Mrs. Caffrey's Blog

January Newsletter for Kindergarten

Dear Parent,

Happy New Year! Welcome back to school! December certainly was a busy month for kindergarten, but we're sure you'll agree that the children reminded us of the true meaning of Christmas. Their Christmas Pageant performances were amazing! We were, (and still are) so proud of each and every one of them!

The new theme for the month of January will be winter/penguins. The following are a few of the things we have planned for the month ahead:

Reading - Introduce the letters Ff, Oo,Hh. Introduce the word wall words: see,look,they,you,of,in,get,and up. We are blending sounds together. The following letters have been covered and can be blended to make words: Mm, Tt, Ss, Aa, Pp, Ii, Bb, Rr, Dd Examples: am, Sam, Pam, pit, sit, sat, Tim, mad. Please enjoy practicing blending words with your little reader at home!

Math - Understanding and writing the number 1-31. Skip counting by 2 and 5.

Religion - Jesus is our Friend, Jesus is our Helper, Bible stories

Science - Snow and penguins.

Social Studies - Martin Luther King

Reminders:
No school on Monday, January 16th - Martin Luther King Day
Sunday, January 29th - 10:00 Catholic Schools Week Mass and Open House.

Please send in an empty toilet paper roll by Thursday, January 12th.

Thanks again for all you do! We appreciate it!

Sincerely,
The Kindergarten Teachers

Kindergarten Nativity Program
Monday, December 19
1:00 p.m.
St John Fisher Church

Merry Christmas!
Cute Xmas Poem

Christmas wishes tried and true
I'm sending now, just for you...
a little love, a little cheer,
and wishes for a great New Year!
Hope Santa brings you gifts galore
with more surprises still in store.
May all your Christmas dreams come true
and may God's blessings be yours too!

December News

Dear Kindergarten Families,
Well, can you guess the theme for December?? Summer fun! Just kidding...it's Christmas, of course! This is absolutely the best time of year to be a kindergarten teacher. The children have been working so hard on the Christmas play. They fill us with the Christmas spirit at each and every practice. ( they also provide some pretty good laughs, too!)

The following are a few things that we have planned:

Religion: Christmas play "The First Christmas"
Advent "Waiting for Jesus"
Reading: Review letters: Mm, Tt, Aa, Ss, Pp, Cc, Ii
Introduce letters: Nn, Bb, Rr
Review Word Wall Words and
Introduce new Word Wall Words: me with she can big yes no

Math: Numeral Recognition continues / Measurement introduced

Art: Christmas! Christmas! Christmas!!

Dates to Remember:

Friday, December 2nd No School ~ Faculty Retreat
Wednesday, December 14th costumes due
Monday, December 19th Christmas Play 1:00 church for family and friends (children are "free" to leave following the performance)
Tuesday, December 20th Christmas Play for school children.
Wednesday, December 21st 11:30 dismissal Christmas Vacation begins!
Thursday, January 5th 2012! Back to school!

*children will bring home costumes on Tuesday, December 20th. If your child borrowed a costume from school, please remember to return it to school. Anyone who would like to donate a costume for future ~THANKS!

Thanks again!
The Kindergarten "Elves"

Dear Parent,
The kindergarteners will be performing the annual Christmas Play. There will be two performances:

Date: Monday, 12/19
For: Friends and Family
Time/Place: 1:00 in SJF Church

Mark your calendar! We guarantee that you will be filled with the Spirit of Christmas after enjoying this performance!
Tuesday, 12/20 will be the encore performance for the school children.

Your child_________________________will be playing the part of

_________________________ for our play. He/she will need a costume (sorry!!) Please don't make yourself crazy over this. Animals can wear a sweat suit with added spots, cotton balls, feathers, tails, whatever your little heart desires! A headband, stocking cap, or baseball cap with felt ears glued on works great for animal costumes. NO MASKS, PLEASE! They make it hard for the children to speak and cover their adorable faces! A visor or baseball cap works great for a duck or bird. Bathrobes always work well. This just might be fun for you!  We have a few costumes that have been donated over the years. If your child brings home a costume and you would prefer to make your own, please send the donated costume back to school so that we can give that costume to another child. If you do not receive a "loaner costume" please remember the true meaning of Christmas while you are working on your child's costume ~ and don't hate the teachers!
Humbly Yours,
The Kindergarten Teachers

*Costumes are due in school on Wednesday, 12/14. Please put your child's costume on a hanger or in a bag. Please label EVERYTHING with your child's name!

