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Dear KA Parents,

We have had such an exciting week!  In case you haven’t heard, it has been all about APPLES in KA! We observed  apples through our five senses in science, and did our first experiment by tasting three different types of apples.  We learned about the parts of an apple and how apples grow, in our Scholastic Magazine.  The students did an amazing job on a beautiful two-part art project featuring apples, with Mrs. Geppert, our Art Docent extraordinaire.  (check these out in the kindergarten hallway!)

Coming up next week, we will be focusing on the letter Aa and the sight word “the”. In math, we will be sorting by different attributes, such as color, size, and shape.  We will learn about personal safety in the Talking About Touching lesson.  Our social studies lessons will focus on being a kind friend.  In religion, we are learning that God made each person unique and special, because He loves us!

• Thank you to all those who sent out emails and donated money toward our school’s Orange Ruler fundraiser!  We earned Kona Ice snow cones for our class today, and will have a pig to race in the pig race as well.  Way to go KA!  On Friday, Sept. 29 we will participate in the fun run.  Parents are invited to join us for an all-school picnic lunch, and then the fun run will be on the field in the afternoon.  Students can wear ORANGE!
• Our kindergarten field trip to The Farm at Swan’s Trail is coming up next month.  Thank you to those who have volunteered to drive and chaperone.  If you haven’t already, please return the permission slip (fill out both sides please!) as soon as possible. 
• Great job completing your first homework packet, KA!  Just a reminder that homework packets will go home each Friday and are due the following Friday. Thank you for helping your young learner develop the routine of doing homework/practice.

 

Good afternoon KA families,

We’ve completed our first full week and are really getting in the swing of things now!  We have met all of our specialist teachers: Ms. Alvarez and Coach J (PE), Mrs. McMurray and Mrs. Rivord (music) and Mrs. Mallahan (library).

This coming week we will be focusing on the letters Mm and Aa.  We will learn the sight words “can” and “we.”  In science we are learning about our five senses, and will be doing an apple investigation next week.  In religion, we have been studying God’s creation and the story of Noah’s ark.  Our social studies lesson focuses on kindness.

Reminders:

• Folders: Please make sure you check your student’s folder each day, and send it back to school in their backpack.  Any notes from the teacher or the office will come in the folder.  On Fridays, your student will bring home their completed work from the week.  Homework packets also come home on Friday.
• Homework! The first KA homework packet went home today.  Each homework packet is due the following Friday.  Please note there is a daily reading log as well as a math and reading page.
• Orange Ruler: the turn in day for envelopes or online donations is Sept. 22. The family picnic and Fun Run will be Sept. 29 (students can wear orange on this day!)  Our class is doing great toward our fundraising goal!  If you haven’t already signed up online or sent emails to family and friends, please do!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns please let me know!

All my best,

Mrs. Katie White

Kindergarten teacher

Hello KA Families,

I hope you are all having a nice weekend, and enjoying the cooler weather.  This is our first official “weekly update” for the school year.  Each week, I will send a KA email update with a preview of what we will be working on in class, important reminders, and upcoming events.  I try to include important announcements related to our class and kindergarten in general.  (The school office sends a school-wide email newsletter on Thursdays as well.)

This week in KA we will introduce our first sight word “I” and will focus on the letter Mm in reading.  As we practice writing our names and letters, we always start with our pencil at the top!  Please remind your child that all letters begin at the top!  In math, we will begin examining patterns and position words.  In religion, we are discussing the many wonders of God’s creation on Earth.  In social studies, we continue to practice school rules and the importance of respect for all those around us.

On Friday, your child brought home their work from the week.  Please be sure to empty their folder and send  the folder back to school each day!  We will use the folder for communication from the office, teacher, etc.  The classwork can be left at home.  Weekly homework will begin soon; I will give you more information about this at curriculum night on Wednesday evening.

Reminders:

The “Family Envelope” went home last week.  Please complete the enclosed paperwork and return the envelope to the school right away.  (You can return it in your child’s KA folder and I will bring it to the office.)  There were some very import items in the folder:  emergency form (if you hadn’t already turned this in), technology agreement (needed for student iPad and computer use in KA!), home language survey, and picture forms.

