Dr Seuss' birthday!
MRS. MICHAEL'S KINDERGARTEN CLASS
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April 20, 2018
Dear Parents,
Recycle, recycle!  Reduce, reuse, recycle!
Living green, keeps our planet clean.
Reduce, reuse, recycle.
Newspaper and plastic, let’s get enthusiastic!
Glass and cans, old metal pans.
Recycling’s fantastic!

Some of what we learned about this week…

-sight word of the week: you
-talked about Earth Day and how important it is to take care of our earth.  We were going to dig up our pumpkin, but there were too many weeds , so we will dig it up when the weeds have been pulled.
-listened to QR codes that are books about our earth.  
-introduced the words subtraction, take away, difference in math.  We are doing  word problems everyday for practice.  
-had our last Art Vista presentation given by Chien (Boyan’s dad) and Susana (Zavana’s mom), and Mallika (Manisha’s mom) for coming and helping also.   We saw prints of portraits and then drew self-portraits. A BIG THANK YOU to ALL who have helped this year with our Art Vista program. The students have LOVED it!!!

Comments:
-Field Trip is Thursday, May 3rd.  School will be from 10:00-1:20pm.  This is a schedule change for the school day.  Please have your child eat a healthy breakfast, as we will not have time to have a snack.
-******MOMS!   Friday, May 11th, 8:30-9:30 AM, please come for a little celebration in your honor.  You are welcome to send Grandma, an Aunt, friend, babysitter in your place if you are not able to attend.


Have an enjoyable weekend!

April 6, 2018
Dear Parents,
This week in Kindergarten we…
-introduced the sight word for the week: are-

read the book Chickens Aren’t The Only Ones.   
We are learning about animals that lay eggs and that they are called oviparous.   We are also learning about the term viviparous which are animals that are born alive. We sorted animals that are oviparous/viviparous and did an art project making an oviparous animal.
-in math we are practicing addition word problems.

-we went to the Makerspace and Miss Klein introduced the class to the app Makers Empire 3D Printing Learning Program.  . We explored the app for the first session and next time we will be designing our own bubble wand and printing them on the 3D printer!  
-had a wonderful Project Cornerstone presentation given by Gargi’s mom, Manisha’s mom, and Steven’s mom.  They read a book about using our manner “words” and how to be polite. Then the children had a “tea party” with water and fish crackers and practiced using the words please, thank you, excuse me, may I please have some more.  The students loved having a tea party and practicing their manner words!

Comments:

-Spring Break is April 9-13th.  
-We will be going on a field trip to Hidden Villa Farm on Thursday, May 3, 2018.  We will be leaving school at 10:15 and arriving back at 1:20pm. There is a time change for school this day.  School will be from 10:00am-1:20pm. for our class.   Field trip permission slips will be going home in the Wednesday envelope when we return from Spring Break.  If you are interested in being a chaperone, there will be a form along with the permission slip.
-MOMS...SAVE THE DATE MAY 11th from 8:30-9:30 am. for a little celebration in your honor!  You are welcome to send Grandma, an auntie, friend, or babysitter in your place if you are not able to attend.

Have an enjoyable Spring Break!

March 30, 2018

In the leafy treetops the birds sing good morning!
How do you do they say, how do you today?
In the leafy treetops the birds sing good morning!


This past week in Kindergarten we…

-sight words introduced:  play
-had our last music for the year.  Thank you for coming and supporting the children.  They were so proud and excited to sing for you!
-In math we are learning about addition and subtraction and writing math sentences.  We did a math center where we used manipulatives to show our addition sentence.  
-made shape bunnies (circle, oval, hexagon, triangle, and rectangle) for our room to welcome Spring.
-have been reviewing our sight words by finding eggs that make a sight word by putting the two halves together.
-read the book Sick Simon and learned about germs and how important it is to wash our hands and when we are sick we need to stay home and rest.  We also learned about eating healthy food vs. unhealthy food. The food groups were also introduced.
-had our FUN RUN!!!!  Thank you for all your donations and support to our school and for coming and cheering the students on!  It was a fun day and luckily it wasn’t super hot! The students did a great job and were so excited!
-went on a Spring egg hunt!  Each student was given a sight word to find and they had to find two eggs with that sight word written on it and then read it to me.    Such a fun activity!
 
Comments:

-Spring Break is April 9-13!

Have a wonderful weekend enjoying the sunshine!

March 22, 2018

Close your eyes and do not peek.  And I’ll rub Spring across your cheek.
Smooth as satin, soft, and sleek.  Close your eyes and do not peek.

