in new socks!

Wednesday, 12/13, 6:00pm: Winter Craft Fair in the cafeteria.

Language Arts
We have been working hard on using sounds and letters to blend words both orally and on the board. The kids are doing an awesome job with this. This week we will focus on the /m/, short a, and /d/ sounds.

Math
On Monday we will take the chapter test on numbers to 100. Tuesday we will begin working on addition.
The kids are very excited about this!


Thanks for reading, everyone! Have a great weekend.

Week of November 6-10, 2017

Hello families,
We had a great week celebrating the end of October and wrapping up our pumpkin unit. Thank you to those parents and grandparents who came in to help with our spooky celebration on the 31st.

Here is what we have coming up:

Friday, 11/10: NO SCHOOL; Veterans Day observed

Friday, 11/17 and the week of 11/27-12/1: 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 11/20-24 NO SCHOOL; Thanksgiving Holiday

Language Arts
Each student has been assigned a letter that they and a friend are the "expert" for. This week they will decorate bags with their letter and pictures of things that begin with their letter. Next week I will encourage them to bring in small items from home that begin with their letter. Watch for an email with the day those items can start coming in.

Math
This week we begin Topic 5 on numbers to 20.

Wish List items
We'd love your old magazines! Please bring them in starting next week. Thanks!

Thanks for reading, everyone. As always please stop by or email if you have questions or concerns.

Week of October 23-27, 2017

Hello families
What a fun Jog-a-thon we had today! Thank you to everyone for your generous donations. Our arts program will be fully funded for another year thanks to all of you!
Our class earned a Jamba Juice party because we had 100% participation in Jog-a-Thon donations. We will most likely enjoy some smoothies some time next week.
Please read on to see what we have coming up:

Important Dates
Thursday, 10/26: first field trip to Dave's Pumpkin Patch in West Sac. Thank you to our 10 parents who have volunteered to chaperone. At this point I have already turned in chaperone names to the district, and we have all the chaperones we need. I will give priority on our next field trip to those parents who weren't able to come on this one.
We will leave on the bus at 9am and return by 12:30 pm. Please send your child to school with a bag lunch, as we will be eating at Dave's. This is a school uniform day.

Saturday, 10/28: Phoebe Hearst Harvest Festival, 3-6:30 pm. Come in costume and have lots of fun with friends playing games, eating spaghetti dinner, and getting spooked in the haunted house. Please be sure to volunteer some of your time in our Room 4 booth as well. Everyone should have received an email about this from our room parent Sarah Z'Berg

Tuesday, 10/31: Halloween. We do not wear costumes to school! However this is a crazy sock and orange and black spirit day, so check the sock drawers and go crazy!
 We will have a small celebration during the last hour of class. The kids will make some crafts and have a snack. If you would like to help out, please let me know.

***We will not have centers on Tuesday 10/31 because of our afternoon celebration***

Friday, 11/10  No School; Veterans' Day observed

November 20-24: NO SCHOOL; THANKSGIVING BREAK

Friday, November 17 and the week of November 27-December 1: Parent/Teacher conferences; minimum days. The kindergarteners are dismissed at 11:40. I will walk them to the cafeteria for lunch at this time. If they go to 4th R, they will be picked up at 12 by 4th R staff members. If you pick them up, you can take them at 11:40 or they can eat and then get picked up at 12.
Please watch for an email about scheduling conferences late next week.

Language Arts
This week we will finish focusing on a letter shape each day. We will begin to focus more on letter sounds and putting them together to make words.
Letter focus:Ww, Xx, Yy and Zz
New sight words: it, no, this

Math
This week we continue to work on comapring numbers. We will work to figure out what is one fewer, one more, two fewer and two more.

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

Week of October 16-20, 2017

Hello families,
It's been another super week. Your kids work so hard, and they are learning a ton. We are getting very excited about the Jog-A-Thon next Friday. You are all welcome to come cheer us on.

Here is what we have coming up:

Important Dates

Wednesday, 10/18: Room 4 to work in the school garden, 12:00-12:30. Please come and join us! We love having parent and sibling helpers.

Friday, 10/20: Phoebe Hearst Jog-a-Thon. I will let parents know our scheduled running time as soon as I get it. All parents are welcome to cheer us on as we run at this fun event. This is a free dress day; please send your child in clothes appropriate for running.

Thursday, 10/26: first field trip to Dave's Pumpkin Patch in West Sac. Thank you to our 10 parents who have volunteered to chaperone. Please look for an email about this early next week. We will leave on the bus at 9am and return by 12:30 pm. Please send your child to school with a bag lunch, as we will be eating at Dave's. This is a school uniform day.

Saturday, 10/28: Phoebe Hearst Harvest Festival, 3-6:30 pm. Come in costume and have lots of fun with friends playing games, eating spaghetti dinner, and getting spooked in the haunted house. Please be sure to volunteer some of your time in our Room 4 booth as well. Everyone should have received an email about this from our room parent Sarah Z'Berg

Tuesday, 10/31: Halloween. We do not wear costumes to school! However this is a crazy sock and orange and black spirit day, so check the sock drawers and go crazy!
 We will have a small celebration during the last hour of class. The kids will make some crafts and have a snack. If you would like to help out, please let me know.

