From our Room Mother Emily Stone

Hello Fellow Kindergarten Parents!

It is time for the Valentine’s Day party!  I think the students get more excited about this party than any other!   We are planning a surprise for our sweet kindergarteners for their Valentine’s Day Party and we need your help!

We need parents to help send in things for the students to dip into their chocolate surprise.  This is going to be yummy fun!  We will also be providing pizza.

Here is a list of things that we need.  If you can send in one of these items (enough for 25 students) just contact me and let me know.  I am providing my phone number and email address.  You can email, call, or text me.

PLEASE LET ME KNOW BY MONDAY the 12^th WHAT YOU CAN BRING! 

Apple slices

Pretzels

Marshmallows

Strawberries (sliced in half)

If you can think of anything else that would be good dipped in chocolate let me know and you may bring/send that!  Just remember that we are a nut-free school so leave all nut products at home.

We also need:

Valentine plates and napkins

Juice boxes

(let’s see if two parents can send in 12 each)

We also welcome a parent to bring chips and cookies/cupcakes

The party will be on Valentine’s Day (Wednesday), February 14^th.  We would love for you to be there!

My phone number: 331-1474           Email address: emilystone@mac.com

Peace,

Emily Stone (room parent)

Dear Parents,

Our 100 Collections need to be at school by January 25^th – the “official” 100^th day of school.  I apologize for not including this information in my earlier letter!!  Additional 100 Collection ideas include rice, beans, puzzle pieces, crayons, stickers, and toothpicks.  Good luck and have fun. 

Mrs. Edwards, our student teacher from Lee has been working with and teaching our class for the past couple of weeks.  She is doing an outstanding job and the children really love her!  She will begin her two weeks of full-time teaching on January 30^th.

Remember to dress you children warmly.  We will go outside if the weather is above 40 degrees and not raining or the playground is not extremely muddy. 

If you need to change your child’s method of transportation home, PLEASE send a notice in to us in writing!  I can’t rely on young children to communicate this important information!!  If your child is normally a bus or car rider they will be sent to this area for dismissal unless I hear from you!  This is also important for ASU students and La Petit students.  I want to ensure that your child is dismissed safely!

Next week our “letter of the week” will be initial blends.  In other words, we will begin working with sounds such as /pl/,/fl/,/cl/, /sl/ and /st/.  On Friday, your child may bring an item from home that begins with one of these sounds for Show and Tell. 

The week of January 30^th will be Gg week.  The weeks of February 6^th  and February 13^th , we will review letter Ee and initial blends.

If your child is not bringing home his or her poetry folder, math journal, word journal, or red folder it may be due to the fact that we haven’t seen it.  We have several children who are missing these important resources. Please check your home for these items and send them in as soon as possible. 

Please make sure your child’s lunch account is up-to-date.  The cafeteria does not allow charges of any type.

Have a great weekend!

Mrs. Parker, Ms. TaJuan and Mrs. Edwards

Happy New Year!  We are half way to first grade...can you believe it?

Just a few reminders:
1. Report cards go home on Friday.
2. Dress warmly each day.  We will go outside daily unless it is really cold (40 degrees or less) or wet/rainy.
3. Remember to empty and return you child's red folder each day.  This is an important method of communication.
4. Our journals (poetry, math, and word) will resume next week.  Our new poem will go home Friday and needs to be recited by Thursday.  Word journals go home on Monday and are to be returned Wednesday.  Math journals go home on Tuesday and must be returned on Thursday.
5. Letter of the Week Show and Tell is on Fridays.  Your child can bring an item from home to share with the class on Friday.  Next week is letter Hh.
6. Your child may bring a water bottle from home to keep at his or her desk to drink from throughout the day.
7. If you want to allow your child to have ice cream on Fridays, you must put the money in his or her account or send the $.50 in on Friday.
8. Please check your monthly calendar (and keep it in your child's folder) for snack updates and other communication.  We only have one week in January that someone has signed-up to provide snack for our class.  I ask that you either send snack in individual bags/servings or divide the snack into individual zip-lock bags. This saves us lots of time!
9. If your child has a change of transportation, you MUST send this to us in writing!  I can't just let one of my "babies" jump on a different bus or change their method of transportation in the afternoons!  Even if it is just for a day or two, I MUST have this change in writing.
10. Please make sure that we have updated emergency information on file.  If we encounter inclement weather, a medical emergency, or other need concerning your child, WE MUST HAVE CONTACT INFORMATION.  This is for your child's safety!!

We are so excited to have a student teacher from Lee University in our class!  Her name is Yolanda Edwards and she will be with us until the middle of February.  I'm sure that your children will keep you informed about her activities with our class!

Thank you all for sharing your sweet children with me!
Mrs. Parker, Ms. TaJuan and Mrs. Edwards

Dear Parents,
Miles for Mayfield is tomorrow!  Remember that we will be walking at the track at Ocoee Middle School at 1:00.  There will be concessions so remember to send money.  Please dress your child appropriately.  They should have long pants, a jacket and tennis shoes on tomorrow.  Check the weather to be sure, but I think it will be cool.  Don't forget to send in your money.  I have told the children that I will match every dollar that they raise so that we might be able to win the Chik-Fil-A party!