In Kindergarten we…
-sight words introduced:  with
-In math we are learning about adding a group of ten and ones to compose a number from 11-20.  We are using “ten rods”  and single cubes to learn this math concept.  
-We have been writing as I discussed with the parents at conferences.  The students are doing a great job! Some are sharing their writing and pictures that go with their writing and we are enjoying hearing them.  I am really proud of their great work!
-we learned about magnets and some new vocabulary words about magnets.  Repel, attract, magnetic, non-magnetic, metal, were some of the words we read about and discussed.  We did centers that involved using magnets. We explored the classroom and found items that were non-magnetic and magnetic. We also used magnets to do our math.  
-we welcomed Spring (even though it was raining) and the students closed their eyes as I rubbed a pussy willow across their cheek.  We described how it felt. Words used were soft, tickled, furry, smooth. It went with our March poem.  (see above)

Comments:
-No School tomorrow, Friday, March 23.  It is a Professional Development Day for teachers.
-Monday, March 26 @10:20-10:50 there will be  a little musical presentation with our music teacher Miss Heidi.  The students will be singing the songs they have learned this year in music.  Come if you are able to! Siblings are welcome.

-Thursday, March 29 is the FUN RUN!!!!  Come and support our class as the students do their run.  We will be on the track from 10:20-11:20am.

-Thank you for the book donations to our classroom from the Book Fair!  

Happy Spring!!!!  

​

March 2, 2018
Dear Parents,
“March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb!”  So far it is true! It’s nice to have some rain!
This past week we…


-Sight word for the week:  he
-reviewed what greatest and least mean in math terms.
-Celebrated Dr. Seuss’ birthday by making a hat and reading some fun books!
-Have been working with many sight words:  went, like, go, here, is, and, to, my, see, for.
-Learned about our first President George Washington and the sixteenth President Abraham Lincoln. We made a venn diagram to show how the presidents were similar and different.
-had a wonderful Project Cornerstone presentation by Mayank (Alaina’s dad) and Chien (Boyan’s dad)! We talked about our feelings and other people’s feeling. We talked about caring, sharing, understanding, angry, and happy feelings.  We played a game where the student acted out a feeling and the other students guessed what she was doing.  We had lots of fun playing this game.

Comments: ​

-Thank you to all those who are bringing in “Pennies for Patients”.  Our class is very supportive and the children are very proud of their contributions.
-Parent Teacher Conferences begin Thursday, March 8th –Thursday, March 15th.  There is a schedule posted in the window where the children line up to remind parents.
-Oster book fair is happening in the next two weeks. Please read the flyer that will be coming home in the Wednesday envelope for more information.

Have a wonderful weekend!

February 9, 2018

Dear Parents,
 
Love somebody, yes I do. Love somebody, yes I do.
Love somebody, yes I do.  Love somebody, but I won’t tell who!
(February calendar poem)
 
This week in Kindergarten we…
 
-celebrated Isabel’s 6th birthday!
-sight word of the week:  on
-had a very FUN time playing board games on “Global Play Day”! The children LOVED playing the games! THANK YOU to Alaina’s dad, Boyan’s dad, Emily’s Grandma, Emma’s mom, and Gargi’s mom for coming and playing with us!
-had a wonderful Art Vista presentation given by Boyan’s dad and Zavana’s mom. We talked about vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines and saw many beautiful prints of boats.  We also did a “fish rubbing”. The children really loved doing this hands on project!  Thank you to Emma’s mom and Zenia’s mom for coming and helping too!
 
COMMENTS:
 
--Last reminder about Valentine’s Day!!!  Please have your child make their valentines and a decorated container for their “mailbox”.   Please do not address valentines, but have your child sign their name on each.  We have 24 children in our class.  Each child needs to bring a mailbox to receive valentines. Also, please put the valentines they made in a bag, (like a zip lock or paper bag), so they can pass them out to their friends.
-President’s week break is February 19-23rd.
-Parent Conference slips will be going home next week in the Wednesday envelopes. Conferences are March 8th-15th.  Please return your slips for a conference time.
 
Happy Valentine’s Day next week and enjoy the weekend!
February 2, 2018
 
Dear Parents,
 
100 days of learning, 100 days of fun!
100 days at Oster! Yeah! There’s more to come!
 
This week was very busy and lots of fun!!!
 
