Monica Wright

Newsletter September 30th

What an “I”ncredible week!  It is so hard to believe September is over. 

In math we began trading pennies for nickels.  This is a hard concept so please review at home.  In class the kids will earn pennies that they will trade for nickels to go to my “vending machine.”  I have a small toy vending machine that I fill with trinkets and candy.  If you have any small candy (the mini size candy) for the vending machine please send it in.  Thanks!  We also will keep reviewing counting and writing the corresponding number for sets 0-10.  We have introduced the ordinal numbers first through tenth now.  Please practice over the weekend counting items using the ordinal numbers.  Have the kids line up their stuffed animals, then ask, Who is first? Third? Etc.

In science we are wrapping up animals and will be talking about the seasons.  We will have a fun apple tasting activity in two weeks that I need your help with.  Please send the attached form in on Monday to let me know if you are able to donate any of the necessary items for the classroom. Donations will be due Monday, Oct. 10th. 

Next week is public safety appreciation week. If you have time and would like to donate, Baker Elementary is collecting snacks and baked goods for the Acworth Police Department.  All items will be due in on Monday. 

We will begin the Pizza Hut Book-It Reading Program in October.  Today your child was given a reading log in their folder.  Please write down all the books you read to or with your child on the reading log.  If your child reads with/to you 20 books for the month they will receive a Pizza Hut coupon for a free personal pizza.  It really is easy to do in a month, especially with all the small books we send home.  The reading logs will be due at the beginning of each month.  Please keep the reading logs in your child’s folder.  The kids enjoy working toward their reading goal and receiving their coupon.  Happy Reading! 

               

Letter of the Week: Mm

Word(s) of the Week: me, my

Color of the Week: brown

Winston: Devin                      

Secret Sack: Sofia                  

Star Student: Connor                

 

                   Reminders:

1.   Homework – Cut out pictures of things that start with letter m.  If you can’t find a picture in a magazine you can always draw a picture.

2.   Mon., Oct. 3^rd – Baker Night at Sweet Tomatoes from 5-8 pm.  Join us for a Relay for Life Fundraiser  Sweet Tomatoes will donate 20% of sales to our Relay for Life Team.  You need to bring the flyer that went home with you to the restaurant.  Please let me know if you need another one sent home.

3.   We will visit the media center every Thursday.

4.   Send in those Jump-Rope-for-Heart donations at any time.  Student will be jumping the week of Oct. 10^th

5.   Mon., Oct. 24^th – Fri., Oct. 28^th – Conference Week  Students are dismissed 2 hours early.

6.   Thurs., Oct. 27^th – Picture re-take day.

Newsletter September 23rd

I am already amazed at the progress the kids have made this school year.  Every day I notice them doing something new as they are learning and growing!  During our daily RAP (review and practice) we review/introduce many math concepts.  We have begun to identify money.  We focused on the penny this week and will learn more about nickels next week.  By the end of the week we will begin trading pennies for nickels.  We have been working on ordinal numbers first through fifth.  We will count all the way through tenth.  Generally if the children can understand first – fifth, going all the way to tenth is not difficult.  Please practice counting items using the ordinal numbers at home. We will keep counting and labeling sets 0-10.  We will continue our animal theme – finding similarities and difference between animals, as well as matching babies with their parents.  In reading we are learning all the letters and their sounds, as well as blending the letter sounds together to read words.  Please use the phonics notebook I sent home last Friday for practicing blending sounds.  I am sending home another sheet to put in the notebook.  In writing we are trying to form words by writing the letters that match the sounds we hear, using what is in the classroom to help us write words (word walls that we copy words from), putting spaces between words and starting sentences with capital letters. I am sending home a “Hidden Picture Highlights” form.  If you can just sign the form and return it I can earn gifts for the class.  You do not need to order anything.  Check “No”, sign it and return it to me. Thanks!  If your child is the secret sack person the sack won’t come home until Monday, to be sent back on Tuesday.  If you have trouble finding things that start with your letter don’t worry, just send back the sack and I will help your child fill it with things from the classroom.  We have had some GREAT secret sack items.  The kids really enjoy it!!  Thank you to my Mystery Reader, Mrs. Nelson (Trevor’s Mom) for coming in last Friday.  The kids loved your visit!  If you did not sign up for  Mystery Reader and would like to please send me a note of times your are available.  Thanks!  Fall is finally here!  Hopefully we will soon see the leaves change colors so we can collect some!  We do go outside at 10:00 every morning, weather permitting, so please send a jacket with your child when the weather starts to get colder. Thank you!

