In Like a Lion

Anyone else annoyed with the weather????

Speaking of Weather........

We are finishing up our literacy unit on weather.  We have focused on rainbows this week.  We learned about how sunlight is white and it breaks up into all the colors when it passes through water.

Writing
This week we learned about opinion writing.  We had opinions about seasons, pets and snacks.  Additionally, we are really focusing on making sure our letters are all the same size and placed on the line correctly.  Finally, check out our Writing Goals chart.  Ask your child what was his or her writing goal!

Science
We are finishing up our water unit and will begin a unit of study on the sun, moon and space.  We will go to the Planetarium on April 10th.  If you are interested in being a chaperone for this trip, please save the date!  A letter will go home soon!

Math
We are learning how to decompose numbers and learning about 3D shapes.

Dates:
March 13th is Technology Night!  Stop by and see some great presentations on technology used at Irving!!

Spirit Week is March 17th-21st

Monday:  Spring Picture Day 

Tuesday: Pretend it is St. Patricks

Wednesday: Dress like a teacher!   (Be kind...no mom jeans, please!!!)

Thursday: Dress like your favorite book character day!

Friday:  School Colors Day-Wear black, red and white.  Report Cards go home!

March 24-28 Spring Break

March 3-7

March came in like a lion, indeed!  We read a story about how March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb.  If Spring ever comes we will move our morning recess outside for some much needed fresh air.  Please continue to send boots and snow pants.

Kindergarten Conference
I had an amazing two days at the Kindergarten Conference!  I learned so many new things and I am so excited to apply some of things I learned in the classroom.  It was a great experience and I am grateful to the PTO for sponsoring us!

Reading and Writing:
We are working a lot on blends as we read and write.  We are also working on comparing and contrasting characters.  We use Venn Diagrams to help us organize our thoughts.

In writing we have been working on having a beginning, middle and end to our stories.  That means that we are consistently writing three sentences!  (Yay for us!)

In guided reading I have been thrilled with the progress I am seeing.  Students are reading books  with meaning, fluency and comprehension!  Wow!

Math:
Ask your child about our making 10 rainbow.  We are working on drawing pictures to help us solve math problems.  We are also working on writing correct number sentences.

Upcoming Dates
Week of March 17 is Spirit Week

Spirit Week: 

Monday, March 17th:  Spring Picture Day 

Tuesday: Pretend it is St. Patricks

Wednesday: Dress like a teacher!   (Be kind...no mom jeans, please!!!)

Thursday: Dress like your favorite book character day!

Friday:  School Colors Day-Wear black, red and white

February 24-28

Reading and Writing
We began new Route to Reading groups this week.  Your child should have come home with a letter stating the skill they are working on.  We do Route to Reading 3 times a week.  We are working on consonant blends and digraphs in reading.  While we continue to review the short vowel sounds, many students are beginning to learn the long vowel patterns such as silent e.  As your child writes at home, please work on making sure every word has a vowel!  If the vowel says its name, it probably brought along another vowel friend.

Math
Students are working on number sentences up to ten.  We are also working on measuring and shapes.  As you saw for the homework this week, please continue to practice counting on from a given number. The goal for the end of Kindergarten is to begin counting from any number between and 100.

Social Studies and Science
In Social Studies we learned about different African American heroes.  In Science we continued to learn about the water cycle and how water changes into different states of matter.

Upcoming Dates
March 5:  End of Trimester
March 17:  Spring Pictures-more information to come later
March 21:  Report cards go home

Professional Development Days
I will be out for a district required professional development day this Friday.  Next Thursday and Friday I will also be out attending a PTO- sponsored Kindergarten conference.  Detailed plans will be left for the guest teachers.

Thanks!
Thanks to all of you who contributed to the Fun Fair in any way.  The New Beats won the talent competition, but alas, we did not win the pie in the face.  The Fun Fair was wildly successful as a fundraiser and an even more successful community builder.  Every year the Fun Fair reminds me just how much I love this school and our community.

Fun Fair Week!

Happy "Fun Fair Week!"  Things are getting exciting here.  A few reminders for those of you new to Irving School.

• You can buy tickets after school every day this week by the office.  They are discounted!  The tickets allow you to play games, do the cake walk and other events.  
• Teachers have volunteered to get a "pie in the face" for the good of the school!  While no one wants to get the pie in the face, we all desperately want the bragging rights that come with raising the most money...so send in those quarters, dimes, pennies...even dollars!  I'll wash the pie off my face in 2 minutes, but the money raised helps us all year!
• The silent auction has great items available.  There is an online component that starts TONIGHT at 6:00 pm.  

In other news...

Reading:  Wow!  Can I just say, "WOW!!!!!"  The kids are making so much progress!  Have your child tell you about the "h" brothers.  We learned that every word needs a vowel.  Can your child sing the vowel song?

Math:  Keep practicing those number bonds to 10.  Also, practice writing those numbers to 30.  This week we will continue measuring and building shapes.  

Writing:  We are working on 

• spaces between words
• spelling sight words correctly
• sounding out unknown words
• starting with a capital letter and ending with a period
• correct letter sizing (tall letters tall, short letters short)

Homework went home today and we will resume our Monday-Friday homework schedule.  