-sight word for the week:  have
-Punxatawney Phil did see his shadow, so we have six more weeks of winter, according to the legend.  We had fun making our groundhog project and book.
-LOVED seeing all the wonderful and creative “100-day” projects!!!  The children shared their project and told what they made it out of and how they made it. They were so proud of them!  Thank you for helping them with this!!!
-introduced the words heavier, lighter, longer, and shorter in math today.  We used the balance to see which objects are heavier and lighter and shorter or longer.
 
Comments:
-Global Play Day is Wednesday February 7th!  We will be playing board games from 9-10:00 am.  If you would like to help at a center and play a game with the students please let me know.  This is a VERY fun day!
-Reminder about Valentine’s Day!!!  Please have your child make their valentines and a decorated container for their “mailbox”.   Please do not address valentines, but have your child sign their name on each.  We have 24 children in our class.  Each child needs to bring a mailbox to receive valentines. Also, please put the valentines they made in a bag, (like a zip lock or paper bag), so they can pass them out to their friends.
-Spirit Day is Friday, February 17th.  It is Sports Day! Children can wear a uniform they have, a jersey of their favorite team, etc. if they choose.
-If you haven’t signed your child up for me to work with them after school please do so if possible.  You will pick them up at 12:15pm in the office.  If there is a problem, please let me know and I can assess them during school.  If your child goes to Clubhouse you do not need to sign them up. 
-President’s Week Break—February 19th-23rd.  There is no school.
 
Have a nice weekend!
January 26, 2018
 
Dear Parents,
 
I’m a little penguin, black and white.
A Sharp tuxedo looks just right.
I love to swim, but I can’t take flight.
So I’ll waddle to the water to search for a bite!
 
Some of what we have been doing this past week in Kindergarten…
 
-sight word of the week…for.  (This was also last week’s word.  We had it for two weeks.)
-introduced 3D shapes.  We have learned about a sphere, cylinder, cube, and cone. 
-reviewed the 2D shapes:  square, triangle, circle, rectangle, and hexagon and what is special about each shape.
-went to our Makerspace and used Dash robots.  The students were coding with pictures.  Of course they loved it!
-had a wonderful Project Cornerstone presentation given by Steven’s mom, Manisha’s mom, and Gargi’s mom.  We learned that we are the same but different.  We don’t have to all like the same things to be friends.  We then made snowflakes that were all different, but beautiful!
-had a FUN snowball fight using snowballs made out of paper!
 
Comments:
 
-Sharing next week:  I’m asking that for sharing students will bring a 3D object.  The 3D object may be something that they have made or have found around the house.
-Tuesday, January 30th, is the 10Oth DAY!!!!!!  Please have your child bring their 100th day project to school that day! Please have your child count the objects when doing their project.  A good way to count them is to count in groups of tens.  This is a wonderful way to reinforce the math concepts we have been doing in class.   I can’t wait to see all the projects!
-Valentine’s day will be Tuesday, February 14th! It sounds like lots of valentines are being made!  A reminder to have your child sign his/her name on the valentine, but please do not address each valentine.
Also, a reminder to have your child decorate a box or basket to use as a mailbox.  We have 24 students in our class.
 
Enjoy the weekend!
January 19, 2018
 
Dear Parents,
 
Some of what we did in Kindergarten this week…
-sight word for the week:  for
-learned about Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, and how they helped the blacks and whites get along with each other.
-read the book The Snowy Day.  We talked about Peter and what he wanted to do, but what he chose to do to solve his problem that he was too young to be in a snowball fight.  We also did a “snowy day” art project and sequenced the story
-read the book Snip, Snip, Snow and made our own snow in our classroom when we made snowflakes!
 
COMMENTS:
 
-For sharing next week the students may bring a toy!  (Always an exciting week!)  This may be a new toy or one they have had a long time. 
 
We will be celebrating the 100TH DAY OF KINDERGARTEN on Tuesday, January 30th!  I would like each child to do an art project using “100” of something.   Marshmallows, Cheerios, pretzels, popcorn, etc. can be used to make a picture or design.  The children will be sharing their project on Tuesday.  Please do not have the projects bigger than 18”x24”.  This is a math project for the children.  Please have your child count their items (with your help of course).  I would recommend that they count their items in groups of “10’s”.  This reinforces the math concepts we have been doing in class.
 