Winston: Maggie             

Secret Sack: Myles          

Star Student: Jenna         

Letter of the week: I

Word(s) of the week: in,it

Color of the week: green

Reminders:

1.   Homework – Cut out pictures of things that start with letter I.  If you can’t find a picture you can always draw a picture.

2.   We will visit the media center every Thursday.

3.   Tues., Sept. 27^th – Sparkles Skate Night  5:30-8:00 pm

4.   Jump-rope for Heart event information went home this week.  Envelopes due back Oct. 14^th.

Newsletter September 16th

 

It has been a “P”erfect week this week!  We had a visit from Wellstar to tell us all about germs.  Ask your child what the #1 way to prevent germs from getting in your body is!  We had a fun visit to the media center and learned to use the website Pebble Go.  Directions went home about how to get on to it – great site for kids to learn more about animals since that is what we are talking about in class!  We have been looking for similarities and differences between animals.  Next week we will start talking about baby animals and their parents.  In math we continue to create, extend, and transfer patterns.  Your child should be able to do all these things with the following patterns: AB, AAB, ABB, AABB, and ABC.  I am sending home cubes for you to use over the weekend to practice making patterns.  To make an ABC pattern you will have to use one more item (crayons, pennies, nickels) to create that pattern.  Please send the cubes back in to school on Monday.  Next week will be counting and labeling sets 0-10 and start building number sense for numbers 0-10.  We will compare sets of numbers in regards to which has more, less, or equal. In reading groups we are working on letter identification, sounds, and blending sounds.  We also are distinguishing between letters, words and sentences.  We journal write every day in our Writers Workshop.  We dim the lights, put on our soft music and work towards becoming great writers.  The kids know they must have detailed pictures with at least 5 colors, the date, and write letters that they hear on the paper.  Today your child’s phonics homework notebook is coming home.  Please keep these at home.  Every Friday I will send home a new homework sheet for you to put in it.  Please practice reading these words.  Have your child sound them out three times, then say the word.  We are also practicing rhyming words in the classroom.  The children need to be able to tell the difference between pairs of words that rhyme and don’t rhyme.  I have noticed many kids are practicing their sight words at home.  Way to go!! 

 Letter of the Week: Hh

 Words of the Week:  review all words introduced

 Color of the week: yellow

 Winston: Titomi              

 Star Student: Jonathan                     

 Secret Sack: Ridian  (Secret Sack will go home on Tues. to be returned on Wed.  Over the weekend look for things around the house that start with H.)

 

Reminders:

1.   Tues., Sept.20^th – McTeacher Night at Baker Rd. McDonalds 5-8 pm  Baker teachers will be working at McDonald’s and 15% of sales will go to Baker Elementary.

2.   Fri., Sept. 23rd – Hat Day in honor of letter H.  Please have your child wear their favorite hat.

3.   Please return your child’s signed Performing Arts field trip permission slip as soon as possible.  Please send the signed permission slip envelope back even if you do not want to make a donation.  Thanks.

4.   Read over “The Value of Reading Easy Text.” There is so much a child gets from snuggling up with you and a good book! 

