News News News!

When we come back to school in January we will have the FIRST WEEK be our special news week. Each student can bring a toy they got for Christmas to show the class. This is the only time toys are allowed for news. Please help them select something they can share. My disclaimer is: I will try to watch as closely as possible, however, I am not responsible for broken, lost or stolen toys. Just so you know, we have never had trouble before, but there could be a first time!
Have a wonderful, relaxing Christmas Holiday. I will look forward to seeing all of you in the new year!

December

Every month I say "Wow! I can't believe we are on to a new month already!" And here we go...it's really December. We only have a couple of weeks to get through all the great things we are going to learn about this month.

Literacy: We are working hard in Power 1/2 Hour learning all the letters, sounds, blends, digraphs, and blending and segmenting words. We will also bring home sight word list 4 to learn.

Math: We are counting past 60 and learning to count by 5's and 10's. We're learning a lot about patterns, and even about place value. We are practicing writing numbers to 10 (and will soon need to know to 20 and even 30!)

Writing: We are working hard in our "Drawing and Writing" Books. I'm seeing some great story telling and I am impressed with where we are headed in Writer's Workshop. We are starting to label the pictures in our stories and will soon add more text to help the reader better understand our 'writing'.

Social Studies: We will talk about Christmas, holidays, and winter. We will work towards "hibernation" and "bears" in January.

Our last day of school in December is Friday, December 16. We will resume school on Monday, January 2. Have a great, safe holiday break!
Our next Dibels (reading assessment) is the week after we come back from Christmas break. We will need to work hard on letter naming, oral blending, segmenting and nonsense words.
Our next Kindergarten assessment will be two weeks after the break-whew! We have a lot to practice before then. Some of the test items are: recognizing and writing all the uppercase and lowercase letters, and know their sounds. Writing last names; writing a sentence with uppercase at the beginning, spaces between the words and punctuation at the end; writing numbers to 20; simple addition; read 10 sight words; beginning sounds of words. We will also retest any items not passed on the preassessment. Remember to keep reading during the vacation so we don't lose any of our skills!
Remember to send back the reading calendar. Students can earn a personal pizza from Pizza Hut if they meet the reading goal.
We are making a special secret Christmas gift. Each student needs to earn $1.50 (due by Thur. Dec. 8). Please give your child a small job to earn the money they need.
Please send backpacks and folders daily.
Remember jackets now the weather is colder (If your child is missing one we have about 8 in our classroom no one will claim).
Library is on Wednesday, classroom take-home books need to come in on Mondays.

We are still welcoming any volunteers that can come to our room for about 30 minutes on Mon, Tue, and Fri, at 10:45 or 2:45.

Finally, at this time of thanksgiving I am so grateful to you as parents. Thank you for all you do to help your children, and support them in and out of the classroom. I am grateful to know you and your darling Kindergartners. I love that I can spend every day with them. I smile when I think of them, I miss them when we are not together, and I look forward to each new day. Thank you for blessing my life by sharing them with me. I have the best job in the world!

PS, thank you for the VAST improvement in homework. I am impressed!

I teased my classes when we came back from Thanksgiving. I think they ate some kind of magic turkey. They came back nicer, smarter, and harder working than I've ever seen. I told them they might have to skip on to 1st grade, but then I would miss them too much so I guess I'll keep them til summer!

As always, please be sure to call or email if you have questions or concerns.

Look what we've been doing....

We read A My Name Is Alice and made self portraits using alliteration.

We learned a lot about the Pilgrims, Indians and the first Thanksgiving.
Here's our cute books.

Addison, Ansley, and Haven making Thanksgiving books

Shaun


Now we are working as hard as Santa's elves to get ready for Christmas.

Izzy and Cason

Allison
Yolanda
Parker

Aidan
Elliot
Kate
Justin

The Issue of Homework

Let me climb up on my soapbox for a minute. I want to talk about the issue of homework. (can you hear the frustration in my voice?)

• Homework is on Monday and Wednesday each week and is to be returned the following day. The exception is if there is a holiday and it will be the next day.
• Homework is for the sole purpose of practicing best handwriting, writing the letters correctly, and learning how to use the lines and spaces. I cannot work with every child individually each day on this. That's your responsibility.
• Students need a clean, quiet place to work.
• They should have an adult with them to monitor their work.
• Students should sit up straight, use their free hand to stabilize their paper, and have plenty of light.
• Homework should be done in pencil.
• Their name is part of homework. They students should write it themselves. It should be the neatest thing on the paper because they have so many opportunities to write it.
• And finally..... EVERY letter, EVERY time should start at the TOP!!! That's part of what you are monitoring as they write. Remind them to sing the song (they all know it well).