--Valentine’s Day is coming!  Just a reminder that I would like children to hand-make their valentines.  They may be as simple or elaborate as your child wishes. It’s amazing what a collection of scrap material, colored paper, stickers, doilies, stamps, glitter, ribbons, and countless other materials can produce…especially with the thought of making something special for someone else.  Planning, collecting, and then making a few a day might be a good project for the weekends.  Your child should sign his/her name on each valentine.  Please do not address them to each student.  Each student will pass out his/ her valentines to their classmates and it takes too long to read each name.  We have 24 children in our class.  Thank you!
 
-In addition to making valentines, I would like each child to decorate a basket or box to use as their “mailbox” for their valentines.   Their box needs to have a large enough opening to be able to receive valentines from their friends. A decorated shoebox, gift bag, or basket works great.  Please bring it to school on Valentine’s Day.
 
Enjoy your weekend!
​

January 12, 2018 
Dear Parents,
 
Happy New Year!  I hope you had an enjoyable and restful break.  Although breaks are wonderful, it is nice to see everyone and get back to a routine.  May 2018 be a happy and healthy year for you and your family.
 
We started the school year having a “Smart Start Day”!  It was LOTS of fun!  We did three centers.  We did a directed drawing where the children had to listen and follow directions drawing a snowman.  Then they used watercolor paints to finish their drawing.  Another center was a science experiment using whole milk, food coloring, and dawn soap.  Our third center was playing a game on the ipad.  We combined with Mrs. Roger’s class and so the groups were mixed with students from both classes. Everyone had a fun day and it was a great way to start the New Year!
 
-For sharing I told the children they may choose to do a “clue “share.   This is where they write (parents can help) three clues about an item they want to share and put the item in a bag.  The student will read the clues and then three students will try and guess what it is. This is another option to sharing that can be fun!
-NO SCHOOL on Monday, January 15th in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.
- A note about Valentine’s Day…. I am asking that each of the children make homemade valentines for each other. We will be learning how to make hearts in class, but I wanted to give you a little notice so you don’t buy them and can start thinking about it.
-We are in need of Clorox wipes to clean our tables.  If you could donate some it would be greatly appreciated!
 
Have a nice weekend!
December 8, 2017 
Dear Parents,
 
“Doing something for someone else, makes them happy as well as yourself!”
 
Some of the things we have been doing in Kindergarten the past few weeks…
 
-sight words we have learned…it, here.
-book of the week:  The Gingerbread Man.
-we have been reading lots of books about the different stories of gingerbread men.  We have been comparing and contrasting the stories to see how they are similar and different.  We have enjoyed reading these books!
-decorated gingerbread with different kinds of pasta!  They turned out soooo cute!
-enjoyed our music class where Miss Heidi introduced Jazz music and learned about rhythm and how to do the Charleston.
-did an” hour of coding” using ozobots in the Makerspace.
-had an Art Vista presentation where the students saw prints about animals and learned abut texture and lines.  Then they made an animal clay project. Thank you to our parents: Boyan’s dad, Zavana’s mom, Emma’s mom, Emily’s mom, and Manisha’s mom for helping!   
-Emma’s mom gave a presentation about the holiday Hanukkah and we had an art project and played the dreidel game.  It was very fun!
 
Comments:
 
-Thursday, December 21st is the day we will be building our Gingerbread Houses.   Please have your child bring their donation by Tuesday, December 19th.
-Friday, December 22nd is Pajama Day!  Your child may choose to wear their pajamas to school or not.
 
Have a wonderful weekend!
November 17, 2017
 
Dear Parents,
 
Five fat turkeys hiding in a tree,
The first one said, “You can’t see me!”
The second one said, “Thanksgiving’s not fun!”
The third one said, “I had better run!”
The fourth one said, “I’d rather miss this date!”
The fifth one said, “You won’t find me on your dinner plate!”
Gobble went the turkeys as they sang with delight,
And the five fat turkeys wobbled out of sight!
 
Some of what we did in Kindergarten…
 
-sight words for the week: is 
Other sight words we have learned: I, see, my, a, and, go, like, the, to
-HAD A GREAT FIELD TRIP IN OUR MAKERSPACE.  We were able to learn and touch marine animals that came from Half Moon Bay.  There were crabs, snails, mussels, and sea stars to name a few.  The students really enjoyed learning about these marine animals.
-We read about The First Thanksgiving and learned about the pilgrims, the Mayflower, Plymouth Rock, the Atlantic Ocean, Squanto, and the first Thanksgiving feast.
-made a story bracelet telling the story of the First Thanksgiving.  I hope your child told you the story!
-We said something that we were thankful for and then put our “handful” in a bowl and enjoyed a delicious Friendship Feast with each other as we wore hats that the Pilgrims wore.
We had a delicious feast!
 
