Week 27: March 8-11
Here’s what we’ve got going on in school this week:
What we’re learning this week:
Reminders and Updates:
- In math, I am finishing post-assessing students on measurement.
- Students need to be able to compare the length, height, weight, and capacity of objects.
- Students should be able to count to 80 by 10s and 1s.
- Students will need to know that 10 pennies is equal to a dime.
- We will be going to the library on Tuesday. Don’t forget to send in library books!
What we’re learning this week:
- We are talking about addition in math this week. We will start by discussing “Friends of Ten” (9 and 1, 8 and 2, 7 and 3, etc.), addition key words, and introduce the addition strategies of drawing pictures and using our fingers.
- In phonics, we will learn about the digraph ph and review our other digraphs.
- In writing, we will wrap up our how-to writing unit and pre-assess for our opinion writing unit.
- We will take the how-to writing post-assessment next week.
- In science, we will continue learning about animal habitats, focusing on the rainforest, grasslands, and desert.
- In reading, we will continue learning about non-fiction texts and how to compare and contrast non-fiction texts on the same topic.
Reminders and Updates:
- Students have a 4 day weekend this upcoming weekend! There is no school on Friday, March 12 or Monday, March 15.
- As you saw in Thursday folders, spring pictures will be on Tuesday, March 16. I do not have a picture time slot yet, so please do not make any appointments that might take students out of school for any time that day.
- We will be eating in the classroom on Monday and Wednesday this week.
Week 26: March 1-5
Today, your child brought home an example of their how-to writing. Students were told on Monday that they would have until today to finish their best how-to piece yet to review with their checklist (attached) and turn in. Students received a grade in Infinite Campus today to reflect approximately what they would have earned if this had been their summative assessment. They also received specific “glows” and “grows” to focus on in their writing.
Next week is Exception Children’s Week, celebrating our differences. Each day has a special theme:
Here’s what we’re learning next week:
Other Updates and Reminders:
Next week is Exception Children’s Week, celebrating our differences. Each day has a special theme:
- Monday – Read Across Fulton Day – wear Red, White, or Blue
- Tuesday – Crazy Hat and Sock Day!
- Wednesday – Make healthy choices – we will be focusing on healthy choices at school
- Thursday – Follow your dreams! Dress up for your dream job!
- Friday – We are super! Dress as your favorite super hero.
Here’s what we’re learning next week:
- In math we will be reviewing measurement while I pre-assess students for addition and subtraction. We will begin the measurement post-test late next week. Information on our measurement unit is available on my Weebly.
- In addition to measurement, students need to count to 80 for this assessment.
- In phonics, we are learning about “sneaky e” and how adding an e to a word changes vowels to say their name.
- We are finishing up with How-To writing next week and will take a post-assessment on it the following week.
- We are learning about artic and ocean animal habitats, as well as what it means for a species to be endangered next week.
- In reading, we will read multiple non-fiction texts about the same topic to learn more about it and to compare the different books.
Other Updates and Reminders:
- Students should not be bringing toys from home to school.
- We will eat in the classroom on Tuesday and Thursday next week.
- Students are off on Friday, March 12 and Monday, March 15.
Week 25: February 22-26
I hope everybody has had a nice weekend! We have another typical week in ahead of us in kindergarten.
Here’s what we’ve got going on this week:
Here’s what we’re learning this week:
Other Reminders:
As always, feel free to reach out to me if there’s anything I can help you with!
Here’s what we’ve got going on this week:
- I will begin pre-assessing our next math unit, addition and subtraction, this week.
- Next week, I will begin post-assessing our measurement unit.
- Tuesday is College Pride day!
- On Friday, we will be going to the library to check out new books,
Here’s what we’re learning this week:
- In math, we will be working on data and graphing. Students will be making bar graphs with up to four categories and answer questions like “Which had more?” and “How many more did _____ have than ________?”
- In phonics, we are working on r controlled vowels. Students are learning that R is bossy, when it’s with e, I, or u, it’s the only sound you hear. With a, R says it’s name.
- In writing, we are still working on our How-To writing unit. This week, students are learning how to add details in their pictures and words. Students are also learning to use checklists to check that they are doing their best writing.
- We are beginning our new IB unit in science and will begin learning about animal habitats. We will be focusing on forest and fresh-water habitats this week.
- In reading, we will be learning that non-fiction books often have “Expert Words” that are specific to what that book is about. We will learn how to figure out what these words mean and then use them to teach other people what we’ve learned.
Other Reminders:
- We are eating in the classroom Monday, Wednesday, and Friday this week.
- If your students still has any folders/journals/etc. at home, please make sure to send those back.
As always, feel free to reach out to me if there’s anything I can help you with!
URL: February 16
The county has announced that tomorrow will be a virtual learning day due to concerns about icy roads. Due to the late notice, we will use tomorrow to review our current units and will not be introducing new material.
We will have virtual meetings at the following times, similar to our virtual weeks after Thanksgiving and Winter breaks. We will have short assignments on Seesaw, as well as iReady in reading and math. I will send out a more detailed plan and list of assignments shortly.
DOWNLOAD LESSON PLANS
We will have virtual meetings at the following times, similar to our virtual weeks after Thanksgiving and Winter breaks. We will have short assignments on Seesaw, as well as iReady in reading and math. I will send out a more detailed plan and list of assignments shortly.
- 8:10 - Morning Meeting, Calendar, Math
- 9:20 - Shared reading and phonics
- 10:30 - Read aloud and writing
- 11:30 - Reading
DOWNLOAD LESSON PLANS
Week 24: February 16-19
I hope everybody has enjoyed their long weekend! We have a very straight forward week ahead of us.
What We’re Learning This Week:
Other Reminders:
What We’re Learning This Week:
- Math: We are beginning to discuss reading and making bar graphs. We will also have a formative assessment on measuring later this week.
- Students will need to be able to compare objects using these words: heavier, lighter, taller, longer, shorter, holds more, and holds less.
- In shared reading and social studies, we will learn about George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. On Friday, we will learn about Ruby Bridges with a virtual field trip as part of Black History Mont.
- Later in the week, we will begin discussing gravity in science.
- In writing, students will learn to set goals for their How-To writing and to use example texts to help them improve their own writing.
- We will continue learning about non-fiction texts and their features in reading.
Other Reminders:
- We will eat in our room on Tuesday and Thursday this week.
- Please make sure that your child’s name is in their jackets. They are much more likely to come home if they are left anywhere if there is a name inside.
Week 23: February 8-11
We’ve got a shorter, but hopefully more normal week ahead of us. As a reminder, students have both this Friday, February 12, and Monday, February 15, off of school.
This week is also the Great Kindness Challenge! To celebrate, students can try to complete a kindness checklist and participate in various dress up days!
What we are learning this week:
Other reminders and announcements:
As always, please reach out if you need anything!
This week is also the Great Kindness Challenge! To celebrate, students can try to complete a kindness checklist and participate in various dress up days!
- Monday – “Ride the Kindness Wave” – Beach/surf attire (within dress code, please)
- Tuesday – “Round Up Kindness” – Western attire
- Wednesday – “Powered By Kindness” – Superhero outfits
- Thursday – “Shine Bright with Kindness” – Neon and sunglasses
What we are learning this week:
- In math, we are reviewing our four types of measurement: weight, height, length, and capacity.
- For phonics, we will introduce r controlled vowels (er, ir, ur). As with last week, this is not something we expect students to master this year, but want them to be exposed to the concepts to help with reading new words.
- Students are continuing to work on How-To writing, creating both individual and class pieces.
- We will continue to learn about rocks and soil in science.
- We are beginning our non-fiction unit in reading. Students will learn how books can teach them about topics and how these are different from fiction books.
Other reminders and announcements:
- We have a new student joining our class on Wednesday! Please make sure to send in a Valentine for Jamie if you are sending in Valentine.
- We will be exchanging Valentines on Thursday. Valentines may not include food or candy.
- Since there is no school on Friday, we will be visiting the library to check out books on Tuesday. Please make sure to send back books so that students can pick a new one.
- We will be eating in the classroom on Tuesday and Thursday this week.
As always, please reach out if you need anything!
Week 22: February 1-5
First and foremost, I wanted to let everybody know that Ms. Troy will be out this next week to quarantine. Our class is not considered at risk by her exposure. I will also be out Thursday morning for professional duty, but we have an excellent substitute scheduled. I will be back for the second half of the day.
