Sanislo Elementary
The Goldfinch Team
September 14, 2009
There were very few tears the first 3 days of school but everyone sure looked tired by Friday! Be sure to get your child in bed by 8:00 now that they will be in the classroom all day everyday. Learning all the routines of the classroom and playground, and making new friends, is exciting and tiring.
Beginning today your children will be at school from 9:25 until 3:30 dismissal. Thank you to everyone for adjusting your schedule and picking up your children after lunch last week. We were able to test very nearly every child in both classes because of the half-day schedule. The results of the assessment help to guide our instruction. We typically share the results with you, along with follow up assessment, during the November conference time. Many parents tell us their children can’t remember what they did at school. That is a pretty typical response; especially at the beginning when they come home exhausted and just SO ready for ‘down time’. I will fill you in with a few of last week’s activities: We began the routines of calendar time, recess rules, and our lunch system. In literacy we read stories to the class about starting school and talked about “always trying our best” and “It’s o.k. to make mistakes, because that is how we learn.” We sang a song called Be Kind Careful and Caring. Ask your child to sing it to you. The children had a brief introduction to both our Art and P.E. specialists. We introduced the rules for respectful listening: Eyes on the person speaking, hands in lap, ears listening, body still, mouth quiet and talked about the meaning of ‘respect’.
We will begin reading groups next week. For this week everyone will work together as we introduce the letter mM. Your child will be taking home a little booklet about mM. Please have your child read it to you. Save this booklet. Your child will get one a week for each letter of the alphabet. We will read books about starting school and making friends. They will learn how to write a sentence or draw a picture in their Literature Journal to show understanding of the stories we read. In math they will do activities in measurement comparing length, sort buttons by differing attributes, practice their counting, use pattern blocks to explore shapes as well as take part in daily calendar routines.
Your child’s first homework is going home today. Have your child do one page each evening and read EVERYDAY for 20 minutes or more with your child. Sign your initials in each day that you and you child read. Return the reading record and completed homework in its folder on NEXT MONDAY.
Remember, if your child is assigned a bus but you do not want him or her to ride it until a later date please tell us in writing or call our front office 252-8380. If we do not hear from you we assume you want your child on his or her assigned bus.
Thank you for the boxes of crackers and fruit that you have been sending in for class snacks. We could use a little more if we are to have snack every day. The children really look forward to snack time. Please be sure to send water bottles too. This is especially important because our water fountains are broken and although the custodian has put in a work order, at present they are not an option for drinks of water. Thanks too for the boxes of facial tissue and antibacterial wipes for table cleaning.
Forms to complete for classroom volunteering will go home today and we will contact interested persons by the end of this month. Do not expect to start volunteering until October.
With Smiles,
Sanislo’s Kindergarten Teachers
Here are some dates to mark on your calendar:
Sept. 15th , Tues. 6:30PM PTA Meeting; childcare provided
Sept. 30th , Wed. 1:30 Student Dismissal; teachers have meetings
Sept. 24th, Thurs. 6:00PM Multi-Ethnic Potluck
Oct. 9th No school for students
Oct. 22nd Curriculum Night
Oct. 28th 1:30 Student Dismissal; teachers have meetings
