Announcements

Occasionally, Mr. Dukler (Overlook Social Worker) will come into our morning 
and afternoon classes to work on a social skills program called Second Step. 
It's a marvelous, developmentally appropriate way for young children to learn 
how to react in social situations. Puppets, pictures,and role plays are all a 
part of the lessons. The kids enjoy it very much!

We also use a school-wide positive behavior program called the Overlook RAP. 
No matter where we are or who we are with in the building, all of the 
expectations are the same. We continually practice being Respectful while 
Acting responsibly and Practicing our manners.  

Library is scheduled on a weekly basis for the kindergartners. AM and PM 
classes will go to the library on Tuesdays. Each week, the children will 
have the opportunity to check out a library book to bring home and read. 
Please make sure your child brings the book back to school in his/her 
backpack before the next library day. A gentle reminder to put the library 
book in the red box on my desk is always very much appreciated!!

Our second kindergarten book review program will start the first week of 
January. Each child will be assigned a specific day to bring in a favorite 
story to share with his/her classmates. Look for your date on the January 
newsletter. This second session will focus on the characters in the story. 
Who are they? What makes them special? Do they remind you of other 
characters? Do they remind you of real people? What would you do differently 
as compared to the character? Would that change the ending of the story?

Sight word folders will be sent home starting January 5, 2010 (if you did not 
have the chance to send in a plastic pocket folder with brads on the inside, 
then a large zip lock baggie with all of the sight word supplies will be sent 
home instead). Please practice the words inside of the folder several times a 
week in addition to the nightly homework assignments. Please make sure the 
folder (or zip lock baggie) is inside of your child's backpack each Friday so 
that we can add a new word to the word ring. 

January newsletters and homework calendars will go home on Monday, 1/4/10.
Center helper calendars for January will go home then as well. Please, 
please, please make sure that your child puts his/her name on anything that 
is turned in! 

As the new year starts, we will begin a new program called "Bagged Books 
to Borrow". It's an exciting reading and writing connection between home and 
school. Each Monday and Wednesday, your child will have the opportunity to 
choose a book to borrow for a few days. Depending on the situation, someone 
at home can read the book aloud, or, if the child is able to read the story, 
then s/he will read it aloud to a family member. After that, the child will 
draw a picture of his/her favorite part and attempt to write a sentence in 
the literacy log.

The program actually starts with a series of musical ABC videos. As a class, 
we will view one of these movies at school at the beginning of January. A 
note will then go home with your child, and if you would like to borrow the 
videos for a short time to watch them together at home, you may do so. Many 
of the beginning books are introduced in one of the videos which then helps 
to form a strong connection to the stories - it's familiar, therefore 
motivation is high. More info to come later...