Thursday Letter

Newsletter for the Week of Nov. 15th - ,19th
Monday	Tuesday
Letter of the week is “I  i” High Frequency Words:  he    for  Amazing Words: nest, meadow, stump, tree                                    trunk, hive, den   P.E.  Please wear tennis shoes	Story: A Bed for Winter Question of the week: “What kind of                         homes do animals need?   Show-n-Tell: Austin, Eli,                         Maddy and Treyden
Wednesday	Thursday
Library Day – Since we didn’t check out books last week your child’s book may already be in the gray box.  But check to be sure, please   Show-n-Tell:  Elias, Ella, Emma,                          Ethyn and Erica	Show-n-Tell:   Gabrielle, Jaxton,               Kaleigh, Kendal and Orion
Friday	Special Announcements
Music     Show-n-Tell: Reese, Morgan,            Remington, Rikki and Sophia	Thanks to all who have brought snacks. If you haven’t we can still use more to provide some variety.  Carrots for C week would be awesome!
Reminders
Thankful homework coming home 11/11/2010.  It will be due next Friday 11/19 before our very short week of 1 ½ days of school before Thanksgiving break. Directions: Talk to your child about what they are thankful for.  Have them draw a few of their ideas and labels what they are.  You can help them with the spelling but let them do as much of the labeling as they can, even if you write the word on a separate sheet and have them copy it  Encourage them to share more than one thing and to color it nicely because it will be a page in our “Thankful Book”.  Then have them sign the bottom in their very best writing! Thanks so much!

Thursday Newsletter

10/14/2010

Wow! Another week has come and almost gone! Here are just a few reminders for this next week:

~”S” week is coming up.

~Next week there is an early out on Wednesday the 20^th. There are sack lunches available. The students will be released at noon. There is NO SCHOOL that Thursday and Friday.

~There is a note about conferences. Please fill it out and send it back as soon as possible.

~Tomorrow is SPIRIT DAY for Meadowlark Elementary!!! Dress in the school colors (Gold and black) if you don’t have a Meadowlark shirt.

~Book orders are due tomorrow, Friday 15^th. Have a wonderful upcoming weekend!

     ~Mrs. Hansen and Mrs. Clapper

Newsletter!

Newsletter for the Week of Oct 11th – 15th
Monday	Tuesday
Letter of the week is “Tt” High Frequency Words:  to   a  Amazing Words: scooping, swooshing,       squelching, gobbling, spinning and rumbling   P.E.  Please wear tennis shoes                     Columbus Day	Story: Dig Dig Digging Question of the week: “How do machines                                  help people work?   Show-n-Tell:  Abe, Austin, Eli,                         Maddy and Treyden 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. PTA Ice Cream Social
Wednesday	Thursday
Library Day – Please return library books to the gray tub in our room so you can check out another one for this week!   Show-n-Tell:  Elias, Ella, Emma,                          Ethyn and Erica	Show-n-Tell:   Gabrielle, Jaxton,               Kaleigh, Kendal and Orion
Friday	Special Announcements
Music     Show-n-Tell: Reese, Morgan,            Remington, Rikki and Sophia      Book orders due today!	Mrs. Hansen and Mrs. Clapper love to see our students being  kind and caring to one another!
Reminders
Next week the children have an Early Out on Wed. Oct 20th and No School on Oct. 21st and 22nd. Because of the shorter week we will not have Show and Tell or a newsletter for the 18th – the 20th.   Snacks are running low, donations to our cupboard would be appreciated!

 

Great Thursday!!

What a busy day we had! Here are some of the things we worked on today: 

In Reading we reread Smash and Crash. We blended words like: MIX, MOP, GUM, MET. The students also participated in a shared reading of Bullies Never Win and The Wheels on the Bus. We completed an Art project that involved writing their names on individual pieces and gluing them together to form a caterpillar. We had 5 students today that brought something for show and Tell that started with the letter "M". We also had a bus field trip this afternoon. The bus driver gave the class a HUGE compliment by saying, "This class is an EXCELLENT class." Way to go students!! Way to be quiet and safe on the bus! The students each have a coloring book they took home today. My favorite quote from the day was, "Oh, no! Here comes a roundy-round!" This particular student was talking about a round a bout. I just loved it! Thank you for all the love and support you show your child everyday! ~Mrs. Abigail Hansen

