February 24, 2012

February 24, 2012
Dear Families,
   
During Ww week the kindergartners learned that w says “woo” like the wind.  The boys and girls learned about George Washington.  He was our first president of the United States.  George was a farmer and a surveyor, and he led our country in the Revolutionary War.  If he were still alive George Washington would be 280 years old.  We believe that George Washington died because he had a horrible case of strep throat.  On Thursday the kindergartners got to ride a bus to Waterloo to see “Jack and the Beanstalk” at the Blackhawk Children’s Theater.  We enjoyed the play and eating lunches in the classroom. 
   
The kindergartners started Daily 5 this week.  We learned how to read to ourselves.  We want to learn how to read to ourselves so that we can become more independent and better readers.  During Daily 5 the students will be quiet and read the pictures or the words in the books.  They stay in ones spot and do their own work.  The students start reading right away and raise hands for help.  We talked about being responsible and respectful to others.  During Daily 5 the teachers walk around the room and watch the children.  We may listen to children read in groups or by themselves.  The kindergartners started out reading to themselves for 3 minutes.  We increased the time a minute a day, and now we are up to 6 minutes!

Our chair pockets are an exciting addition to our classroom.  Children may now bring their own cool pencils from home to use at school.  The pencils stay in the chair pockets so only your child will use them.  Please send pencils with erasers on them so that if your student makes a mistake he/she can easily erase it.

Next week we will be learning about the letter Qq. Since there are not many things that start with Qq, the students may bring any item for sharing.  Kindergartners that normally share on Friday may bring it any day since we do NOT have school on Friday, March 2nd because of a comp day.
North Tama Elementary is using a math practice website called IXL.  Kindergarten families are welcome to go online and use this website.  The address is www.ixl.com/signin/northtama.  Your child’s user name is their first initial followed by their last name.  All of these letters are lowercase.  You child’s password is your child’s initials typed in lowercase letters.  For example, if your child’s name is John Smith, his username would be jsmith, and his password would be js. This is a great tool and easy to use!!! At each questions there is an option to have the computer speak to you. You also get prizes when you reach the goals!!! Try it, it’s great! Another great website for literacy is www.starfall.com. This website gives students many different ways to learn and read!

This week the kindergartners continued working with the green, yellow, red system. Lately the class as a whole has been talking a lot and not listening to directions.  We start every day on green.  (Green is great!)  If the class is loud or isn’t following directions as a group, the green will turn to yellow.  (Yellow is a warning.)  If the boys and girls work hard and begin listening and following directions we can move back to a green.  If they do not, we move to red.  (Red is BAD!)  If the kindergartners get to red, they eat snack silently.  If they get two in a day, they eat snack silently AND put their heads down on their tables for a few minutes.  Our new goal is to have 7 days in a row without any reds.  Check with your child to see where we are on this goal!

Please send hats or earbands and mittens or gloves to school everyday.  When it is cold outside we make them wear them.  If they do not have hats/earbands (or hoods) and mittens/gloves the boys and girls have to borrow from us, and they do not like our selection. Please send snowpants to school, too.  Kindergartners have a really hard time staying out of the snow, and we do not want them coming back in the building with wet pants. The rule is no snowpants – no snow.  Please put extra socks in your student’s backpack.  Socks tend to get wet at recess or after recess when they walk to put their boots away.

Keep sending the snowpants and boots everyday until further notice. The North Tama playground has big snowpiles on it that take a LONG time to melt away.

Conferences WERE scheduled for Monday, February 27th from 4:00 – 8:00.  Monday’s conferences will now be held on Monday, March 5th. Conferences WILL still be held on Thursday, March 1st from 4:30 – 8:00.  Students will be dismissed one hour early on Monday, March 5th for conferences.  There will be no school on Friday, March 2nd.  Please mark your calendars!  If you find that your conference time does not work, please let us know so that we can reschedule it.  Mrs. Turner will have her conferences in the kindergarten classroom.  Mrs. Daugherty will have her conferences in the media center.

School will be dismissed at 12:50 for elementary students on Monday, February, 27th so that families may travel to Des Moines for the Girls State Basketball game.  North Tama plays against North Mahaska at 5:00.  Go Big Red!
   
Keep reading at home this weekend so that the kindergartners may reach their goal and get prizes and surprises!  Do not forget to keep track of how many minutes your child read this week and cut this week off of the blue February calendar we sent home.  Write your child’s name on the strip so that we may give him/her credit for reading!!  Right now we are not very close to our class goal.  We want each child to read AT LEAST 10 minutes a day! 

Mrs. Turner and Mrs. Daugherty