Highlights

It has been such a joy to get to know your children more this week! I see the beginnings of some wonderful friendships. Thank you for entrusting your children to me during the school day. I am so blessed to be partnering with amazing families like yours! I can’t wait to get to know you all better and spend my days with your kindergartener!

In the beginning of each newsletter I will give some of the highlights from our week at school. I often hear from parents that their children don’t share much with them about their school day. Take a peek at this section for some of the things we’ve been up to and some ideas of what to chat about with your child.

Important Dates

• Friday, August 30-September 2 No School Labor Day vacation
• Monday, September 9- Scholastic Book Orders Due online (see below)
• Thursday, September 26- Field trip to DeGraaf Nature Center 9:30-11 (plus travel)
• Friday, September 27- No School (teacher pd)

Reminders

• DeGraaf Nature Center: On September 26 we are heading to the nature center to continue our studies of the 5 senses. I am looking for drivers please. If you are interested, please follow this link. I will create a SignUp Genius for every field trip in hopes that every parent who would like to drive, is able to have a turn. I appreciate your willingness to drive and do my best to make it fair for everyone. This is different from preschool field trips. We all go to school like a typical day. Field trip drivers will come to the classroom at 9 and we will have a bathroom break and go over any instructions. Drivers take the children I have assigned to their vehicle and bring them to the field trip location and stay as chaperones. We have a limited number of booster seats at school, so I will often ask families that are able to leave a booster seat with their child. More details will come later!
• Scholastic book orders: I usually like to order from Scholastic three times a year. The second order will be in November (in time for Christmas) and in the spring (good time for new summer books). Please go to scholastic.com/bookclubs to look over the options. Our class code is MH4J6 . Ordering online is easy and you are able to choose from a range of reading levels. I already saw amazing books at really good prices. I wanted to also give notice that I would like to purchase María Tenía una Llama as a Christmas present for your children, so please do not order that one. 🙂 Orders are due Monday, September 9.
• Snacks: Each day we have a morning and afternoon snack. Please make sure your child has enough snacks in addition to their lunch. This is important to pack even when your child orders hot lunch. If anyone would be willing to send in extra snacks for days someone might forget please, I would really appreciate it! We’ve all forgotten something before! 
• Towel: Please make sure your child has a towel in a reusable bag to use during rest time.
  

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Curriculum

This week our main focus was getting to know one another and setting up classroom routines. We’ve practiced our morning routine, how to line up, where to sit on the carpet, and how to walk in the hallway. I’m proud of the progress your kids are making in learning how to do kindergarten together! Each day things went a little smoother and your kids seemed more comfortable and confident.

The kids created their first page of My Book of Friends and included Jesus’ name on the first page! He is the very best friend we could ask for- always there for us and ready to listen.

In the afternoons we spent a short time resting, worked hard in math centers, and ventured into purposeful play. In math centers we learned that the class has important jobs and the teachers have important jobs. While the students are doing their jobs at each center, my job is to work with small groups of students.

Thank you for a wonderful first 4 days with your children! I’m looking forward to our week coming up! I will be thinking about you all and praying that you have a fun and relaxing long weekend! The first day after a long weekend can be a little tough, so I’ll be praying that the transition back in goes smoothly for everyone! As always, please let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to get back to you as soon as possible! Thank you! I’m excited to partner with you all this year!

From the Immersion Director, Jodi Pierce

Are you looking for an opportunity for you child to use his or her Spanish in an authentic setting? Mecdonia Baptist Church is going to put on a Christmas musical in Spanish and are inviting any intersted students to join them. This is for and children from 1st-8th grade who are enjoy being on stage, and for those who would rather work behind the scenes helping with props, etc. Practices will be about twice a week starting in the middle of September. There will be an informational meeting Saturday Sept 7 – 10 am at Macedonia Baptist Church