I REALLY enjoyed meeting with you during Parent Conferences!  It helps me to understand and get to know your child even better.  Thank you for all your support!
 
HAVE A VERY HAPPY THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY WEEK!!!!!
November 3, 2017
 
Dear Parents,

I’m thankful for the stuffing and the mashed potatoes too.
I’m thankful for the pumpkin pie and yummy treats, that’s true.
But mostly what I’m thankful for is having friends like you!
 
This week in Kindergarten…
 
- the sight words for this week was go.  
-buried our pumpkin in the garden.  We put a plastic bag, water bottle, paper, leaf and other items inside the pumpkin.  This is a SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT.  We predicted what would happen.  In Spring we will dig the pumpkin up and see what has happened. 
-have been talking about what the word thankful means and what each of us can be thankful for.
-had an Art Vista lesson and saw prints about horses and learned about diagonal, vertical, and horizontal lines.  Our hands on project was drawing a horse.  Thank you to our moms who helped: Chieh Lin (Boyan’s mom), Tal Sidi (Emma’s mom), Mallika Keralapura (Manisha’s mom), and Christina Waller (Emily’s mom).
 
Comments:
 
-Thank you to all who made our pumpkin carving day a special one!  It was wonderful to see the children’s delightful faces as they carved their pumpkins with their “special adult” and hear the ooooooo’s when the lights went out.  And it’s always a “treat” to see the children dressed up in their costumes!
-Parent Conferences begin Monday, November 6 through November 16.    There is a schedule in the window where the children line up for a reminder.
-Thursday, November 9th is a Staff Development Day so there isn’t any school.
-Friday, November 10th is Veteran’s Day Holiday-no school.
 
Have a wonderful weekend!
October 27, 2017
 
Dear Parents,
 
Some of what has been happening in our class this past week…
 
-Had our first music lesson!  The children enjoyed having Miss Alice come in and teach them some songs and listen to some music.  It’s great to have a music program!
-Sight word of the week was and.   Sight words we have learned so far are:  a, I, to, like, my, see, the
-in math we learned about the numbers 8, 9, and 10.  We are learning different ways to make that number with manipulatives and number bonds.
 
Comments:
 
-REMEMBER…Pumpkin carving in the classroom Tuesday, October 31st, 8:05-9:15 am.  I would like each child to have an adult to help them carve the pumpkin they brought in.  I will be asking the children who their adult will be on Monday, so please let them know.
 
-Halloween Parade is Friday, October 31st also. The children will come dressed in their costumes in the morning  to school. (Even if they  are not going to participate in the parade in the afternoon and only TK and Kindergarten do this.) Please remember that masks, weapons, or blood are not allowed at school. We will have a parade at 1:15 pm with the rest of the school and PLEASE come back and join us if you can!
 
Ms. McEntee has asked us to put the following in our newsletter. 
Parents are NOT allowed to enter any of our bathrooms that are student bathrooms.  We have a lot of TK and K parents who are using our primary bathrooms when they are bringing or picking up their children.  It is against the law.
TK and K students are not allowed to play on any playgrounds before or after school, unless it is after 3:00 p.m. and at 3:00 p.m, they should being supervised by an adult.  We have parents using our primary playground while they wait to take their TK or K student to school, or right after they pick them up.
 
Have a nice and enjoyable weekend!
Picture
October 20, 2017
 
Dear Parents,
 
Halloween’s coming, Halloween’s coming!  Skeletons will be after you!
Witches, cats, and big black bats.  Ghosts and goblins too!
Flap, flap, flap, go the big black bats. Ooooooooooooh!
Meow, meow, meow, say the ugly cats.  Ooooooooooooh!  BOO!
 
Some of what we have been doing these past two weeks…
 
-celebrated 4 birthdays!!!!  Josiah, AJ, Zenia, and Emma’s!  Happy  6th birthday to all!
-sight word of the week:  to  We learned that this word means to go somewhere.
-had a wonderful Project Cornerstone presentation given by Chien (Boyan’s dad)  Mayank (Alaina’s dad).  We did a little yoga and learned to be good listeners we need to have our eyes on the speaker, our body still and our ears open.  Thank you for a great job!
-had an earthquake drill.  Please discuss with your child what they should do at home in case of an earthquake.  Students had questions about what they should do at home.
-learned about Diwali from Gargi’s mom (Vaishali)  She told us a story about the King that they came back and there were lots of lights which is why Diwali is called the Festival of Lights.  Diwali is celebrated with rangoli, sweets and fireworks too!  Having lots of fun with family, friends, and lots of food! The children colored their own diya.
  
