Welcome to a New Year!!!

Ray’s Ramblings
August 14, 2009

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Kindergarten! We have had a very good beginning to what I know will be a fantastic year! I hope your children are coming home and telling you all about our day!

Ray’s Ramblings is my weekly newsletter. I will send it home every Thursday. I will also try to hold any important papers to send home on Thursday so you know that will be the day for important things! This week (due to phase-in) I have waited to send the letter home on Friday. In the future, look for my letter on Thursdays.

Many of you have asked about the internet/acceptable use policy form I indicated in my handbook. This form will be coming at a later date. It is being revised.

So far, we have practiced our daily routine. Please talk with your child about this and make sure they know it. When they come in, they are to go directly to their cubby, unzip their backpack and take out their Take-Home Folder. The folders are placed in the wire basket outside my door. Then they are to find their name on the sign-in chart and place it in the can. Then they come into the room and sit on the carpet. Please remember to put any important papers, notes, lunch money IN THE Take Home folder.

We are also learning the Five Steps to Success. These are our classroom rules. We have learned a song that teaches these steps. It is sung to the tune of “The More we Get Together”.

What are the five steps, five steps, five steps?
What are the five steps, five steps to success?
1. Safe hands and safe feet
2. Try your best
3. Express yourself
4. Play nice with others
5. Stop and think!

Next week, we will be having hearing screenings and beginning of the year Early Literacy Testing. We will continue to learn the classroom routine and meet our specials teachers. We will have Music (Mrs. Dolive) on Monday and Art (Mrs. Gilpin) on Tuesday. We have already met Mrs. Rhodes, our gym teacher.
We will be working next week on writing and recognizing our names, assessing pencil grips, cutting and gluing. We will be going over our colors and learning some color words. We will be practicing counting and recognizing numbers to 10. Please be practicing these skills at home.
If your child cannot write his name, please put this skill at the top of your homework list! We write our name on every paper we do! We will begin homework packets in September. It is important that you have a “school box” of supplies on hand at home for your child to use for homework. They will need pencils, scissors, glue sticks and crayons. It is very important that you practice the skills we are learning at home.



My classroom is a very diverse group of students of varying abilities. I have some children who are already reading and some children who are just beginning to learn their ABCs and some who are in varying stages between. I will be introducing the letters in whole group and introducing the “Phonics Song”. After Labor Day we will begin our ELF Groups (Early Literacy Families or reading groups) and will be individualizing for each child’s level. If your child already knows their letters, just consider this a review time for them. ALL children should be practicing writing their name using an initial capital letter and the rest in lowercase.


If you have not already done so, please send in all the paperwork by Monday. I will be sending home checklists next week to let you know what forms you are missing.




Next week: I will be sending August book orders.

Remember, your child is required to bring their backpack and their Take-Home folder EVERYDAY! This is a MUST!!! If you have any questions, please send a note in your child’s folder. You are also welcome to e-mail me at: cjlray@gmail.com

I am e-mailing my newsletter to parents who have given me their e-mail AND I am posting the newsletter on my classroom blog at: : http://www.clray.blogspot.com/




If you were unable to attend Open House, you will need to sign-up for one of the three remaining sessions of Parent Orientation that will be held on Thursday, September 10. There are three remaining sessions for you to choose from: 4:30 to 5:00, 5:15 to 5:45, 6:00 to 6:30. The 6:45 to 7:15 session has already been filled. Please cut the following form off and send it back to me! It is very important for every parent to attend this orientation. I will be demonstrating correct handwriting procedures, going over expectation for homework and the kindergarten curriculum. I will explain our day, what we do and why we do it! This night is for PARENTS! If at all possible, please make arrangements not to bring children.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Child’s Name: ______________________________

Parent’s name(s) ____________________________

I prefer to attend the following session:

____ 4:30 to 5:00
____ 5:15 to 5:45
____ 6:00 to 6:30

100th Day Collections

Spring Break

Wow! Where have I been?? I can't believe how fast this year is passing! Spring Break is over! We will begin our final countdown on Monday! We have a lot to do in the time that is left.

I want to post this slideshow. It is of the 100th day project. Enjoy!!