The tune is "If you're happy and you know it"

Where do you start your letters?
At the top.
Where do you start your letters?
At the top.
If your gonna write your letters then your better, better better,
You better start your letters at the top, top, TOP!

Whew!
Lastly, thank you for what you are doing. I know everyone is so busy and sincerely doing the best they can. I appreciate your efforts. I am asking for a little bit more.
Thank you for sharing your adorable children with me. I truly love them, I care about how they are doing in school. I want them to succeed, to feel confident, and have pride in a job well done.

Fall Festivities

I have to back up to Halloween. Roxanna did a FABULOUS job planning our a.m. Halloween party. Thanks Roxy!! We had a ton of parents in the morning and afternoon come in to help. You guys are amazing! The kids had so much fun and we ate Halloween treats for the rest of the week.

Here are some pictures from the party, and from our "bus fieldtrip" the following day.

Alec with his many spider rings

Bingo game

Painting ghosts

Eating donuts

party time

Kate and Keida and all their loot!

Alvin enjoying his treats

Cougar

"Barney" the talking bus

We know we have to stay "arms distance" away from the bus.
It's called "the danger zone".

November Sight Words

as
his
we
are
she
they
from
do
had
one

November

It was fun to see so many kindergarten spooks at the Halloween Carnival. Thanks for coming to support our school.

Now we are on to November!

Some of the happenings this month are:
Bus Safety fieldtrip (ie the bus is coming to US not us going to the bus garage!--but we will still learn about bus safety) is on Tuesday November 1.
McDonald's Night (where you get to come stand in line at McDonalds and see the teachers working behind the counter! It's super busy but a lot of fun. It is an awesome fundraiser for our school since McDonalds gives 1/2 the money earned-not including the drive-through-to our school during that block of time) Monday Nov. 7.
Thanksgiving Break -I know, right? We're really talking about this already???! November 23-27
Our read-a-thon will be the 2nd week of Dec. Remember you need to have a special book bag or box for the books.
Progress reports will come home by the end of the week. Look them over with your child and send back the signed attached note.
Volunteers---Please start coming to our classroom now! We will use you for art, fluency folders, reading and any other thing I think of on the spur of the moment! We need help for 30 minutes at 10:45 (morning class) and 2:45 (afternoon class)

Some of the things we will talk about this month:
Literacy: recognizing all the upper and lower case letters. Knowing all their sounds. Rhyming words and beginning sounds in words.
Math: patterns (a,b, and a,b,c). Counting to 20, 30, 40. Identifying calendar days and months. Using tally marks to represent numbers.
Social Studies: Thanksgiving, scarecrows, harvest, fall.

I will post the next sight word list (list 3) when I remember! (soon)

Our next book order will come home this week. Take a look at the great selections. This will be our last book order before Christmas and will include Nov. and Dec. Remember books make great gifts!

Return the reading calendar. Students can earn a free personal pizza from Pizza Hut this month if they meet the reading goal!

Congratulations to Malachi and Cougar for being amazing students this month! They are our "Catch the Vision" winners! Way to go!!

Pumpkin Patch--I wish I could add all the cuties here but I can't post that many pictures! Take a look as some of these perfect pumpkins...

Afternoon Class

Kody

Addison, after hiking the patch over and over to find the perfect pumpkin!

McKinley who knew exactly what she was looking for and wouldn't quit until she found it!

Dalton

Shaun

The morning class

Taina

Mason

Adain

Malachi and Alec our official "climb under the bus and retrieve all the pumpkins" boys!

October Sight Words

that
for
on
at
have
be
he
was
with
this

Fall Fun

Okay....I know October is almost over. Wow! The year is flying by. I will update with the new monthly sight words, some cute pics of our pumpkin patch field trip, and info you will need for the upcoming month. Please plan to check back often. My plan is to post each Wednesday. Feel free to comment or email me any questions you have. Thanks for sharing your cuties with me. I love spending my days with them!