Friday, 11/10  No School; Veterans' Day observed

November 20-24: NO SCHOOL; THANKSGIVING BREAK

Friday, November 17 and the week of November 27-December 1: Parent/Teacher conferences; minimum days. The kindergarteners are dismissed at 11:40. I will walk them to the cafeteria for lunch at this time. If they go to 4th R, they will be picked up at 12 by 4th R staff members. If you pick them up, you can take them at 11:40 or they can eat and then get picked up at 12.
Please watch for an email about scheduling conferences late next week.


Language Arts
This week we will continue to work on telling stories using pictures. The kids have begun working with problem and resolution plots, and they are doing really well with this.
Letter focus: Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx
New sight words: big, have, small

Math
This week we begin working in chapter 4 on comparing numbers to 10.

Science
We are continuing to work on learning about pumpkins. On Monday I will carve a pumpkin so we can check out the insides. We will eat and plant the seeds and then conduct an experiment to see what happens when a pumpkin rots. The kids love this!

Thank you for reading! Please contact me with any questions.

Week of October 9-13, 2017

October is off to a fantastic start! We began a science unit studying pumpkins, started sounding out words and sentences, worked on writing numbers to 10, read with our fifth grade buddies, started the Home Run Reader program, and worked on telling stories using pictures.

Check out what we have coming up:

Important dates

TODAY 10/6:  Jog-a-thon pledges due. In order to be eligible for prizes, envelopes and donations need to be in today. Thank you to everyone who turned in envelopes this morning. Our school's arts program depends on the money raised.

Friday, 10/13: Book orders due online. The website for ordering is www.scholastic.com/reading club. Our class code is FNJKK. I will place the order on Saturday morning.

Wednesday, 10/18 we will work in the school garden at 12:00 until 12:30. Parents are welcome! We can always use help.

Friday, 10/20: Phoebe Hearst Jog-a-Thon. I will let parents know our scheduled running time as soon as I get it. All parents are welcome to cheer us on as we run at this fun event. This is a free dress day; please send your child in clothes appropriate for running.

Thursday, 10/26: first field trip to Dave's Pumpkin Patch in West Sac. Thank you to our 12 parents who have volunteered to chaperone. Please look for an email about this early next week. We will leave on the bus at 9am and return by 12:30 pm. Please send your child to school with a bag lunch, as we will be eating at Dave's.

Tuesday, 10/31: Halloween. We do not wear costumes to school!
 We will have a small celebration during the last hour of class. The kids will make some crafts and have a snack. If you would like to help out, please let me know.


Language arts
The kids have been learning so muich about telling stories using pictures. We have focused on characters, setting, and emotions. This week we will look for problems and resolutions when we read and tell stories.
Letter shape and sound focus: Qq, Rr, Ss, Tt
New sight words: he, she

Math
We continue this week with numbers to 10. We will take our test on Friday.



Science
We have begun learning about  pumpkins in preparation for our field trip. The kids are learning about the pumpkin life cycle, the parts of a pumpkin,  and what pumpkins and all plants need to live. We will cut open a pumpkin and feel the insides and plant seeds in the next couple of weeks. This unit is lots of fun, and the kids learn a lot!

Thanks for reading, everyone! Please contact me with any questions or concerns.

Week of October 2-6, 2017

Hello Room 4 families!
It's hard to believe we are beginning the second month of school. We have had such a fantastic September getting to know each other and working together.

Here is what we have coming up:


On Monday at announcements the kids will hear about our Home Run Reader program. The October newsletter contained a reading log for the program, which will run through February. Please help your child keep track of how long you read together each day and log the minutes. The logs are due at the end of each month, and kids who read at the "home run" level will be eligible for lots of prizes, including a ticket to a River Cats game!

Wednesday October 4 and October 18 we will work in the school garden 12-12:30. Parents are welcome to join us! We can always use help.

Friday 10/6: All Jog-a-Thon envelopes are due. You can drop these in the office or in Room 4

Friday, October 20: Jog-a-Thon. I will send out the schedule when I get it. Kindergarteners usually run at about 8:30/

Thursday, October 26: field trip to Dave's pumpkin patch in West Sacramento. Thank you to those who have sent in the permission slip and $5.50 for your child's trip. Remember these are due Thursday 10/19. This is my last call for chaperones. We have plenty of adults signed up to attend, but if you'd like to join us please let me know by this Monday 10/2. Chaperones don't have to pay.

Language arts
This week we continue to work  on telling stories from pictures-both reading stories and writing our own. The kids have been very creative as we have practiced the difference between reality and imagination, how to add details, and the importance of the setting.
We will focus on letters Mm, Nn, Oo, and Pp.
New sight words: and, we

Math
We will finish up comparing and ordering numbers 0-5 on Monday and take a test on Tuesday.
Wednesday we begin chapter 3 of our math curriculum on numbers 6-10. Look for lots of counting and writing practice in the homework.

Wish List Items
I'd love some clorox wipes for the classroom. Gotta get those germs!!

Thanks for reading, everyone. Have a super weekend