Ms. Nicky’s Update 10-1-19

Ms. Nicky and Ms. Julie’s October News Happy Fall! It has been a busy month for us. We have started working on letter identification,formation, and the sounds that letters make. We have also talked about numbers, and have beenworking a lot on counting objects and number sense-having an understanding of what numbersreally mean. We are almost done with our STEM unit on Pets. We have talked about what a pet is,how to care for pets, what pet habitats are, who cares for pets, and what pets and baby pets arecalled. A dog trainer came and shared what she does in her job, and students made pet habitatsthat I’m sure you saw come home. They should all be pet experts now, and be ready for theresponsibility of adopting a pet of their own! Our next unit will be Transportation, but I think wewill be taking a break in between to learn a little bit about Fall.Parent Teacher ConferencesFall conferences are September 30 and October 2. Our GOLD assessments will not yet becompleted, but I will be sharing the progress I have seen, and am looking forward to hearing yourinput about how you feel things are going so far.AttendanceThank you for being so diligent about getting your child to school every day! We have had greatattendance so far! Thank you, too, for being so prompt at drop-off and pick-up times! We reallyappreciate your efforts on this!!FundationsOur school district has decided to officially adopt a new literacy program, called Fundations, tohelp with learning letters, letter sound associations, and handwriting. Last year, I loosely pilotedthis program, but also borrowed from the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum for handwritingpractice. I recently learned that, as a district, we are going to use the Fundations handwritingprogram, so I have had to change my course of action a little bit. You may have noticed that westarted out the school year learning letters L, F, E, and H. This is the recommended sequencefor Handwriting Without Tears. However, Fundations follows the alphabetical order pattern, sowe have changed to that. I will start sending handwriting homework home that bettercorresponds with the Fundations program shortly, and will discuss the program in a little moredetail at conferences. I apologize for the changes, but have no fear–we will learn our lettersand letter sounds!SeeSawThank you to those of you who have logged into the Seesaw app. I am hoping to get better at utilizing this as the year goes on, but please bear with me as I’m trying to get everything inorder. I think it can be a great tool that will allow you to see what your child is doing in classsince a lot of the work that we do is not done in a format that can be sent home. If you have asuggestion of something you would like me to share on there, please let me know and I will do mybest to do that. If you have not logged into Seesaw yet and need a new login form, please letme know and I will get that to you.Dressing for the weatherThe weather has started feeling cooler in the mornings, and will probably start staying coolerthroughout the day in the next couple of weeks. Please make sure your child brings a jacket orcoat each day. Please also work with your child at home to help them become independent atputting their coat on and zipping or buttoning it. ​This will save us a huge amount of time whenwe are trying to get outside to recess, or when getting ready to head home at the end of theday.Food Program Application FormIf you did not fill out the Food Program Application Form at the beginning of the year, pleasedo so using the following link: https://www.myschoolapps.com/. It doesn’t take long, and filling itout helps to support funding for our snacks at school.Important DatesSeptember 20-October 4: PTO “Believe” FundraiserSeptember 25-October 9: October Count Days–This is when the statedetermines funding for students in our school, so please make every effortto have your child at school these daysSeptember 30 and October 2: Parent Teacher ConferencesOctober 1: Storyteller visitOctober 8: Firefighters visit for Firefighter Prevention WeekOctober 8: FREE Parenting the Love and Logic Way class (6:00-7:30 p.m.) -childcare will be providedOctober 9: Hearing and Vision ScreeningOctober 15: FREE Parenting the Love and Logic Way class (6:00-7:30 p.m.) -childcare will be provided October 17: Deadline for dropping off trinket/candy donations for Trick-or-Treat Street October 21: NO SCHOOLOctober 22: Parent Volunteer Training (4:00-5:30 p.m.)October 22: FREE Parenting the Love and Logic Way class (6:00-7:30 p.m.) -childcare will be provided October 24: PBIS PartyOctober 25: Trick-or-Treat Street (5:00-6:00 p.m.)October 29: FREE Parenting the Love and Logic Way class (6:00-7:30 p.m.) -childcare will be provided