Comments:
-HARVEST FESTIVAL IS TOMORROW NIGHT 5-7:30pm!!!!  Come and have fun with the Oster community!  It is a fun night for the children and they love seeing their friends at school and having “Halloween” fun together!
-Thank you for the donations for our basket that will be raffled off at the Harvest Festival.
-PINK WEEK IS NEXT WEEK! (National Breast Cancer Awareness week).  Participation is voluntary.
Monday:  Pink Shirt/Sweatshirt Day,  Tuesday: Pink Socks/Shoes Day, Wednesday:  Pink Bottoms Day,  Thursday:  Pink Hat/Ribbon Day, Friday:  Head To Toe Pink Day.
-REMEMBER…Pumpkin carving in the classroom Tuesday, October 31st, 8:05-9:15 am.  I would like each child to have an adult to help them carve the pumpkin they brought in.  I will be asking the children who their adult will be, so please let them know by Friday next week.
-Halloween Parade is Friday, October 31st also. The children will come dressed in their costumes to school. (Only Kindergarten does this) Please remember that masks, weapons, or blood are not allowed at school. We will have a parade at 1:15 pm with the rest of the school and PLEASE come back and join us!
 
Enjoy the weekend!!!
October 6, 2017
 
Dear Parents,
 
Have you ever seen a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin,
Have you ever seen a pumpkin that grows on a vine?
A round one, a tall on, a fat one, a small one,
Have you ever seen a pumpkin that grows on a vine?
 
Some of what we learned this week…
 
-sight word of the week:  a
-introduced the letter Ll
-made jack-o-lantern pumpkins that are displayed in the office for the Kindergarten board.  Stop in and see how cute it is!
-had a sign class with Mrs. Blake.  She taught us how to sign the days and months of the calendar. 
-had our first PAC activity.  This is a PE class that is taught by Coach Nguyen.  The children learned to play a game called Alligator Tag.  They had LOTS of fun playing it!
-had our first Art Vista presentation!  The children were shown prints of trains and we talked about the primary colors (red, yellow, blue), lines (perpendicular, horizontal, vertical) and shapes.  The children then made their own picture of a train with different shapes.  Thank you to Chien (Boyan’s dad), Tal (Emma’s mom), Susana Zavana’s mom, Christina (Emily’s mom), and Mallika (Manisha’s mom) for coming and helping! 
 
Comments:
 
--For the month of October, I would like each child to bring a pumpkin in.  The size of the pumpkin is one that the child can carry in their hands, but big enough to carve at the end of the month.  Please write your child’s name on the bottom of the pumpkin.  Please do not paint or draw a face on it…a plain pumpkin will be great!  I was at Trader Joe’s the other day, and they have the perfect size for $2.99 if that helps.
 
-REMINDER: Pumpkin Carving Day, Tuesday, October 31st, from 8:05-9:15 am.  I would like each child to have an adult to help him/her.  This can be a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or someone special to them. The school Halloween parade is @ 1:15pm.  Please back and join me!
 
-Oster School’s Harvest Festival is coming…. Saturday, October 21st, 5:00-7:30pm.
 
-Starting next week I would like to schedule a time after school (11:30-12:10pm) to work with students for Parent Conferences. I will have a schedule out. If you could sign up for a day for your child,  I would really appreciate it.  If your child goes to Clubhouse you do not need to sign them up, as I will be able to go and get them.  If you have any questions please ask me.
 
-If you could please have your child practice counting from 1-100 out loud to you I would REALLY appreciate it!  We will be doing this as part of an assessment for Parent Conferences. 
 
Have a nice weekend!
Picture
September 29, 2017
 
Dear Parents,
 
Eat an apple, save the core.
Plant the seeds and grow some more!
 
Some of what we have been doing in Kindergarten this week…
 
-sight word for the week:  like
-celebrated Johnny Appleseed’s birthday by making applesauce and wearing a pan on our head, just like he did! 
-did your child ask you, “What is a red house, that has not windows and no doors and a star inside?”  If you haven’t been told, ask your child to see what the answer is!
-did apple prints with a “star” inside!
- labeled the parts of an apple.
-read about the seasons of an apple tree and made our own!   We learned about the tree in the winter, spring, summer, and fall, and how the tree grows and changes.
-read Ten Apples Up On Top and made a hat with ten apples! It was wonderful to see how different each student makes their hat!  One of my favorite days!!!
 
