Getting Ready for First Grade

In order to set your children up for a smooth transition to first grade, I have planned a few events:

Homework will now be provided on Friday and due on the following Friday.

We will have lunch in the cafeteria on Friday, June 12th at 10:40 AM. The cost is $2.50. Send it in an envelope with your child’s name on it. Please read over the green information page that was sent home last week and help your child plan their meal choices in advance. (It was also emailed to you.) Our time in the MP room is very limited.

We will visit a first grade classroom and bathroom in June. We will also use the big playground structure and practice the rules. If you would like to join us, please respond to this post.

Don’t forget that our promotion ceremony will be on Thursday, June 25th from 9:00 – 10:00 AM.

Memory Books

Thanks in major part to Mrs. Engel-Larot (Anika’s Mom) there will be a lovely Kindergarten Memory book for every student at the end of the school year. A few families have not yet provided a donation ($7.00) to cover the cost of materials. I have not sent a reminder in quite a while. Please send your donations this week.

We are in need of a parent who can take a special photo of each student to include in the Memory Books. I have the props and camera, I just need a helper. Let me know if it will be you!

Thank You!

Last Friday was made extra special when Mr. Gonzalez (Samiyah’s Dad) spent the morning with us. Everyone in our class had an absolutely wonderful opportunity for easel painting because of his willingness to get a bit messy with us. The paintings are hanging on the wall for all to enjoy. Painting at the easel is much more than a chance to smear some colors around. There are many important developmental skills at work for young learners. We would dearly LOVE to do it again, but who will volunteer to help? Please respond!easel

Classroom Happenings

myplate
I’m sure you have noticed that we are digging deep into nutrition and food choices. MyPlate.gov has many resources to use in class and at home. The students are better able to categorize food in the five main groups. They all need more practice because some of the food is tricky. Is corn a grain or vegetable? If all fruit has seeds, why are tomatoes and peppers called vegetables? Are donuts in the grain group? Every day we come up with new questions that need researching for answers.
We are also learning how important it is to eat breakfast. Some students are missing out on breakfast. If you are running late in the morning, send an extra snack and I will give your child a few minutes to eat at the beginning of the day. It’s that important!
Look for the healthy activity pages in your child’s backpack. The first one is to keep track of breakfast for the next week. There will be a Star Comet Coupon for the students who come back on Tuesday wearing their Breakfast Badge from the first activity page.

Mark Your Calendars!

calendar
Get ready for a busy sprint to the finish line!
Wed. May 20th Dinner Night Out at Cold Stone Creamery
Mon. May 25th Memorial Day, No School
Thur. May 28th Homework and folders due
Fri. May 29th Minimum Day, All Kinder students come early
Thurs. June 11th Open House 6:00 – 7:30 PM
Tues. June 23rd Field Trip to Laguna Party Palace
Thurs. June 25th B-Track Kinder Promotion 9:00 – 10:00 AM
Fri. June 26th Last Day of Kindergarten
Tues. July 14th First Day of First Grade

Book Fair

bookfairMiss June is still in need of some parent volunteers to help with the Book Fair next week. Contact her if you are able to help. Even a half-hour at dismissal time would be greatly appreciated. Call the school office at 714-0106 or email Miss June directly: skasemch@egusd.net

Our turn to view the Book Fair and purchase items will be on Tuesday from 10:30 – 11:00 AM. It would be wonderful to have some extra help at that time. If your child will be buying a book, remember to add 8% sales tax to purchase total.

Raffle Basket

baby Thank you to those of you who have generously donated some baby items for our raffle basket. Here’s what we have so far: 1 case+ of diapers, 1 case+ of wipes, 1 lotion, 1 body wash, 1 handmade quilt, 1 crotchet blanket, 1 bamboo receiving blanket, 3 pairs baby shoes, 1 small photo album, 2 teddy bears, t-shirt, 3 sippy cups, 2 board books, 3 books for mom, 1 bib, 1 swim diaper, 1 scented dream pillow. What we need: gift cards, baby book, baby monitor/sound machine, baby carrier, bibs/burp cloths, digital thermometer, onesies/sleepers, baby toy, baby towels and a bathtub. Items need to be turned in by Tuesday, May 12th. Thank you helping to make our raffle basket a real winner!

The Butterflies Have Returned!

april camera 176 We couldn’t believe it! We received a package from journeynorth.org that was filled with butterflies that had migrated to Mexico and back to the US. The large butterfly came from Ms. Lange and Ms. Wertheim’s class in Asheville, North Carolina. The small butterflies came from many different states: Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. Two butterflies came directly from Coahuila, Mexico! We also received a letter from one of the students who lives near the butterfly sanctuary in Mexico. We are looking for someone who can read the letter to us because it is written in Spanish. Can you help?

We are researching where each of these butterflies came from. We are also adding information to the journeynorth.org website so students can find out where their butterflies landed. Hopefully, the classes that got our butterflies will post online, too. Then we can discover where they ended up. This project has made looking at a map more fun than usual for us.