Hi Families,

I hope this finds you well and enjoying the holiday season.

I wanted to make sure you were aware of a few things.  

Concerts:

Concerts are Wednesday at 8:15 and 9:45.  Both concerts are the same.  If you do not plan on being at either one, please let me know.  The winter celebration has been planned by our wonderful room parent, Laura Young.  There are a few crafts and some simple snacks.  Please stop by after the second concert for this party.

Lice:

Please read this letter about lice in our classroom.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7t0DQLJkq7xYWtMMGo1VW1sRDNtUkNGSENMaGYwcktNakFR/view?usp=sharing

National Boards

As many of you know, I am in the second year of working towards my National Board Certification. This weekend I received my scores from last year. I passed my first 2 portfolios!  Yay!  Now I am preparing my last portfolio and studying for my exam.  I need a SIGNED WAIVER FROM EACH STUDENT that allows me to submit student work or short video clips to the National Board for assessment.  My name is not attached to the video, nor is our school district.  I have an identification number that is used to submit the work.  I mention this in case you have any privacy concerns.  I am putting the waivers in your child's folders today.  I would love to have these all returned by Friday.  Thank you so much for helping me achieve this goal!

Report Cards
Report cards go home Friday, December 8th.  You will get the report card in a white envelope.  The report card and all the brochures from the district are yours to keep.  The envelope needs to be signed and returned.  Don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions.

Winter Concerts and Party

• There will be two shows the morning of December 20.  The first show is 8:15.  The second show is 9:45.  The Kindergarteners will sing for about 15 minutes.  The first graders sing after Kindergarten.  The whole show lasts about 30 minutes.  
• After the second show we will have our Winter Party.  Everyone is invited to attend this party.
• You will get an email from our room parents with details about the party.
• If you are NOT able to make it to either of the shows, PLEASE TELL ME as soon as possible.  If we can prepare your child ahead of time for the fact that you will not be there it is much easier for them to relax and enjoy the show and party. We can arrange to send pictures and videos.  

Reading

We continue to read Fairy Tales.  This week we read The Three Little Pigs, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and Cinderella.  We talked about what they have in common.  We are also working on our Book Talk Power!  Students have been reading with partners this week and have enjoyed talking about the books and the parts they really like.  

We learned how to read rhyming words this week!  If it looks alike, it probably sounds alike.  If it sounds alike, it probably looks alike!  

Most exciting of all, we finally got past 10 minutes in our Read to Self Stamina!!!   We will celebrate with a pajama day on Friday!

Writing

Our writing this week focused on strong beginnings.  

Math

We are practicing adding 1 more and comparing sets in Math.  We learned about number sentences during calendar.  

STEMWe are enjoying working in our STEM and Sensory Bins.  Students are exploring ways to build with different materials. We will continue using these bins to build, problem solve, and learn about our world.