October 2009
Dear Parents,
It has been great to be back! My family is doing well and Colin has
adjusted wonderfully! Thank you for being so supportive to Mrs. Agurs while
I was gone and for welcoming me back with all your kind notes.
The students have been busy and have adjusted well to my return. This
month they have been learning all about how pumpkins grow and we had a great
tip to the pumpkin patch. When we returned to all measured our pumpkins and
did an experiment to discover if they sink or float. We have also been
learning about Autumn and how animals prepare for winter. We even got to
pretend to be squirrels one day as we did many activities with acorns. We
have learned how to make maps and have found out about many American symbols
including the flag, white house, statue of liberty, and liberty bell.
Our upcoming units are "Nocturnal Animals", Native Americans",
and "Giving Thanks". During this time Barnaby Bear will make his first
appearance. Barnaby is a stuffed bear in our classroom who has traveled all
over the world. He brings items (and sometimes even food) back from other
countries to help us compare our families to families around the world. All
the students have made "passports", so after each of Barnaby's lessons, they
get a special stamp to place in their passport. If any parents have a
country they would like to tell us about, please let me know and we will find
a time for you to share too!
Our conferences will begin at the end of this month. Thank you all for
being patient and giving me some additional time to get to know your children
before this first conference. You should have received a schedule in your
child's Wednesday folder last week. If for some reason you are unable to
attend your conference, please let me know ahead of time, so we can
reschedule. The students do not need to attend these conferences, but if
you need to bring them in order to attend, you may. I just ask that they
play in a center and you help them clean up when we are finished.
Soon after we return from our Novemeber track out, we will begin
our "Holiday Craft Factory". Be on the look out in your child's Wednesday
folder for some important information regarding this to come home soon.
As always if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to
contact me.
Special Points of Interest-
* Oct. 16th - 5-7:30pm - PTA Fall Carnival
* Oct. 21st - Early Release - Students dismissed at 1:15pm
* Oct.22nd-29th - Parent Conferences - please attend at your assigned time
* Oct. 26th - Highcrofts's Red Ribbon week begins - all students wear red on
this day
* Oct 30th - School Spirit Day - Students wear a school shirt if they have
one or wear the school colors
* Nov 2-5th - Highcroft's book fair
* Nov. 5th - Book Fair storybook night
* Nov. 9th - 1st day of Track out
* Nov 30 - Track back in
* Please remember to send a change of clothes for your child to keep at
school. A pair of pants and a t-shirt is perfect for any season. Accidents
often happen during the kindergarten day that require students to change
clothes.
* The children will go out to recess everyday unless it is raining or
extremely cold. Please keep this in mind when helping your child select
clothing for the day. In order to play on the playground equipment, your
child must wear closed-toed, covered-heel shoes (sneakers or tennis shoes
are best).
* We will have snack in the afternoon everyday. Due to our early lunch, the
students tend to be very hungry by this point. Please be sure to send a
healthy snack with your child each day. It is also important that you make
sure you child is able to easily open or manipulate the containers in which
you send food. Spend time practicing this at home.
* Each month a specials calendar will be sent home. Please look this over so
you will know when to return library books and when to wear sneakers for PE.
* Please make sure to check your child's backpack everyday for work or notes.