What we’re learning next week:
On Monday and Tuesday, students will be writing a final true story book for their narrative writing post-assessment. Students will be able to see our writing anchor charts around the room, but otherwise work independently. On Thursday, students took home their writing from our narrative writing unit. They were able to pick a writing to make their best, following our writing charts and working with a partner. This was labeled with an orange sticky note and was at the front of their stack. I am attaching examples of kindergarten narrative writing provided by our curriculum, as well as our rubric, for your to compare your child’s writing to. At this point in the year, we hope that students are scoring an average of a 3.5 in each category. For more information on this writing unit, please see the writing page of my Weebly. Please help your student think of a story to write about, so that they can make the most of their time available. Most students also brought home information on their reading level. If it was not sent home this week, I was still finalizing your student’s level and will send home information next week. As a reminder, the end of the year expectation students are expected to read on a level C independently (with 95% accuracy and understanding) and a level D instructionally (90-94% accuracy and understanding). For examples of books on each level, please check the leveled library on the RAZ-Kids app. If your did not empty your student’s Thursday Folder this week, they brought it home again yesterday. Please look through it and return it for Monday. Other Updates and Reminders:
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Week 21: January 25-29
We had a great first week back in the building! The students were so excited to see each other and I know they are all thrilled to be back at school. We do have a very busy week ahead of us, so please read carefully!
What we’re learning this week:
Reminders and Updates:
- Monday is the 100th day of school! Since this is such an unusual year, we are not emphasizing it as much as in previous years, but we will still have some fun, celebratory activities on Monday.
- I will be post-assessing students on our math unit next week.
- Students will need to be able to decompose teen numbers into a group of ten and some more ones, as well as determine the teen number given a group of ten and some ones. They should be able to represent teen numbers with equations such as 18 = 10 + 8 and 10 + 3 = 13
- Students will need to compare numbers using <, >, and =.
- Students should know that one dime is worth ten pennies.
- Students should be able to count and write numbers up to 60.
- For more information, please visit the Math page of my Weebly.
- I am also finishing formal reading assessments next week. I will send information home on your child’s reading level next week or the week after.
- We are going to the library on Friday afternoon. Make sure to send library books back so that your student can check out a new one!
What we’re learning this week:
- In math, we will begin our measurement unit by learning about height and length. Students will practice measuring with non-standard units (ex: the pencil is 5 pennies long, the bookshelf is 25 cubes tall)
- In phonics, we will begin learning about vowel teams such as ea, oa, ai, and ay. This is not something that students are required to master this year, but having some familiarity with these concepts will help students when they encounter new words when reading.
- Next week is our last week of narrative writing. Students will take a post-assessment on narrative writing following next week. We will also take a how-to writing pre-assessment at the end of this week.
- We will begin learning about the 5 senses in science.
- In reading, we will be learning about using sight words in new ways. For example, students can recognize that the word “ball” has the sight word “all” in it. Students will also learn about adding endings on sight words, like adding an s to “make”, creating “makes”.
Reminders and Updates:
- Please send back all the materials that your student brough home during break
- Math and ELA journals
- Math tool bag
- Writing and reading folders
- Book baggies
- Pencil boxes
- If your student cannot count to 100 or recognize all letter sounds, please review these each day! They are crucial for success this year. Everybody should also be reading with their child daily.
- Students should only be bringing water to drink at school. Do not send in juice, sports drinks, or carbonated beverages.
- If your tablet does not have the iReady app installed, your student will not have a reason to use it at school. Please either install the app or keep the device home.
- Students should be dressed and wearing appropriate shoes for PE on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
- We are still waiting on directions for Valentine’s Day this year. Please wait to purchase anything until we know if we will be allowed to distribute cards this year.
Week 19: URL January 11-15
As you have heard by now, we will be continuing with remote learning next week. I am currently working on adjusting our lesson plans to fit virtual learning and will have those out to you by tomorrow evening. However, I know that many of you are trying to plan for and organize your families for next week so I wanted to give you our schedule for next week. For the most part, our schedule will be the same as this week. Please note that, as with this week, students must log on for both the math lesson at 8:20 and the reading lesson at 11:45 to be marked present for the day.
Morning Meeting and Math: 8:10 am
Shared Reading and Phonics: 9:20 am
Read Aloud and Writing: 10:30 am
Social Studies and Reading: 11:30 am
Specials (M-Th): 1:25 pm
As I mentioned, we will be following the same schedule as last week but will also be meeting in small groups each day. Those groups are listed below.
Math Group 1 (8:35 am): Adriel, Laya, Ansley, Michael
Math Group 2 (8:50 am): Lucas, Josie, John Alan, Collins, Claire
Math Group 3 (9:05 am): AJ, Leia, Raina, Owen, Boston, Jack
Reading Group 1 (12:00 noon): Leia, Raina, Owen, Boston, Jack
Reading Group 2 (12:15 pm): Lucas, Claire, Michael
Reading Group 3 (12:30 pm): AJ, Josie, John Alan, Collins,
Reading Group 4 (12:45 pm): Adriel, Laya, Ansley
Students must log on to our math and reading meetings (8:20 and 11:45 am) to be marked present each day. While other meetings and assignments may not count towards attendance, they are as important as any school day. Students who consistently log on and complete all their assignments are performing as I would expect from students in a more traditional year. These students also have an easier time transitioning back to being in school, making those days more effective learning days, as well.
As always, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. I know that virtual learning can be difficult, and I am here to make it go as smoothly as possible!
Morning Meeting and Math: 8:10 am
Shared Reading and Phonics: 9:20 am
Read Aloud and Writing: 10:30 am
Social Studies and Reading: 11:30 am
Specials (M-Th): 1:25 pm
As I mentioned, we will be following the same schedule as last week but will also be meeting in small groups each day. Those groups are listed below.
Math Group 1 (8:35 am): Adriel, Laya, Ansley, Michael
Math Group 2 (8:50 am): Lucas, Josie, John Alan, Collins, Claire
Math Group 3 (9:05 am): AJ, Leia, Raina, Owen, Boston, Jack
Reading Group 1 (12:00 noon): Leia, Raina, Owen, Boston, Jack
Reading Group 2 (12:15 pm): Lucas, Claire, Michael
Reading Group 3 (12:30 pm): AJ, Josie, John Alan, Collins,
Reading Group 4 (12:45 pm): Adriel, Laya, Ansley
Students must log on to our math and reading meetings (8:20 and 11:45 am) to be marked present each day. While other meetings and assignments may not count towards attendance, they are as important as any school day. Students who consistently log on and complete all their assignments are performing as I would expect from students in a more traditional year. These students also have an easier time transitioning back to being in school, making those days more effective learning days, as well.
As always, don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. I know that virtual learning can be difficult, and I am here to make it go as smoothly as possible!
Week 18: URL January 6-8
I hope that everybody had a wonderful winter break! I’ve missed my class and I’m excited to see them online tomorrow. As a reminder, we will be learning remotely through Microsoft Teams and Seesaw this week, Wednesday to Friday. Students will return to the building on Monday, January 11. Please note that students must log onto both our math and reading meetings (8:20 am and 12 noon) to be considered virtually “present”.
On our Virtual Learning Page, you will find our schedule and lessons for this week. I will be adding the meetings onto our Teams page, as well, making it easy to see in the calendar view. Like after Thanksgiving, our virtual schedule will reflect our in-school schedule, not the one we used during URL at the beginning of the year. Similarly, P.E. will only last 30 minutes so that specials teachers have time to regroup between grades. Most assignments will be completed in Seesaw, however students will also need the writing paper, word wall handout (Thursday only), and book baggie that they took home before break. I would really prefer that writing be completed on paper and then be photographed for Seesaw so that students can create the same quality of work at home that they do in class. Additionally, students are also expected to work on iReady Reading and Math each day. While there will not be any graded assignments this week, we are reviewing important information and beginning new units. It is very important that students complete all of their assignments this week so that they are prepared for next week.
As always, let me know if you have any questions! I know returning from break can be a little discombobulating, but I am always here to help!
On our Virtual Learning Page, you will find our schedule and lessons for this week. I will be adding the meetings onto our Teams page, as well, making it easy to see in the calendar view. Like after Thanksgiving, our virtual schedule will reflect our in-school schedule, not the one we used during URL at the beginning of the year. Similarly, P.E. will only last 30 minutes so that specials teachers have time to regroup between grades. Most assignments will be completed in Seesaw, however students will also need the writing paper, word wall handout (Thursday only), and book baggie that they took home before break. I would really prefer that writing be completed on paper and then be photographed for Seesaw so that students can create the same quality of work at home that they do in class. Additionally, students are also expected to work on iReady Reading and Math each day. While there will not be any graded assignments this week, we are reviewing important information and beginning new units. It is very important that students complete all of their assignments this week so that they are prepared for next week.
As always, let me know if you have any questions! I know returning from break can be a little discombobulating, but I am always here to help!
