Yoga and Tally Charts

While we will continue to work on a variety of counting concepts and simple addition, the students will be enriching their literacy skills as they study data management. In kindergarten, tally charts and simple bar graphs are a beginning step to reading and understanding graphs. The students will be conducting their own surveys in class using a tally chart and will be learning new vocabulary to describe their results. At home, you are encouraged to use the phrases "more" and "fewer" when comparing quantities with your children. Using household objects such as buttons, coins, or even spoons, have your children compare the quantity of objects in two piles. For example, with a pile of three buttons and a pile of two coins, students can state: "there are more buttons than coins."

We have also started yoga as part of our daily physical exercise on days where we will not be visiting the gym. The students greatly enjoyed yoga and will be learning a variety of poses. The best exercise for the brain is......exercise!

Wishing you and your family a blessed and restful Easter,
Mrs. Zulpo

EASTER BASKET RAFFLE

Dear Parents,

It appears the Easter Bunny has left a GIANT, magical gift basket full of toys, chocolate and surprises!  The school is raffling off this basket  in order to raise money for our Lenten project. (As per our school newsletter)

Each day this week the giant Easter basket rolls into the classroom on a cart in order to sell tickets.  One ticket for $1 and three for $2.

Thank you in advance for your generosity in this regard.

March Updates (Orange Group)

The students have been enjoying their time in gym. We have been learning how to properly stretch and have been practicing some basic basketball skills. The students are also enjoying playing cooperative games. It's a fun way to learn how to follow directions, practice good sportsmanship, and learn about safety in gym class.

We have also been trying to sound out the beginning sounds of simple words and recognize simple punctuation marks. Today, the students expressed their disappointment with the lack of Spring weather. As a class, we wrote a letter to Mother Nature explaining they wanted to see signs of Spring. 

Our Letter Today:
Dear Mother Nature,

We are angry today! We are angry because it snowed. We want spring to be here because we can run in the grass and play soccer. We want to play with kites and play with our bikes. So, please melt the snow!
Thank-you,
The Kindergarten Class
(They also requested that I draw a sad face!)

We will be continuing to work on learning to distinguish rhymes. Nursery rhymes are an essential part of developing our phonological awareness and the students will be learning many traditional rhymes. 

Looking Ahead to April
In April, we will be begin learning about kites (cross our fingers for beautiful windy weather) ! The students will work in pairs to design and build their own kite and will then test it outside. We will also be trying to learn some yoga poses. The students have also expressed an interest in flowers and so we will be looking at learning some basic gardening skills!

Flower Day for Lent!

Tomorrow, Friday March 22nd, will be Flower Day. As part of our charity project for Lent, students are invited to wear flower-related apparel and bring a $1 or $2. 

Seeking COMMUNITY HELPERS

SENIOR KINDERGARTEN students ONLY!

Please have your (SK) child find, cut out and bring in a picture of a COMMUNITY HELPER from a magazine/ newspaper  (or from Clip Art) for FRENCH class.  We will be creating a collage of  these "helpers" to reinforce our monthly vocabulary as well as to grow a greater awareness of those who provide vital services to our community.   

Thank you / Merci.
 Madame Blahout


* Here are some of the words:
- le policier
- le pompier
- le docteur / le médicin
- le chef
- le facteur
- l'enseignant(e)

SHOES ???

We will be sending home all shoes this Friday for the MARCH BREAK. 

Please check your child's shoes for wear and tear, and especially, SIZE?  Occasionally, students will complain about sore or squished toes, but they often don't.

PLEASE ensure your child has a pair of indoor SCHOOL SHOES in their backpack for the return to school on MONDAY, MARCH 18th.

Please note that we discourage the use of shoe laces in Kindergarten because we are working on dressing independently. Children quickly discover that laces take more time & effort and often cause frustration, and ultimately the need for teacher assistance.  Plus shoes with laces frequently become a safety hazard in the classroom when the laces come undone as they play.

Thank you for your consideration in this regard.     

Have a wonderful holiday!

Mailbags

Dear Families,

Communication between parents and teachers is an asset to any successful kindergarten program. Your child's personal mailbag is used to relay news and events at school in addition to concerns and questions regarding our program and your child's progress. It is designed to be a communication tool solely between teachers and parents. As the only exception, we will distribute your child's birthday invitations and play date requests. In the future, the mailbag cannot be used for any other purpose. Thank-you for your cooperation.

LITERACY & SCIENCE box request

As noted in the MARCH NEWSLETTER, the French class will be seeking LARGE BOXES to use for: "Les moyens de Transport" - to create a variety of transportation vehicles.  Please note each box needs to be big enough for a child to sit inside.

Unfortunately, due to safety concerns, boxes must be delivered to school by parents as they can not be put on the bus with your child.

These boxes will become "une voiture, un avion, un train, un bateau", etc.  We will create and explore both building and decorating these vehicles and travel the world in our imagination.

Thank you for any assistance in this regard.

Sincerely,
Mme. Blahout

MARCH NEWSLETTERS

Click here for the JUNIOR Kindergarten MARCH newsletter from Mme. Blahout
Click here for the SENIOR Kindergarten MARCH newsletter.