Dear Parents,
Hello and welcome to Mrs.
Barnes’ Kindergarten class. I am looking forward to a wonderful year with you.
This year will be my eighth
year teaching at GCS, and my twelfth year as an elementary teacher (I taught
two years of first grade in
I have attached some
classroom information you may want to be aware of, and a synopsis of our
curriculum. Please do not hesitate to
get in contact with me regarding any aspect of your child’s education. Feel free to write a note, email, or call the
school and we can talk or set up an appointment.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Kara Barnes
GCS #431-6723
(voice mail #112)
home
email : kwinton13@comcast.net
Schedule
This is a typical schedule of
the kindergarten day. It may be changed to accommodate special activities.
AM Session
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7:30-8:15 |
Choice Time/Skill Building/Book Look |
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8:15-8:30 |
Morning Meeting/Calendar |
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8:30-9:15 |
Language Arts/Phonics |
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9:25-9:45 |
Math |
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9:45-10:00 |
Snack |
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10:05-10:35 |
Special (Media, Art, Music, Gym 2x a week)) |
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10:35-11:10 |
Centers/Science/Social Studies/Health |
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11:10-11:30 |
Recess/Dismissal |
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PM Session |
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9:45-10:30 |
Choice Time/Skill Building/Book Look |
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Morning Meeting/Calendar |
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10:35-11:05 |
Special (Media, Art, Music, Gym 2x a week) |
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11:05-11:30 |
Language Arts/Phonics |
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11:30-12:00 |
LUNCH |
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12:00-12:35 |
Language Arts/Phonics con't |
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12:35-1:00 |
Math |
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1:00-1:25 |
Centers/Science/Social Studies/Health |
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1:25-1:45 |
Recess/Dismissal |
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Snack
The A.M. class will have
snack each day in the cafeteria. Please
provide a healthy snack for your child (one item is sufficient due to the short
amount of time allocated). Snack milk can be purchased for $.01 from the
school.
Newsletter
A newsletter will be sent
home each month (or occasionally a short weekly note) that tells about what we
are doing in school, important information, wish list items, and reminders.
Book Club
Each month I will be sending
home a Scholastic Firefly book order form.
Please make checks payable to “Scholastic Books.”
Ordering from the book club
is optional, but for each dollar spent, the class receives bonus points to be
used to “buy” classroom materials.
Field Trips
We will be taking a field
trip or two this year. I will be looking for chaperones for these trips.
Chaperones will be chosen on a first come basis, but trying to allow for those
who want to chaperone to attend at least one field trip each. Lunch details,
costs, etc. will be given closer to each trip.
Toys
Parents are asked to monitor
their child’s backpack for toys. Toys being brought to school usually end up
causing unwanted distractions, so please remind your child to leave their toys
at home. Thanks!
Specials
The children will have
Physical Education, Art, Media, and Music each week. Please make sure your child has sneakers for
Gym. On Art day please dress your child in clothes that can get dirty. The
Specials Schedule is as follows:
Monday Music
Tuesday Physical
Education
Wednesday
Media
Thursday Physical Education
Friday Art
Volunteers
I will be looking for
volunteers later in the year. If you want to volunteer, you must fill out the
GCS School Volunteer Form sent home at the start of school, and a classroom
volunteer form that will be available at Open House. Please let me know if there is a topic or theme
we are studying that is of interest to you and we can plan an activity. Thank you!
A brief synopsis of our
curriculum follows:
Language Arts and
This is the fourth year of
implementation of the phonics and handwriting program called “Wilson
Fundations.” Please see the attached
explanation for this program as well.
Math
Grades K-5 implemented a
mathematics program seven years ago entitled Everyday Mathematics, and we
received the newly revised editions in 2007.
The philosophy of the Everyday Mathematics program emphasizes
understanding while building a mastery of basic skills. It also explores the full mathematics
spectrum, not just basic arithmetic, and is based on how children learn and
what they are interested in. Please
refer to the attached explanation of the content for Kindergarten Everyday
Mathematics.
Science
Experiential activities are
the core of our science program. This
curriculum covers four areas: Life
Science (plants, animals, and ecology), Physical Science (energy- movement
& sound, and machines), Earth Science (geology and weather), and Health
Science (the senses and feelings). This
is our third year that we will be implementing new FOSS Science kits to provide
systematic investigations and hands on experiences that follow the National
Science Education Standards. Many integrated thematic units will also be
incorporated into our science program this year.
Health
This is our second year implementing
“The Great Body Shop” health curriculum into our day. It is a comprehensive health, substance
abuse, and violence prevention program for grades K through 6. Please see attached Introductory Parent
Letter for more information.
Social Studies
Our social studies curriculum
is quite broad. It too, is often
integrated into other subject areas.
Areas covered include: families, needs and wants, neighborhoods,
geography, famous people in history, and holidays.
My instructional methods include the writing process, the Responsive Classroom approach to developing community, cooperative learning, interdisciplinary thematic units, and experiential activities. I look forward to seeing you at Open House on September 17th, and I’ll be glad to share more details at that time.