Week 17: December 14-18
We’ve got just one more week until Winter Break! Unfortunately, I was out Thursday and Friday this week due to a stomach bug, but I am already feeling much better and should be back all of next week!
Next week…
What we’re learning…
Please make sure to submit any incomplete assignments by Thursday so that I can enter grades before Friday!
Finally, we do not know what January will look like. At this point in time, we are still planning to return to in person learning on January 6. However, due to rising COVID-19 cases, we are preparing for the possibility of a virtual start. Students will be bringing learning materials home on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Please let me know if your student will be out at the end of the week or leaving early, so that I can ensure they have all their materials ready to go before they leave for break.
Next week…
- Tuesday is College Pride Day!
- On Tuesday and Wednesday, students will take a science quiz on day and night. Students will need to differentiate between objects in the day and night sky and between day and night activities.
- Holiday Tradition projects are due on Wednesday! These are a summative grade and will be shared with the class!
- On Wednesday and Thursday, we will have a math quiz on comparing numbers and decomposing teen numbers into 10 and 1s.
- Friday is pajama day! Send your student in their coziest PJs!
- Our winter party will be Friday from 10:30-12:00.
- We will check out new library books for winter break on Friday. Make sure to send books back!
What we’re learning…
- In math, we are reviewing our unit so far and relating it to pennies and dimes. Students will practice making teen numbers using a dime and some pennies.
- For phonics, we are working on beginning blends. This week, we will be focusing on s blends (sn-, sk-, sl-, etc.) and l blends (bl-, cl-, gl-, fl-, etc.). We will also continue practicing counting syllables.
- We are finishing up our focus on Winter holidays. This week, we will focus on Christmas.
- In writing, students will learn to reread their writing and make changes to make it easier for readers to read. We will learn that we can use both ends of our pencils to make our work the best it can be.
- We will review our Reading Super Powers and practice using them all together.
Please make sure to submit any incomplete assignments by Thursday so that I can enter grades before Friday!
Finally, we do not know what January will look like. At this point in time, we are still planning to return to in person learning on January 6. However, due to rising COVID-19 cases, we are preparing for the possibility of a virtual start. Students will be bringing learning materials home on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Please let me know if your student will be out at the end of the week or leaving early, so that I can ensure they have all their materials ready to go before they leave for break.
Week 16: December 7-11
Good afternoon!
It ended up being another wild week in kindergarten! I had to miss school on Wednesday and Thursday, but the kids loved getting to know Ms. Troy. We are lucky to have her with us!
Attached, you will find directions for our Holiday Traditions Project. I had intended this to go home in Thursday folders, but was unable to get them out due to my absence. A paper copy of the letter will be sent home on Monday. This project will be a grade, so please make sure to send it in on time!
Other reminders:
What we are learning this week:
With just 2 weeks left until break, we are almost halfway through kindergarten! This year still doesn’t look quite normal, but the students are doing great! As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, etc. Enjoy your weekend!
It ended up being another wild week in kindergarten! I had to miss school on Wednesday and Thursday, but the kids loved getting to know Ms. Troy. We are lucky to have her with us!
Attached, you will find directions for our Holiday Traditions Project. I had intended this to go home in Thursday folders, but was unable to get them out due to my absence. A paper copy of the letter will be sent home on Monday. This project will be a grade, so please make sure to send it in on time!
Other reminders:
- Students must have long sleeves or a jacket to go outside when the “feels like” temperature is below 60 degrees; students must have a jacket for any “feels like” temperature under 50 degrees, regardless of their sleeve length. Students are permitted to take these off if they warm up while running around, but they must have them in case they are cold. If it feels below freezing, we will do indoor recess.
- Please make sure that your child’s name is in their coat, hats, etc.. They are MUCH more likely to get any lost belongings back if they have their name. It also helps us to know whose jackets are left on the hooks at the end of the day.
- If your child wears boots on Wednesday or Thursdays, please send in athletic shoes that they can move in for PE.
- If you received an email about incomplete assignments, please get those in by the end of the week!
- We will have our second digital citizenship lesson with Mrs. Severson on Thursday.
- We will eat in the classroom on Tuesday and Thursday this week.
What we are learning this week:
- In math, we are continuing to decompose teen numbers into tens and ones and representing them with the equation 10 + ____ = _____. We will also begin learning about comparing numbers using the phrases “more than”, “less than”, and “equal to” this week.
- In phonics, we are discussing Q and U to learn that Q is almost never by itself. Please don’t go out of your way to tell your child that some words can have just Q, as it makes them second guess their spelling. We will also be beginning learning about syllables this week.
- As a reminder, we have covered all 26 letters (with a hard c and g, as well as short vowels) and 4 digraphs (ch, sh, th, wh). Please work with your child to ensure that they know what sound each makes.
- In writing, we will continue to write true story books and begin to emphasize writing for readers. This unit focuses on making writing that people can and want to read. More information on this unit will be posted to the Weebly this weekend.
- For social studies and in shared reading, we will continue learning about various winter holidays. This week we will focus on Hanukkah. We will also look at how Holiday traditions can vary across countries.
- In science, we will continue learning about the sun, the moon, day, and night.
- In reading, we are continuing to learn about our “reading powers”. We will discuss how punctuation tells us how to read and how we can use our voices to bring our voices to life.
With just 2 weeks left until break, we are almost halfway through kindergarten! This year still doesn’t look quite normal, but the students are doing great! As always, please let me know if you have any questions, comments, etc. Enjoy your weekend!
Week 15: November 30-December 4
I hope everybody had a happy Thanksgiving! As I mentioned last week, Monday and Tuesday will be remote learning days to allow for those who travelled or met in small groups to get a COVID test before returning to school. Tests are being offered by FCS at the North and South Training Centers for free on Sunday, with results guaranteed by Tuesday night.
Lesson plans for Monday and Tuesday are posted on the Virtual Learning page. Like at the beginning of the year, we will be meeting on Microsoft Teams and complete assignments on Seesaw and iReady. Students who were at school on Friday have writing paper and their bag of books in their backpacks to use. Students who were not at school can use plain paper and RAZ kids. However, unlike before, we will be meeting for every subject for live lessons and an explanation of assignments. However, I know that it may have been difficult to set up child care with relatively short notice and for only two days so online attendance isn’t mandatory. The lesson plans note extra online activities and lessons for students who will not be able to join our online meetings. I have also made all assignments available now, so that families who need to complete assignments over the weekend may do so. Lessons will still be recorded and available on our Teams channel afterward, just like during URL. Art and Music will also be synchronous on Teams, but will only last 30 minutes.
What we’re learning about this week:
Other Reminders:
Enjoy the rest of your break! I look forward to seeing the children online on Monday and in person on Wednesday! As always, let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.
Lesson plans for Monday and Tuesday are posted on the Virtual Learning page. Like at the beginning of the year, we will be meeting on Microsoft Teams and complete assignments on Seesaw and iReady. Students who were at school on Friday have writing paper and their bag of books in their backpacks to use. Students who were not at school can use plain paper and RAZ kids. However, unlike before, we will be meeting for every subject for live lessons and an explanation of assignments. However, I know that it may have been difficult to set up child care with relatively short notice and for only two days so online attendance isn’t mandatory. The lesson plans note extra online activities and lessons for students who will not be able to join our online meetings. I have also made all assignments available now, so that families who need to complete assignments over the weekend may do so. Lessons will still be recorded and available on our Teams channel afterward, just like during URL. Art and Music will also be synchronous on Teams, but will only last 30 minutes.
What we’re learning about this week:
- In math, we are starting our third unit focusing on teen numbers. This week, we will be discussing that teen numbers are a group of ten and some more ones and can be written as 10 + ___ = _____.
- In phonics, we are reviewing the four digraphs that we have learned: ch, sh, th, and wh.
- We are continuing to work on True Story books in writing.
- In science, we are starting our unit on day and night. This week, we are comparing what we do during day and night and how they sky looks different during day and night.
- We will learn more reading Super Power and reflect on the powers that we are good at using and those we need to keep practicing.
Other Reminders:
- Ms. Troy, our new parapro, will be joining us this week! We are so excited to meet her!
- We will be eating in the classroom on Wednesday and Friday this week.
- Friday is a SOAR spirit day! Send your child in their favorite HFE gear!
- We will go to the library on Friday! Make sure to bring back all library books on Friday so that your student can check out a new one!
- Picture retakes are scheduled for January 14 for those who were unable to take their picture last week.
Enjoy the rest of your break! I look forward to seeing the children online on Monday and in person on Wednesday! As always, let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.
Week 14: November 16-20
I am so happy to announce that we will officially have a new parapro in our classroom on Monday! Mrs. Dunagan and Mrs. Nash feel that she will be a great fit in our classroom.
