Mrs. Leach's Kindergarteners: March 2012

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

THANK YOU!

Thanks to all of the students and their families for making my last day so special. I have enjoyed working with your child the last seven months. They are a great group of kids and I know Miss Miller will enjoy getting to know them and will LOVE working with them. I look forward to talking to Miss Miller to hear about their progress and visiting the classroom. See everyone on May 30th!!!

2012-2013 School Year Calendar

The Albert Lea School Board approved the 2012-2013 school year calendar on Monday night. There are a few changes that you will notice for next year.

1. We will have a Spring break the week of March 4-8.

2. We will not have early outs.

3. There will be no school on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and President's Day.

4. Elementary conferences will be aligned with the trimester schedule.

Click here to see the approved calendar: http://es.albertlea.k12.mn.us/schoolboard/Appendix/2011-2012/03-19-12%20-%20Regular%20Meeting/Calendar.pdf

Check out the cards we made for...

Grandma Joan and Michael (our soldier). Click here: http://mrsleachskindergartenclass.wikispaces.com/Student+Writing+and+Work

and click on Grandma Joan 1 or 2 and Michael 1 or 2 to read what your child wrote.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Change of Plans...

Wednesday, March 21st will be my last day before going on maternity leave. Please remember to send Miss Miller e-mails (demiller@albertlea.k12.mn.us), call our room phone (379-4971), or call the office (379-4960) if your child will be getting home/picked up a different way than normal. I will be checking my e-mail and cell phone messages but not all the time so this will guarantee that your child gets the message.

Things we are working on in math...

Addition (3 + 2 = 5) - Can you objects/pictures, etc. They do not need to memorize them.
Subtraction (8 - 5 = 3) - Do not work on subtraction if your child is not confident in addition. Can you objects/pictures, etc. They do not need to memorize them.
Telling Time to the Hour - If your child can tell time to the hour work on telling time to the half-hour.
Naming Coins and their Value - Empty out the piggy bank/wallet and have your child group the coins together. Point to a group of coins and have your child tell you the name of the coin and the value of that coin. When they are ready you can have them mix coins and tell you their value. (Do not use quarters)

*Help reinforce these standards with your child by working on them at home.

Tips for Reading at Home...

Wait Time:

-When your child misreads a word give them some time to fix it on their own. Let them read to the end of the sentence. After a reasonable time, help them.

Ignore:

-You do not need to correct your child every time they misread a word. If your child is still getting the meaning of what they are reading, let small mistakes go.

Chunking Words:

-Encourage your child to look for smaller words and syllables within longer words and blend those parts together.

*Take 10 minutes a night and read to your child or have them read to you. After reading, ask them to tell you the beginning, middle, and end of story. Ask them who the characters in the story were. This will help with their comprehension.

Friday, March 16, 2012

Lucky visited our classroom...

Kindergarten students were SHOCKED when they got to school today and saw that Lucky the Leprechaun had visited our classroom. He left quite the mess for us to clean up. Kindergarteners followed Lucky's tracks and found shamrock cookies that he had left us.

A Note from Miss Miller...

Dear Kindergarten Families ~

Hi! My name is Devan Miller and I cannot wait to start my position as Mrs. Leach’s replacement next week. I recently graduated from Bethany Lutheran College in Mankato, MN. I was lucky enough to have been given the opportunity to student teach at Hawthorne and learned so much from the students and staff. I cannot wait to come back! I have spent time in Mrs. Leach’s classroom and have really enjoyed it! I look forward to teaching kindergarten and getting to know your son or daughter. See everyone soon!

Letter Sent Home...

Dear Kindergarten Parents,

I hope that everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather. I will be going on maternity leave on March 22^nd, at which point a substitute will take over for me. I plan to return for the last day of school (May 30^th), barring any complications.

In my absence Miss Miller will be working with your children. She has substitute taught for me on a few occasions this school year. Prior to my absence, Miss Miller will be in the classroom getting to know the students and what their specific goals and objectives are. I am confident that she will do a wonderful job while I am away, and if she has any questions she has Mrs. Burnett and Miss Rowland at hand to help as needed.

During my absence I plan to check my email regularly, if you have any questions you can contact me via e-mail at hleach@albertlea.k12.mn.us or by cell at (507) 380-6190. You can also contact Miss Miller while I am on maternity leave at (507) 379-4971 or by e-mail at demiller@albertlea.k12.mn.us.

Thank you so much for your support.

Updated Birthday Page Sent Home today...

I sent home a NEW calendar for April and May birthday celebrations. The May calendar dates were wrong. Please get rid of the old one. Thanks!

Monday, March 12, 2012

Check out our letters to Michael...

Click here: http://mrsleachskindergartenclass.wikispaces.com/Student+Writing+and+Work

Thanks to everyone who sent items in for Michael's care package. I know that him and the other soldiers really appreciate it.

