Welcome toBack to School Night!

September 18, 2013Miss Bardes’ Kindergarten

Love Note

• At some point this evening please use the yellow paper (AM) and blue paper (PM) to write a quick note to your child

• I will read the notes to the students tomorrow

• All notes go into the orange basket

Mystery Reader

• Shhhhh! It’s a surprise • You read a book to the class

during your child’s scheduled library time

AM – TuesdaysPM – Fridays

• Choose a date, write it down, don’t forget!

All about me!

• This is my fourth year teaching at Jefferson School

• I received my Bachelor’s (Elem/Spec Ed) and Master’s (Reading Specialist) degrees from Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA.

• GO YANKEES!

Hold all Questions

• Please write down any questions that you come across

• If we run out of time drop off your questions in the clear bucket and I will get back to you this week

Thank you for the supplies!

Our Mission & Goals

• The Kindergarten curriculum establishes a foundation for lifelong learning.

• Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences.• Our students will become proficient readers,

effective writers, and active listeners through various strategies and skills.

• Students will learn to respect various points of view while displaying creative, collaborative, and critical thinking skills.

Home/School Folders•Check folders daily

•Remove papers on the left side

ABC’s of Kindergarten

Arrival/Dismissal

•If you arrive later than 8:50/12:20 you will need to walk your child through the main office doors

•Once the Kindergarten doors are shut I am not allowed to re-open them for anyone until dismissal

•If your child’s dismissal plan changes you need to send a note or call the office. I cannot release a child to someone I do not know. Any last minute changes (especially during school hours) should be called into the office.

Early Dismissal Days

On half days, we will follow a different schedule:

– AM 8:45 – 10:45 – PM 11:00 – 1:00On delayed openings, we also follow a

different schedule:– AM 10:15 – 12:15– PM 1:00 – 3:00

Birthdays

• Please NO goody bags • Birthday Book Club• Invitations can be handed out in

school if every child is invited

Snack• The students have 10 minutes to eat snack.• Make sure they eat breakfast/lunch before

school. On special days we may not have time for snack.

• Sending in 1 small snack and a drink will make snack time run smoother.

• Please remember to send in a spoon or fork if you are sending in yogurt or fruit.

• Thank you for remembering not to send in pouch drinks. They are difficult for the students to open independently.

Star of the Week

• You will receive a packet to fill out with your child a week before it is his/her turn

• Your child will prepare a poster with family photos to present to the class

• You may schedule a 15 min. visit to our class ahead of time to read a story

• If you need another copy of the schedule please visit our class website.

• Please do not send goody bags or treats to school. They cannot be distributed and will have to be sent home.

Felix the Rabbit• Language Arts and Geography project • In December we will read, Letters From Felix by

Annette Langen and Constanza Droop. • Students will compare children from around the

world, cultures, and holiday traditions. Felix will help make that connection.

• In the story, Felix, a favorite toy rabbit of Sophie’s, ends up on the wrong plane and travels around the world.

• Each child will create their own Felix and during winter break the students will send him on an adventure!

Conferences

• Conferences are held in November • I am available to schedule an

appointment sooner if we both feel it is necessary

• Please sign up for a conference time on your way out

• Sibling conferences cannot be coordinated on a Kindergarten-Only conference day

Use of Technology in the Classroom

• During snack centers students will be using the classroom computers

• (snack centers - when students choose different areas of the class to work on several different activities at once)

• As a class we watch and listen to online stories/movie clips from www.Unitedstreaming.com

• The mobile lab will visit us throughout the year

•We use the SMART board - an interactive electronic whiteboard. When interactive, the whiteboard acts as a giant touch screen.

•We also use an iPod in our listening center.

Wilson Fundations •Wilson Fundations is a phonological/phonemic awareness, phonics and spelling program for the general education classroom. Fundations is based upon the Wilson Reading System® and serves as a prevention program to help reduce reading and spelling failure.

•Rather than completely replace core curriculum, Fundations provides the research-validated strategies that complement installed programs to meet federal standards and serve the needs of all children.

•15 minute daily Fundations lesson

Reading/Writing

• There is nothing pretend about pretend reading

• Children practice writing – poetry, fiction, plays, letters, lists, signs, titles, charts – in the same way they practiced talking

• Always encourage your child to write and read!

