Friday, November 5, 2010

Dear families,

It has been another busy week in our Kindergarten classrooms! The afternoon class met with their Reading Buddies and completed a worksheet called "Peace is..." Mrs. Zappi and I were impressed with the children's efforts and thoughtfulness when completing this work.

Both classes are learning how to read and spell High Frequency Words from our Word Wall and how to sound out words. When your child makes a picture at home please encourage him/her to also write words about the picture. Who is in the picture? What are they doing? Where are they?

There are some items in our lost and found corner of the children's coat room:

a navy blue girl's sweater
black gloves
a green umbrella
a Star Wars scholastic book order book
a "Joe" boy's fleece jacket: grey with red trim
a Lambton Kingsway hoodie
a "Place" boy's jacket: Red fleece with navy trim
a boys "Deux par deux" pumpkin coloured fleece jacket
a girls Nike pink zip-up hoodie

Thanks so much to the parent volunteers this week. The children love to have guests in their classroom!

Today's white TDSB bags includes two Halloween books that your children have made. They have practiced reading these books and can read them to you at home! Also in the bag is a pink interview request form. Please complete this and return by MONDAY. Each child has a file that includes selected weekly work starting in September to track your child's progress. I look forward to sharing this with you and your child at interview time and discussing your child's progress.

Next week we will be continuing with our journals, the JKs will be receiving their Jolly Phonics folders, and we will be talking about, learning, and practicing Remembrance Day words.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, October 29

This was an exciting and fun week for our students since Hallowe'en is on Sunday. In the classroom, we integrated numeracy and literacy activities with the Hallowe'en theme ("counting pumpkins" booklet, "Hallowe'en word book", journal writing, songs and poems) as well as completing crafts requiring small motor skills (colouring, cutting, gluing, pasting, painting, modelling clay). The children had a fun time at our Hallowe'en Party and Parade! Thank you to those parents who provided extra snacks and treats for the children.

Thank you for sending in the forms for the Frog and Toad character trait play we will be attending in December, and thank you to all the parents who volunteered to attend this event as well.

I have distributed September and October's Scholastic orders. The Christmas orders will be placed next week and should arrive shortly.

This week's Snuggle Books were sent home in Friday's white TDSB bag, as well as a copy of our weekly songs and poems. I rotate a series of early readers until each child has read each book and then we start a new series. These early literacy books are an excellent way for your child to show you how s/he is learning to read (beginning sounds, end sounds, blending, high frequency words, eg.) and reading along with your child, pointing to the words, will also help him/her along their path to literacy.

Please note that although only SKs receive report cards in November, JK and SK parents are welcome to come in for interviews regarding their child's progress. I am scheduling two extra interview days (November 15, 17) as well as LKS's scheduled interview days of November 18 and 19 in order to assist in accommodating all parents, and I will send a form home shortly regarding signing up for dates and times.

I have scheduled the SNACK and MYSTERY BAG calendars until February and have emailed them to parents and have also sent a copy home in this week's TDSB bag. Please remember that all snacks need to be certified "nut free".

Thank you and I hope you and your children have a fun and safe Hallowe'en weekend!

Mrs. Tyndall

Friday, October 22

Hello Parents,

Today in your child's TDSB bag you received an information sheet and permission form for the children to see the play "Frog and Toad" on December 1st (a.m. class) and December 2nd (p.m. class) at the Lorraine Kimsa Theatre. Please note that the permission forms and money are due back by Thursday, October 28. Four parent volunteers are required for this field trip (volunteers are free). Please indicate on your child's form if you are available to volunteer. Thank you!

Please remember to return your child's Snuggle Books each Friday so that s/he can receive a new one. Snuggle Books are a wonderful opportunity for you to read to your child or for your child to read to you. If your child is a beginning reader, you can help by pointing to the words as you read them and by talking about the books together.

We will be having a Hallowe'en Party on Friday, October 29. If you would like to contribute juice boxes, treats etc. please let your parent rep know and kindly drop them off before class starts. Thank you!

This week the Afternoon Class met their Reading Buddies from Mrs. Zappi's Grade Three Class. We look forward to a wonderful year working together to improve your child's reading abilities and to meet new friends! The Morning Class will meet their Reading Buddies in Mrs. Shklar's class in January.

Thank you to those parents who attended the Sharing assembly today. The children presented two poems -- Funny Turkey and Five Little Turkeys. Copies of these poems (and all the songs/poems we do) go home in the white TDSB bags.

Thank you very much to the parents who volunteered this week as Mystery Reader and Reading Club helper.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Mrs. Tyndall

Friday, October 15

Hello Parents

We have had a productive week this week in JK/SK, learning/reviewing our numbers and Hallowe'en vocabulary. The childrens' Journals are really improving, with good line spacing and word spacing. When your children are writing at home, please encourage them to use a "finger space" between each word. I am impressed with the children's learning of phonetic/letter sounds! When reading with your child, sounding out words slowly and pointing to each word will help them understand phonetic groupings.

Hallowe'en is only two weeks away and we are/will be doing several numeracy and literacy activities based on this fun theme. Look for patterns and number work in your child's white bag this Friday.

A special thank you to Griffin's family for donating the big box that the afternoon class turned into a "Haunted House." The morning class will turn another big box into "Santa's Chimney" in December.

Thank you very much to my parent volunteers this week; the children love to have their parents in the classroom! Thank you to parents who also help with the white TDSB bags and Snuggle Books. It is a big job and much appreciated!

Please remember to return your Snuggle Books by Friday so that new books can be issued.

Here are the lyrics to the "Brush Your Teeth Song" (Raffi) that we performed for the first Sharing Assembly:

If you get up in the morning at a quarter to one
and you want to have a little fun,
You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch....

If you get up in the morning at a quarter to two
and you want to find something to do,
You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch....

If you get up in the morning at a quarter to three
and you want to hum a tweedle dee dee,
You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch....

If you get up in the morning at a quarter to four
and you think you hear a knock at the door,
You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch....

If you get up in the morning at a quarter to five
and you just can't wait to come alive,
You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch....

For the October 22nd Sharing Assembly we are preparing two Thanksgiving-themed poems: "The Turkey" and "Five Little Turkeys."

Have a wonderful weekend!

Friday, October 8

Hello Parents and Happy Thanksgiving

This week we worked on our numbers booklets, wrote journal entries about Terry Fox and Thanksgiving, created Thanksgiving and Autumn crafts, and practiced writing our high frequency words. The SKs are doing very well with this skill and the JKs are working on upper and lower case letter recognition as well as letter sounds.

Snuggle Books are going home each week now - these are levelled readers that you and your child read together. We rotate through several series of these readers the year. Please return the readers in the white TDSB bags by each Friday so your child can receive a new one.

The children are taking home LKS Library books now - just a reminder that both the books and the special green bags with your child's name and a SKU number are to be returned at the same time. I have labelled bins for both the morning and afternoon classes at the classroom entrance - a white bin for the white bags, bins for returned Snuggle Books and Library books/bags, as well as bin for work/letters that go home each week. Please assist your child in remembering to remove the white TDSB and Library bags from their backpacks each morning. This also assists my parent volunteers who help me sort and fill the white bags on Fridays.

Thank you very much Mrs. Lawler (Griffin's mom) for bringing in a big box! The afternoon class painted it black today and we are making a "Haunted" Hallowe'en House!

Please bring in one large leaf this week; we will be making a plaster cast/"fossil" of the leaf that the children will paint when it is dry.

Thank you as always and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!