Other important things this week:
What we're Learning:
Other Reminders
Please let me know if your student will be out or leaving early this week so that I can make sure that they get everything they need done before the break.
Other important things this week:
- Math Post-Assessment: I will be giving students a post-assessment on our second math unit. Please make sure that your student can count to 40, write numbers to 20, and explain one more or one less. For more information on the standards and practice activates, please check out the math page on my Weebly.
- Writing Post-Assessment: Students will have Monday and Tuesday, as well as additional time on Wednesday if necessary, to complete a final Show-and-Tell book about a places or things. Ideally, students will write three pages using a simple pattern sentence, such as "I see the _____", and include labels in their drawings. You can learn more about this unit on the writing page on my Weebly.
- Students will take home all their practice writing from this unit in their Thursday folders. Look through their pages and see how much they've already grown!
- Picture Day on Tuesday! Students will have their yearbook pictures take Tuesday morning. Our time is 9:40. Please make sure that your student is at school and picture-ready at this time. You may send a change of clothes for your student to change into after pictures if you would like.
What we're Learning:
- We will finish learning all letters, as well as the digraphs sh, th, ch, and wh, this week. Please make sure to review these with your students, as they are crucial to reading and writing.
- In reading, students are learning to use their Reading Super Powers! We have been focusing on Pointer Power so far. Make sure to have your student point under each word as they read, encouraging to check that they say the write word when they get to a sight word.
- After our writing post-assessment, we will begin learning to write True Story narrative books.
- This week, we will focus on the sight words no, and, you.
Other Reminders
- iReady: Students are expected to complete 45 minutes of active engagement on iReady Reading and math each week. Now that we are more set in our schedule, we are really working to enforce this now. Students are given enough time to complete this at school, though students who are off task, spending time picking their character, or slow logging in may need to work on it at home to meet their time. You can check their time spent on the "My Progress" tab for both subjects.
- Thanksgiving: We have the entire week of Thanksgiving off! Stay safe and enjoy your time off!
Please let me know if your student will be out or leaving early this week so that I can make sure that they get everything they need done before the break.
Week 13: November 9-13
t has been another crazy week in kindergarten! Although we did not get a new parapro yet, we had a lot of fun with Storybook Character Day and the rest of the week. The class has been working really hard and I have seen so much improvement, especially in writing, this week!
Next week we have a quiz and some pre-assessments that we will be doing:
In two weeks (the week before Thanksgiving), students will be taking the following Post-Assessments:
Next week we have a quiz and some pre-assessments that we will be doing:
- On Monday, students will take a math quiz with two parts. For the first part, students will need to count aloud to 40. For the second part, students will count different pictures with up to 20 objects and write the number for how many objects there are (just like the Halloween Counting sheet that we did on Monday). Writing is part of this standard, so students will be marked off if they can say but not write numbers. Please, please practice writing numbers this weekend!
- The rest of the week in math, I will be pre-assessing for our third unit, which covers decomposing teen numbers into tens and ones, as well as comparing numbers.
- We will finish our Show and Tell Writing lessons next week. On Friday, students will take a pre-assessment on narrative writing.
In two weeks (the week before Thanksgiving), students will be taking the following Post-Assessments:
- Our current math unit on counting, including counting to 40 by 1s, 100 by 10s, counting on from a given number, tell one more and one less, and writing numbers up to 20.
- Show and Tell Writing – students will be expected to write at least 3 pages about one topic (one thing or place, or related things and places) with 3 labels on each page and a simple pattern sentence on each page.
Week 12: November 2-6
Hello and happy Sunday!
Thank you for your patience with this week’s email; I wanted to wait for FCS to confirm that we will be in school tomorrow, November 2nd. I know that some people are still having issues with power. Let me know if this will impact your child’s attendance at all. This week will start off a little weird, but we’ll should be back to normal for the second half of the week!
This week…
Other reminders:
Thank you for your patience with this week’s email; I wanted to wait for FCS to confirm that we will be in school tomorrow, November 2nd. I know that some people are still having issues with power. Let me know if this will impact your child’s attendance at all. This week will start off a little weird, but we’ll should be back to normal for the second half of the week!
This week…
- We will be having Storybook Character Day tomorrow! Make sure to send your student in dressed as the character that they chose!
- You may wish to send an extra set of clothes in case your child decides that they do not want to wear their costume the whole day
- There is no school on Tuesday, November 3rd due to Election Day!
- Hopefully, and as long as all paperwork is processed on time, our new Parapro will start on Wednesday!
- We will check out new books from the Library on Friday afternoon. Please make sure to send back books on Friday so your student can pick a new one!
Other reminders:
- Please make sure that students are wearing appropriate clothes and shoes for PE on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Make sure that there are pants or leggings under any skirts, clothes they won’t over heat in, and appropriate shoes.
- Don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour if you haven’t already!
- Make sure to sign up for a Fall Conference time! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/70a0c49a9ab2aa5f85-fall
Week 11: October 26-30
We’ve finally made it through a full week of normal(ish) school! This is such a sweet class and I am having a great time with them! Next week is Red Ribbon Week and we will have different Spirit Days each day!
A Few Other Reminders:
Fall conferences are here! Please sign up for a time slot to meet virtually to discuss your child’s progress so far this year. Once you sign up, I will send you a link to a meeting on Microsoft Teams. I tried to include many of each time slot so that everybody could find something that would work for them. If none of these will work, please reach out and we’ll find another time. Also, if there is anything specific you’d like to discuss, please let me know in advance. SIGN UP HERE
- Monday – Show that you are Proud to be Drug Free by wearing red
- Tuesday – Say “Peace Out!” to Drugs and wear peace signs or tie dye
- Wednesday – Follow Your Dreams by wearing PJs!
- Thursday – Team Up Against Drugs and represent your favorite sports team!
- Friday – My Character Counts AKA Storybook Character Day
- Please do not send your child in wearing masks or hoodies or with a fake weapon.
- Face masks must be worn during each spirit day.
A Few Other Reminders:
- If your student forgot to bring their library book on Friday, they may bring it back and visit before school or during Team Time next week.
- We will eat in the classroom on Tuesday and Thursday next week. Be sure to send in silverware for your student! I am almost out of my supply and it is difficult to send them to the cafeteria to get some.
- Please make sure that you are working with your child on recognizing uppercase and lowercase letters, letter sounds, counting to 100, and writing numbers. These are crucial skills and are the basis for most of our learning this year.
Fall conferences are here! Please sign up for a time slot to meet virtually to discuss your child’s progress so far this year. Once you sign up, I will send you a link to a meeting on Microsoft Teams. I tried to include many of each time slot so that everybody could find something that would work for them. If none of these will work, please reach out and we’ll find another time. Also, if there is anything specific you’d like to discuss, please let me know in advance. SIGN UP HERE
Week 10: October 19-23
Good afternoon and happy Friday!
I hope that the students enjoyed their first week together as a class!
Next week…
Other reminders…
Please don’t hesitate to reach our if you have any questions, comments, or concerns! This week has been crazy, especially as I’ve been on my own, so my inbox is a little cluttered right now, but I will make sure to respond to any emails by tomorrow afternoon. Thank you for your patience!
I hope that the students enjoyed their first week together as a class!
Next week…
- We will begin our story book character projects on Monday! Please make sure that your student knows which character they will be dressing up as. If you did not see the newsletter when it was sent home, a copy is attached.
- Students will take their Community Building projects home on Monday. You may wish to send an extra bag for them to carry their projects home in.
- If next week is your child’s first time attending on a Tuesday, please make sure to send in their Art Portfolio!
- On Wednesday, students will take a quiz on counting, counting on, and representing numbers up to 20. Please review the materials with your student!
- On Friday, we will have our first real visit to the library! Make sure to send back any books so that your student can pick out a new one!
Other reminders…
- Please check their yellow take home folders each night. You can keep anything on the “keep at home” side. Please also check their blue weekly folders on Thursday nights, which include more important information and newsletters.
- Please make sure that the iReady and Kids A-Z apps are installed on any personal devices that are sent in. These are the only apps we are regularly using at this point in time.
- We will eat in the classroom Monday, Wednesday, and Friday next week.
- Please make sure to send a water bottle and a snack with your student each day. Students may not drink from water fountains and we are no longer providing snack.
Please don’t hesitate to reach our if you have any questions, comments, or concerns! This week has been crazy, especially as I’ve been on my own, so my inbox is a little cluttered right now, but I will make sure to respond to any emails by tomorrow afternoon. Thank you for your patience!
Week 9: October 14-16 & Phase 5
Hello everybody!
