October 13-17
October 13-17
Week In Review:
On Monday, Impulsive Puppy wanted us to sing a song about feelings. The class has asked me to make a copy for all of you at home! I will attach the song to this newsletter. We have learned some of the words in sign language.
On Tuesday, your children looked like they were in the first grade during “handwriting.” We practiced writing the lowercase D’Nealian “a” on the large white board and then we sat at our tables to work in our “turtle handwriting” workbooks (we have rainbow turtles on the cover). The children produced quality work for their first time writing a letter as a class. Mrs. B. and I were very impressed! Thanks to your holiday stickers we were able to make their “a” pages sparkle with candied corn and pumpkin stickers. Thank you.
On Wednesday, our 8th grade buddies gave us a tour of the SJF church before Mass. I was able to ask the class about some of their favorite things about the tour. Some of the responses were: walking on the stage, walking by the altar, seeing where Father Forbes and the altar servers put on their robes, seeing inside the confessionals, seeing the tabernacle, and holding the cross. Mrs. B and I were grateful to our 8th grade buddies for showing reverence and knowledge of the church to your children. They were a joy to watch!
This Week:
Center Time: Mrs. B. – Writing Numbers, Mrs. McGinty – Small Reading Groups, Computers and Shelf Work
Math: Sequencing and Seed Stories! We will work on putting pictures in order so we can tell a story about a pumpkin seed sprouting into a beautiful orange pumpkin.
Religion: God created light
Second Step: Feelings
Science: Pumpkins and Skeletons – Oh My!
Social Studies: Workers on the farm!
Writing: Weekend News, D’Nealian letters D and d, and D words
Reminders:
Field Trip: October 24th! We are going to the pumpkin patch! Delores has more information coming to you via your child’s folder! We are so excited!
Posted by: Robbie McGinty on Oct 10, 08 | 3:07 pm
October 6-9
Week In Review:
On Thursday it felt like our class had finally become “one!” We were doing the morning calendar and students were raising their hands and taking turns. During “Center Time” the students went to their station in the room and they worked quietly by themselves or with a friend. We ate snack with such manners that Mrs. McGinty let us watch a little bit of “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.” Mrs. McGinty says that: “when we are good, good things happen!” We went to Music and Library with respectful noise in the hallways and we ended the day by working in our Science workbooks! What a great class. We are lucky to teach your children.
We picked up trash around our school on Wednesday with our 8th grade buddies. We learned that it is important to take care of our environment! We love being with our buddies. Some kindergarten students said that they want to pick up trash again with their 8th grade buddies.
This Week:
Center Time: Mrs. B. – Writing Numbers, Mrs. McGinty – Small Reading Groups, Computers and Shelf Work
Math: Patterns (I will ask the students to look at a pattern and create a different pattern with a different colors and/or a shape. For example if the pattern is: red flower, orange dot, red flower, orange dot then they could make a different pattern below it like purple balloon, yellow circle, purple balloon, yellow circle. This is called an “ABAB” pattern. An “ABCABC” pattern uses 3 items. Tricky!)
Religion: Genesis. God created light!
Second Step: Emotions. We can tell how a person is feeling by looking at their faces and their bodies.
Science: Living and Non-Living Things
Social Studies: Working Together. Saying “I messages.” - I feel mad when you __________ (hit me).
Writing: The letters A and a, Weekend News, “A” words
Reminders:
Friday, October 3: Free Dress. We look forward to seeing your darling children’s’ outfits! Thank you for reviewing the SJF dress code.
Friday, October 3: Health Day!
October 10th: NO SCHOOL – Accreditation Workshop. I will use this time to get ready for our special guests at the end of the month for the Accreditation Visit.
GERMS! We are teaching the children to cough in the inside of their elbows. We say: “cough in your beak.” When they put their elbow up to their mouth it looks like they have a bird beak. We are also teaching the children to keep fingers out of their nose, eyes and mouths! We want to stay healthy! Thank you for teaching your children how to stay healthy at home too!
Parent Helpers: If you would like to help in the classroom I would like to ask you when you would like to come in! I will have a form for you to fill out next week.
Posted by: Robbie McGinty on Oct 02, 08 | 3:28 pm
September 29-October 3
Week In Review:
In Second Step the children met “Impulsive Puppy.” He came out barking and licking Mrs. McGinty. The class had to teach him to sit and be quiet in class. We said that our eyes were watching, our ears were listening, our mouths were off and our bodies were still. Impulsive Puppy calmed down at the end of our lesson. We can’t wait to see him again next week!
In Science the class was able to make a poster about “Living and Non-living” things. They each chose a cut out picture from a magazine and we voted if it was living or not living. The students were able to come up with some pretty clever clues. We decided that if it grows and it changes it is living. We also discussed living things like food and air (or oxygen). The students then put their picture on the correct part of the poster.
The students practiced a Lockdown in the classroom and in the gym. A lockdown is when we get a message from Mrs. Vancil and Mrs. Holub about a troubling situation or a stranger on campus. The teachers lock their doors, turn off the lights and close their blinds. The children are instructed to hide quietly in the classrooms with their teachers. We all remain quiet until we hear another announcement from the office that the lockdown is over.
I was able to tell your children that the reason it is dark and quiet in the classroom is because we want our school to look closed. I asked the class what their moms and dads did if they drove up to a grocery store and they saw that it looked closed. The students said that their parents would drive away. I said that is exactly what we want to happen with our school. We want our school to look closed so the stranger or the situation will go away! These students are learning all about safety in the month of September!
This Week:
Center Time: Computers, Writing Numbers, and Shelf Work
Math: Sorting by kind (attributes) For example we could sort tennis shoes by their color, if they have laces and if they have Velcro.
Religion: God Gives Us Many Gifts, God Made All Things
Science: Living and Non-living things
Social Studies: Working Together, School Rules
Writing: Pre-writing skills (Staying in the lines, holding our pencil with T-Rex fingers, sitting with straight backs) We did not do the letter “A” last week because we are still working on pre-writing skills.
Reminders:
Halloween Costumes! Yes. We know your children are already thinking about them! St John Fisher School likes to keep this holiday safe and happy for every student and teacher. For this reason we celebrate Halloween with appropriate costumes. We wanted to let you know the guidelines before our imaginations ran free!
• No masks
• No weapons
• No fake blood
• No “cross dressing” (boys dressing as girls/girls dressing as boys)
* YES! – Please wear a costume that will allow your child to function during the school day. (For example, your child will still go to P.E., recess, lunch, etc.) Your child may also bring a change of clothes or they can put regular clothes on under their costume. PLEASE WEAR TENNIS SHOES! Thank you!
Free Dress Code: Your children can wear free dress every “First Friday of the Month.” We wanted to remind you to visit page 16 in the Student/Parent Handbook for “free dress” days. Please let us know if you need a new book.
Coats! Thank you for dressing your children warmly for the crisp fall days. We go outside every day and sometimes it is a little chilly!
Posted by: Robbie McGinty on Sep 29, 08 | 8:24 am
