Classroom News

Wow!  The past few weeks have just flown by!  The students have been having so much fun celebrating the end of the year.  Lunch at school, our last Art Appreciation, Field Day, the Personalized Learning/Play experiences, visiting a first grade classroom, having 5th graders come visit our classroom, making projects, and spending time with friends are just a few of the ways we are enjoying our final days of kindergarten.

Field Day was such a fun afternoon thanks to our many parent volunteers, especially our class leaders Mrs. Pellum and Mr. Stuckey!  


Field Day from Heather Coyle on Vimeo.

Enjoy this last slideshow with a few pictures from our end of the year fun!


End of Year Fun from Heather Coyle on Vimeo.


I am so proud of each and every student and am amazed by the growth I have seen over this year.  I feel so fortunate to have been able to work with your children each day and am so sad to see them go. I know they will all make terrific first graders!  Have a wonderful summer!

Classroom News

Last Friday was such a special morning for our adorable kindergarten singers!  They did an amazing job at their musical!  A special thank you to Mrs. Chwojnicki, Mrs. Bovis, Mrs. Grzesinski, Mrs. Limbers, and Mrs. Litsogiannis for donating our beautiful centerpiece and treats!

The Kindergarten Song from Heather Coyle on Vimeo.

Practice Lunch on May 17

Just a reminder that students will be eating lunch in the lunchroom on Thursday, May 17 to help get ready for 1st grade!  We will be eating from 11:00-11:30, so our morning dismissal will remain the same.  Please remember to send a lunch and drink with your child this day, if you did not order the hot lunch option.

Registration for 2018-2019 School Year

On May 1, you should have received an email with your child's snap code number. All returning families are required to register for the 2018 - 2019 school year. Completed online registration is due June 1.  

You can also find the school supply list for each grade level on our school website.  Here are some helpful links for you:

School Supply List

PTA School Supply Packs Information

Dryden Book Drive

The book drive for Bernie's Book Bank continues through May 18.  Please consider donating new or gently used books for this great cause!

Classroom News

Spring is finally here!  The kindergarteners were excited to finally be able to shed those winter coats and enjoy the warmer temperatures.  It is so hard to believe that our year is almost over!  I am so proud of the progress each student has made and can't wait to see what our last month of school will bring!

Reading Workshop

Students have been loving our poetry unit!  We have been predicting and making connections while reading poems.  We have also learned how poems may look different and how poets use different features, such as repeating words, rhyme, alliteration, and onomatopoeia to add different sounds to the poem.  Ask your kindergartener to share an example of one of these fun features!

Students also practiced using the visualizing strategy.  By using their senses to create a picture in their mind, students are able to better understand a poem.  We read the fun poem, "Kids Rule" and students had to draw pictures showing what they visualized.  Then, we checked to see how close their pictures were to the author's illustrations.  

Writing Workshop

I am so impressed with the progress I am seeing from each of the kindergarten authors!  During writing workshop, students are continuing to work hard on writing two sentences that have the proper spacing, words with beginning, middle, and ending sounds, a capital letter to start, and a period at the end.  

We also used what we learned from our poetry unit to write an acrostic poem about spring!  These poets came up with some great ideas to describe this season.

Math

We recently finished up Chapter 8, which focused on numbers up to 100.  During this chapter, we used the 100 chart to help build our number sense by looking at numbers before and after a given number, as well as looking at patterns we see within the chart.  Your child recently brought a 100 chart home.  This is a great tool to use to help students feel more comfortable reading, writing, and understanding numbers.  We also used cubes to help represent groups of tens and ones to help represent these two-digit numbers.  

A Trip to Japan

We were excited to welcome Saya back from her Japan trip!  She made an amazing poster and brought in a few items to share all about her trip.  The students loved learning more about Japan!

Guest Reader

Thank you to Vicki's mom for coming in to read the book, What Do You Do With an Idea?  This was such a great book to help us remember to use our imaginations and creativity!

Kindergarten Musical

You should have received several notes in your child's Take Home folder about our Kindergarten Musical coming up this Friday, May 4.  Students should arrive at school at their normal time, as they will have a rehearsal before the main performance.  The musical will begin in the gym at 10:25.  All parents, grandparents, loved ones, and younger siblings are invited to watch.  Please remember that older siblings who attend Dryden will not be dismissed from class to watch the program.  After the performance, there will be light refreshments and then you are welcome to come back to the classroom.  The morning ends at 11:50, however we are usually finished around 11:30.  You are welcome to take your child home early after signing out at the front office.  