February 26, 2009

Next week is “I Love to Read” week. I am planning lots of fun activities based on our favorite Dr. Seuss books!!

Today I am sending home the printout report of the mid year PAS Predictive Assessment Series) test that was recently given to your child. Below are some examples of what each skill assesses:


Consonant ¬ ³House, which of the following begins with the same sound as house? Pencil, kite, or hear²

Vowel ¬ ³Find the picture that has the sound /e/ as in see. bend, van, peach.²
Phoneme ¬ ³Find the picture of the word that rhymes with lake: fountain, car, bake.²
Letters ¬ ³Find the lowercase letter, F V g²
Syllable ¬ ³Find the word bad: sit, bag, bad²
Vocabulary ¬ ³Find the picture that shows the sock under the bed.²
L: Main Idea ¬ ³What is this story about?²
L: Story Elements ¬ ³In this story, where does the family live?²
L: Strategy ¬ ³The writer wanted us to learn ________________ from this
story.²

Spring is in the Air!!! Actually, Spring has arrived in our classroom a bit early. This is the time each year when I have to have a ‘boy – girl’ talk with the class. There is lots of giggling and talking about body parts, etc. The choice activity on the playground becomes chasing! I don’t allow chasing for the following reasons – when they try to ‘catch’, someone usually gets hurt or something gets torn. Running together is fine, as long as they don’t try to ‘catch’ someone!  Another problem right now is clothing with my little girls. We spend time each day sitting criss-cross on the carpet. It seems that our pants styles are not meeting the end of the shirt. Things are being exposed that should NOT be!!! The little boys are having a hard time not noticing this. I am having to call down someone daily for pointing out or giggling at a little girl’s ‘gap’ between the bottom of her shirt and the top of her pants. Check at home to see if, when seated on the floor, if their shirts cover ALL skin!!!

March 18th – OUR NEXT ½ DAY: This time AM students do NOT come to school but PM comes as usual.

SKIP COUNTING GUIDE: I am having a number of parents asking for tips on counting by 2’s. See if this helps – this is how I demonstrate at school!

The children need to count by 2's to 20 - but quickly. They cannot obviously be counting the odd numbers in their head. Have them practice this:
2
4
6
8
0

Write these numbers like this (vertical). Have them say 2-4-6-8-10 over and over quickly til they have that memorized. When they gets to the zero that’s 10, they holds up one finger (for 1 ten). We repeat this at school: (like a cheer)
2-4-6-8-10
Now go back and say it again!
Have them say this until they have the pattern down, then go on to 20!
Then show them how if they just put a 1 in front of each number is makes 12-14-16-18-then the zero becomes the next 10 . . . 20! (Pop up the second finger for 20). Then they can do the 20's - (which will be easy - 22, 24 26 28, then bingo - third finger is . . . 30). Then do 30's. They only have to count by 2's to 20 but if they can truly get to 20 and understand the pattern, they can go all the way to 100! If they lose their place in the tens, when they pop up the next number, count their fingers by 10!
MONEY: Here are the rhymes I am teaching to help the children learn the money names and values. Please be practicing at home!
Penny, penny, easily spent -- Coppery brown and worth 1 cent!
Nickel, nickel, thick and fat -- You’re worth 5 cents, I know that!
Dime, dime, little and thin -- I remember, you’re worth ten!
Quarter quarter, big and bold -- You’re worth 25 cents I’m told!


HOME VISTS/Conferences – By the end of this week, I will have met with parents of each child at LEAST one time. At this point, I will only schedule conferences if needed or if requested. If you would like to meet with me, just send me a note to school in your child’s folder or send an e-mail! cjlray@gmail.com
PARENT VOLUNTEERS: We are experiencing technical difficulties with our volunteers. Things beyond our control have caused some parents to either have to change their schedules or not be as consistent with volunteering in the classroom. I totally understand that things come up. I appreciate all the wonderful help that I receive. I depend on my parent volunteers to check homework daily and maintain the independent book check-out system. If I do not have volunteers, the books will not go home and the homework may not be checked.
Currently in AM, I have regular volunteers on Mon. Tue. and Wednesday. I have no one on Thursday or Friday for the time being.
In PM, I have moms on Tuesday, and Thursday. I have floating moms that may come on Monday or Wednesday.
If anyone is able to fill in the gaps, let me know. You will need to fill out the volunteer papers and get trained.
SPRING MUSIC PROGRAM: Mrs. Dolive, our music teacher is preparing the children for our program for parents on Thursday night, March 19. Please make plans now to be here that night. Our scheduled times are 5:30 – 5:50 for AM and 6:10 – 6:30 for PM classes.

