It's February

Hi all! Happy February! It was great to get to talk to many of you at conferences on Wednesday and I am looking forward to seeing more of you next week. Reminder: there is a PTO meeting on Tuesday.

We are really emphasizing smooth blending words and identifying the last sounds in words. The students are improving at these skills, but additional practice at home would be helpful as well. Also, be sure to practice your Read Well books as often as possible. This will help your child improve their fluency to earn strong passes on their unit tests.

In math, we are focusing on teen numbers and counting by ones to 100. Soon we will dive into addition! I can't wait. The students' math skills are so strong, I know that they will enjoy addition.

Thanks to all of you who sent in donations for the Valentine's Day party. The students are going to have incredible treat bags to take home!

This week was out of this world!

Yesterday all of the students in preschool, kindergarten and first grade had the opportunity to visit PNC's traveling planetarium. What a neat experience. Sesame Street characters, Big Bird and Elmo, led the students on an imagianary trip to the moon. The students learned about the stars and learned a bit about China, as well. Each student expressed how much they enjoyed the event and their cheers during the presentation displayed what a great time they had!

We are beginning to emphasize the ending sounds in words, now that we have beginning sound experts in class! This skill is a bit more difficult, but I know my munchkins will catch on quickly. In math, we are beginning to discuss teen numbers. Soon we will be writing the numbers 11-20. The students are amazing me with their counting skills. Many can count to 100, our end of the year goal!

Have a great weekend!

It's a new quarter!

Hello all! Today marks the end of the second quarter. It is incredible to me that the school year is half over. Due to the snow days, second quarter report cards will go home on Tuesday, February 1. If you have not paid your child's school fees, please do so as soon as possible. Fees are $40.00.

Due to the snow days, our next cultural arts classes will be this Thursday. Morning students' parents: please make sure your child wears sneakers for gym class.

We had our mid-year DIBELS benchmark assessments last week, and the students did a terrific job! Being a kindergarten teacher is so exciting, because I get to see such tremendous growth from the students throughout the school year. I am so proud of them for all of their hard work. Their efforts are paying off. I have no doubt that they will each bloom in first grade next year. I am looking forward to watching them achieve more great things during the second half of kindergarten.

I found some fantastic new beginning sound "centers" recently. The students are having a blast showing off their skills at identifying the beginning sounds in words. See the photo above. Learning is fun!