Comments:
 
-Please have your child go to the restroom before they come to school!  We have having a lot of students go to the restroom right after they come to school.
-FYI…once in awhile your child will not bring home a book envelope, (book to read for Homework) because of a birthday celebration, STEAM class, or PAC (P.E.) class.
-Mark you calendar for Oster’s Harvest Festival on Saturday, October 21, 2017, from 5-7:30pm. 
-Save the date…Pumpkin Carving on Tuesday, October 31stth from 8:05-9:10 am.  I am hoping to have each child have an adult that is able to participate with them. 
 
Have a great weekend!
September 22, 2017
 
Dear Parents,
 
Way up high in the apple tree, lots of red apples smiled down on me.
So I shook that tree just as hard I could, down came those red apples…
MMMMM…they were good!
 
Some of what we did this week…
 
-letters of the week were N and M.
-sight word of the week:  my 
-book of the week was The Recess Queen.  Mean Jean thought she was the recess queen and was very bossy.  We discussed what the word bossy meant and we discussed if we thought this was a good way to be.  We sequenced the beginning, middle, and end of the story.  We talked about what a main character was and how the problem was solved in the story.  We talked about how important it is to be a good friend. 
-we have been learning about apples and the life cycle of an apple.  We learned the words sprout, bud, sepals, blossom, and pollinate.
- We cut an apple open and looked at the parts of an apple.  We learned the science words stem, skin, flesh, core, seeds, and leaf.  We tasted three kinds of apples…Fuji, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith and made a list of words that described the apples.  Juicy, yummy, sour, sweet, and delicious were a few.  The favorite this year was Golden Delicious!
 
COMMENTS:
 
-SAVE THE DATE!  On Tuesday, October 31st, from 8:05-9:15 am, we will be carving pumpkins.  I would like each child to have an adult to help them.  This can be a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or someone special to them.  More information will follow, but wanted to give you a heads up for the date.
-Reminder that book orders are due Wednesday, September 27th.
 
Happy weekend!
September 15, 2017
 
Dear Parents,
 
Hickory, dickory, dock!  The mouse ran up the clock!
The clock struck on, the mouse ran down.
Hickory, dickory, dock!
 
Some of what we learned in Kindergarten this week:
 
-looked for the rhyming words in the poem above.
-sight word of the week was see.
-letter for the week was Hh.
-introduced what labeling means.  To label is to write a word that goes with the picture.
--introduced the words “hidden partner” in math.  We have been talking about numbers 0-5 and how different numbers added together will be a new number.  For the number 5, if we have 3 bears, the “hidden partner” is the number 2.
-read the book The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  Then the students were to build a bridge out of legos so that the troll could go under it and the goats could walk across it.
-went to our new makerspace building!  We did a steam project celebrating International Dot Day, which is today!  International Dot Day is Peter H Reynolds’ class book, THE DOT, (which we read last week), challenges us to “Make your mark and see where it takes you.”  It is creating and celebrating creativity.  We made our mark by making our own dot and then did “musical dots” using a Makey Makey.  Look on the website for pictures!
(Pictures will be posted on Monday)

Comments:
 
Sharing went really well this week!  It was GREAT to see how creative the students were with projects that they have painted, built, and drawn.  We also had some special photos of places they have visited.  Thank you for helping them come prepared to share three things about what they brought.
September 8, 2017
 
Dear Parents,
 
Sally go round the sun,
Sally go round the moon. 
Sally go round the chimneypot, every afternoon.
 
Some of what we have been learning in Kindergarten this week…
 
-the poem above is our September poem on our calendar.
-introduced the sight word I.  We have been using this sight word in sentences. 
-book of the week was the dot by Peter H. Reynolds.  We learned that a “dot” can be a special piece of art and that we need to keep on trying and not give up on things we are trying to do.
-introduced the letters F and B.  We have motions for the sounds of these letters and then thought of words that begin with the letter and then drew pictures for our alphabet book.
-we had a sign class with Mrs. Blake.  We learned signs for numbers, some colors, and words that went with the story she read to us.  Please see the papers that came home today if you would like to learn with your child!
-we have been learning some nursery rhymes and listening for rhyming words in the poems.
 