Thursday Newsletter

 

Newsletter for the Week of  Sept.  27th – Oct 1st
Monday	Tuesday
Introducing letters & sounds of    Tt, Uu, Vv, Ww, Xx, Yy, and Zz Review words:   the     little   I   am   P.E.  Please wear tennis shoes	Story: Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip Question of the week: “How do people in                   a community cooperate?   Everyone needs a cold lunch or a sack lunch from the school menu! Show-n-Tell:  Maddy, Treyden
Wednesday	Thursday
Library Day – Please remember to return your library book to the gray tub in our room so you can check out another one for this week!   Show-n-Tell:  Emma, Ethyn, Erica	Show-n-Tell: Kaleigh, Kendal, Orion
Friday	Special Announcements
Music     Show-n-Tell: Rikki, Sophia  and                            Remington	Mrs. Clapper is out of town for the birth of her first grandchild!
Reminders
This Saturday the 25th of September is SATURDAY LIVE! Please try to come and support our schools! There is a volunteer sign up sheet in the office if you would like to help at Meadowlark’s stations. Thanks!

 

Thursday Letter Home

Dear Parents, September 9,2010

The weeks are already beginning to fly by! The students have been doing very well adjusting to routines and procedures. Both Mrs. Clapper and myself are very proud of them. Please read the blog, http://learninginkindergarten.blogspot.com , if you are wondering what some of our daily activities are. Also, be sure to read the important letter from Mr. Croff all about the new Kindergarten class that will be here at Meadowlark.

Some of the things that we’ve been working on as a class this past week are the letters A, B, C, D, E . We have been practicing talking about upper and lower case letters, their sounds, finding them in words and even reading our two amazing words: I, AM. To finish off Unit 1 week 1, we will be sending home their “ReaderWriterNotebook Packets” We forgot to talk about these at Open House. Each week we work in this 4-6 page packet of workbook like pages. Some weeks we get to almost everything, other times very little. We will send them home each week so you can see what your child is learning to do. And to watch their progress through out the year! If your child has been absent, his/her name will be at the top. It would be wonderful if you would help your child complete it but it is not necessary to send it back. The pages we did not get to are fun extensions for those children who are ready for more challenging concepts. The directions are at the bottom of each page. We hope your child enjoys showing you what they did each week! Many times they have to stop coloring the pages to go on to another activity, so we always say “you can finish that when you get to take it home.”

Wednesday was Bear day and the students were able to bring a bear into class with them. They enjoyed reading to their bear. In Math we will be finishing up chapter 1. The students have been practicing, over, under, left, right, above, below, same and different. They have been doing very well. Science has been fun and the students have been exploring their five senses. We have been talking about what a scientist does and how they use their senses to discover new things.

Please take the time to stop by the lost and found. There are already many jackets, sweatshirts and lunch boxes there. Please see if anything may be your child’s.

Thank you so much for all the love and support you show your child everyday! You are the backbone of meaningful learning in your child. If you are excited about school they will be too! Thank you parents!

Sincerely, Mrs. Abigail Hansen and Mrs. Carol Clapper

Letter to Kindergarten Parents from Mr. Croff

9/7/10

Dear Parents/Guardians of Kindergarten Students,

As you are likely aware our kindergarten classes this year are extremely full and well over state accreditation. Due to our large class sizes I am excited to announce we will be adding another kindergarten classroom to help reduce teacher to student ratios. The teacher in the additional classroom will be Mrs. Natasha Norby and I can assure you that not only is she very qualified, but she is a genuinely kind, friendly and caring individual.

We will be transitioning approximately four students from each existing classroom into Mrs. Norby’s room. The new kindergarten room will begin Monday, September 13^th and I will personally contact parents this Thursday or Friday if your child is selected to be in Mrs. Norby’s room. Initially, I will be taking parent requests to transfer into the new room and then we will be selecting students from our existing rooms. If you would like to volunteer to have your child placed in the new kindergarten room, please contact me at 281-6213.

