October/November
2013
Newsletter
Fall is here and
October and November are busy months in our Kindergarten class. Our focus has
been the fall season. What a wonderful
time to learn about colours, leaves and pumpkins. We are so blessed. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, the
Kindergarten class made a Thankful Tree. Students wrote about something for
which they were thankful. We wrote such
wonderful things to God.
On Thursday, October 31st, St. George School is having orange
and black day. It is also our big Dance-a-thon fundraiser. Please dress your
child in orange and/or black on this day.
We would like to send a big ‘THANK YOU’ to parents who have returned the dance-a-thon money.
It was due on October 24th. Once all participants submit moneys
collected, the final amount raised will be calculated.
In November, we will be talking about Remembrance Day and
practicing our letter writing by writing postcards to our Canadian war
veterans. We will also be participating in the Remembrance Day Ceremony at
school. During the
second week of November, poppies will be sold to support the veterans of
Canada. If you wish your child to
purchase one, simply send in a small donation.
Every day, we choose a special student who is the leader/ami special for the day. We use
the letters in the child’s name to help with letter recognition. Thank you to those parents who
have been helping their child with the writing of his/her name. The students are so proud when they can write
their name independently. In addition to
writing their name, JK students are being asked to say the letters in their
name. Some could benefit from additional
practice at home. Have your child read
the letters to you, once they’ve printed them.
Touching each letter as they do so would help to encourage this
skill. All children should be writing
their name using ONLY lowercase letters except for the first letter (for
example: Johnny). Something to challenge the SKs is to practice the writing
of their last name or writing the names of other family members. They enjoy
writing their friends names here at school using a name card as a guide.
Many
students have been wearing their author’s hat and have created many individual
books. With support, those who have
letter sound knowledge are encouraged to ‘stretch out’ the sounds in the word
they wish to write. This helps to find
the letters needed. This is something
for parents to be aware of for we’re sure this enthusiasm spills over into the
evening hours.
In French, we have been saying
“Bonjour, je m’appelle…”. We have been counting to 20 and talking about school,
friends, our house, our family, Thanksgiving, fall leaves, clothes and parts of
the body. Please review the attached songs and vocabulary words with your child
at home as often as you can. You may also want to check out our songs we love section. We have added videos that the
students love to watch in class: Alain le lait (nombres 1-20, alphabet, les
couleurs, les parties du corps) as well as “Pomme de reinette et pomme d’api”,
“La vie en couleurs”, et “Les roues de l’autobus”.
In Math, we have been graphing, measuring and counting. We have
sorted and graphed different shapes of leaves and measured pumpkins. We’ve even
used pumpkins to find out how tall we are.
Ask your child how many pumpkins tall he/she is! At home, you can practice sorting and
graphing. For example, sort the laundry. Sort out different laundry items from
the laundry basket (socks, shirts, pants). Count the items to see if there are
more coloured socks than white socks; more shirts than pants. Show it on a
graph! November will have more focus placed on number sense and numeration: the
JKs will be doing activities to help with counting and showing sets to 5 along
with numeral recognition. With the SKs,
the number focus will be on numbers between 10 and 20. Please keep in mind that any
and all strands of math occur on any given day in a play based learning
environment!
It has
come to our attention that some parents would like to see their child resting
on something other than a blanket during quiet time. If you wish to send in a yoga mat, for your child’s use only, simply bring
one with you during your parent teacher interview on November 7th. More information about parent teacher
interviews will follow.
The
weather is getting colder and so, the students have more articles of
clothing. Labeled items are easily
returned to students when they get misplaced.
We ask that you continue to support your child in getting dressed (zipping
zippers and buttoning buttons AND getting shoes on independently). Very soon, children who can zip their own
zipper will become part of our Zipper Club. We know it isn’t always easy, especially when
you’re in a rush, but your effort now will save time later. Please save the laces for grade one when
students’ fine motor skills are much more developed. The ratio of teacher to student does not
support the use of laces in kindergarten.
It really delays the flow to our next transition.
Reminders:
- Please ensure that all of your child’s belongings (coats, sweaters,
hat, mitts…) are labeled with his/her name.
- Please help your child practice putting his/her coat on independently.
Winter wear is often much more difficult to get on and do up than light
spring/fall jackets. Please take the time to show him/her how to reverse a
sleeve that has turned inside out. Something to keep in mind…
Scarves are very difficult for young children to put on in a safe
manner. Serious injuries have
occurred involving young students wearing scarves on a bus or play
structure.
- Please ensure that your child sends his/her note tote to school
every day.
- Please continue to send a water bottle with your child. Water is such a great choice for
replenishing fluids in any temperature.
- To avoid
frustration, Velcro shoes are HIGHLY recommended for both indoor and
outdoor use! Curly laces are available at all Payless and Walmart stores if
purchasing Velcro shoes is not an option.
We appreciate the support
you are providing at home! Should you
have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact one of us any
time before or after school.
Sincerely,
Mrs.
Gratwohl
Mme
Dolgos
Mrs.
McDonell
Mrs.
McAteer