Recess Fun!

The kindergarteners worked so hard to fill out behavior "jar" by receiving compliments in the classroom and their specials classes when they were quiet in the hallway, good listeners, followed directions, and were good friends to their classmates.  As a reward, we had an extra recess and enjoyed the beautiful spring weather!

Classroom News

Spring is in the air!  We have been busy learning, playing, and having fun in kindergarten! I am looking forward to sharing your child's progress with you during our parent/teacher conferences on Thursday, March 22 and Friday, March 23.  Please remember that there is no school on these days and students will return to school on Tuesday, April 3 after Spring Break.  

Reading Workshop

The students continue to enjoy their reading time with the books they have chosen for their personal book bins.  It is so fun to see these readers get so excited when they find sight words or the nonfiction text features we have learned about! 

 I found the glossary!

 We found the Table of Contents!

We found the Index!

 

Math

We finished up our chapter on shapes and patterns, which the students loved!  We are now working on the more challenging Chapter 8:  Numbers to 100.  In this chapter, students will learn to skip count by 2's, 5's, and 10's.  Skip counting is a skill that can help children connect many math concepts, such as addition, multiplication, and patterns.  They will also learn to read and write numbers up to 100.  They will also learn how a group of ten increases the tens place value by one, as well as how to count up to a big two-digit number using skip counting by 10's and then counting individual ones.  

Science

The kindergarten scientists are loving our unit on Pushes and Pulls!  Using a variety of tools such a straws, string, and rulers, they had to find ways to make a toy car start moving.  The scientists have also learned about the different directions things can move.  This week, their learning will move into the gym where they will learn how collisions can affect motion by playing a fun collision game with a variety of balls.  

Centers

We have been enjoying several St. Patrick's Day themed centers!  Seeking sight words on shamrocks, racing to 30 to gather the most gold, creating shamrock patterns, matching numbered leprechauns with the correct ten frame, and working with shamrock word families are fun ways to practice both literacy and math skills!

Me Bags and Guest Readers

It is hard to believe, but everyone in the class has now had a chance to share a little more about themselves by bringing in items in the Me Bag.  We have loved getting to know our friends even better and we have truly enjoyed having all of our Guest Readers join us this year!

We learned that Dominik likes playing with Legos, reading with his brother and mom, and writing in his diary!

We loved having Dominik's mom join us to read the very fun and silly book, Peanut Butter & Cupcakes.

We learned that Ashley loves to dance, play with blocks, and collect seashells and rocks!

A big thank you to Ashley's mom for reading us the great book, Owl's Winter Rescue.

We learned that Cate likes reading with her dad, loves ice skating, and her favorite color is pink.  

We were lucky to have Cate's dad join us to read the fun books, Alice the Fairy and Clara and Asha.

Upcoming Events

Please be sure you are regularly checking your child's take home folder, as a few notes have gone home recently highlighting a few important dates coming up.

Friday, May 4:  Kindergarten Musical at 10:30

ALL Kindergarten students attend morning kindergarten on this day.  The three classes will perform together in the gym at 10:30.  You will certainly not want to miss this adorable program!  All parents, grandparents, and loved ones are invited.  Younger siblings may also attend.  After the performance, there will be light refreshments, and then you are welcome to come back to the classroom to see where we work each day.  The morning ends at 11:50, however we are usually finished around 11:30. There will be sign out sheets near the main office, if you would like to take your child home early that day.  

Just Move It Challenge:

It’s time for the Just Move It! Challenge 2018! Run, Walk, or Volunteer! JUST MOVE IT!

• When: Saturday April 21, 2018
• Where: South Middle School
• 7:30 – 10:00 AM - Health and Fitness Expo
• 8:00 AM - 5K Run/Walk Start
• 9:00 AM - 1 Mile Run/Walk Start

VOLUNTEERS are needed to make this day successful. If you don’t want to run or walk, please consider volunteering. it’s a fun day. Volunteer sign-up is ready at: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/ 8050E4AADAB23A20-race5

Click here to register to run or walk!

All registration, volunteering, and event details can be found at http://www.jmichallenge.org.

The school with the most participation gets to showcase the JMI trophy for the next year! Participation includes runners, walkers AND volunteers!

Contact your school representative, Bernadette Knight with questions or suggestions.

All proceeds go to the Scholarship and Grant Fund, benefiting the education of School District 25 students through the ABC/25 Foundation Grant selection.