As a parent myself, I can certainly understand any apprehension that you may be experiencing, but I can confidently state that I would be willing to place my own daughter in our new classroom. I assure you that this decision is being made on the premises that it is best for the children and that they typically are much more resilient than we give them credit for. I am thrilled that we have this opportunity to reduce our classroom sizes to help our students. I encourage you to email, call or set up a meeting with me to address any questions or concerns you may have. Sincerely, Kevin Croff, Principal

First Day of School Letter Home

Dear Parents,

Starting a new school year in Kindergarten is an exciting time and we are thrilled to be teaching together at Meadowlark this year. We have so much fun learning and exploring the wonderful world of school with this new group of students! We are looking forward to a great year and are excited to have your child in our class. We are sure many of you have some questions and I will try to answer the beginning of the year ones in this first letter.

The first bell will ring 8:25 and all Kindergartens will line up outside the Commons on the east side of the school. Please do not bring your child to school before 8:15 because we are not outside until that time. To ensure the safety of every child, students need to stay in the walking. For the first week or two all of the Kindergarten teachers will be helping the children learn our routine. Then the teachers take turns doing morning duty while others prepare for the day. The other teachers that your child will be supervised by are Mrs. Gibson, Mrs. Rappaport, and Mrs. Cook.

Class dismisses at 2:30. We will bring the students out the north door by the playground. If your child is not picked up in a timely manner, we take them to the office to wait for their ride home. For awhile each child will be holding a small bear. He/she is expected to give us the bear and show us who is picking them up before we say good-bye for the day.

Your child needs to bring a back pack every day so papers and notes home won’t get lost. Thursday folders are a school wide communication tool. Please read the contents and return the folder on Friday so that we know you have received your mail and their papers. We will have library on Wednesdays so once they start checking out books, please help your child remember his/her book because they can only check out a new one if they return their checked out one! P.E. will be on Mondays and the children need to have tennis shoes for safety.

After the children and teachers get used to each other and we get into a routine, we would love to have Parent Volunteers to help with art projects or educational games. This is a large class with 24 students so far. We love having volunteers to provide more one on one attention for each child. A note will be sent home later in September to coordinate volunteers and set up times that work with our class schedule and parent availability.

The principal asks that we share our class discipline policy with you. We have two main rules: Be Nice and Be Safe. The children will explore how all other rules such as: Keep your hands and feet to yourself or Raise your hand when you want to speak fit into these two rules. Later we will make an “I Can” book. They illustrate “I can be nice.” And “ I can be safe.” We are firm believers in praising their positive behavior. As a class we will earn compliments and special treats throughout the year. We will start counting compliments toward the end of September. If a child is having trouble being nice or safe, we limit their center time, or recess time or give them some time away from the group to help them want to follow our rules and get back to having fun learning with their friends.

If we did not cover an immediate concern of yours, please feel free to call the direct number to our room ( 281-6864) between 7:30 and 8:15 or 2:45 – 3:45. Or leave a message at the office 281-6213. For those of you who prefer email, our school emails are clapperc@billingsschools.org and hansena@billingsschools.org. . Remember when the children are there from 8:25-2:30, We devote all our attention to them. This year we are starting a Blog to keep you informed of our classroom news. The address is:

http://learninginkindergarten.blogspot.com/

Mrs. Hansen has laminated some cards with the address on it so you can connect often and share in our classroom news!

During the next couple days, we will be recording who can pick up each child. We keep a list for guest teachers, also. If the pick up person changes after you have dropped your child off for the day, please call the school and specify that we need the message before 2:15 so we get it before the children leave for the day..

Sincerely,

Mrs. Hansen and Mrs. Clapper

p.s. We forgot to ask you to fill out the following paper with your child and paste a picture at the top. Then on the mostly blank page have them draw themselves and write their name in the blank. (You may do this if they need some help) These two papers help us get to know each child and we post them around the room next week so they feel more at home in their new classroom! Please return these ASAP, but by September 1^st so we can have them up in time for our Open House. It is from 6:30 – 7:30 on Thursday, September 2^nd. Thanks again for reading all this and helping us get your child off to a great start!