Thank You for a great year!

It's hard to believe that our year together is over! You are an amazing set of families and I have really enjoyed this year!  Thanks to each of you for doing your part in making this year special.

You will receive your child's report card tomorrow.  You will also find a number of assessments.  Some of the assessments are from as far back as August!  Some of the assessments that are done verbally (about 1/2) are not sent home.   If you have any questions about your child's report card or progress please ask!  I check email weekly over the summer.  Unless I'm travelling, I'll be around to answer questions!

I hope to see you around Oak Park this summer and at Irving for the next 5 years!  (Trust me...those next five years happen in the blink of an eye!!)

Thanks again for a great year!  Please keep in touch.

Our Kindergarten Countdown continues to be tons of fun.  Rain kept us from planting our vegetables, but we have that rescheduled for Monday.
Water day was also great!  We enjoyed reviewing sink and float, watching water travel and experimenting with water droplets on a penny!  Finally, we painted our under the sea drawings that go with our last writing project of the year.  They turned out great!

You must have noticed that as we finish things, projects are going home, workbooks are going home and well...everything is headed home!  If a workbook comes home unfinished, please feel free to work on it at home.  Many things in the workbook were covered in the classroom in other ways.

I hope you will join your new Irving friends at Barrie Park on Friday afternoon from 5-7pm.  Pizza and soda will be sold.  It is a great way to celebrate the end of the school year and the weather will be perfect.  See you there!

On Tuesday, plan on getting to school around 2:00.  The whole school will be on the playground for a few end of school year announcements and the annual teacher dance!  It is a great sendoff!  The students will then return to their classrooms to get report cards and backpacks.  Official dismissal will be at 3:00 from our regular doors.  The polar vortex may have shortened our summer, but I am grateful for every day I got with your children!!


Please read about a great summer math program!
Ten Marks is a web-based summer math program.  It's a free way for students to stay on top of their math skills.  Irving School as a whole school subscription, and below is the code needed if you decide to sign up for Ten Marks.  I highly encourage you to sign your child up, they recommend 20 minutes a day for 3-4 days a week.  Be sure to look for a flyer to come home in the upcoming days.

Ten Marks: Summer Math link

IRVING SCHOOL CODE:  For use by ALL

1. Summer Access Code: S14IES9943
   
2. Starting April 15, 2014, parents can sign up at http://summer.tenmarks.comusing the Summer Access Code.

Is everyone surviving the constant end of the year madness???!!!  Every time I get overwhelmed with the number of requests, lists, games, parties, projects and small meltdowns...I remind myself how lucky I am to be a part of this AMAZING community.

Reading:  Yes.  We are still finding time to read.  I completed the DIBELS assessment and will do at least one more week of guided reading next week.  We are working on using context clues to figure out unknown words.  We are also learning about reading fluently by reading smoothly and making it sound  like we are talking.

Writing:  We worked on planning our stories this week so we could include more details.  We continue to use the story hand.

Math:  We are working on greater than and less than.  We are also working on mental math strategies and counting on.  Base ten concepts are also a daily review skill.  

Upcoming Events:

Countdown:

Tuesday is P:  Pajama Day-wear pajamas that can be worn outside for the weather.  Slippers are fine for our inside time, but be sure to pack shoes for recess.  

Wednesday is Q:  Girls are Queens! (If girls are wearing glass slippers...they need to be able to walrk all the way to Rehm Park or bring a change of shoes.) This is also Picnic and Play:  We need a few more volunteers.  Can you help?  

Thursday is R:  Reading Day-Bring a towel to read on when we read outside.  A favorite book from home is great, too!

Friday is Super Hero Day:  Dress like your favorite super hero!

• May 28th:  All Kindergarten Families are invited to Rehm Park for Pizza and Play!  9:30-12:30.  Look for a sign up genius soon! 
• June 3rd Conservatory-We will walk to the Conservatory.  Can you walk with us?  
• June 6th-All School End of the Year party-This will be at Barrie Park in the evening. Come and dance and join the mini Olympics!
• June 10th: Last day of school.  Don't miss the teacher dance!

This week, in addition to our super fun visit to First Grade classrooms, games and giggles and even ice cream, we learned A LOT!!!!