Also, do I have your family’s photo yet for our family tree?  If not, please send me one so I can put it up!  The students love seeing themselves and their parents/siblings on the wall throughout the year.  Thank you!

Upcoming dates:

• Tuesday 9/12: School pictures.  Order forms were in the family envelope.  Free dress, students are to wear nice “Sunday Best” clothing.
• Wednesday 9/13: Curriculum night, beginning at 6:15 pm.  Parents will meet in the parish hall for a presentation by the principal, Mr. Cunningham, and then attend an informational session by your child’s teacher in the classroom.  There are two classroom sessions, if you have more than one student.  This is a very important evening, please make sure at least one parent from your family can attend.  I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Hello KA Families,

What a busy and exciting week!  It was really fun to see the KA students visiting the first grade classroom today.  They enjoyed playing a new math game with the students in 1A.  There is no homework this week, but please help your child practice their “letter” for the brunch.  (Some students have two letters.)

I would like to take this opportunity to say “thank you,” parents.  Thank you for entrusting your kindergartener to my care for six and half hours a day, for the past 170 days school days.  As a class, we have laughed together, and loved each other, and prayed together.  (Sometimes we cried a little too.)

We learned so much this year, and each student has grown in leaps and bounds since September!  We can read books!  We can write sentences!  We can solve math problems!  We can create amazing artwork!  We’ve learned that we can do hard things.  And we’ve lost a lot of teeth!  🙂

We also learned how to be practice being patient, how to ask good questions, how to say sorry, and how to be a kind and helpful friend.

With summer around the corner, I hope that you will enjoy this extra time with your children.  Read together, and explore new things.  I look forward to seeing these taller, smarter, more grown up first-graders back at SMM in the fall!

Coming up:

Friday 6/9: (tomorrow) W is for wall to wall cleaning day.  Bring a sponge if you have one!

Monday 6/12: X is for eXchanging autographs.  Free dress.

Tuesday 6/13: Y is for Yum. KA Celebration Brunch at 11:00.  Free dress, please dress up for our brunch!  12:00 Dismissal.

Wednesday 6/14: Z is for Zoom into summer.  Kindergarten will be singing in the church at the end of mass.  Dress up day.  10:30 dismissal.  (There will be pews reserved near the front of the church for kindergarten parents.)

*Please send any dark green sweaters or vests to school for donation!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!  I am looking forward to seeing you all at the KA Celebration brunch and/or the mass on the last day of school.

Mrs. Katie White

Kindergarten teacher

Hello KA families, and happy June!

It is hard to believe we are coming to the close of the school year, with only a week and a half to go!  The KA kids are nearly first graders!

Our KA Celebration Brunch is on Tuesday June 13^th.  This is a special celebration for the KA class, complete with awards, student presentation, songs, and slideshow.  All are welcome!  If you haven’t already, please respond to this email to let me know how many people from your family will be coming to our celebration at 11:00 on Tuesday June 13^th!  (School gets out at 12:00 noon this day.)  If you would like to sign up to bring something, please use the following link: http://signup.com/go/JmoQxRE

Important Uniform Change Reminder! As per the information from Mr. Cunningham’s state of the school presentation the uniform sweater/vest will be changing for next school year.  For school in the fall, all students will be required to have the new sweater or vest (lighter green with new logo). This decision was not by the choice of the school, but due to a manufacturer change.  If your bring a new logo sweater or vest on the Dennis turn-in day (Monday June 5^th from 1-4 pm)  you will receive a voucher for the same item at half price and a $15 Dennis coupon for your next order.  The current dark green sweaters/vests will no longer be allowed next year, and must be turned in in June.  The current logo sweatshirts WILL continue to be allowed.  I know this is a bit confusing, but let me know if I can help clarify!