We successfully had a 5 day week!  Yay!  We got so much accomplished and best of all we celebrated (almost) 100 days of school!  Thanks so much to all the parents who sent in snacks and helped at the party.  I declare it was a success!  Please enjoy the pictures taken at the party linked to the left.  I ordered individual prints of each child, so you will get those along with the other ones from earlier in the school year.

Reading:  This week we revisited some of the common core standards from the beginning of the year.  We discussed author, illustrator, fiction, non-fiction, setting and character.  Students are working very hard during reading centers to practice sight words, writing and reading independently.

Writing:  We wrote about our favorite season and we are really working on correct punctuation, spacing and lettering.

Math:  We did some measuring this week and we worked on number bonds where one number was given.  Essentially this is subtraction, but for them it is more like algebraic thinking.  Finally, we worked on making new shapes from other given shapes.  Keep practicing the names of the pattern block shapes.

Science:  This week we learned that water changes shape depending on the container.  We also learned that some objects float in water and some objects sink.  Next week we will learn about what dissolves in water, what the three stages of water are, and that water can climb!

Upcoming Events:
Next Friday, Feb. 14, is institute day.  This is a professional development day and there is no school for students. Monday is Presidents Day

Saturday, February 22 is the Fun Fair.  Next week students will have the opportunity to put money in the jug of the team of teachers who is willing to get a pie in the face at the end of the fun fair.  As I mentioned earlier, I am on a team called the NEW BEATS!  We are a super fantastic dance team that loves to entertain the kids and raise money for the best school in the world.  (OK-we are average dancers, but we really love Irving and we are even willing to take a pie in the face to show it!)  Your child might be asking to bring quarters, dollars or pennies in for these jugs.  It is a HUGE fundraiser.

Raise your hand if you want a five day school week???

Well, the kids have managed to make wonderful progress despite all the changes in their routines.  It seems each day I sit and work with a student I notice a new skill they have mastered.

I enjoyed meeting with many of you for conferences and look forward to making up the rest next week.  Although it is our last "official" conference, please feel free to set up an appointment at any time!

We had a good opportunity to discuss some of our academic endeavors at conferences, so let me take a minute to discuss some upcoming events.

February 7th-100th day of School Celebration:  Please consider helping out from 9-11.  A poll was sent via email.  I totally understand how hard it has been to find childcare with all the crazy schedules, but it really makes a difference having extra hands for this celebration.  At a minimum I need 4 additional adults to make it work.

February 13th-Your child can pass out valentines at school.  A class list is going home with your child in the folder.  It is great practice for your child to address each Valentine, so start early if you can!  


February 22-Fun Fair:  For those of you new to Irving-you do not want to miss the Fun Fair!!!  It is a spectacular event that really is fun for the whole family.  There are games in the cafeteria, a silent auction in the Kindergarten hallway, and dancing for desserts in the auditorium.  The best part (in my humble opinion) is the staff talent show at the end of the fair.  It really is a blast and the teachers at Irving put their hearts and soles into making a fool of themselves to make the kids happy and raise a little money.  Yours truly will be dusting off my dancing shoes as part of a world famous dancing crew called the New Beats.  We hit big time at the Irving Fun Fair a few years ago, only to lose for the next two years. Last year we regained our crown and hope to keep the trophy again this year!  (You can usually find me in the back row turning the wrong way...)    Mark your calendars!  You DON'T want to miss it!

I LOVE JANUARY!!!

I love January!  No.  I do not love the weather.  My team is out of the playoffs.  I'm tired of my winter clothes.  I can't go for a decent run in all this ice.  So.....Why do I love January? ( LOVE JANUARY?) It is because the students show so much progress!  It is simply incredible to watch as my students start to "get it" when we read, write, add or simply make our way around the school.  I love January.

Conferences:  I look forward to seeing all of you at our conferences.  You should have received an email from me last week with your conference time.   I will post the final schedule next week.  I am eager to share with you your child's progress and discuss goals for the rest of the year.  While these are our last formal conferences for the year, I sincerely hope you feel comfortable requesting a conference if you have any questions for the remainder of the year.

Reading and Writing:  We are focusing on sequencing events in a story.  We are also working on naming the main idea of a non-fiction story.  We continue to work on using a capital letter to start a sentence and only lower case letters for the rest of the sentence.  As your child writes at home, please encourage correct punctuation.

Math:  We are working on number bonds, odd and even numbers and beginning place value concepts.  

Science:  In February we will dive into a unit on water!  Splash!

100th day: February 7th will be our 100th day of school!  We will celebrate in big ways!  Please look at the homework packet for additional information about this day and HOW YOU CAN HELP! 

On a personal note: You have all been incredibly patient and gracious as I nursed my husband's broken leg and the herniated disc that followed.   Unfortunately, I am called to the nursing profession one more time this year.  My father has been diagnosed with a rare kidney cancer and I am heading home to Green Bay for  surgery and some recovery next week.  Sadly, my uncle is also in critical care and fighting for his life right now. I will be out next Thursday and Friday for sure and possibly on Wednesday.  On Thursday and Friday Ms. Billie Lara will be my sub.  I have worked with her several times in the past couple of years as she has covered maternity leaves and will likely cover Ms. Ricchio's leave later this year.  She is an Irving treasure and the kids know her already.  I will keep you posted if additional days are needed.