Reading:  We continue to practice silent e words and figuring out unknown words by using picture and word clues.  I am more than half way through our DIBELS assessment.  The kids are doing great and have made tons of progress.
Writing:  We are working on our Story Hand stories.
Math:  We are learning about base ten and counting on.  We also continue to practice drawing pictures to help us with subtraction problems.

Science:  We  have learned a lot about the plant cycle and the butterfly life cycle.  On Friday we learned about pollination-Kindergarten style!  We made butterfly puppets and then flew them from flower to flower to gather and spread "pollen"- which thankfully did not make us sneeze!  Check out the pictures and ask your child to explain how bees and butterflies help flowers.  While you are at it-ask your child to sing the "Black and Yellow Bee" song.

Countdown for Next Week:




Monday:  K-Boys dress like Kings and make decisions!
Tuesday:  Lunch outside  (Lunch ordering will be the same-hot or cold lunch is fine.)
Wednesday: Math Day
Thursday:  Note Day-We'll write notes
Friday:  Olympic Day-Kids need gym shoes all day!

Dates:

• May 19th:  Last Day for Class Library checkout/All Books Due June 3  
• May 22nd  Summer Reading Program Asembly 10:00 am.  Your kids will come home wanting to go to the public library!
• May 23:  Olympic Day!  Kids should wear gym shoes!
• May 23:  Staff and Parent Softball game at Irving!  Super fun and there may even be some food trucks!
• May 28th:  All Kindergarten Families are invited to Rehm Park for Pizza and Play!  9:30-12:30.  Look for a sign up genius soon! 
• June 3rd Conservatory-We will walk to the Conservatory.  Can you walk with us?  
• June 6th-All School End of the Year party-This will be at Barrie Park in the evening. Come and dance and join the mini Olympics!
• June 10th: Last day of school.  Don't miss the teacher dance!

Our Kindergarten Countdown is in full swing!  We had a great time making applesauce last week.  On Tuesday, as we were measuring our teddy bears, Reyes exclaimed, "I didn't think it could get better than Applesauce Day!  But it just did!"   I have the best job in the world.  Who else gets to experience the pure joy of measuring teddy bears with cubes?

Reading:  We are really focusing on comprehension during Whole Group reading.  During center time I am doing the DIBELs assessment.
Writing:  During writing we are working on using a "Story Hand" to help us remember to include details in our stories.  This requires the students to write several sentences on the same topic.  It takes us a few days to complete a story like this.
Math:  We are working on subtraction and base ten.  Additionally, we are measuring with our feet!
Science:  We have enjoyed watching our Painted Lady Butterflies turn into chrysalids.  Our bean plants are healthy and are coming home.

Dates:

• May 15 Art Fest- This is my FAVORITE school event of the year! Art is displayed, poems are performed, Spanish games are played and the gym is open. I will be encouraging your child to sign up for the POETRY SLAM!  
• May 19th:  Last Day for Class Library checkout/All Books Due June 3
• May 22nd  Summer Reading Program Asembly 10:00 am.  Your kids will come home wanting to go to the public library!
• May 23:  Olympic Day!  Kids should wear gym shoes!
• May 23:  Staff and Parent Softball game at Irving!  Super fun and there may even be some food trucks!
• May 28th:  All Kindergarten Families are invited to Rehm Park for Pizza and Play!  9:30-12:30.  Look for a sign up genius soon! 
• June 3rd Conservatory-We will walk to the Conservatory.  Can you walk with us?  
• June 6th-All School End of the Year party-This will be at Barrie Park in the evening. Come and dance and join the mini Olympics!
• June 10th: Last day of school.  Don't miss the teacher dance!

We had a full week!  We learned a lot about seeds and plants!  I bet you did not know that Kindergartners could use context clues to figure out words like germination and photosynthesis!
We also enjoyed our Book Talks!  The students are doing a great job sharing their favorite books with us.  I look forward to hearing more next week.
The opera was a great experience, too!  Thanks to the PTO for funding this every year!
On Wednesday Ms. Penney came in for our second Art Start class.  This week we learned how we can use parts of a plant to dye wool!  We used beets, onion skins and cabbage!  We can't wait to see our fabrics!
In math we are working on subtraction number stories and drawing pictures to solve subtraction problems.
And just in case you thought this week was busy...please check out the dates below.  Look for the ABC countdown calendar in your child's folder!