April

April
Whew! Another month gone by and we still have lots to do! Here are some of the things we will be learning about this month:
Literacy: We are working on middle, sounds. Reading the kindergarten sight words (students need to have at least 25 mastered in Kindergarten). A lot of students are in the ABC and Sight Word Reader Clubs! Way to go!!
Math: subtraction facts, time, and money.
Writing: Writing all the sounds we hear in words. Remembering to start every letter at the TOP! Using our best penmanship.
Social Studies: whales, ocean.
Other important information:
• Remember to return the reading calendar, golden sneaker calendar (this is the last month for Golden sneaker) and skills sheet.
• Our school talent show is Friday, April 1 at 10:00.
• Sight Word Bonus list 1 is now what you should be working on. Please try to get caught up!
• Our last day of centers is Friday, April 8. Thank you so much to the many parents, grandparents and volunteers that have helped in our classroom this year. We cannot be successful without you.
• We will start our final testing through the month of April and finish the first week of May.
Looking ahead…………
• Our final read-a-thon will be on Tuesday May 17. Remember only the books in the special book bag or box can come on that day.
• Our Kindergarten Program will be on Tues. May 10 or Thur. May 12. The morning class will be at 6:00 p.m. and the afternoon class will be at 7:30 p.m. This is a special event that we work really hard for. Please plan to attend.
More info will come later.

If you have any questions please call me 586-2840.
Mrs. Jones

March
We are already to March, and we have a lot of things going on this month:
Literacy: We are working on beginning, middle, and ending sounds. Reading the kindergarten sight words (students need to have at least 25 mastered in Kindergarten). We have started the ABC Club and Sight Word Readers Club. When students have passed off all the requirements they can earn a certificate, a taco from Del Taco and a candy bar from me! They also get to be recognized at our school assembly and have their names on a poster in the hall.
Math: Recognizing and writing numbers to 30. Counting to 80. Counting in Spanish. Addition to 5.
Writing: Writing all the sounds we hear in words. Using 3 things good writers use (uppercase at the beginning, spaces between words, punctuation at the end of sentences). Remembering to use the lines and spaces on our paper, and practicing our best handwriting.
Social Studies: Weather, Dr. Seuss’s birthday, whales, ocean.
Other important information:
• Remember to return the reading calendar, golden sneaker calendar, and skills sheet.
• Students are getting super sloppy with homework. I am reminding them at school that homework is to practice their BEST work. Please remind them at home too.
• Sight Word list 5 is now what you should be working on. Please try to get caught up!
• If your child is absent call the office. I cannot excuse them!
• Sep’s will be the week of March 7-11. School will be out early every day. We will not have centers that week. Sign and return the SEP form. Please remember your appointment time. I will try to stay on schedule!
• Monday, February 28 is McDonald’s night. Come to McDonald’s and see the teachers from East Elementary working the counter!
• March 15 is Kindergarten registration 11:00-3:00. If you have friends or neighbors with a Kindergartener next year please pass the word.
• If you can donate to our theme basket, we are assigned “Disney”.




If you have any questions please call me 586-2840.
Mrs. Jones

March

We are already to March, and we have a lot of things going on this month:

Literacy: We are working on beginning, middle, and ending sounds. Reading the kindergarten sight words (students need to have at least 25 mastered in Kindergarten). We have started the ABC Club and Sight Word Readers Club. When students have passed off all the requirements they can earn a certificate, a taco from Del Taco and a candy bar from me! They also get to be recognized at our school assembly and have their names on a poster in the hall.

Math: Recognizing and writing numbers to 30. Counting to 80. Counting in Spanish. Addition to 5.

Writing: Writing all the sounds we hear in words. Using 3 things good writers use (uppercase at the beginning, spaces between words, punctuation at the end of sentences). Remembering to use the lines and spaces on our paper, and practicing our best handwriting.

Social Studies: Weather, Dr. Seuss’s birthday, whales, ocean.

Other important information:

· Remember to return the reading calendar, golden sneaker calendar, and skills sheet.

· Students are getting super sloppy with homework. I am reminding them at school that homework is to practice their BEST work. Please remind them at home too.

· Sight Word list 5 is now what you should be working on. Please try to get caught up!

· If your child is absent call the office. I cannot excuse them!

· Sep’s will be the week of March 7-11. School will be out early every day. We will not have centers that week. Sign and return the SEP form. Please remember your appointment time. I will try to stay on schedule!

