Happy Ground Hog Day To ALL!!!

Goodness NO!!!!  Someone got stuck in the hole!

                       Woodchuck Pearl is having fun!

Happy, HAPPY "G" Day!!!!

Newsletter ~ January 31

Greetings Rascal Families,

           
Stay tuned for our Ground Hog predictions! We’re going to transform into a Ground Hog and crawl through an over-sized fabric tube. At the end of the tunnel, the Rascals, Woodchuck Pearl and Ground Hog Rich will dramatize the legend of the Ground Hog. Yes! Classroom photographs of Ground Hog happenings will tell the story! Check it out on our class blog this weekend.

Remember to watch the early morning news on Saturday, February 2, and compare our graphing results with Punxsutawney Phil. We will be “all ears” as we learn about Punxsutawney Phil’s weather prediction???!!! What do you think?????

The challenge is on! Counting by 10’s to 100 has been the focus in Math. Wait until you see the way we wrote our numbers from 10 to 100 on our 100th Day vests!!! We love to show off our ‘powers of 10’ knowledge! A hard copy of the “Count by 10’s” song has been sent home. Do you love singing by 10’s to 100 while clapping and slapping? We do, too!!!!

Yes, it’s true! One Hundredth Day Celebration is Tuesday, February 12th. The kinders in the morning and afternoon classes are working together to reach a goal of collecting 100 canned goods. We can make this goal a reality if each child brings in 2-3 cans. Thus far, we have collected 35 food items….Thank YOU!

We’re moving right along in our reading series, Imagine It! Sight word assessments are proof that BIG progress has been made. Results will be sent home next week. Check out your Rascal’s score! New sight words: but, up will be introduced next week along with Decodable, Bud and Max.

Do you believe that half of the kindergarten year is behind us? Kindergarten teachers have been talking to First Grade teachers to prioritize readiness skills for Grade One. First Grade teachers ranked self- help skills as Number ONE on their lists. Encouraging the following self-help skills is an important step to prepare your child for first grade.

• Get coats on and off and hang them up
• Follow simple two-step instructions such as "take off your boots and
                  put on your sneakers"
• Go to the bathroom and wash your hands
• Blow your nose and cover your mouth when you cough
• Fasten and unfasten simple buttons, zippers and snaps
• Eat neatly and pour into a cup
• Open up a juice box and get the straw in

From this day moving forward, let’s do it!!!!

                                                                         Happy Ground Hog Day!!!!
                                                                         June A. Rich

Spotlighting the Special Child of the Week!

We are happy to inform you that the new 2013 Show & Tell approach, featuring a Special Child of the week, has been most successful.  The “Bear”y Special Child has thoroughly enjoyed having center stage for a period of time each day of the week.  Kindergarten classmates, the volunteers, Mrs. Pearl and I are mesmerized by the presentation of a poster, collection, estimation activity and Ted E. Junior’s home visit.  The highlight on Wednesday is the drawing.  The Special Child draws a name to determine who is next.  Overall, the new 2013 approach has been a very positive and educational experience for all of us!

Special Child, Andrew, proudly shares his ME Poster.
He wants to be "a normal grown-up" when he grows up."

Emma is describing her favorite part of her poster as she smiles with pride! 

Maggie is sharing fascinating facts about herself!

Nolan is a winter sports lover.  When it comes to snowboarding, he is a PRO!

Andrew chooses the Block Center as his home for his collection of cars.  The Rascals assure him we will take care of his loved cars and send all of them home on Friday.

Special Child, Nolan, shares his collection....  Rocks painted by he and his Mom.

We're on a mission to get better at estimating.

We learned that an estimation is a "smart" guess.  We know we need to have at least 19 objects (one for each Rascal) and no more than 25 objects.  Guess how many pennies Emma brought in?

These are the steps we follow to make a smart guess....We count 10 as we put them in a zip-loc bag.  Next, we compare the bag of 10 with the remaining objects in the other bag. YES! Volunteers and teachers estimate, too!  Mrs. Rich needs more practice!

