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!

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
Friday, 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"

Thursday, 12/16
for friends and family
1:00 SJF Church

Mark your calendar! We guarantee that you will be filled with Christmas Spirit after enjoying this performance!

Friday, 12/17, we will have an 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 Friday, 12/10. 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 family following performance.

Thursday we will have a Pep Rally to support our football teams. The 5th and 6th grade team is in the championship! Students are invited to wear their Fisher jerseys over their uniform.

The schedule for Parent/Teacher conferences is almost complete. A note from the office with your conference time will be in your child's folder soon!

Sept: I, am, the, little
Oct: to, a, have, is
Nov: we, my, like, he, for, at, and
Dec: me, with, she, can, big, yes, no
Jan: see, look, they, you, of, in, get, up
Feb: are, that, do, one, two, three four,
five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten
March: here, go, from, will, did
April: what, said, was, red, yellow, blue, orange,
green, purple, brown, pink, black, white, gray
May: where, come, has, be

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

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

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

Religion: Creation, our 5 senses, and Bible stories

Reading Skills: Name, shape, sound and sign language for letters: Mm, Tt, Aa and Ss.
Word Wall Words: I, am, little, the (September)
to, a, is, have (will be added during October)
*Please make flash cards and practice reading these words at home.

Math: Graphing, Patterns and recognizing numbers 0-9 with touch points.

Science: More ocean fun and nocturnal animals

Art: Halloween!! Halloween!! Halloween!!

Upcoming Special Attractions:
Monday, October 10~ Columbus Day, No school
Monday, October 31 ~ Halloween!!! We will be having a Halloween party and of course we'll be begging for your help! More details will come home soon. As you can see, our little "goblins and goblettes" will have plenty of fun this month! This is definitely a favorite season in the life of a kindergarten student AND teacher!
Thanks! BOO! The Kindergarten Teachers

Dear Kindergarten Families,

On Friday, September 30th, the kindergarten children will be going on an imaginary trip! We will be taking an early morning flight to Hawaii where we will have a beach party!
Please have your child wear his/her bathing suit under play clothes. (no uniforms allowed at the beach!)
We will be boarding our plane at gates #108, 109, and 113. This will be a direct flight with no layovers. Estimated flight time: 49 seconds. We are hoping for very little turbulence so we won't have to use the dreaded barf bags!! After a "wikiwiki" (SPEEDY) flight, the fun begins! We will play in the sand, do a little fishing, and maybe do a hula dance! We might even see a movie on the flight home!

*Please have your little "beach bum" bring a towel with his/her name on it.

We are looking forward to a wonderful trip! (Now you can see why we teach kindergarten--the fun never stops!)

Mahalo and Aloha!

Your BEAUTIFUL flight attendants,
Mrs. Mary Donna Caffrey, Mrs. Nancy Fanjoy, and Mrs. Beth Foran

P.S. Any child uncomfortable with the idea of wearing a bathing suit may just wear play clothes!

P.P.S. Please be responsible parents and remember the sunscreen!!

Dear Kindergarten Families,
We are off to a great start! The boys and girls are adjusting to school with grace and charm!
During September (and spilling into October!) we will be studying Ocean Life.
This is a huge favorite for teachers and kids! We will be planning a Beach Party which
is always fun, fun, fun! We will send more info regarding this special day soon!

Religion: I Am Special, I Am Special to My Family, I Am Special to My Friends, Creation, Bible Stories, prayer: "Our Father"

Reading Skills: Letter recognition, rhyming
Word Wall Words: I, am, the, little.
Please make flash cards with each word wall word and practice them at home. Each
month we will add new words and it is very important that the children recognize and are
able to read these words.

Math: Free exploration with manipulatives, position and location, classification, sorting and graphing.

Science: Ocean

Art: Painting, crafts, cut and glue

Mark your calendars:
Open House: Tuesday, September 6

School Pictures: Friday, September 9

Fisher Fest: September 15, 16,17,18 * No school Friday, September 16!

Beach Party: Friday, September 30

We are looking forward to a wonderful year with your little angels!

Thank You!
The Kindergarten Teachers