1-26-09 Update!!!

I want to make sure everyone know, WE DO HAVE SCHOOL TOMORROW, JANUARY 26 - unless it is called off due to snow.

I have mentioned before that I get our homework packet offline from kellywkindergarten.com. I usually check it carefully and adjust it for our needs. Evidently, I overlooked the fact that THEY have a conference day on the 26th. WE DO NOT!!! I didn't catch this when I ran the copies. I am sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

Remember, this week is Count Me In week. We are aiming for perfect attendance. If we have 100% attendance for 4 out of 5 days, we will earn a hot chocolate/cookie party!!! We also have special days planned to encourage attendance!

Monday is kick off day
Tuesday is BLUE and WHITE day (to support the CATS!!)
Wednesday is CRAZY SOCKS DAY ( I bought a new pair and am ready!!!)
Thursday is "Wear your hall color day". We are on the GREEN hall!!! Be looking for GREEN!
Friday, the entire Village will wear PJs to school! We are really looking forward to this!

Please make every effort to have your child at school everyday. However, if your child has to miss, be sure to send in a doctor's excuse or a handwritten parent note. This will count the day as present for the purposes of the contest!

Last week, Mrs. Areaux did a count and compared our days in school with the other elementary schools. My count was off. Officially, last Friday was our 95th day of school. If we have no snow days this week (???!!!?!?!?), our 100th day will be on Friday - along with our pajama party!!! I will still accept the 100s day projects until next Friday, February 5.

We will celebrate the 100th day on the 100th day of school (that makes sense! hahaha). So, I need the collection of 100 things to count and the 100 things to eat for our 100 mix ON the 100th day. I will attempt to keep you up to date on this. Just remember, 100th day is Friday, January 30 if we have no snow days!!! If it snows, just keep adding on days.

Is this clear as mud???

Let me know if you have any questions!!

January 22, 2009

Ray’s Ramblings
January 22, 2009

Dear Parents,

We have been enjoying our study of Inuits and the Arctic!!! Please ask your child what they have learned!

Tonight is our first Family Fun Night of 2009! I hope you all can come and have lots of Family Fun!!! Our Snowman projects are on display in the Library!!! Be sure to stop by and see them!!!!

We are off and running in 2009!!! Report cards have already gone home and we are almost finished with our mid-year testing. The mid-year math assessment is complete. By Friday, we should have completed our PAS testing! It has been a rough week but we are surviving!!! I am very proud of your children. Bubbling in circles is something we have certainly never done before!!!

I am attempting to make my last home visits/conferences. I am down to single digits. If I have not yet completed a home visit or school conference with you and have not been in touch with you, PLEASE drop me a note and I will schedule you ASAP. Once I have completed first visits on all 46 children, I will begin 2nd rounds for those who request!

COUNT ME IN WEEK – Next week is “Count Me In” week at the Village! This is the week we push for 100% attendance from all children. If we have at least 4 days of perfect attendance out of the five, we earn a hot chocolate and cookie party!!! Help us earn our party! If your child is sick and has to miss school, please bring in either a doctor’s note or a handwritten note explaining the absence and we can still count it as being present! You received a YELLOW sheet that details this day and the special activities! To encourage attendance we are having the following special activities each day:

Monday 1-26th – First day of competition
Tuesday 1-27th – Blue and White day – everyone wear UK colors!!!
Wednesday 1-28th – Crazy sock day – wear the craziest socks you can find!!!
Thursday 1-29th – Wear your hallway color – We are on the GREEN hall so try your best to wear GREEN!!!
Friday 1-30th – ENTIRE SCHOOL WILL WEAR PAJAMAS!!!

Join me in celebrating the inauguration of our new president, Barack Obama!!! What a historic day!!!