Coming Up:

• Monday June 5-Dennis Uniform exchange/turn in: 1:00-4:00.
• Monday June 5- S is for sun safety day
• Monday June 5- All library books due!
• Tuesday June 6- T is for teddy bear day. Students may bring a teddy bear or stuffed animal from home (*must fit in backpack)
• Wednesday June 7- U is for under the table (reading/art)
• Thursday June 8-V is for visiting day. We will visit first grade.
• Friday June 9- W is for wall to wall cleaning day.  Please bring a sponge!
• Monday June 12- X is for eXchanging autographs.
• Tuesday June13- Y is for Yum!  KA celebration brunch at 11:00. 12:00 dismissal.
• Wednesday June 14- Z is for zoom into summer!  Mass followed by KA songs in church. 10:30 dismissal.

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Have a restful weekend,

Mrs. Katie White

Kindergarten teacher

Hello KA Parents,

Wow, our ABC countdown to summer is just flying by!  I can’t believe we have already made it to letter N.  Tomorrow we will be going on a nature hunt!  We will be creating a book to learn about Memorial Day, as well as attending the math fair.

As we get closer to the end of the year, we are beginning to plan for our KA Celebration Brunch on Tuesday June 13^th.  This is a special celebration for the KA class, complete with awards, student presentation, songs, and slideshow.  I want to make sure that every KA student will have at least one special family member there to celebrate!  All are welcome!  I will need to know approximately how many people to expect, so that we can plan for chairs and food (and signup.com will be going out soon, so stay tuned!)  Please respond to this email to let me know how many people from your family will be coming to our celebration at 11:00 on Tuesday June 13^th!  (School gets out at 12:00 noon this day.)

In these final last weeks of school, we are completing our end of the year assessments. It is so exciting to see how far each of the students have come since September!  They have worked so hard, and I am very proud of each and every one of them!

In reading this week, we continue to review all letters and sight words, and learning about digraphs (sh, ch, th, etc.)  We will also be learning about how to use different punctuation.  In math, we are reviewing the key skills from the year.

Coming up:

Monday May 29- Memorial Day, no school

Tuesday May 30- O for Outside day, we will eat lunch outside

Wednesday May 31- P for Popcorn day

Thursday June 1- Q for Quiet reading day, students can bring books from home

Friday June 2- R for (extra) Recess day

Friday June 2- Summer birthday celebration: We will be celebrating all the summer birthdays, including Mrs. Geppert! Pizza and lunch will be provided.  *If you would like to bring cards for Mrs. Geppert on Friday, I am sure she would love it!!

Important Uniform Change Reminder! As per the information from Mr. Cunningham’s state of the school presentation the uniform sweater/vest will be changing for next school year.  For school in the fall, all students will be required to have the new sweater or vest (lighter green with new logo). This decision was not by the choice of the school, but due to a manufacturer change.  If your bring a new logo sweater or vest on the Dennis turn-in day (Monday June 5^th from 1-4 pm)  you will receive a voucher for the same item at half price and a $15 Dennis coupon for your next order.  The current dark green sweaters/vests will no longer be allowed next year, and must be turned in in June.  The current logo sweatshirts WILL continue to be allowed.  I know this is a bit confusing, but let me know if I can help clarify!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Have a restful weekend,

Mrs. Katie White

Kindergarten teacher

Hello KA Parents,

Today was an eventful day.  As you know, SMM went into a modified lockdown due to police activity in the area.  This happened during the time when we were outside watching the track meet with our sixth grade buddies.  The students all did an excellent job of following directions.  They were instructed to go to the nearest classroom and stay there.  Some of our KA students were with me in our classroom, some were in the preschool room with Mrs. D, some were in the music room with Mrs. McMurray, and some were in the 6^th grade room with Mrs. Lesniak.  All students were accounted for and remained calm.  Afterward, when all KA students were back in the kindergarten classroom, I was able to debrief with them and remind them that everyone at the school is working to keep all students safe no matter what.

Coming up this week, we have a lot of fun activities planned!  The ABC countdown will continue with joke day on Monday.  Students may bring a kid-friendly joke to tell the class!  The school-wide spirit week continues as well, see details about what to wear.