First and foremost, I know everybody would like to know about Phase 5, or full Face to Face. Dr. Looney, our superintendent, has just confirmed that we will be offering full-time, 5-day-a-week Face to Face instruction beginning Wednesday, October 14. Students have both Monday and Tuesday off, so this will be our next day of Phase 5.
New in Phase 5
Things that are staying in place for Phase 5.
Supplies:
Finally, please remember to check your child’s yellow folder each night for any work or newsletters. If you need to send in an excuse note or a change of dismissal, please put it in this folder. Enjoy your long weekend and I’ll see the students on Wednesday!
First and foremost, I know everybody would like to know about Phase 5, or full Face to Face. Dr. Looney, our superintendent, has just confirmed that we will be offering full-time, 5-day-a-week Face to Face instruction beginning Wednesday, October 14. Students have both Monday and Tuesday off, so this will be our next day of Phase 5.
New in Phase 5
- Lunch: Students will eat lunch in the cafeteria every other day. They will be sitting every-other seat on one side of the table. On the off days, we will eat in the classroom and be as spread out as possible.
- Schedule: Our schedule is changing significantly. It has already been updated since Curriculum Night. You can find it on the Class Information page.
- Lesson Plans: Lesson plans will not be sent home, as lessons will be taught at school. You can find information about our current units on my Weebly.
- After School Care: After school care is available beginning Wednesday, October 14. Please refer to Mrs. Nash’s email from yesterday for information regarding After School Care. You must send in a change of dismissal form if your student will be attending.
- Library Books: We will be visiting the library during our no-specials time every other Friday beginning October 23. This will be when students can return and check out new books.
Things that are staying in place for Phase 5.
- School hours are 7:40-2:20.
- Masks will continue to be worn whenever a child is not eating or drinking.
- Breakfast and lunch are still offered for free to students. Snack, however, is not provided.
- We will rotate between the play-pad, field, and playground to limit the number of students at recess together.
- We will use modified social distancing to keep students as distanced as possible.
Supplies:
- Workbooks: We do not use the workbooks at school. Please keep those, as well as the other supplies you received in August, at home to use as extra practice or review.
- Devices: We will be using iReady during the school day, as well as Seesaw occasionally. We have 4 classroom iPads and 3 desktop computers that students may use, however, you may continue sending in a device if you are not comfortable with shared devices.
- Please make sure that the iReady App is downloaded, otherwise students will have to use a shared device.
- Pencil boxes: Pencil boxes will stay at school, as students should not need to complete work at home.
- Headphones: Let me know if you would like your student to keep headphones at school, or if you would prefer that they come home each day.
Finally, please remember to check your child’s yellow folder each night for any work or newsletters. If you need to send in an excuse note or a change of dismissal, please put it in this folder. Enjoy your long weekend and I’ll see the students on Wednesday!
Week 8: October 5-9
Good afternoon, everybody!
I cannot tell you how good it feels to have children in the building for a full day again! I had such a wonderful week and I hope your students enjoyed their in-person school day! Next week is still Phase 3, so students will be coming in for the same full day next week that they did this week. Don’t forget that school hours are 7:40-2:20 and students will be marked tardy next week.
There are a few changes for next week.
A few other announcements:
I cannot tell you how good it feels to have children in the building for a full day again! I had such a wonderful week and I hope your students enjoyed their in-person school day! Next week is still Phase 3, so students will be coming in for the same full day next week that they did this week. Don’t forget that school hours are 7:40-2:20 and students will be marked tardy next week.
There are a few changes for next week.
- Small Groups: Students will be receiving small group instruction during their Face-to-Face day and not on the day that they previously logged in virtually.
- Wednesday: As you were notified by Mrs. Nash, Wednesday will be asynchronous for all parts except Morning Meeting. After we finish morning meeting and calendar, students will complete the rest of their work on Seesaw.
A few other announcements:
- Curriculum Night: Curriculum night has been rescheduled for Wednesday, October 7th from 6:30-7:15. It will still be on Microsoft Teams and will be recorded for anybody who cannot attend.
- Masks: Please make sure that your student’s mask fits tightly and will not slide your students face. Also, please note that masks should not have a vent, per CDC guidelines.
- Materials: Please make sure that you have sent in all of your students materials for school.
- Pencil box
- 3-Pronged folders – 4 count (red, yellow, green, blue)
- Primary ruled composition notebooks – 2
- Crayons – 24 pack
- Colored Pencils – 12 pack
- Markers – 10 pack
- Expo Makers – 4
- Black Sharpie – 1
- Ticonderoga My First Pencils – 10
- Erasers - 2
- Glue Sticks - 4
- Glue Bottle – 1
- Headphones
- iReady: We are having difficulty having home-lessons available while the diagnostic is open for in-school students, so students will not be able to work on iReady math until after their in-person day next week. At this point, iReady Reading is open for Thursday and Friday in-person students. Tuesday students have not completed the reading diagnostic yet due to technical difficulties earlier this week.
Week 7: September 28-October 2
I cannot tell you how good it feels to have children in the building for a full day again! I had such a wonderful week and I hope your students enjoyed their in-person school day! Next week is still Phase 3, so students will be coming in for the same full day next week that they did this week. Don’t forget that school hours are 7:40-2:20 and students will be marked tardy next week.
There are a few changes for next week.
A few other announcements:
Enjoy your weekend! As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or celebrations to share!
There are a few changes for next week.
- Small Groups: Students will be receiving small group instruction during their Face-to-Face day and not on the day that they previously logged in virtually.
- Wednesday: As you were notified by Mrs. Nash, Wednesday will be asynchronous for all parts except Morning Meeting. After we finish morning meeting and calendar, students will complete the rest of their work on Seesaw.
A few other announcements:
- Curriculum Night: Curriculum night has been rescheduled for Wednesday, October 7th from 6:30-7:15. It will still be on Microsoft Teams and will be recorded for anybody who cannot attend.
- Masks: Please make sure that your student’s mask fits tightly and will not slide your students face. Also, please note that masks should not have a vent, per CDC guidelines.
- Materials: Please make sure that you have sent in all of your students materials for school.
- Pencil box
- 3-Pronged folders – 4 count (red, yellow, green, blue)
- Primary ruled composition notebooks – 2
- Crayons – 24 pack
- Colored Pencils – 12 pack
- Markers – 10 pack
- Expo Makers – 4
- Black Sharpie – 1
- Ticonderoga My First Pencils – 10
- Erasers - 2
- Glue Sticks - 4
- Glue Bottle – 1
- Headphones
- iReady: We are having difficulty having home-lessons available while the diagnostic is open for in-school students, so students will not be able to work on iReady math until after their in-person day next week. At this point, iReady Reading is open for Thursday and Friday in-person students. Tuesday students have not completed the reading diagnostic yet due to technical difficulties earlier this week.
Enjoy your weekend! As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or celebrations to share!
Week 6: September 21-25
As you know, Phase 3 starts next week and brings with it a good bit of change. Please read the entire email to make sure that both virtual and face to face learning runs smoothly next week!
Next week, all students will be attending for a full day. Students will come in the same day that was assigned in Phase 1. The school day is from 7:40-2:20, though students may arrive as early as 7:10. Students arriving later than 7:40 will be marked tardy unless their FCS bus is late. The only transportation options at this time are bus and carpool. Please let me know if your child will be going home a different way in Phase 3 than they were in Phase 1. I know many of you are curious as to how many students will be in the room with you child. Students were assigned days based on last name, which resulted in having imbalanced groups in our class. There will be 2 students on Tuesday, 5 students on Thursday, and 8 students on Friday.
A few key points about Face to Face in Phase 3:
Academics for next week:
Due to Phase 3 scheduling restrictions, our virtual schedule has been altered. Changed times are highlighted in green on the lesson plans.
Next week, all students will be attending for a full day. Students will come in the same day that was assigned in Phase 1. The school day is from 7:40-2:20, though students may arrive as early as 7:10. Students arriving later than 7:40 will be marked tardy unless their FCS bus is late. The only transportation options at this time are bus and carpool. Please let me know if your child will be going home a different way in Phase 3 than they were in Phase 1. I know many of you are curious as to how many students will be in the room with you child. Students were assigned days based on last name, which resulted in having imbalanced groups in our class. There will be 2 students on Tuesday, 5 students on Thursday, and 8 students on Friday.
A few key points about Face to Face in Phase 3:
- Masks: Per county policy, students are required to wear masks the entire time they are at school, unless they are eating or drinking. Students may go into the bathroom to take a short mask break if they need.
- I highly suggest sending in multiple masks for your student in case one falls, gets sneezed into, etc.
- Seesaw: Students will complete any work assigned on Seesaw while in school.
- Specials: Students will attend specials while in person.
- Meals: Both breakfast and lunch will be available to students for free.