• May 2nd Irving Sleepover-I'm happy to answer questions about this.  It's super fun and many Kindergartners do great.
• May 5th Kindergarten ABC countdown begins-We will count down the last 26 days of Kindergarten with different events for each letter of the alphabet.  Homework will follow a different format.
• May 5:  A is for Apple Day!  We will be making applesauce.  Your child should bring a peeled, cut up apple.
• May 7th Kindergarten Open House-Do you know any incoming Irving Kindergarten students? Please help spread the word!
• Shop, Swap and Read: May 8:  6:00-7:30
• May 15 Art Fest- This is my FAVORITE school event of the year! Art is displayed, poems are performed, Spanish games are played and the gym is open. I will be encouraging your child to sign up for the POETRY SLAM!  
• May 19th:  Last Day for Class Library checkout/All Books Due June 3
• May 22nd  Summer Reading Program Asembly 10:00 am.  Your kids will come home wanting to go to the public library!
• May 23:  Olympic Day!  Kids should wear gym shoes!
• May 23:  Staff and Parent Softball game at Irving!  Super fun and there may even be some food trucks!
• May 28th:  All Kindergarten Families are invited to Rehm Park for Pizza and Play!  9:30-12:30.
• End of Year Party 
• June 3rd Conservatory-We will walk to the Conservatory.  Can you walk with us?
• June 6th-All School End of the Year party-This will be at Barrie Park in the evening. Come and dance and join the mini Olympics!
• June 10th: Last day of school.  Don't miss the teacher dance!

We had a great Earth Week!

Click here to see the students read and sign this poem!

We began Art Start, Saw the Egg Drop and Academic Fair, and celebrated Earth Week on Farmer Friday!  Pictures from Farmer Friday are linked to the left.  More pictures on the blog to follow!

Reading:  Students did a great job retelling familiar stories this week.  We also practiced figuring out unknown words.  Students learned that there are clues in words and pictures that can help you figure out what a new word means.  We even figured out what germination means!

Writing:  Our focus continues to be on writing complete sentences that start with a capital letter and end with a period.

Math:  We are working on decomposing numbers greater than 10.  We also continue to measure and compare two objects.

Science:  We planted bean seeds, learned about seed coats, and discussed what plants need.

• April 28th Book Talks begin.  Please see our homework packet for this special assignment.
• April 29: Opera for the Young at schol
• April 30:  Art Start in our classroom!  Can you volunteer an hour to help us?  10:30-11:25. We will be learning how we can naturally dye fabrics!  We will make the next page in our fabric book.  Our fabric books will be on display at Art Fest. Art Start is sponsored by the Oak Park Education Foundation.  Ms. Pam Penney will come in to our class 5-6 times to teach us about fiber art!
• April 30th:  Tasty Dog Fundraiser.  The most delicious fundraiser of the year!
• May 2nd Irving Sleepover-I'm happy to answer questions about this.  It's super fun and many Kindergartners do great.
• May 5th Kindergarten ABC countdown begins-We will count down the last 26 days of Kindergarten with different events for each letter of the alphabet.  Homework will follow a different format.
• May 7th Kindergarten Open House-Do you know any incoming Irving Kindergarten students? Please help spread the word!
• Shop, Swap and Read: May 8:  6:00-7:30
• May 15 Art Fest- This is my FAVORITE school event of the year! Art is displayed, poems are performed, Spanish games are played and the gym is open. I will be encouraging your child to sign up for the POETRY SLAM!  
• May 19th:  Last Day for Class Library checkout/All Books Due June 3
• May 22nd  Summer Reading Program Asembly 10:00 am.  Your kids will come home wanting to go to the public library!
• May 28th:  All Kindergarten Families are invited to Rehm Park for Pizza and Play!  9:30-12:30.
• End of Year Party June 6th-This will be at Rehm Park in the evening.
• June 3rd Conservatory-We will walk to the Conservatory.  Can you walk with us?
• June 10th: Last day of school.  Don't miss the teacher dance!