Ms. Nicky and Ms. Julie’s News
Can you believe the year is almost over?! Time is going so fast! Before the break, we finished our STEM Unit of Study on Buildings. Students had a great time building with different types of blocks and materials in class. They also really enjoyed the visit from a plumber, who talked about his role in building buildings. We ended the unit with a design challenge, where students had to work as a team to build a building that could withstand the blows of the Big Bad Hairdryer. Our new STEM Unit of Study is Family and Friends. What a great time of year to focus on this topic!
STEM Profile of the month: Enthusiastic
“I am excited about learning and the world around me.”
Some books to talk about enthusiasm with your child:
Lilly’s Big Day by Kevin Henkes
Clark the Shark by Bruce Hale
MyON
I have been getting a lot of emails about difficulties with logging into MyON. It seems like MyOn keeps changing the process for logging in. Here are the latest instructions:
1. Go to www.myon.com
2. Click on “Log in now”
3. Towards the bottom of the page, click on “Clever Instant Login”
4. Then type your child’s username and password.
Please note that the reading logs now have some pictures of computers. These pictures are to be colored after reading a story on MyON. We would love for you to take advantage of this opportunity with your child.
PATHS (Promoting Alternative Thinking Strategies)
We have been using a social-emotional curriculum this year called PATHS. Each week we do different lessons that focus on helping the students develop strong social-emotional competence. The paper that your child brings home periodically titled, “PATHS Kid of the Day” is part of this curriculum. Each day Twiggle the Turtle, a puppet that plays a large part in sharing the curriculum, randomly chooses a Kid of the Day. This child gets to wear a badge, and is encouraged to have Super STAR Power on that day so they can receive really good compliments from their teachers and friends at the end of the day. We recently introduced a system called “Doing Turtle” to demonstrate to students that they can learn to control their own behaviors. There are 3 components to “Doing Turtle”. First, if a child becomes angry or upset, they should Stop. Second, they should cross their arms over their chest and take one long, deep breath. Third, they are encouraged to say what their problem is and how they feel. By practicing this procedure and using it at school and at home, our hope is that students will Do Turtle in lieu of negative behaviors when they are upset.
Story Champs
Story Champs is a curriculum that we have been using in class to target language and literacy skills such as social communication, listening comprehension, and reading comprehension. When using this curriculum, we talk about certain elements of a story including Character, Problem, Feeling, Action, and Ending. When reading with your child at home, it would be helpful if you use this terminology to ask them questions about the text. For example, “Who is the character in the story?” “What was the problem in the story?” “How did the character feel?” “What action did the character take to solve the problem?” “How did the story end?” We noticed when doing our GOLD assessments that many students struggled with answering questions like these. Reading and listening comprehension are crucial for literacy success, so please make sure you are asking questions about the stories you read with your child!
Attendance
We miss your child when they are not at school! Please make sure they are in attendance everyday unless they are sick. Also, please arrive promptly. By arriving on time each day, you are letting your child know that school is a priority, and it is distracting to the class to have late arrivals. Please also make sure you are picking your child up from school on time. We understand that situations arise, on occasion, and it can’t be prevented. However, Julie and I have other obligations as soon as class ends on many days, and when we have to wait for a late pick-up, it causes us to be late for our commitments.
Weather
We will continue to go outside daily for recess unless it is raining, snowing, or the temperature is really cold. Please make sure your child is dressed warmly, including wearing a hat and gloves. When we go out in the morning, it is often too early for the sun to really start warming things up, and when we go out in the afternoon, the sun is already starting to go down.
Important Dates
December 1: KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION BEGINS
December 5: Parent Education Session on Child Development-Motor Milestones
and Movement in Early Childhood (6-7 pm)
December 8: PBIS Reward-Dance Party in the Gym
December 12: All-School Movement
December 15: PTO-sponsored Pajama Day-Bring $1 and wear your PJ’s to school
December 15: Winter celebration-10:30 for A.M. class and 2:25 for P.M.
class–More information to come
December 19-January 1: NO SCHOOL
Motor Milestones and Movement in Early Childhood
On December 5 from 6-7 pm, I will be helping to facilitate a parent education session on physical development and health. Paige Jennings, the Coordinator for Physical Education Quality Improvement for the St. Vrain Valley School District will be our guest speaker, and she is fabulous! Please join us!