Ms. Nicky’s and Ms. Julie’s News
Happy Spring! Students really enjoyed our Simple Machines Unit! There were a lot of opportunities to be scientists and explore how simple machines work in real-life. Students got to test out pulleys, inclined planes, screws, wedges, levers, and wheels and axles. We ended the unit by having students take turns working together to build a structure and then allowing other students to make a “wrecking ball” (a type of lever) to try to knock it down. They had to decide what would make their structure strong enough to withstand the wrecking ball, as well as determine what materials would work best to make a wrecking ball. It was a lot of fun to hear their thought processes as they worked through the challenge! We will spend a couple of weeks celebrating Dr. Seuss and his books, and then we will end the year with a unit called Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
Dr. Seuss Week
As you know, we have already begun celebrating Dr. Seuss week. When we get back from Spring Break, the rest of the school will join in on the action. We will be reading a couple of different books than what the school is choosing to better suit the activities we have planned in class. Here is our schedule:
Monday, April 1: Crazy Hat or Crazy Hair Day-Students can wear their
craziest hat or hair! We will read The Cat in the Hat Comes
Back and do some fun activities to go along with the story.
Tuesday, April 2: We will read The Lorax to get students thinking about our
upcoming Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Unit.
Wednesday, April 3: We will focus on math skills as we read One Fish, Two Fish,
Red Fish, Blue Fish.
Thursday, April 4: We will read Green Eggs and Ham and see who is a big enough
risk-taker to give eating them a try.
Working With Your Child At Home
Thank you so much for your continued support with working with your child on their homework! A large number of students have mastered identifying all of their letters and letter sounds, and several more students are very close to reaching that achievement. Your help in reinforcing the work we are doing at school is really paying off!
An area where students are having some difficulty is following multi-step directions. To work on this at home, practice giving your child a list of 2-4 things to do at once. For example, “Hang up your jacket, get your folder out of your backpack, and then hang up your backpack.” This is a really, really important skill for students to have when going on to kindergarten.
PALS Assessment
In April, all students going on to Kindergarten will be assessed on PALS (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening). This is a tool that will be used in Kindergarten to determine your child’s literacy needs. Implementing the screening at the end of preschool helps us to review our practices to make sure we are targeting the correct literacy skills that students will need to be successful in kindergarten. It also assists us in tracking regression over the summer since the test will be administered again right at the beginning of kindergarten. Once the assessments have been completed, we will send the results home for you to see.
School Carnival
Our School Carnival is Friday, April 26 from 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. (soft start from 4 pm-5 pm for students with Special Needs). Students LOVE this event! There will be fun games, prizes, and yummy food! Hope to see you there!
Important Dates
April 1: Crazy Hat or Crazy Hair Day
April 3: Butter Braids pick-up (11 a.m.-5:30 p.m.)
April 4: PTO Meeting (6 p.m.-8 p.m.)
April 10: Field trip to Carbon Valley Gymnastics Center
April 16: School Bus Visit
April 17: Last day to pick up Butter Braids
April 25: Field trip to Thunder Valley Kindergarten
April 25: Pajama Day-Bring $1 and wear your PJ’s to school
April 25: PBIS Award-Obstacle Course
April 26: School Carnival (5 p.m.-6:30 p.m.)
April 29: NO SCHOOL