- Breakfast is available in the cafeteria from 7:10-7:35 each morning.
- Students will be eating in the lunchroom, but will be separated by at least one empty seat with tables on either side being empty.
- Recess: We will go outside for recess. Students are required to wear their masks during recess, since it is likely that they will be playing together and less than 6 feet apart. We will try to keep separated from other classes.
- Snack: Snack will not be provided. Please send a non-perishable snack for your student to have in the afternoon.
- Water: Please make sure to send in a water bottle with your child, as water fountains are only available for refilling bottles. Students may not bring any drink other than water.
- Devices: Students will be using devices to complete Seesaw work and the iReady diagnostic assessment. We have 4 iPads and 3 computers to share in the class and will wipe them down between each use. However, you may send in your own device if you would prefer.
- Headphones: All students will need a pair of headphones or earbuds to use with devices at school.
- Supplies: Please send in your child’s glue bottle, markers, and second primary-lined composition journal, as well as their pencil box.
- Tuesday’s F2F students also need to bring their art folder that they received in their back-to-school bag.
- Each student has their bottle of hand sanitizer at their seat. If you sent in a travel size bottle, please be aware that it will likely need replacing soon.
- Additionally, if you are willing to donate (and able to find!) disinfecting wipes and extra bottles of hand sanitizer for around the room, we would greatly appreciate any donations.
Academics for next week:
- 2D Shapes Formative: Please know that students will be taking a graded summative assessment on 2D shapes and positional words during their in-school day next week. Please make sure to review these with your student!
- Social Studies: Students will work on a community helper mystery page over the week. I am attaching a copy to print and work on or I can send one home with your student next week (Friday students would have extra time to turn theirs in)
Due to Phase 3 scheduling restrictions, our virtual schedule has been altered. Changed times are highlighted in green on the lesson plans.
- Specials are now from 9:10-9:40 (this is 10 minutes later than earlier phases)
- Read aloud will be from 9:45-9:55 to ensure that F2F students are at lunch promptly at 10:00
- Reading groups will be from 12:00-12:15 so that I can focus on the F2F students while Ms. Gable is out of the room for lunch duty.
- However, Ms. Gable is scheduled to be out this Thursday and has not yet had a substitute scheduled. I will not be able to do either set of small groups on Thursday without a second adult in the room, therefore Thursday small groups will meet Wednesday at the 8:40 (math) and 12:00 (reading)
Week 5: September 14-18
We made it through our first week with in-person learning! Simultaneously teaching online and in-person isn’t ideal, but we did well! Ms. Gable and I loved getting to finally spend time with our students in person.
Updates and reminders for next week:
Phase 1 reminders:
As always, please reach out if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or celebrations to share!
Updates and reminders for next week:
- Remember that small groups meet in channels, not on the main page, so that we can reduce traffic and distractions. This is also where you will find recordings of any small groups that were missed
- However, the recording feature has been having difficulties this week and not all lessons have recorded.
- Tuesday is Curriculum Night from 7:00-7:45.
- Since we will have a full week next week, Wednesday will be taught synchronously.
- Remember that specials are live now! For PE…
- I added all students to Coach K’s MS Teams page. Make sure to go to the right channel to participate
- Remember, PE is a required, graded subject. Students may not sit and watch, even if they don’t like the activity.
- Coach K encourages Learning Pods to make sure to have a spot where all students have enough room to participate in PE.
- Finally, students will need a bath/beach towel, 3 pairs of rolled up socks, 1 container (such as laundry hamper, empty box, storage container, etc.). If you don’t have something, they will find an alternate activity.
Phase 1 reminders:
- Make sure to send pencil boxes and library books back with students next week
- Students can leave their pencil boxes at school if they are not needed at home.
- Students must wear masks covering the mouths and noses while in the building. A few students (particularly those coming in today) had trouble with this. Make sure to review mask expectations with your students.
As always, please reach out if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or celebrations to share!
Week 4: September 8-11
Happy Friday!
Before we get into details about Phase 1, I have a few other announcements:
Next Friday, students will complete a formative assessment in math. While I will be using their scores to plan my instruction, it will not be a graded assignment. It is vital that you do not help your student with the answers so that I can have a clear picture of what students understand and what we need to spend more time on. By giving your student answers, you will actually limit their long-term understandings by reducing their instructional time on this topic. Of course, you can help with any technological issues that your students may encounter.
Now, what you've all been waiting for....Phase 1! Ms. Gable and I are very excited to see the class next week! Please know that this will not look like a normal school day at all and is intended to build relationships and routines, not focus on academics.
Enjoy your long weekend and I’ll see most of the kids next week!
Before we get into details about Phase 1, I have a few other announcements:
- Labor Day: Don’t forget that we have Monday off! I will meet with my Monday groups on Wednesday this week.
- Specials: Specials will be synchronous starting this week. Students will need to switch out of my Team after math to access their specials teams. I will review switching Teams with students on Monday.
- For PE, you will need to use a join code to get access to the kindergarten PE page. You will need to go to the Teams home page, select “Join or Create a Team” and enter the join code: 1g8uzw0. You will need to do this before Wednesday.
- Ms. Severson created a guide to using different Teams and channels for specials. You can find it here: Live Specials
- Specials will not be adding calendar invites, they will start the meetings in their Teams at 9:00, just like we do for small groups.
- Assignments will still be turned in via Seesaw
- Yearbook Cover Contest: Students are invited to join the yearbook cover art contest! There will be a grade level and school-wide winner. You can find more information from Ms. Severson here.
- iReady – Students need to spend 45 minutes on iReady in both reading AND math each week, per county expectation. Only half of the class has completed at least 30 minutes in either subject, and 4 students have not logged on at all.
Next Friday, students will complete a formative assessment in math. While I will be using their scores to plan my instruction, it will not be a graded assignment. It is vital that you do not help your student with the answers so that I can have a clear picture of what students understand and what we need to spend more time on. By giving your student answers, you will actually limit their long-term understandings by reducing their instructional time on this topic. Of course, you can help with any technological issues that your students may encounter.
Now, what you've all been waiting for....Phase 1! Ms. Gable and I are very excited to see the class next week! Please know that this will not look like a normal school day at all and is intended to build relationships and routines, not focus on academics.
- Make sure that your student has the correct transportation tag on their bag. This will be a teal tag with their carpool number or a colored tag with their bus number. Your child will be checked by multiple adults that they are going home the right way using these tags.
- Students assigned to morning slots will watch any synchronous meetings from the classroom. They will do any asynchronous lessons and work separately, from home.
- Please try to have students go to the bathroom before coming to school. We do have a bathroom for each gender that I share with the classroom next door, but bathroom breaks will take away from the little time we have and expose students to more shared surfaces.
- Please make sure that your student can fasten whatever shoes they wear, open their backpack, etc. We will not be able to help with these things as they require breaking social distancing.
- Similarly, make sure that your child can get in and out of the car without assistance. Carpool monitors will not be able to help with this.
- Students need to bring their own supplies. Again, those are:
- Pencil box with the following supplies
- 1 box of crayons
- 1 box of colored pencils
- 3 sharpened pencils
- 1 eraser
- 1 glue stick
- 1 dry erase marker (black)
- 4 color of folders ( red, blue, green and yellow)
- 1 Primary journal composition book (must have handwriting lines and picture space)
- 1 bottle of hand sanitizer, labeled with name
- This will be your child’s personal bottle to stay in their cubby.
- You will not need a device this week
- Pencil box with the following supplies
- Students will be sitting by themselves at a table, with their own quarter marked. Students will be able to talk to each other from separate tables.
- Students may bring water bottles. They will not be allowed to drink from water fountains.
- Students will be able to check out books from the school. Ms. Severson will come around with a cart of books for students to choose from. Students who want a specific book will be able to request one later on.
- Please complete the health check before coming to school. We must keep everybody healthy if we want to continue phasing in students.
- Take your student’s temperature in the morning. Students must be fever-free for 24 hours without medication in order to attend.
- Students experiencing any other unexplained symptoms should stay home.
- Remember, students must wear masks the entire time that they are in the building. If a student does not bring a mask, one will be provided. Students may not get on a bus or exit their car without a mask that covers their mouth and nose. Students are welcome to wear a shield over their masks.
Enjoy your long weekend and I’ll see most of the kids next week!
Week 3: August 31 - September 4
I enjoyed getting to spend some one-on-one time with the kids while assessing them this week. Their personalities are really starting to show as they get more comfortable with virtual learning and we are loving it! For the last part of the assessment, I need to see every child write their name. Please have them write their name on paper or their whiteboard and snap a picture. You can email it to me or upload it to Seesaw by pressing the green plus button.