Comments:
 
-Sharing begins next week.  Please see the Sharing Schedule so you will know when your child’s sharing day is.     
-Monday Homework books will be coming home Monday for you to read with your child.  Please return the book the next day so another book can be checked out. 
-Homework folders will also be coming home on Monday.  Please have your child return their homework in their folder on Friday.  Homework is a review of what we have been doing in class. 
-Thank you for your book orders!  The books will arrive in a couple of weeks!
-Some have been asking about Wednesday envelopes since we haven’t sent them home the last two weeks.  They will only be sent home if there is a notice.  Since we are going paperless for most notices, we won’t be sending them home as often, only as needed.
-Picture day is Thursday, September 14th. 
 
Have a nice and restful weekend!
August 31, 2017
 
Dear Parents,
 
We have had a great week in Kindergarten.  Here are some of things that we have been learning.
 
-Introduced the letter Tt.  We made a circle map and thought of some words that begin with Tt.  We traced and wrote the uppercase letter T, then drew at least three pictures on our letter page.  We will be making an “Alphabet Book” with these pages. 
-Completed our “RED” book.   I hope your child read the book and then taught you the song as they sang the words and read them.  This is good practice for reading and lots of fun to share the song with the family.
-Read the book Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon.  We discussed what the word visualize means.  I read the book without showing the pictures and they had to use their imaginations to picture what Molly Lou Melon looked like. 
-In math we learned that sorting is a math word and that it means to group things together that are alike in some way.  We sorted by color, shapes, and even our class by hair color, clothes, and shoes.
 
Comments:
 
-Many of you have been asking when volunteers will be coming in to the classroom.  I will let you know for sure, but I am planning for the end of September of beginning of October.
-Also, I forgot to tell the parents at Back to School night that I concentrate on writing the upper case letters in the beginning of the year and the lower case letters starting in January.  If your child is writing their name with Upper and Lower case letters that is great, but if not, I will not be teaching this until later.
-Friday, September 1st is Staff Development Day so there is no school for students.
-Monday, September 4th is Labor Day Holiday. 
 
Have a nice and enjoyable holiday weekend!  
August 25, 2017
 
Dear Parents,
 
Some of what we learned in Kindergarten this week…
 
-Watched a video about solar eclipses and then watched the solar eclipse live.  We also made our own solar eclipse model. (It will come home on Monday).
 
-Our book of the week was Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.  We introduced the meaning of predict, retell, connect, problem, solution, and opinion, when we read a story.  We sequenced the story with pictures, showing what happened in the beginning, middle, and end.
Made our own Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom tree to take home!
 
-We have been writing our numbers from 0-10.  The children are doing a great job of learning to write the numbers correctly!
 
-Had an art project where we made “Pete the Cat” out of shapes.  Introduced the shapes square, rectangle, and triangle.
 
-Introduced the math words, the same, but different.  For example, the group is the same because they are all circles, but different because they are different colors.
 
Comments:
 
      -Yay!!!!! Our class won the most participation for coming to the picnic last Friday!  We had a popsicle party today sponsored by the Home and School Club! Thank you for coming and supporting this event and I hope you were able to meet new friends in the Oster community.
   -Thank you to all who came to Back To School night and for your support!  It was great to see so many parents. 
-Friday, Sept. 1st-Teacher Development Day…No School
-Monday, September 4th –Labor Day Holiday…No School.
 
Have an enjoyable weekend!
August 18, 2017
 
Dear Parents,
 
Today is a wonderful day!
I am going away.
Not to the circus, not to the zoo!
I am going to Oster School!  Hurray!
 
We have had a “rockin” week in Kindergarten this week!  Our class is getting settled in our routines and making new friends.  All seem to be adjusting well.
 
We played “Higglety, Pigglety,Bumble Bee, you can tell your name to me”; a game where we learned each other’s names and clapped our names in syllables.
-We have been reading a lot of “Pete the Cat” books, which are always a favorite and so much fun to read.  We also made a “color” book of Pete’s shoes.  Please have your child read the words to you as they put their finger under each word.  It they are not reading yet, please read the words to them and model, putting your finger under the words.  When they understand the procedure, they put their finger under the words as  you read them.  This is called “tracking” and is a beginning reading strategy. 
-We drew a “Pete the Cat” directed drawing.  They turned out so cute! 
 
 
Comments:
 
-Wednesday, August 24th is Back To School night @ 6:30-7:30pm.  This is an overview of the school year. Parents only please.
-My email is michaelc@unionsd.org for your information. 
-Thank you for sending healthy snacks for your child!
 
Have wonderful weekend!!!!! 



































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