The last few weeks of school will be reviewing all of the letters and sight words!  We will also begin learning about digraphs (th, sh, ph, and ch.)  We will also be working on our end-on-the-year assessments in reading and math.  We will be doing some special writing projects, and will write letters to the first grade teachers.

Upcoming dates:

• Monday 5/22-J is for Joke Day (bring a joke!), Spirit Day Hawaiian Day
• Tuesday 5/23- K is for Kindness Day, Spirit Day SMM Spirit Gear, Green/Gold
• Wednesday 5/24- L is for Letter Writing Day, Spirit Day Professional Dress Up Day (Mass).  Also, the Arts Walk/Ice Cream Social 6-8 pm.
• Thursday 5/25- M is for Movie Day, Spirit Day Character Day
• Friday 5/26- N is for Nature Walk Day, Spirit Day Sports Day.  Also, Math Fair, students may bring money to purchase items.
• Monday 5/29- Memorial Day, no School.
• Friday June 2: Summer birthday celebration lunch in KA (pizza and lunch provided for class).
• Monday June 5: 1-4 pm, Dennis uniform turn-in/trade-in day
• Tuesday June 13: KA celebration brunch at 11:00 (SAVE THE DATE!) KA will present a slideshow, student presentation, and awards in the classroom!  Parents and family invited.  School dismissal at 12:00.
• Wednesday June 14: Last day of school, mass and KA assembly in the church. (SAVE THE DATE!) School dismissal at 10:30.

Important Uniform Change Reminder! As per the information from Mr. Cunningham’s state of the school presentation the uniform sweater/vest will be changing for next school year.  For school in the fall, all students will be required to have the new sweater or vest (lighter green with new logo). This decision was not by the choice of the school, but due to a manufacturer change.  If your bring a new logo sweater or vest on the Dennis turn-in day (Monday June 5^th from 1-4 pm)  you will receive a voucher for the same item at half price and a $15 Dennis coupon for your next order.  The current dark green sweaters/vests will no longer be allowed next year, and must be turned in in June.  The current logo sweatshirts WILL continue to be allowed.  I know this is a bit confusing, but let me know if I can help clarify!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Have a restful weekend,

Mrs. Katie White

Kindergarten teacher

Hello KA parents,

I hope you are enjoying the weekend!  Happy mother’s day to all of our wonderful KA moms!

Thank you for your feedback in the parent survey!  This information helps me grow as a teacher and improve our class program for next year.  If you haven’t already returned it, please send it in this week.  Thank you!

We have been having a great time with our ABC countdown!  I will try to document each day with a photo or video on our class Instagram, kakindofday.  What has your child’s favorite day been so far?

In reading this coming week, our new sight words are “me” and “where” and our focus letters are Yy and Zz.  In math, we will finish up our measurement unit.  We will have a special guest speaker coming to KA for exercise day on Monday.  Ms. Garcia will be teaching a social studies lesson this week as well.  We will continue our study of Mary in religion, as well as different forms of prayer.  The beautiful Marian shrine that the students made last week will be on display upstairs by the main office; stop by and take a look!

Upcoming dates:

• ABC countdown to summer continues, refer to ABC countdown calendar (attached) for details
• Friday May 19: KA will cheer on the 1^st-3^rd graders at the primary track meet *please note this date change
• Monday May 29: Memorial day, no school.
• Friday June 2: Summer birthday celebration lunch in KA (pizza and lunch provided for class).
• Monday June 5: 1-4 pm, Dennis uniform turn-in/trade-in day
• Tuesday June 13: KA celebration brunch at 11:00 (SAVE THE DATE!) KA will present a slideshow, student presentation, and awards in the classroom!  Parents and family invited.  School dismissal at 12:00.
• Wednesday June 14: Last day of school, mass and KA assembly in the church. (SAVE THE DATE!) School dismissal at 10:30.