Next week, we will move into a format that we plan to follow at least throughout the duration of Phase 1. We just started getting information about Phase 1 this week and are waiting to learn more, so this plan is subject to change. However, we are trying to make things more consistent from week to week going forward. We are also trying to balance requests to both have more live sessions and more pre-recorded sessions. So starting this week…
Phase 1 Information
Everybody will receive an email today with their child’s assigned Phase 1 day and time, or confirming that you are opting out of phase 1. Please respond with how your child will be getting to and from school during Phase 1. Students who are coming from 7:40-10:10 will participate in Morning Meeting, Calendar, and the Read Aloud while at school. They will need to watch any pre-recorded lessons and complete activities during their independent practice later in the day or another time that week. Additionally, students will need to bring some materials during phase 1, listed below.
Phase 1 Materials:
If you have a portable device and are comfortable sending it in, please do so. Otherwise, students can use shared classroom computers when necessary.
Some other things:
Next week, we will move into a format that we plan to follow at least throughout the duration of Phase 1. We just started getting information about Phase 1 this week and are waiting to learn more, so this plan is subject to change. However, we are trying to make things more consistent from week to week going forward. We are also trying to balance requests to both have more live sessions and more pre-recorded sessions. So starting this week…
- Small Groups: I will be meeting with students in small groups during the math and reading blocks. Each student will meet one day a week for each subject. These groups were made based on data from the pre-assessment so that each student can receive more targeted instruction based on their strengths and weaknesses. For some students, this will mean meeting different days for moth and reading. I know that this may be difficult, but doing it this way will be the most beneficial for students.
- Math Groups (After calendar/approx. 8:10):
- Monday – Michael, Ansley, Laya
- Tuesday – Adriel, Lucas, Collins, Claire
- Thursday – Josie, Boston, Leia, AJ
- Friday – Owen, Raina, Jack
- Reading Groups (After read aloud approx.. 10:10):
- Monday – Michael, Ansley, Laya, Adriel
- Tuesday – Lucas, Claire
- Thursday – Josie, Jack, Collins, AJ
- Friday – Boston, Owen, Raina, Leia
- Each group will have a separate channel listed under our main class Teams page. This way, you will only receive notifications from your child’s group meetings, rather than for each group in the class.
- Math Groups (After calendar/approx. 8:10):
- Wednesdays: On Wednesdays, math and reading will be taught synchronously. These lessons will still be recorded for anybody who cannot get online.
- Social Studies/Science: The kindergarten team has heard from parents that getting online multiple times a day has been difficult. To reduce the amount of logins, social studies and science will now be taught with pre-recorded lessons.
Phase 1 Information
Everybody will receive an email today with their child’s assigned Phase 1 day and time, or confirming that you are opting out of phase 1. Please respond with how your child will be getting to and from school during Phase 1. Students who are coming from 7:40-10:10 will participate in Morning Meeting, Calendar, and the Read Aloud while at school. They will need to watch any pre-recorded lessons and complete activities during their independent practice later in the day or another time that week. Additionally, students will need to bring some materials during phase 1, listed below.
Phase 1 Materials:
- Pencil box with the following supplies
- 1 box of crayons
- 1 box of colored pencils
- 3 sharpened pencils
- 1 eraser
- 1 glue stick
- 1 dry erase marker (black)
- 4 color of folders ( red, blue, green and yellow)
- 1 Primary journal composition book (must have handwriting lines and picture space)
- 1 bottle of hand sanitizer, labeled with name
If you have a portable device and are comfortable sending it in, please do so. Otherwise, students can use shared classroom computers when necessary.
Some other things:
- New Websites/Apps: Students will use Epic! Books and RAZKids next week. Directions for accessing these are available on the Important Websites Tab.
- Files: I have added a folder for next week under the Files Tab on Teams. Here, I will upload any printable versions of work for next week, as well as the lesson plans.
- All About Me Books: Save your finished All About Me books to send in with you
- iReady: Starting next week, students are being assigned both iReady Reading and Math during their independent work time. The county expects that students will complete 45 minutes per subject per week.
- These “My Progress” tab at the bottom of the page gives the amount of time spent on task in each subject
Week 2: August 24-28
We had a great first week! I am so proud of how well the kids are managing virtual learning, but I know so much of that has to do with you. Thank you so much for everything you are doing to help URL work. I’ve attached next weeks lesson plans and have some (well, a lot of) reminders and information below.
- Seesaw: Next week, we will start using Seesaw, which you can access through ClassLink (it is in the bottom row of apps). You can set up your parent access by going here. You can learn more about Seesaw on the Important Websites page on the Weebly. There is an introduction video made by the app, as well as 3 guide videos from our Media Specialist, Mrs. Severson.
- To navigate between classes, click the student’s name in the top left hand corner. A side bar will open up with a list of classes that the student is part of.
- Students will also be using Seesaw for specials starting next week. Students will have to navigate between my class page and their specials class pages. Ms. Severson’s first video shows how to switch between classes. It may be difficult for students at first, but most figure out how to do so pretty quickly.
- I have assigned a practice activity on Seesaw for students to try using the various features before we begin assignments on Monday. It is not required, but is great practice. To find an assigned activity, click the light bulb on the right side.
- iReady: We will also begin using iReady during the independent worktime next week. As I explained during Open House, we will not be using a placement test at this point in time. The first lessons may be too easy or difficult for your student, but the program will adapt based on how they are doing. Students are expected to spend 45 minutes actively engaged per week in both reading and math.
- Lesson Plans: I have added a section for supplies needed to the lesson plans.
- Some activities next week can be done on Seesaw, with a whiteboard, or with paper and pencil. Do whatever is best for your family, but please make sure to get some paper and pencil practice in while we are virtual. This is a crucial developmental period for fine motor skills and handwriting and I do not want your student to fall behind. If you would like handwriting worksheets, let me know and I can send you some.
- Extension Activities: If you are looking for additional practice for your child, there are educational websites listed on the bottom of the Important Webpages page. You can also work on iReady or RAZkids. Additionally, you can use pages 560-564 and 579-598 in the thin math workbook
- Heards Ferry Live: Per parent request, the K team has decided that we will screen share the announcements first thing each morning.
- Meet the Counselor: Ms. Whiteaker, the kindergarten counselor, will be introducing herself to the class on Teams during our no specials time on Friday.
- Pre-Assessment: If you have not signed up for a pre-assessment slot for next week, please do so here. I will assign times to any students not signed up on Monday morning.
- Room Parents: If you are interested in serving as a room parent, you can sign up on the Eagle Alliance website, or by clicking here.
- MS Teams: As I am sure you have noticed, Microsoft Teams is a program built for adults. Nobody ever imagined a situation where millions of kindergarteners would need to use it. Microsoft is constantly adding features that make it more school and child friendly, but it can still be difficult to navigate. We do still suggest that students enter through their ClassLink login and navigating to the Team home page or calendar to join. This is a process that students can learn without needing parents to open links. Furthermore, it ensures that students are logged in. We are not allowing unknown users to enter calls.
- The best way to view any upcoming meetings is through the calendar tab on the left side of the page. I will remove appointments when we are not doing live classes, so this page should give an accurate depiction of when students need to be online each week. For next week, you’ll see that we are doing live Morning Meeting and Social Studies, with an optional live read aloud with Ms. Gable each day.
- Troubleshooting: Most technology issues are not something that I can help with. If you are experiencing trouble with Teams that others are not (especially with entering the call, sound, or video), the best thing to do is to try closing and reopening Teams. If that doesn’t work, or you are having other problems, call the FCS Technology helpline at 470-254-2300.
- Microsoft Teams is apparently having server issues across the country due to the increase in use. If you are affected, you may just have to try again later and watch the recording of the lesson.
- If your internet is slow, try turning off your video to reduce the bandwidth needed. You may also need to move closer to your router or limit any non-essential internet use at the time.
Day 1 Recap
We made it through the first day. It was short and there were some bumps along the way, but we made it! I was so excited to see how many students were able to join the Teams meetings! I loved being able to see students, but I understand that you may not always want the camera on, so that will always be optional. Please try to help your student to enter muted to reduce noise. Tomorrow, we will practice muting and un-muting ourselves so that students can do this independently. Hopefully, this will make it easier to have more fun and interactive lessons.
A few other notes:
A few other notes:
- Don’t forget that students will take turns sharing a little bit about themselves starting tomorrow! Please discuss with your kids their favorite color, favorite food, favorite animal, and favorite hobby so they are ready to share with us 😊 If you can’t make it on the live lesson during that time, you can always send me a video of your child with that information.x
- Please try to enter Teams through ClassLink. Students should always be able to access meetings this way, even if links aren’t working. It also has them join with their name. We are not letting Unknown Users into the meeting because we cannot confirm that they are somebody who should have access/will behave appropriately on the call.