Check out our estimation papers....WOW, are you impressed with our smart guesses?

Ted E. Jr. (our class Teddy bear) will spend the night at Nolan's house.  Nolan is very excited!!!!

Andrew created a journal page of a photograph of Ted E., Buddy Quintin and himself.  Andrew wrote an AWESOME sentence of his adventure with Ted E. Jr. during his overnight stay at the Bobay home.  Ted E. Jr inspires us to write, write, WRITE!!!

The highlight of the week is the drawing.  Nolan draws a name.  Mrs. Rich gives clues and the Rascals make smart guesses as to who it is.

Look! Holly is the Special Child next week!

She is very happy!

SHHHH!  Everyone is quiet during the drawing.  We are deep thinkers!  No talking, no peeking.....

The Rascals are wonderful listeners and excellent problem solvers.  They figured out who the Special Child is by listening to the many clues Mrs. Rich gave.  Ask them what clues led them to believe it is Noah.  

Newsletter ~January 24

Greetings Rascal Families,

The mid-year DIBELS assessment will be completed today.  I am predicting marked improvement in all areas.  It is obvious you’ve been working with your child behind the scenes….THANK YOU!   I’ll be sending the assessment results home as we complete them.  Praise your child for all their hard work.  Keep the results in your home file.

Next week, the kinders will be taking the NWEA (MAP) Test in Reading and Math.  What is the MAP/NWEA Assessment?  NWEA's computerized adaptive tests are called Measure of Academic Progress, or MAP.  When taking a MAP test, the difficulty of each question is based on how well a student answers all the previous questions.  As the students answer correctly, questions become more difficult.  If the student answers incorrectly, the questions become easier.  The final score is an estimate of the student's achievement level.  

To help your child feel more comfortable with the format of the test, we have worked on the NWEA Warm-Up Tutorial during our computer lab period.  Continue practicing at home by clicking on the following link: 
http://www.nwea.org/sites/www.nwea.org/files/tutorials/primary-warmup/index.html 
Sit with your child and warm up together.  Have fun!!!!

Do you believe we’re beginning Unit 6 of the Reading Series, “Imagine It”.  The theme is “Shadows”, perfect prelude to the upcoming Ground Hog event!   Next week’s letters/sounds Ff and Jj will be introduced; in addition to the sight word, for.

Ground Hog Day is fast approaching.   Dress in brown on Friday, February 1st!!!  Be ready to transform into a ground hog and crawl through an oversized plastic tube, which we will pretend is the animal’s home.  At the end of the tunnel, the children in both the AM and PM classes, (including Woodchuck Pearl and Ground Hog Rich) will dramatize the legend of the ground hog.  We will participate in a graphing activity to predict the legend of the ground hog.   Watch the early morning news on Saturday, February 2, and compare our class graphing results with Punxsutawney Phil.  It’s going to be a Happy “G” Day  for  ALL!

February fun continues.  A hard copy of the calendar with dates/events to remember will be sent home!   Our 100^th Day Celebration is a milestone to go down in history!  Your child and collection of 100 things will be photographed.  A class book will be published and circulated among the Rascal Families!

Valentine cards are in the party plans.   Let’s make a mailbox at home to house all the Valentine cards.  Mailboxes can be made from empty shoe boxes (adult size), cereal or laundry boxes.  

Your child may decorate with wrapping paper, stencils, stickers, puff paint, glitter glue…the list is endless.  Remember every mailbox needs a name on it so all your Rascal friends can deliver their Valentines to you.  Bring the Valentine mailbox and cards (in a zip-loc bag) to school on ONE day only…. Thursday, February 14^th.  Traditionally, this particular day has always been a favorite.  Teachers and students are looking forward to the  SWEETEST Valentine Celebration on February 14!

                                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                     Spring Ahead or Winter Dread???