Friday, March 9, 2012

Many of you have been asking...

My last day will be Thursday, March 22nd. I will be sending home a letter next week to let you know who my replacement will be while I am on maternity leave. If you have any questions, please contact me via e-mail or cell phone. I will be returning to school on Wednesday, May 30th for the last day of school picnic and ice cream sundae party.

Check nightly folders...

I sent home a calendar for April and May birthday celebrations. Students whose birthday fall over the summer will celebrate their birthday in either April or May also. Please check the birthday calendar and let me know if you have any questions or have a conflict for some reason. Thanks!

St. Patty's Day Writing...

Today we wrote about things that we are lucky for. Some of the things that students said were...

-I am lucky for my mom. (MaKenna)

-I am lucky for my mom and dad. (Jordan)

-I am lucky for my grandma. (Lance)

-I am lucky for my grandma. (Logan)

-I am lucky for my family. (Kameron)

-I am lucky because I have a baby. (Ava)

-I am lucky for my mom, Adam, and sister. (Nick)

-I am lucky for my mom and dad. (Jaxson)

-I am lucky for my baby sister. (River)

-I am lucky for shelter. (Hannah)

-I am lucky for my house. (Emilio)

-I am lucky for my mom. (Megan)

-I am lucky for my family. (Eric)

-I am lucky for the universe. (Jaylee)

-I am lucky for my family. (Mellie)

Check out the cute shamrocks we made!!!

Dr. Seuss's Birthday

Here are the hats we made for Dr. Seuss's birthday. Students wrote _at words and made an AB pattern on their hats.

Monday, March 5, 2012

Update on Contest!!!

Everyone is doing a FABULOUS job of collecting milk caps, soup labels & box tops!

So far we have raised $789.60 for our school!!!! Also we have collected 4317 Campbell's Labels for Education. Which is enough to buy recess equipment for all 6 grades!! Way to go!!!!

The Updated Results for the Classroom Collection Contest are~

1st Place~ Neumann~ $76.90 = 1940 total items

2nd Place~ Rowland~ $99.35 = 1889 total items

3rd Place~ Kieffer~ $84.70 = 1532 total items

4th Place~ Boyenga~ $75.05 = 1522 total items

5th Place~ Leach~ $80.20 = 1393 total items

6th Place~ Hendrickson~ $79.65 = 1384 total items

7th Place~ Burnette~ $40.00 = 1020 total items

8th Place~ Rome~ $47.70 = 993 total items

9th Place~ Carlson~ $61.45 = 941 total items

10th Place~ Boyd~ $20.35 = 650 total items

11th Place~ Sorenson~ $33.70 = 516

12th Place~ Swee~ $33.25 = 499 total items

13th Place~Jerdee~ $20.30 = 399 total items

14th Place~ Rassler~ $28.60 = 366 total items

15th Place~ Boersma~ $8.40 = 205 total items

Keep sending them to school. The contest ends at the end of March!!!

Don't Forget...

We have an early out on Tuesday, March 6th. We will be getting out of school at 12:05. Please make sure your child knows where they will be going after-school. Thanks!

Reading Rocks and Math Rolls...

We will be having our Reading Rocks and Math Rolls assembly on Wednesday, March 7th at 1:45. Please remind your child to wear their Reading Rocks t-shirt or wear a black t-shirt that day! Thanks!

Snack/Milk Reminder:

Third trimester begins today (Monday, March 5th)!!! If you did not sign your child up for snack/milk cart please send a snack to school each month. If they are not signed up for a snack and you do no send one your child will not get a snack.

Friday, March 2, 2012

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!!!

Guest Readers: Mrs. Christenson, Mrs. Zwolenski, and Mrs. Worman came to Kindergarten and read some of their favorite books to us today. Click on the picture of Mrs. Christenson reading to see more pictures of our fun day!

Books Read:

-Put Me in the Zoo

-Interrupting Chicken

-There No Such Thing as Monsters

-Pete the Cat

-Nothing to Do

We made hats to wear to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday, word family hats to hang in the hall and wrote a rhyming book about places we can read.

Author Douglas Wood Visits Hawthorne

Author Douglas Wood visited Hawthorne today and talked with Kindergarteners and 1st graders. Check out some of the pictures from his visit!

Read more about Douglas Wood at: http://www.douglaswood.com/pages/appear/schoolprograms.html

Ending "I Love to Read" Month

What a great way to close out I LOVE TO READ month! Students at Hawthorne acknowledged February 29 with leap into another room where they read books, books, books. All of the kindergarten students traveled to another kindergarten classroom to read and listen to books be read to them. A quiet hush descended on our school, as every single child was quiet and concentrated activity, during ‘leap time.’