**Children will be allowed to leave with his/her family following the performance.

PLEASE SIGN AND RETURN BOTTOM ONLY by tomorrow:

I have read the Christmas Play Letter and can hardly wait!!!!!!

Parent Signature: ___________________________________________________

We are planning a special prayer service on Friday for Veterans Day. Please send us the names of anyone you would like to be included in our "Star" Wall. We have been asked to bring in essential items for our soldiers; Kindergarten is in charge of small cans of shaving cream and paperback books. Thank you for your help in this very important project.
Thursday we will have a Pep Rally to honor our football teams. The 5th and 6th Grade team has made it to the championship. Students are allowed to wear their Fisher jerseys over their uniforms.
The schedule for Parent Teacher conferences is almost complete. A note with the time of your conference is coming soon.

November News in Kindergarten

Dear Parent,

Thanks for all of the wonderful treats and prizes for our Halloween party! The teachers were exhausted and the children were happy! Another successful Halloween celebration! 
Our theme for the month of November will be Thanksgiving. We have many activities planned:

Reading - Review the letter name, shape and sound of the letters Mm, Tt, Aa, Ss and Pp
We will be introducing the letters Cc, Ii and Bb this month.
Review the word wall words I, am, the, little, a, to, have, and is. The new words are: we, my, like, and, he, for, and at.

Math - We will continue our work on numbers. Please practice writing numbers 0-9.

Religion - Thanksgiving - "Thanking is good" Prayer, Bible Stories

Social Studies - Voting and "The First Thanksgiving"

Science - Owls/eating healthy foods

Important dates:

November 18 - Report cards
November 21st - 11:30 dismissal, Parent/Teacher Conferences
November 22nd - 11:30 dismissal, Thanksgiving prayer service, conferences continue. November 23rd - No school
Monday, 11/28 - Class resumes
Friday, December 2- NO SCHOOL- Faculty In-service

*Kindergarten will be performing a Christmas program! More details will follow at a later date.

Sincerely,

The Kindergarten Teachers

Kindergarten Halloween Party
The kindergarten will celebrate Halloween on Monday, October 31st.

The children should wear their costumes to school. Weapons of any kind or high heels are not allowed in school even on Halloween! Please send a trick or treat bag and a juice box for your child. Please be sure to write your child's name on his/her trick or treat bag.

We will be playing some fun games. Our Marist High School helpers will be here to supervise games. Any parent that would like to take a class picture is welcome to come in with the children in the morning.

We are asking each family to send in a donation for our party. Please send 3 dozen small prizes by Friday, October 28th. (rings, straws, etc. available at Dollar Store or Party Stores)

Thank you so much for your help and support! We are all looking forward to a FUN day!

Sincerely,
Your Favorite Kindergarten Witches

Kindergarten has been very busy this past week!!! Friday we all spent time on the Ipads. We traced letters, played a sequencing game with letters and numbers , and identified our beginning sounds.
Yesterday was a terrific day at Cellular Field. We ran on the field...without touching the new grass. We sat in the suite belonging to the Owner of the Sox and the Bulls, and had lunch in the United Scout Lounge. We were so lucky with the weather as we look out the window today.
Halloween is coming! Thanks for all the treats!

We are so excited for our trip next week. Please send you permission slips in tomorrow. Pray for good weather. We are enjoying our last days on the playground, watching the leaves turn colors....it is an amazing time of the year!!!

October 2011
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Kindergarten Scavenger Hunt

When: Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Where: U.S. Cellular Field

Time: 9:00 A.M.

Cost: $7.00

Dear Parent,
The Kindergarten children are going on a Scavenger Hunt for shapes at US Cellular Field. They may wear their gym sweats and a Sox shirt if they have one. We will tour the park looking for shapes and have lunch. They need to bring a brown bag lunch with their name on it and a juice box or water. We will be able to take a limited number of chaperones. If you are interested in chaperoning you must have Virtus Training and the following forms completed.

1. CANTS form - print, sign and return to school
2. Sign a Code of Conduct form - print, sign and return to school
3. Complete the online background check. Follow direction on website

All forms are available OnLine at the SJF Website. www.sjfschool.net You need to click on the link. It is easy to complete.
This process is necessary for all adults that plan on volunteering in any way at any school. We appreciate your attention to this matter. Please sign the form giving your child permission to attend the trip. All forms and money are due October 10, 2011.

My child________________________has permission to attend the trip to US Cellular Field on October 18,2011

___________________________________
Parents Signature

__ I am able to chaperone

__ I am unable to chaperone