                                      June A. Rich    

Newsletter ~ January 17

Hello Rascal Families,

Lake Winnipesaukee, Alton, New Hampshire

The first 2013 sn*wstorm was a magical event!  The children are looking forward to lots of Winter Fun!  They are very excited about the sn*w.  I couldn’t resist taking pictures of the view from my home on this dazzling white sn*wday!   Let it sn*w, let it sn*w, let it sn*w!!!!

The DIBELS Assessment is scheduled for Rich’s Rascals on Thursday, January 24.  We are going to see impressive progress from the fall scores in Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) and First Sound Fluency (FSF).  You and I will be very proud of the results!  The two additional subtests administered will be Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) and Nonsense Word Fluency.  Of course, these will be much more challenging.  Test scores with a description of each subtest will be sent home at the beginning of February.

Moving right along in the “Imagine It!” Reading Series....  Next week, letter sounds Bb, Cc, Rr, Gg and Oo will be reviewed.  New sight words:  did and girl will be introduced.  Have you counted how many sight words we can read with automaticity (as quickly as we can read our name)? Let's continue to practice our sight words every night!

Recognition is in order!  The Rascals have been working hard at the Math Center on number writing.  This year, most students will reach the goal of writing numbers from 1 to 20.  They will earn membership in the 20 Club and receive a prize when they can do this independently.  Many have set goals to write numbers to 50 and some students are determined to write numbers to 100+.  Of course, membership in the 50 and 100 Club award prizes, too.  Overall, the children are developing a good foundation of number sense and basic math skills.  You’ve been working on writing numbers at home and it shows.  Thank YOU!!!

January has always been a most productive month.  Each child comes to school ready to focus on improvement.  Yes, I’m going to take advantage of this!  Let’s concentrate on handwriting.  Today, I will be sending home a hard copy of a class list to be used for addressing cards for Valentine’s Day in February.   I am sending this to you early, so that your child may print his/her classmates’ names (perhaps 2 or 3 per sitting) on each envelope.  This is a fun way to practice handwriting!  Plans for a Valentine Friendship Party is on Thursday, February 14.

Speaking of names, have you noticed the focus has been on last names?  First names have been replaced with last names on our attendance graph and choice board.  Writing last names on our daily papers is the most current practice.  The goal is to write our last names without a model.  Using lower case letters and placing letters on the appropriate lines is a challenge for many of us! 

As you know, there are many animal fans in our class.  No wonder everyone is counting the days ‘til Ground Hog Celebration Day, Friday, February 1.  We are going to transform into ground hogs; crawl through a tubular tunnel and dramatize the legend of the ground hog.  (YES! Woodchuck Pearl and Ground Hog Rich will “squeeze” through, too!)  We will participate in a graphing activity to predict the legend of the ground hog in Hooksett, NH.  What do you think…spring ahead or winter dread?

February is fast approaching!  Do you believe our 100^th Day of school is Tuesday, February 12 (barring any more snow days)?  Of course, another celebration is in the plans!  Children are encouraged to collect 100 things and organize them into piles of 10 identical objects.  Place them in a zip-loc bag.  Your child may count and collect stickers, pennies, cheerios, legos or 100 of anything that will fit into a zip-loc bag.  Collections will be shared in our classroom among Rich’s Rascals.  All 100- thing collections are due into school on 100^th Day;  Tuesday, February 12.  Collections will be sent home the day of our 100^th Day Celebration!  

We‘re also working on a 100^th Day Community Project with our kind  kinder friends in the kindergarten classrooms of Mrs. Lynch and Ms. Poisson.  Each class will be setting a goal to bring in 100 cans of edibles to donate to the Hooksett Food Bank.  You may send your food donation in today.  Thanks so much!  The count is on!!!!

Remember, there is NO school on Monday, January 21, Martin Luther King Day.  Enjoy the 3 day weekend!

                                            83 School Days Already!!!

                                                                            June A. Rich                             

Newsletter ~ January 10

January Greetings, Rascal Families!