BOOK ORDERS: We had an unexpected 4 day weekend last week!!! Book orders were supposed to be ordered on Sunday but I waited to see if any orders were coming in for Friday (there were!!) So they will be a bit late. Should be in next week!


REACH FOR THE STARS!!! If you come in to school, please be sure to look at our door. Each child has a mitten on the door. They are earning stickers as their knowledge grows! We are earning stickers when we:

• Count to 20
• Write to 20
• Count by 10
• Count by 5
• Count by 2
• Know all 26 capitals
• Know all 26 lowercase
• Know all 31 sounds
• Can write first name correctly with initial capital letter
• Can write last name correctly with initial capital letter
Help us earn our stickers!!!! We are going to be working hard to correct our backwards letters, form letters correctly and try to write on LINED paper. I have had a few questions about what I mean by lined paper. I mean top line is solid, midline is dotted, bottom line is solid. This is NOT regular notebook paper. You can find nice pads of handwriting paper at Wal-Mart!!!

I am sending another copy of correct formation of letters. Please use this when practicing handwriting. ALL LETTERS START AT TOP AND COME DOWN!!!

1-9-09

Ray’s Ramblings
January 8, 2009

Happy New Year!!! We are officially half way through kindergarten and on the way to first grade!!! Hopefully, your children are telling you about our transitions. Before Christmas, the children began being dismissed by their drivers at the bus and they are walking on their own into the building and to the classroom! That was our first transition! This week, we began going through the lunch line on Tuesdays. We will do this (like first graders) for the rest of the year (on Tuesdays). In about a month, we will begin punching in our cafeteria account numbers at the end of the lunch line. I will be sending these numbers home soon. You will need to work with your child to help them learn their 4 digit number. This number will stay with them through the Jessamine County school system (high school).

REPORT CARDS are going home today. Again, please look over each item very carefully. ALL I NEED BACK IS THE SIGNED YELLOW ENVELOPE! You may keep the report card and all other pages included. At this point in the year, your child should have mastered (or be very close to) ALL capitals, lowercase and sounds. They should be counting, and writing to 20. We will spend the rest of the year building vocabulary and developing our writing stages. Hopefully, all will be at a stage 5 or 6 writing by the end of the year. We will be doing much more addition and subtraction. Numbers and letters should be formed correctly. I will begin to be much more picky about this. All writing should be done with LOWER CASE letters except for the beginning of a sentence or a name. Please help your child with this at home. Spaces should be put between words. We will be focusing on lined paper and will be ‘correcting’ our mistakes. You may see papers going home to be corrected for homework.

CONFERENCES/HOME VISITS: I have almost had a chance to meet with all 45 families!!! I believe there are only 6 left for me to have 100%!!! I am sending home request forms for my remaining students. Please indicate whether you prefer a school conference or a home visit. Send these back and I will contact you to schedule a time. Anyone who would like to schedule a conference to discuss the report cards or any other concerns, please just send me a note! I would be happy to meet with anyone. Remember, my planning times are on Monday, Thursday and Friday at either 10:30 or 2:30.

JANUARY BOOK ORDERS: Are going home today. Please have them turned back in by next Friday, January 16 (or complete online ordering by Sunday, the 18th.)

TESTING: For the next two weeks, we will be testing. We will, once again, have a team of teachers giving the DIBELS test. We will also be taking a PAS test. Both of these tests will measure their achievement for mid-year. They will be given again at the end of the year. Because of testing, individual check out books will NOT go home until testing is over (last week in January). I WILL still need my parent volunteers to assist with testing. I now have openings both AM and PM on Wednesday for a volunteer. If you are interested, please let me know.

SNOWMAN PROJECT: The snowman projects that were sent home on December 19 are due tomorrow – January 9. These projects are being displayed in the library. You will need to make a point to go and see them if you are in the building! What we have so far are FANTASTIC!!! All children who have returned this project will get an extra prize from the treasure box on Friday!!!

UPCOMING DATES:

Week of 1-12 to 16 – PAS testing
Week of 1-19 to 23 – DIBELS and MATH Assessments
January 19 – NO SCHOOL – Martin Luther King Day