November 12, 2009

Ray’s Ramblings
November 12, 2009

Dear Parents,

I need your help! It is time to begin watching the weather on a daily basis. We will make every effort to go outside every day (as long as the temperature is above 32 degrees!) When the weather is below 60 degrees, please make sure your child has a jacket!!! I would rather they HAVE a coat and NOT NEED it than NEED it and NOT HAVE it! When your child is NOT wearing their coat, they are instructed to put it IN their backpack. This helps make sure they do not leave their coats at school if it warms up during the day! We have quite a few backpacks that are NOT large enough to hold their coat. Please make every effort to purchase a backpack that is large enough to hold their winter coat AND their take-home folder. (This was the description that was on the beginning of the year supply list! Now is when that description becomes evident!) When your child comes into school, they are instructed to take off their coats and put them in their backpacks. If they have their coat on all morning, it will do them no good when we go outside. Please help them understand this. Our room is warm and coats are not needed inside. ALSO, Please make sure all coats, jackets, sweaters have your child’s name printed in permanent marker. This will help identify lost clothing!

NEW THIS WEEK: Every child should have a yellow tag attached to their backpack. Please make sure this tag remains on their backpack. In case of inclement weather and buses need to unload one bus at a time at the front door, children will be sorted by these tags and brought to their ‘home’ hall. (We live on the YELLOW hall.)

FAMILY PROJECT #2 IS GOING HOME TODAY!!! Please read the instructions carefully, have fun and return the turkeys to school by Monday, November 23!

Mrs. Ray’s Wise Tribe – In the glass case outside our door, we have put up incentive charts. Each child has a wise man or wise woman with their name on it. As they achieve academic goals in the classroom, they will receive stickers to place on their ‘person’. These goals reflect the expectations on the second report card. As you visit our hall, take a look at your child’s card to see how they are doing. If at anytime, they are ready for a challenge, they can tell me and I will recheck! This nine weeks we are working on:
• Counting to 20
• Writing numbers to 20
• Counting 20 items (1 to 1 correspondence)
• Writing first name correctly (initial capital, rest lowercase and each letter formed correctly - see handwriting guide in parent handbook!)
• Counting by 10 to 100
• Names all 26 capital letters
• Names all 26 lowercase letters
Third nine week skills: counting by 5 to 100, names coins, knows value of coins, knows addition facts to 10, knows 31 sounds (includes long vowels), correctly prints last name, identifies 18 sight word (1/2 of the total popcorn words) challenge:: counts to 50, writes numbers to 50, reads CVC words,
Fourth nine week skills: count by 2 to 20, tells time to hour and half hour, knows subtraction facts to 10, identifies 36 sight words (popcorn words) – challenge: count to 100, write numbers to 100, knows additional 1st grade vocabulary.
I am working on individual challenges for those students who have already mastered these skills! More to come, soon! For now, we are working to assess the basic goals for all 46 children!

FOOD DRIVE – don’t forget the Thanksgiving Food Drive. There is a collection box in the hall outside our room for any non perishable foods you can send!

ARRIVAL/DISMISSAL PROCEDURES: Please read Mrs. Sampson’s purple note carefully. Please do not bring your child to the room before 8:00 or 11:55. If you pick your child up, please wait IN THE CAFETERIA!!! Not in the hall outside the cafeteria or in the front hall. I have been instructed NOT to release your child to you at any other place! This is for your child’s safety!
FAMILY FEAST DAY – Thanksgiving week, we will only come to school on Monday and Tuesday. On Monday, we will be preparing for our feast on Tuesday. I will let each child decide whether they want to dress as a Native American or as a Pilgrim. (guess which is the favorite ) To help with this, I would like each child to send in either a solid color pillow case OR a solid color oversized t-shirt that we can cut and decorate. We will be making buckskin shirts, or dresses. THEY WILL BE CUT AND COLORED WITH PERMANENT MARKERS!! (If you wish to purchase a package of child size L or XL solid white t-shirts to share with other children, this would be appreciated! I would like to decorate a class field trip t-shirt after Christmas! Please do not send smaller sizes! After dying the shirts, they shrink!)
I am asking Mrs. Bolton (AM) and Mrs. Berryman (PM) to help me coordinate items for the feast. We will try to have ‘authentic snacks’ for our meal. We need beef jerky or slim jims, sunflower kernals (no shells), peanuts, pumpkin bread or banana nut bread, craisins, raisins, misc. fruit tray, vegetable tray, cheese tray, dips, apple juice boxes, plates and napkins. In the past, I have had parents volunteer to smoke turkey to send or prepare homemade jerky or dried fruits. If this is something you do (or want to cook something special for the class), let me know. Otherwise, I will have these mom’s call and fulfill the items on the list. They will be calling parents who gave permission to be on a phone list at the beginning of the year. If you did NOT give permission, you will NOT be called.
Our Feast will be at 9:30 – 10:30 and 1:30 – 2:30 on Tuesday the 24th. The children will go to ART at 10:30 and 2:30. (Parents are welcome to help clean up the room while the children are at ART! )
Upcoming Dates to remember:
Friday, 11-20 – pillow cases or t-shirts due for decoration.
Monday – 11-22 Family Turkey Project is due
Tuesday – 11-23 Family Feast 9:30/1:30
December 17 – Kindergarten Music Celebration (evening performance – set the date!)
December 18 – Last day before Christmas Break (we will be wearing pajamas that day, enjoying hot chocolate and cookies and celebrating!)
Heads up – For Christmas, I ask each child to bring in a treat for each child in the classroom! They are to bring in of the same item (AM-24, PM- 22 unless our numbers change). I am giving you advance notice to be thinking about this. In the past, I have had children bring in 24 holiday pencils, 24 homemade craft items, 24 christmas necklaces, 24 ring pops, 24 goodie bags, 24 christmas ornaments, 24 coloring books, 24 crayon boxes, 24 christmas candy bars, etc. These are just suggestions! Every year I am very surprised at the creative thought of my parents! Each child will be asked to bring in a large Christmas Shopping bag to collect their treats. The children will ‘pass out their treats to everyone in the class! Every child will receive the same goody bag full of treats and everyone is happy!