Beautiful beginnings for our first 5-day week in 2013. Volunteer Tanguay (Blake's Nana-pm) and Blake gave us a New Year class gift.... Pete the Cat puppet and a book entitled, Going to the Sea Park, by Mercer Mayer.  Of course, we'll add the puppet to our class Book Nook Library

and the book will be included in our Read at Home Program. 

 Thank you so much, Mrs. Tanguay and Blake!!!!  You know we're wild about puppets and books!

Speaking of gifts, Mrs. Pearl and I got so many we needed a truck to transport them home. We feel LOVED by all of YOU! We spent 2013 days writing and sending thank-you notes to let you know how grateful we are for your generous presents and amazing children. We believe we're the luckiest teachers in the entire school! Some gifts had no names attached to them....perhaps they fell off. We enjoy writing personal notes to our students and know the Rascals love receiving them. If you did not get a thank-you, please send us a note to let us know. Merci!

Winter progress is happening this time of year.  Kinders interest in learning to read is at its peak!  You know it when you listen to them read the kindergarten decodables.  They are easy for some, just right for others and TOO hard for many.  These readers are sent home weekly.  Keep them at home and read repeatedly.   Cal Can Bat will be sent home on Friday.  

New sight words for next week are him and on.  We are going to focus on letter sounds; /o/, /r/ and /g/.  It will be a busy week, indeed!

The testing season has begun.....The Sight Word Assessment has been completed and sent home.  All of Rich’s Rascals are scheduled to take the “Imagine It! Benchmark on Wednesday, January 16^th..  There will be a substitute teacher in my classroom while I administer the Benchmark.  Your child will be tested in all the skills taught in the Imagine It! Reading Series thus far.   Some of the skills assessed will be in the following areas:  reading comprehension, letter recognition, letter sounds, generating rhyming words, reading sight words, sounding out words, segmenting and blending words, punctuation marks and knowing where to use capital letters in sentences.  These results will give me a profile of what your child knows and specific skills that need to be reinforced.  Be sure your child gets plenty of sleep!

Addition has been introduced and practiced at the Sensory Table this week.  Ask us about the + symbol.  We’ve modeled and solved addition number stories using play food.  

                   
                    We recognize “joining” sets as addition. 

                                Addition is our game!

 It’s fun to make up addition stories with a partner during workshop!  

Common Core Standard:   The children will know addition facts to 5 by memory.  This is challenging for kindergartners.  We will continue learning our math facts to 5 from now until the end of the year.  Thank you for reinforcing this at home, too.

We are happy to inform you that the new 2013 Show & Tell approach, featuring a Special Child of the week, will begin on Monday.  The “Bear”y Special Child will have center stage for a period of time each day of the week.  Kindergarten classmates, the teacher, the assistant and the volunteers are looking forward to the presentation of a poster, collection, estimation activity and Ted E. Junior’s home visit.  The highlight on Wednesday is the drawing.  The Special Child draws a name to determine who will be the special child the next week.  Overall, the new 2013 approach will be a very positive and educational experience for all of us.

Our class Teddy Bear, Ted E. Junior, has inspired us to learn more about Teddy history.  

Ask us who Teddy was named after.  Be ready to hear all about the famous bear hunt.  You might be surprised! 

Please note and mark Thursday as the recess day on your calendar for winter 2013.  During the cold, snowy  weather days, we will be going out to recess on Thursdays only.  There are NO specials on that day, therefore we will have time to dress in our “extra” outer clothing and play outdoors.  Every Thursday, your child will need to dress in winter coats, hats, mittens, snow boots and pants. 

It is best to pack all of this winter gear in a recyclable cloth bag. 

 If your child wears snow boots to school, please remember to send slippers (with soles) or shoes/sneakers to change into.  

Stocking/knit slippers are not allowed for safety reasons.  Our class is much too hot to stay in snow boots all session.  I hope this is helpful for planning your child’s winter clothing needs for each day throughout the snowy season.