- Thank you for your patience as we navigate Teams. We did not use this for Kindergarten in the spring, so I am still learning to use it, as well. If you missed math, the video should be available on Teams. I completely forgot to record the reading and social studies lessons – I will set a reminder to do so going forward.
- Ms. Gable has rerecorded the reading lesson and you can watch it here: https://safari.fultonschools.org/?g=b9dd8b36-e0af-11ea-9d9c-246e96145ea0 .
- For Social Studies, you’ll go into ClassLink and find BrainPop Jr. From there, search for and watch the kindergarten video. Then, take the easy quiz with your student. Finally, have them brainstorm a good rule for virtual learning and illustrate it. We will share these tomorrow morning.
- Lessons will not usually take up the whole subject period, as this period includes time for independent practice. To Even in person, lessons are usually 15 minutes or less fit within a kindergartner's attention span.
- Remember, specials will be done through pre-recorded videos for K-2. At this time, Seesaw still is not up but will later be used to submit work to specials teachers.
- This morning, I shared the first Heards Ferry Live with the class. For the sake of time, please watch these on your own time starting tomorrow. You can access HFL under the “Students and Families” tab of the Heards Ferry web page or by following this link: http://fultontube.fultonschools.org/heards-ferry-elementary
- I know that today felt short and academics were limited. I know that the lessons and work did not fill up the scheduled time. Soon, we will move into longer, and often pre-recorded, lessons with longer assignments to go with them. You’ll also have independent work for the afternoon, including completing 45 minutes of iReady in reading and math each week. However, this week we are starting small to get things running smoothly before we start complicating things.
Welcome to Kindergarten!
Ms. Gable and I are so excited to kick off the school year on Monday! Attached are next week’s lesson plans that we will be following. Lesson plans will be sent out around 3:00 pm each Friday to allow you to plan ahead for the week. The school has asked us to create lesson plans by subject, with the columns as each day. However, I know many parents would prefer to see one day’s work at a time. I will be sending both layouts of plans; the content will be the same, so use whichever layout is easier for you to read. You’ll notice that synchronous lessons are highlighted blue (though this may not show in mobile format). Remember, synchronous lessons are live on Teams; asynchronous means that students will be working independently. Please note that students will need various materials over the week. Keep their supplies near by and ready to go. For drawing and writing assignments, students can use blank paper or a journal from their original school supplies.
This week will look different than most weeks, as we will only be using live lessons. I understand that this may be difficult for many of you, but it will allow us to get to know our students better, introduce them to our norms and expectations, and get a better understanding of Teams. In the coming weeks, we will move away from synchronous meetings, utilizing more recorded lessons in many areas. This is not to say that we will not be meeting live at all, as we will still do some whole group and small group lessons synchronously, just to lesser than we will be having this week.
Seesaw, our online student portfolio platform, has not been updated for the current school year yet, so we will not be using it to submit work this week. Rather than having you learn a new platform that we will only use temporarily, students will be able to share their work during our live meetings on Teams. If your student cannot attend, you can email me their work. There will not be any graded work this week anyway, as work this week is more about building up stamina and practicing using materials correctly. In future weeks, graded assignments will be highlighted in yellow.
You will see that on every morning from Tuesday to Friday a few students will be introducing themselves to the class so we can get to know each other. Before your students’ introduction day, please discuss with your kids their favorite color, favorite food, favorite animal, and favorite hobby so they are ready to share with us 😊 If you can’t make it on the live lesson during that time, you can always send me a video of your child with that information. After students introduce themselves this week, we will be talking about SOAR behavior during universal remote learning. SOAR is our PBIS (positive behavior intervention system) that we use when we are face to face as well. SOAR stands for Safe, Accountable, Outstanding, and Respectful. There is also a SOAR behavior matrix in the folder that you received in your materials bag.
This week we will be doing a lot of character building and emotion lessons such as respect, being brave, being a good friend, feelings, etc. and reading several books on those topics. Please be patient if the lessons run a little longer the first week as this is new for all of us. We want to be on with the kids live as much as possible. Please keep in mind it will take a few weeks for me to get to know students and their levels so please be flexible. In math, we will be going over some of the topics students will learn this year such as letters and numbers. We will begin the year with social studies and start our unit on community helpers.
I also want to begin working on the “raising your hand” tool so students can begin to answer questions. I know I had difficulty with it during “Open House” so practicing will be helpful for me too!
On another note, Friday is our no special’s day. This is a good time for a small break, some “Go Noodle” videos, looking through your resource folder and using the pages in the sheet protector to write numbers, write letters, read a book.
I emailed out the links for each subject area’s synchronous lesson if you can’t access them using the directions I sent earlier in the week. For security reasons, I am not posting them here. Please email if you need them. However, all students should have active Microsoft accounts on Monday, ending password issue that many faced for Open House. These links should work for recurring meetings, but I would prefer if students logged in through their Microsoft Teams via Classlink when possible so I can see their names instead of “guest” which is what I see if you log in through the link. Furthermore, it is beneficial for them to be able to navigate ClassLink and not rely on you pulling up your email multiple times a day.
I know that many of you have expressed interest in getting to know other parents and students in the class. If you have not already and are interested, add your contact information here for other parents to be able to set up calls and virtual play dates. I’d also like to give the children a time to interact on school days, so on Friday, I will open up our video meeting 5 minutes early, at 8:!0, to give students time to talk with each other.
Finally, please fill out your information here for me. This will not be shared with other families, but will help me should I need to get in contact with you during remote or in-person learning.
This week will look different than most weeks, as we will only be using live lessons. I understand that this may be difficult for many of you, but it will allow us to get to know our students better, introduce them to our norms and expectations, and get a better understanding of Teams. In the coming weeks, we will move away from synchronous meetings, utilizing more recorded lessons in many areas. This is not to say that we will not be meeting live at all, as we will still do some whole group and small group lessons synchronously, just to lesser than we will be having this week.
Seesaw, our online student portfolio platform, has not been updated for the current school year yet, so we will not be using it to submit work this week. Rather than having you learn a new platform that we will only use temporarily, students will be able to share their work during our live meetings on Teams. If your student cannot attend, you can email me their work. There will not be any graded work this week anyway, as work this week is more about building up stamina and practicing using materials correctly. In future weeks, graded assignments will be highlighted in yellow.
You will see that on every morning from Tuesday to Friday a few students will be introducing themselves to the class so we can get to know each other. Before your students’ introduction day, please discuss with your kids their favorite color, favorite food, favorite animal, and favorite hobby so they are ready to share with us 😊 If you can’t make it on the live lesson during that time, you can always send me a video of your child with that information. After students introduce themselves this week, we will be talking about SOAR behavior during universal remote learning. SOAR is our PBIS (positive behavior intervention system) that we use when we are face to face as well. SOAR stands for Safe, Accountable, Outstanding, and Respectful. There is also a SOAR behavior matrix in the folder that you received in your materials bag.
This week we will be doing a lot of character building and emotion lessons such as respect, being brave, being a good friend, feelings, etc. and reading several books on those topics. Please be patient if the lessons run a little longer the first week as this is new for all of us. We want to be on with the kids live as much as possible. Please keep in mind it will take a few weeks for me to get to know students and their levels so please be flexible. In math, we will be going over some of the topics students will learn this year such as letters and numbers. We will begin the year with social studies and start our unit on community helpers.
I also want to begin working on the “raising your hand” tool so students can begin to answer questions. I know I had difficulty with it during “Open House” so practicing will be helpful for me too!
On another note, Friday is our no special’s day. This is a good time for a small break, some “Go Noodle” videos, looking through your resource folder and using the pages in the sheet protector to write numbers, write letters, read a book.
I emailed out the links for each subject area’s synchronous lesson if you can’t access them using the directions I sent earlier in the week. For security reasons, I am not posting them here. Please email if you need them. However, all students should have active Microsoft accounts on Monday, ending password issue that many faced for Open House. These links should work for recurring meetings, but I would prefer if students logged in through their Microsoft Teams via Classlink when possible so I can see their names instead of “guest” which is what I see if you log in through the link. Furthermore, it is beneficial for them to be able to navigate ClassLink and not rely on you pulling up your email multiple times a day.
I know that many of you have expressed interest in getting to know other parents and students in the class. If you have not already and are interested, add your contact information here for other parents to be able to set up calls and virtual play dates. I’d also like to give the children a time to interact on school days, so on Friday, I will open up our video meeting 5 minutes early, at 8:!0, to give students time to talk with each other.
Finally, please fill out your information here for me. This will not be shared with other families, but will help me should I need to get in contact with you during remote or in-person learning.