Week Three

Learning about friendship is a theme that will extend throughout the school year. Although, we are wrapping up our initial friendship and All about me theme it is our goal to maintain stories and social skills instruction throughout the year. It is amazing how quickly relationships are forming.

Last week we discussed the changes in fall weather and fall harvest.  We read a big book titled I am an Apple by Jean Marzollo.  This beautifully illustrated book discusses the life cycle of an apple.  The kids were excited to participate in a shared writing experience, where we drew and labeled an Apple Tree.  The children were able to demonstrate "new learning" by adding captions and labels. The newest songs for morning meeting is the Months of the Year and Four Seasons by Jack Hartman. 

Phonemic Awareness skills: listening and producing rhyme. Isolating initial sounds in words. 

Letter Formation and Sound Association: t, b, f, n & m

Poetry: Apples Three and I Wiggle My Fingers. 

Read Alouds: My Friends by Taro Gomi, Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss, Fall Weather by Martha E. A Rustard I am Apples by  and How Can I Tell It's Fall, Rookie Reader. 

Writer's Workshop: We read the book Bear Has A Story to Tell by Phillis Stead. This story helps students realize the importance of recording and remembering stories by writing them down.  All of the kids were excited to writie stores and share them with peers. We also read the story Roller Coaster by Marla Frazzee. This story has detailed illustrations that help children understand impact of illustrations. Adding details to pictures give the reader more information. 

 Math:  Unit 2 Comparing and ordering numbers 0-5.
Apple Countdown by Joan Holub
1. Number writing continued
2. Comparing data;  more, fewer, same.

The kids did a wonderful job comparing numbers and determining which group has more or fewer. They are having some difficulty determining how many more. Ask your child to compare objects at home. Use the vocabulary words more and fewer. 

Social Skill: Using a kind tone of voice and a smiling face helps friends feel comfortable. 

Reminders: 

• Field Trip to Parlee Farm on Wednesday September 30th. Please pack a bagged lunch. We are unable to get lunch from the cafeteria. Snack should be nut free and packed seperately from lunch. 
• Yellow reading logs should be returned each Monday.
• Clear plastic book bags return daily.
• Green folders are due on Thursday.

Week 2

Thank you for attending Back to School Night at Memorial. I have attached the classroom presentation for your reference. However, if you have any questions please feel free to email me directly at mondello@bpsk12.org.

Academic highlight of the week was the launch of writer's workshop. Students discussed the importance of sharing stories and preserving them through writing. 

Social skills highlight of the week was the introduction of the Buddy Bench. Ask your child about the Buddy Bench and the beautiful bracelet he/she is wearing to represent. Miss Jamie Martin, our guidance counselor, taught all kindergarten student how to be a good friend.

Memorial School's Buddy Bench

Week Two was packed with new experiences. Students learned how to manage seven of the 12 literacy centers that will be part of our core curriculum all year:

Listening Center, Font Sort, Fundations, Reader's Response, Scholastic News, Art Center and Guided Writing. 

This weeks Objectives:

Thematic Work: All About Me
Read Aloud:  Wemberly Worried by Kevin Henkes
Essential Questions: How do you make worry go away?  Why do people have different Feelings?  
       Visit the Books We've Read Page to check out other thematic titles.

Phonological Awareness: Listening for Rhyme

Poetry: My First Day, I Wiggle My Fingers, 
Kids keep the poetry in a poetry notebook. Feel free to ask your kindergartener to tell you about our poems

Fundations: letter identification, formation and sound association for t,b,&f

Math Unit 1: Counting and Cardinality

• number recognition and writing numbers 1-5
• collecting and organizing information
• using manipulative to count and check
• matching quantities

Our first library went well. Miss Small shared a wonderful story, The Dot, by Peter Reynolds. The story encourages risk taking and all of the kids were able to sing and dance along with the story. Please return library books each Thursday!

Have A Great Weekend!

Nicole Mondello 

First Week

Four days and we are off and working!

We had a wonderful first week of school. The "All About Me" bags were a huge hit. It was great to learn that many of our classmates like dinosaurs, legos, karate, reading and so much more. Discovering that kids have common interests helps bridge snack time conversations and develop friendships. We discussed our hopes and dreams for the upcoming school and many included making new friends.

Walk with a calm body and eyes forward for safety.

Playground rules are different at school.

Learning all of the classroom and school rules is hard work.  We discussed how to "Be Safe" and to "Be Respectful". These are two of the four behavioral expectations at Memorial School. We will learn two more next week.







Parents


Please remember to send your child to school with a family photo for our family quilt project. 

Back to School Night is Tuesday September 15th. Back to School Night is a great opportunity to ask questions about the curriculum, our class schedule, assessments, homework and behavior management systems. 

Mrs. Mondello & Ms. McMahon

Welcome to room 177! Ms. McMahon and I can't wait to kick off the school year with fun activities and crafts. Our themes for the beginning of the school are All About Me and Friendship. 

Imagine, Ms. McMahon and I met last week and have already learned so much about each other. It's amazing how quickly we were able to identify common interests. We both attended  Wheelock Collage and love children's books. We both love the outdoors. We are looking forward to discovering what makes us all alike and different.