Newsletter September 9th

We’ve had a fun week learning about Labor Day and community helpers.  Point out community helpers you see to your child when you are out and about this weekend.  Next week we will switch from social studies to science as we begin talking about animals.  We will look at the observable features that animals have in common, and the features that make them different. In math we will continue with patterns.  We will learn AB, AAB, ABB, AABB, and ABC patterns.  Practice these patterns with household items (spoons, forks, shoes, crayons, pens).  Also, look around your house for patterns.  We will learn to identify, create, extend, and transfer all patterns.  We are also working on writing numbers 0-10.  Practice drawing pictures at home with your child.  Some children are having a hard time drawing.  Just help them think of shapes when they make things.  A face is a circle or oval, arms and legs are rectangles, the body is a square or triangle.  This helps those beginning writers.  Encourage your child to at least label their picture after they draw.  Help them sound out the word and write down whatever letter sounds they hear.  Please be sure your child is reading 20 minutes each night with you.  Encourage them to read at least one small book a night.  Our language arts program has a lot of great readers we use in the classroom.  However, I still like to send home at least one book a week for your child to keep and read to you.  Be sure your child is tracking the print with their finger when they read.  These small books help reinforce our sight words.  Your child may call the sight words “popcorn words,” that’s what I refer to them as because they should just “pop” in to your head when they are reading.  Please also practice the sight words each night.  Start with a few words to learn and increase how many you review as your child learns them.  The children need to know 10 sight words for the first report card.

 Winston: Jordan                     

 Star Student: Orlando              

 Secret Sack: Jonathan              

 Color: purple 

 Letter of the Week: Pp

 Words of the Week:  the, can

 

                                 Reminders:

1.    When your child is Star Student, Secret Sack and Winston a note will go home on Friday in their folder.  Check on the newsletter each Friday.  The secret sack will not be sent home until Monday, to be returned on Tuesday.  Over the weekend look for things around the house that start with that letter of the week.

2.    Letter of the week homework – Please cut out pictures that start with the letter of the week and send it in to school on Monday in your child’s baggie (or just attach them to the paperclip).

3.    Fri., Sept. 9^th – Baker Back to School Luau  6:30-8:30 pm

4.    We will visit the media center every Thursday.  We will check out books each week as long as your child has brought back their book they checked out from the previous week.

5.    If you signed up for Mystery Reader the schedule was sent home Friday.  If you have a conflict with the date/time assigned please just let me know!  Thanks!

6.    If you would like your information on the class directory please return the sheet by Monday.  Thanks!

Newsletter September 2nd

What a “T”errific week we’ve had!  Thank you for helping your child with their letter homework.  If you cut out 5 pictures that start with our letter of the week that will be enough.  This activity is great for learning beginning sounds and the kids really enjoy feeding these pictures to our “Letter Muncher.”  It was so nice to see so many parents at Parent Orientation on Tuesday. If you were not able to make it I have sent home the information we discussed.  If you have any questions please let me know.  A couple of things I forgot to mention…We will have a Star Student every week.  Friday’s newsletter will tell you who the Star Student is.  Please make a small poster about your child over the weekend.  On Monday they will bring it in and share the poster with the class.  We will display the poster in our room until Friday.  Also, each week we will have someone who is responsible for filling our “Secret Sack” with 10 things that begin with the letter of the week.  Friday’s newsletter will tell you who the student is.  Over the weekend start looking around the house for things that start with the letter of the week.  The sack will not come home until that Monday, along  with a letter explaining what to do.  The sack should be sent back to school to share with the class on Tuesday. The kids try and guess what is inside from the clues given by the secret sack person.  All items will be sent back home that day.  Next week we will discuss Labor Day and community helpers. Over the weekend start talking with the children about the community helpers you come across during your weekend activities.  In math we have begun patterns.  We are making simple patterns and finding patterns everywhere around us!  The kids are on their way to becoming great readers and writers.  Our reading groups and writers workshop are in full swing and done daily!  Thanks for sending in the Teddy Bears this week.  The kids had fun sorting, graphing, comparing, and writing about their teddies.     

 

Winston: starts next week                   

Letter of the Week: Oo

Star Student:  Sydney                

Secret Sack: Lorelai                   

Sight Word of the Week: is

Color: orange                   

Reminders:

1.   Mon., Sept. 5^th – Labor Day  No School

2.   Media Center visits will be every Thursday. 

3.   Fri., Sept. 9^th – Picture Day  Order forms will go home next week.  You must order and pay for the pictures before you see them.  There will be picture re-take days later in the year if you need them.