· Monday, February 28 is McDonald’s night. Come to McDonald’s and see the teachers from East Elementary working the counter!

· March 15 is Kindergarten registration 11:00-3:00. If you have friends or neighbors with a Kindergartener next year please pass the word.

· If you can donate to our theme basket, we are assigned “Disney”.

News, News Read all about it! Remember your news day!

	Check out our blog at:jonesjems.blogspot.com

If you have any questions please call me 586-2840.

Mrs. Jones

Things Mrs. Jones Wants You to Know

Curriculum night is Jan. 26 @ 6:00

Open Enrollment forms are available in the office if you are interested. They must be returned by Jan. 31.

The last day of the second quarter is Friday, January 14. Please be sure all homework and make-up work is turned in by then.

There is no school Monday, January 17 (MLK holiday)

Remember Early Out Wednesday schedule has changed. 8:55-10:55, 11:30-1:30

Our second DIBELS and Kindergarten assessment will start this week. PLEASE work with your child nightly on the practice sheets to help them better prepare for the test. Make sure they get plenty of rest, eat a good breakfast, and attend school every day.

There are a lot of Golden Sneaker calendars being turned in with no name on them. My aide gets all the papers out of the folders, and puts all the new papers in them. I don’t see them until they are in a stack on my desk. I have no way of telling whose papers are turned in without names. They all go in the garbage.

Also, I do not have time to total reading calendar and golden sneaker times. Please
do that before you turn them in. Remember on Golden Sneaker they have to have at least 15 minutes of activity to count. Each 15 minutes earns 1 point with a maximum of 5 points a day.

By this time of year students should be able to tie their own shoes and do up their own coats. I tie dozens of shoes each day. I tell students now to find a friend and also tell their parents to teach them how to tie! It is time!!! We spend about 10 minutes of our 10 minute recess getting everyone dressed to go outside. It would really streamline things if students could dress themselves!

Finally….. I lost my Kindergarten class over the Christmas break! YIKES! The students that came back are ones that don’t know how to use beautiful handwriting! I am really disappointed with the work I have seen turned in. Students are getting in a big hurry and doing really poor work. I expect much neater. We have talked about it in class extensively! I will have students rework anything that I feel is unacceptable. I tell them “if they practice neat they will be good at neat. If they practice sloppy they will be good at sloppy. No one wants to be good at sloppy work!”

Thank you for all you do to help your child be successful in school. I appreciate your efforts, I love your children and I feel so blessed to be able to spend each day with them.

Remember to look at our blog: jonesjems.blogspot.com

Wednesdays

Remember our NEW EARLY OUT WEDNESDAY schedule:
A.M. 8:55-10:55
P.M. 11:30-1:30

January

Welcome back! I hope you all had a relaxing holiday. We are ready
to work hard and learn a lot! Here are some of the things we will be
learning about this month:

Literacy Writing, recognizing, and knowing the sounds to all the uppercase and
lowercase letters (they must know all to pass the assessment this time). Reading the
Kindergarten Sight Words (keep working on them at home) Knowing beginning, middle
and ending sounds of words (ask your child to “tap” words for you) Writing our last
name with uppercase at the beginning and lowercase for the rest.

Math Counting to 60, recognizing and writing numbers to 20. Patterns, classifying and
sorting. Counting the calendar in Spanish.

Social Studies Winter, bears, penguins, Antarctica.

Writing Using our best penmanship –“Seatwork equals neatwork” (thanks Sara!)
Starting every letter at theTOP. Using the lines on paper to define where letters go.

Other important information:

Check out our blog at jonesjems.blogspot.com you can find the newsletter,
pictures, and leave comments there.
Remember news days
Library is on Mondays
Students need a jacket or coat to go out to recess. It is winter now!
If your child is absent call the office and have them excused. 586-2840
Reading folders are due back on Mondays
PE is on Thursday s. Make sure your child is dressed appropriately.
There will be no school on Monday, January 17. It is MLK holiday.
Our 2nd Kindergarten assessment and Dibels test will be mid January. Help your
child be prepared by working on the skills sheet, practicing the Kindergarten sight
words, and reading with your child daily.
Remember to return reading calendars, golden sneaker calendars, and skills

sheets. They are all part of homework.

If you have any questions please call me or email merilee.jones@ironmail.org
Thank you for all you do to support me and your children.