Welcome to Ms. Healey’s Kindergarten!

1. Welcome to Ms. Healey’s Kindergarten! Welcome families to our Kindergarten classroom. Please take a few moments to see some of the highlights of Kindergarten that we have been working on. Your child had been working hard and is very excited for you to see his/her efforts! We are off to a fantastic start! We will begin in just a few moments so please use this time to check out some of the HIGHLIGHTS since we’ve started school. BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT 9/19/12 Ms. Healey healey@nvnet.org Rm. 24

2. Kindergarten Curriculum • Language Arts • Phonics/Phonological Awareness: • -Letters are chosen based on a progression of phonics acquisition. The first letters are easier to pronounce and needed first in reading in writing. • -3-4 letters are taught per 3 week cycle • -Children will be playing games and doing sorting activities related to beginning and ending sounds. • -Letter chants will be in the daily poetry notebook to enhance letter sound recognition. • Literature/Balanced Literacy: • -Read alouds are authentic texts used to promote vocabulary and comprehension. • -Shared reading is when teachers model reading strategies and have students practice these strategies in whole group. These are repetitive texts that are in big book form. • -Guided reading is when texts that are on par with your child’s reading level are used. This is a time to reinforce strategies taught in shared reading and have students practice these strategies in small group settings.

3. Writing: • -Mulitiple forms of writing are used. • -prompts---student is told the beginning of the sentence • -writer’s workshop---students are taught the components of a genre and are guided on how to create these texts (narrative, nonfiction, all about books, etc) • -journal writing---free form writing • Language Arts Skills: rhyming words, matching part to whole, comparisons, classification, listening skills, sequencing (first, next, last), drawing conclusions, predicting outcomes, main idea, opposites, cause and effect, questions and statements, reality and fantasy, letter/sound correspondence, short vowels, understanding sentences, sight words, writing with purpose. • Handwriting: • Handwriting Without Tears curriculum used. Songs, pencil grip techniques, and vocabulary are introduced. (see page from book with all the capital letters for correct formation.)

4. Math • Unit topics: Sorting and classifying, shapes, patterns, comparing and ordering, comparing and graphing, writing numbers 0-20, naming numbers 0-20, counting by ones through 31, ordinal numbers (first-tenth) measurement, time (on the hour and half hour), identify money (penny, nickel, dime, quarter), addition (concepts and number sentences), subtraction (same), fractions (halves), problem solving. • Health/Social Emotional • Unit topics: Self care practices, body parts, similarities and differences among friends, nutrition, personal safety, germs, sympathy and empathy, conflict resolution, communication and listening skills, tolerance for different ideas, building character, family structure, friendship.

5. Social Studies • Civics: Fairness, justice, personal responsibilities, similarities and differences among friends. • U.S. and N.J. History: Thanksgiving, presidents (first and current), national holidays, historical figures (Columbus, Martin Luther King, etc) • Economics: Money (identify quarter, nickel, dime, penny) • Geography: Weather, litter, recycling

6. Science: • Growing Seeds: grouping by size and color, comparing, some plants come from seeds • Group Animals: hibernation, classify by environment, body covering, shape, size and color. • Senses: identify shape, size, color, texture and weight by using sight, touch, sound, smell and taste. • Season Awareness: compare all four seasons • Weather: daily weather, compare daily weather patterns

7. Reader’s Workshop • Guided Reading • Shared Reading • Read Aloud • Independent Reading • Writer’s Workshop/Independent writing • Word Work/Phonics • Shared Writing • Interactive Writing

8. Our Daily Schedule • Period 1 – Morning Meeting… poem, K-News • Period 2 – Word Work/Phonics,Reading Workshop • Period 3 – Special • Snack before special at 10AM • Period 4 – Writing workshop • Period 5 – Lunch, Recess • Period 6 – Rest time • Period 7 – Read Aloud, Math/Science/Social Studies • Period 8 – Projects, Centers

9. Homework: • Given out Monday, due on Friday. • Reinforces lessons taught • Complete on the indicated day • Reading • Poem • Sight words • Math • worksheet • Interactive activity • Word Work & Handwriting • Various written worksheets

10. Birthdays: • If your child has a birthday coming up and you wish to have a birthday celebration in class, please contact me at least 24 hours in advance so we can arrange a good time. When preparing for the celebration, please remember to send in a small treat and a drink (boxed drinks preferred.) If you are able to come in and celebrate your child’s birthday in class, you may bring a book of choice to read to our class.

11. Lunch/Snack: • Please remember to keep names on all lunchboxes and snacks, and have a separate bag for snack (labeled snack.) If your child received hot lunch, please remind them they will be receiving hot lunch that day, this way there is no confusion. Also, a helpful suggestion is to keep a list of snacks/lunch items at home this way your child can pick the items they like.

12. Classroom Captains: • Each day I will choose three classroom captains for a day. In the afternoon (usually after lunch) I announce the classroom captains. I choose three people who have been setting a great example throughout the day. By setting a good example I mean following our classroom/school rules, putting effort into their work, acting as a leader, using their manners and setting a good example. Those who are chosen get to have one of our orange classroom captain cones at their seat.

13. The Traffic Light • Each child has a clothes pin marked with their name that is clipped to the bottom of the traffic light. If the child breaks one of our rules, or has to be warned more than once about their behavior their pin is moved. • Parents and teachers working together, help children understand both parent and teacher expectations for school.   They promote positive behavior, and they help provide a good learning environment for every child. GREEN stands for everything's a go for good citizens. YELLOW is for caution (your child will be reminded that they are making a bad choice and should realize and change their behavior.) RED is for stop.   When a child reaches red, a note is sent home to inform parents what has been going on at school regarding their child's behavior – behavior that may keep the student from their own focus and optimal learning.

14. Daily Behavior Chart: You will also find daily behavior chart in your child’s folder. This should remain in the folder at all times. This chart corresponds to the traffic light. If they remain on green for the whole week, they will be able to pick from the treasure box on Friday. • “Rules keep us safe so we can have fun.” • We created the rules as a class and are reviewed almost on a daily basis. • Positive reinforcement: verbal praise, stickers, whole class prize. • Consequences: loss of center time, discussion with teacher

15. Parental Involvement: As your child’s Kindergarten teacher, I will do my very best to keep you informed and up to date on everything going on in our class. I want to establish open communication between us, and I’m looking forward to working with you. Here are some ways to further be involved in our class. • Lunch helper- help deliver the hot lunch to our class. • Recess reader- during the winter months when children do not go outside for recess, a parent can come in to read to the class. More information about this will come home as winter approaches. • Special projects and Writing Celebrations- to be announced • Library helpers- help out in the Library to check in books when our class has Library. Your children love to see you in our class/school. It is a great way to work together and your children are all so proud of their parents! I’m looking forward to a magical year! Thank you, ~Stephanie Healey