4.   Fri., Sept. 9^th – Back to School Luau Bash  6:30-8:30 pm

5.   The first progress reports are going home today.  Please sign the bottom and return.

6.   Please help make snack time easier by just placing your child’s snack in the pocket of their backpack and not their lunch box.  Thanks.

Newsletter August 26th

We have had a great two weeks together.  This week has been exciting learning about letters!  The kids know that there are 26 letters, they have different names, different sounds, look different and are made differently.  We’ve talked a lot about books and reading.  We know books have a front cover, back cover, and a spine.  We also discussed the author and illustrator’s jobs and started to read!  We learned to read across the paper from left to right.  When we read we track print with our fingers because every word we say has a word that matches on the page!   Please save all the small books your child brings home from school each week to read over and over.  I try and send home at least one small book a week.  I tell the children to read to anything that will listen…mom, dad, sister, brother, teddy bear, doll, and dog. J  These books will help your child learn their sight words.  We have begun learning color words.  We started with the color red and will introduce blue next week.  Also, next week we will begin our letter study with T.  We will focus on a letter each week.  There will be letter homework every weekend.  Please cut out pictures that start with our letter of the week from magazines and put them in your child’s plastic baggie (in their folder) to bring in on Monday.  In math we are focusing on position words, sorting, and number writing.  Please do not send your child to school wearing flip-flops. We have had many incidents with these types of shoes breaking and it is becoming a safety issue.  Thanks for your help.  You will notice a big paper clip in your child’s folder.  Please leave it there.  Often I will clip small notes or reminders to the paper clip, and you can clip notes to me there as well.  Thanks.  I look forward to meeting with all of you on Monday night to talk about our wonderful year in kindergarten !

 

Letter of the Week: Tt

Sight words of the week: a, we

          

Reminders:

1.   Monday, August 29^th – Parent Orientation at 6:30 pm.  This is a time for the parents to meet with their child’s teacher to learn more about what their child will be doing during the school year.  We will begin in the cafeteria. 

2.   HOMEWORK: Cut out pictures from magazines of things that start with our letter of the week.  Send them back to school Monday morning in your child’s baggie.  If you need a magazine for this please let me know.

Newsletter Friday, August 19th

We have had a great start to our year!  I am impressed at how well the kids have done making the transition from pre-school to “big” school!  The start of school can be very tiring for little ones as we go over rules and procedures of the classroom and school.  It is going to be a great year!  I am sending home a schedule for specials.  Be sure to wear tennis shoes on P.E. days.  Our class is split in to two groups for specials.  Half the children go with Mrs. McCord’s class and half the children go with Mrs. Kelly’s class to specials.  During specials they always have a teacher and a parapro with them.  I am also sending home a schedule of our class.  I have changed my schedule slightly from the schedule I gave you at meet-and-greet.  The schedule gives you a little glimpse of what your child’s day is like while they are with me!  Remember the children just need one snack at snack time.  We do not need drinks, we have a water fountain in the classroom.  Please remember to send in a spoon if your child requires a spoon for their snack or lunch, the school does not provide them.  Thanks.   I have enjoyed getting to know your children.  We have a very sweet class of 18 friends!  I can’t wait to see them all back on Monday!!  

 

The children are required to learn 40 sight words this school year.  Each week I will list words on our newsletter that will be the focus of the week.  Please review these words with your child.

 

                 Sight words of the week: I, see

                       

Reminders:

1. 1.   Please be sure to return all forms that went home in the Cobb County Folder and the transportation information sheet for the year by Monday. If you are missing something I have written it in below.  Thanks.
2. 2.   Please mark your calendar for Parent Orientation on Monday, August 29th at 6:30 pm.  This is a time for the parents to meet with their child’s teacher to learn more about what their child will be doing during the school year.