Next week is Fall Break - NO SCHOOL!  We will not be sending home a poem on Friday for the week of Oct. 31.  We will have two letters in our word journal and we will also be sending home our math journals that week.  The week of the 31st is only a four day week as there is no school on Friday, November 4th.  The teachers and assistants will be taking part in staff development.

If your child's word or math journal or poetry notebook is still in his backpack and not checked, that means that he or she did not put it in the basket.  They are reminded to do so several times each morning, but some children are still having difficulty with this task.  We encourage independence in Kindergarten!

If your child has worn home clothes that are not his or hers, please return them to the classroom.  These are extra clothes that we have on hand in case of emergencies, spills, or just when clothes from home may be uncomfortable!  Thank your for your consideration.

Continue to work on letter sounds and letter (capital and lower case) recognition with your child.  Also you can work on correlating a numeral with the correct quantity.  These are standards that we continue to work on in class!

Have a wonderful Fall Break and we'll see you on the 31st of October.  Remember, no costumes at school please!
Mrs. Parker

It's Pumpkin Patch Time!!!

Dear Parents and Students!
We have had a great beginning to the fall season.  We will journey to the pumpkin patch on Thursday.  Please remember to wear sneakers and jeans or long pants on this trip.  We will be taking a hayride and wondering around the pumpkin patch.  Flip flop and shorts will quickly become uncomfortable!

You can place your Scholastic book orders online if you wish.  Just remember that our classroom code is H24BQ.  This must be entered in order for us to get credit for the classroom and we get extra points if parents utilize the online ordering system.  I am trying to save up enough bonus points to order a Math Mat for the children to use during center time!  Book orders can still be returned to me (or placed online) until 10/14, so order your October and November books soon!  Look for December order sheets to arrive soon.

Please be reminded that we are a nut-free school and Ms. TaJuan is highly allergic to bananas.  We have had several children bring peanut butter and bananas in their lunches.  Be aware if your child's lunch contains nuts or bananas he or she will not be allowed to eat this and will need to purchase a tray lunch from the cafeteria.  On that same note, please do not send in food that must be prepared or heated.  We are unable to heat or prepare any lunches for children.  We send home a monthly menu from the cafeteria so that you can plan your child's lunches in advance.

Remember that there is no school on Friday as this is a Staff Development day for all of Cleveland City Schools.

Hope you all have a wonderful week and long weekend!
Mrs. Parker and Ms. TaJuan

September 20th Updates and Reminders

Hello Friends!
We have been so busy in Kindergarten!  We have learned all about the letters, Ss, Mm, Tt, Aa and Pp.  The next few weeks we will be focusing on the letters Kk, Ll, and Ii.  Remember that every Friday is Letter of the Week Show and Tell.  Your children can bring an item from home to share with the class.  We have had so much fun doing this.  This Friday, September 23rd will be Pajama Day.  Your children can wear their favorite pajamas, wear their slippers and we'll eat popcorn!

Also this week we have our Book Fair taking place in the library.  Your children are allowed to visit the library for Book Fair in the mornings before class, 7:40-8:00 and also during Library time, which will be tomorrow at 2:20.  You may also visit the Book Fair with your child after school.

Many of you have asked about Parent Conferences.  They are scheduled to take place during two Thursdays of October, the 13th and the 20th.  If you have questions or concerns and would like to schedule your conference before this date, please contact me at cparker@clevelandschools.org or at 472-4541.

Fridays are ice cream days. If your child would like to purchase ice cream on Fridays, you may send in $.50 on Friday or send in a few dollars and we will deposit it to their account and they can use it as needed.  Please make sure your lunch account is up to date.  Charging meals is not allowed, therefore your child will not be able to purchase a lunch if his or her account is not current.

A couple of things that we have been working on in class are spelling our first an last names orally, writing our first and last names, counting, sorting and identifying numbers 0-25.  Continue to work on your Math Journals, your Word Journals and your poems - you guys are doing a fabulous job!

Have a great week!
Mrs. Parker and Ms. TaJuan

Week Three!

As we begin our third week in Kindergarten, we have been working on the importance of finishing our work in a timely fashion.  Our morning work is our "recess ticket" and our afternoon work is our "centers ticket."  This means a student will be unable to participate in recess unless all their morning work is completed and if a student's afternoon work is not complete, he or she will be unable to take part in centers until the work is finished.

Last week we learned about the letter Mm and the /m/ sound.  This week we will focus on the letter Tt and the /t/ sound.  On Fridays, students may bring in something from home that begins with the letter of the week.  Last week we had lots of monkeys, men and mermaids!  Great job and what fun we had show and telling about our "Mm" things! 

Remember to practice the poem of the week with your children and to complete your word journal and send it in by Wednesday!  I loved looking through the work journals last week...we have some very creative children and parents.

How can I help my child be successful in Kindergarten?  I get asked this question all the time!  Here are some ideas: Work with your child during daily activities such as bath time, dinner time, bedtime.  Help them count from 0-25, or backward from 10-0.  Practice writing their first names with them and if they have mastered writing their first name, work on their last name!  Talk with your child about the colors and shapes that are in his or her environment.  Little things add up quickly for a five year old!  They are learning things so fast, it is amazing! 

Have a great week!
Mrs. Parker and Mrs. TaJuan