IMPORTANT DATES….Get a pen and mark your calendar.  There is NO school on Monday, January 21, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.  

February vacation will be Monday, February 25 throughout Friday, March 1.   

                         Happy  January Weekend! 

                         June A. Rich

The Rascals Highlight of the New Year was working with Cawley students.... We can count by 10's !!!!!!!

Newsletter ~ January 5, 2013

Ring in the New Year, Rascal Families!

Great beginnings for the first week of school in the year 2013!  The children have entered the classroom and prepared for class with much less adult assistance.  Removing outer garments, passing in papers and notes are just a few of the tasks your child needs to perform independently.   Dressing in extra layers and packing school bags to go home have always been the biggest challenges (for teacher and student).  Have you noticed that we've been ready for dismissal a little earlier than the '12 days?  Your child deserves all the credit for this monumental accomplishment!!!

Mrs. Pearl and I greeted your child on Wednesday by calling them by their last name.  Of course, all the name tags and labels are displayed on the last name side.  The Rascals are asked to write their last name on all papers. 

Yes, they are encouraged to copy their name tag until they know all the letters in their last name by memory.  I am proud to say that each and every Rascal is on a ‘know your last name mission’! 

We have eased back into our routines with challenging reading and math activities.  Yes, we are most ready!!!  Next week we’ll be moving forward with letters/sounds Bb and Cc.  Sight words can and his are in the plans.   New Year Math Goals will focus on addition and subtraction concepts.

Moving right along….We are on Unit 5 in the Imagine It! Program.  The big idea in this unit is, “What does it take to reach a goal?”  The Rascals responded to this question by sharing personal experiences about sticking to a goal.  During Art Workshop, they used water colors to paint themselves sticking to something they want to get better at for the New Year, 2013.  

All paintings will be displayed on our concept bulletin board entitled “Stick To It”.  It is in the making….perfect for the New Year, don’t you think?????  Take a peek…..

Journal writing is a priority in the year 2013.  Since the beginning of school, the children have enjoyed making class books. They are very proud of having individual journals and showing off their Literacy Talents.  Each child draws and then writes a story about his/her illustration.  He/She spells words the way they sound; and not necessarily the way adults would spell them.  This method of recording is called "smartie spelling"; and helps build a good phonetic foundation. The children are enthusiastic about illustrating, writing and reading their very own journals!

Reading/Writing readiness is most evident in each child’s journal and daily writing assignments.  Many of us are hearing beginning and ending consonant sounds.  Others can hear middle sounds, too.  Several of us are hearing vowel sounds and writing words.   Some of us are ready to write sentences!  The whole reading process is fascinating and most rewarding to observe.  The sentence dictation papers sent home on Friday will give you an indication of the sounds your child is hearing.

The work planned for the rest of the year will vary among the students in our class, but each child will be challenged to his/ her level of reading and writing readiness. 

Assessments have been ongoing and every student has made progress since the 2012 days.  Kindergarten days at Underhill have been marked with much growth and many accomplishments.  This week your child will be assessed on the twenty sight words introduced thus far in Chapters 1-4 in the ‘Imagine It!’  Reading Series.  Also, the DIBELS Assessment will be administered by the Reading Team during the week of January 22^nd.  Results of both the Sight Word and DIBELS Assessments will be sent home for your review.

    

‘Tis the New Year for positive happenings!  There’s been an updated addition to the holiday elf bulletin board display in the hall and classroom.  We’ve embellished your child’s kindergarten elf with hats, noisemakers, streamers and balloons.  

Students, parents, teachers and volunteers have been caught loitering in the elf area with ear- to- ear smiles.  

It sets the mood for a Luminous  New Year! 

                                                                        Celebrate 2013 !!!

June A. Rich

            

"POP" into the New Year... just click the link below!

http://www.123greetings.com/send/view/01401013505139439336