Important Uniform Change Reminder! As per the information from Mr. Cunningham’s state of the school presentation the uniform sweater/vest will be changing for next school year.  For school in the fall, all students will be required to have the new sweater or vest (lighter green with new logo). This decision was not by the choice of the school, but due to a manufacturer change.  If your bring a new logo sweater or vest on the Dennis turn-in day (Monday June 5^th from 1-4 pm)  you will receive a voucher for the same item at half price and a $15 Dennis coupon for your next order.  The current dark green sweaters/vests will no longer be allowed next year, and must be turned in in June.  The current logo sweatshirts WILL continue to be allowed.  I know this is a bit confusing, but let me know if I can help clarify!

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Mrs. Katie White

Kindergarten teacher

Hello KA Parents,

I hope to see many of you at the matinee of SMM’s production of Peter Pan on Saturday!  It will be an exciting and busy weekend for my family, with my younger son Liam’s first holy Communion on Saturday morning as well!

Parent survey- In the homework packet (Friday) you will find a page of “parent homework”!  This is a brief survey to help guide my planning for next year.  Please complete it honestly, it is very helpful information and I value your thoughts!

ABC Countdown to summer!  Please see the yellow countdown calendar in your child’s folder (Friday), and attached.  The ABC countdown is a super fun tradition to count down the last 26 days of school in kindergarten!  There are some days that they students are asked to bring in certain items from home, so please use the calendar for reference and let me know if you have questions.

In reading next week ,we will focus on letters Jj and Qq and sight words “with” and “my.”  In math, we will continue with different types of measurement.  In religion, we will begin a special project to honor Mary.  In social studies, we will be learning about sharks.

Upcoming dates:

• Tomorrow (Fri. May 5) SVDP food drive (soap and shampoo), and free dress
• Tuesday May 9: ABC countdown to summer begins, see calendar for each day’s letter and info.
• Friday May 12: KA will cheer on the 1^st-3^rd graders at the primary track meet.
• Monday May 29: Memorial day, no school.
• Friday June 2: Summer birthday celebration lunch in KA (pizza and lunch provided for class).
• Tuesday June 13: KA celebration brunch at 11:00 (SAVE THE DATE!) KA will present a slideshow, student presentation, and awards in the classroom!  Parents and family invited.  School dismissal at 12:00.
• Wednesday June 14: Last day of school, mass and KA assembly in the church. (SAVE THE DATE!) School dismissal at 10:30.

A few friendly reminders:

-Please make sure your child has a water bottle at school each day!

-Please make sure to check (and empty!) your child’s folder.

Thank you!  If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!

Mrs. Katie White

Kindergarten teacher

Hello KA Parents,

Happy (almost) May!

We have a busy and exciting week coming up.  On Tuesday, we will attend the May Crowning.  Please have your child bring flowers.  Thursday morning is our Fire Station field trip. Please send your child’s booster seat to school with them on Thursday.  Thursday we will also visit the book fair during our regular library class.  If you wish to send money for your child to purchase books, please put it in a labeled baggie.

In reading we will be reviewing the letters Gg, Ww, Xx, and Vv, and sight words he, she, has, and look.  In math, we will continue our unit on measurement.  In religion, we will be learning about Mary.  Ms. Garcia will also be teaching a lesson about perseverance.  In social studies, we will be learning about fire safety at home and school.

Reminders:

• Please make sure your child has a water bottle at school!
• We still need more shoeboxes, if you have one (or more!) at home, please send them in to KA!  Thanks!
• Please remember that pizza orders need to be placed ahead of time! See SMM newsletter for the link to pre-purchase.
• Please consider coming to the play, Peter Pan!  Link to purchase tickets in the SMM school newsletter.

Upcoming dates:

Tuesday May 2^nd– May Crowning in the church, 2:00.  Please join us if you can!

Thursday May 4^th– Fire Station field trip (parent drivers please meet in KA at 8:50). Send booster seat!

Thursday May 4^th– Book fair visit during library class.  If sending money, please put it in a labeled baggie.

Friday May 12^th– Primary track meet for grades 1-3 (kindergarten will go out to cheer them on!)

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!