Writer’s Workshop

• Lucy Calkins & Katie Wood Ray• Transitional Spelling

– How spelling develops: first consonants, then last consonants, then vowels)

• More writing than ever before!• Lessons will occur 3x per week with

time for conferencing– Individualized instruction to all children!

Writer’s Workshop

• Units of Study– Energize lessons– Promotes a love of writing

• Writing Development– Based on a continuum– From pictures to sentences

McGraw-HillMath Series“My Math”

• We will be using My Math to address new mathematics curriculum as outlined in the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS).

• Other supplemental materials will also be used to address number recognition, counting, sorting, etc.

H.W. and Corrected work

•Please encourage good homework habits

•If your child is struggling to complete the homework please write a note explaining their difficulties. It should not take them more than 10/15 minutes to complete

•All work returned home unless specified does not need to be handed back in

•Corrections are made for you to review with your child

•Working together as a team towards creating the best possible learning environment is the end goal for everyone at Jefferson

H.W. Tips

•Set up a quiet area so your child can focus during homework time

•Always use pencil first

•Read the directions carefully

•Write your name on all work

•Names – capitalize the first letter and use lower case for the rest

Monday’s H.W.

•Find pictures that begin with the letter we are learning that week

•Please help your child find items that start with the letter we are learning and also makes the correct letter sound we are practicing

•For example; circle does not make the /c/ sound, three does not make the /t/ sound and gym does not make the /g/ sound.

•You can find pictures in magazines, newspapers, on the Internet, Microsoft word, and/or draw pictures.

Your child should think of the words on his/her own

Your child should be practicing cutting and gluing independently

•September – January 1 letter a week

•January – June 2 letters a week

Rainy/Snowy Days

• AM students meet in the hallway outside of our classroom.

• Safety patrol will monitor students until the first bell rings at 8:45.

• The PM class will still meet outside our arrival/dismissal door because school is already in session. Try not to arrive more than 5 minutes early to avoid standing in the rain/snow.

Field Day

• Field Day – October 18th • Rain date TBD• ALL Kindergarten students,AM and PM, attend school from 8:45 – 11:30 am

Practice at home• I’ve included in your packet

activities that you could use at home for extra practice

• Some children love to do homework so feel free to use the suggestions I’ve included

• It is also a good idea to have your child practice saying/writing their full name, address, phone number and birthday.

Tadpoles to Frogs

• In the spring, we will learn about the life cycle of a frog!

• We will watch tadpoles evolve into frogs!

• I will be asking for bottled spring water donations (March/April)

Contacting me

• Email address: Abardes@cwcboe.org

• Communicating through notes in the home/school folders

Our Website :

http://www.cwcboe.org

Kindergarten Handbookhttp://www.cwcboe.org

We need volunteers for:  

• Halloween centers –

Thursday, October 31st

• Thanksgiving centers - Tuesday, November 26th

• Winter Holiday centers – Friday, December 20th

• St. Patrick’s Day centers – Monday, March 17th

• End of year party –

Monday, June 16th

We need MOMS/DADS for:  

• Mother’s Day Tea - Thursday, May 8th AM Moms come 10:45 – 11:30 amPM Moms come 2:15 – 3:00 pm

• Donuts with Dad - Friday, June 13th AM Dads come 9:00 – 9:30 amPM Dads come 2:30 – 3:00 pm

Class donations

• Treasure chest prizes • Straws, white paper plates, cotton

balls, magazines, brown lunch bags, etc. (found in handbook)

Sign up sheets

• November conference • Sibling conferences cannot be

coordinated on a Kindergarten-Only conference day

• Mystery Reader

Thank you for coming !

From "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten"

By Robert Fulghum

Share everything.

Play fair.

Don’t hit people.

Put things back where you found them.

Clean up your own mess.

Don’t take things that aren’t yours.

Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.

Wash your hands before you eat.

Flush.

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.

Live a balanced life—learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon.

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.

Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the Styrofoam cup: The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the Styrofoam cup—they all die. So do we.

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned—the biggest word of all—LOOK.