Winter Practice Packets

Over the winter break, please continue to work with your child on the second nine weeks skills:

Communications:
Reading
· Names letters – capital and lowercase
· Makes sounds for letters
· Identifies beginning sounds in words
· Reads sight words without hesitation (I, see, a, the, can, you, we, my, like, to)
· Blend and segment single-syllable spoken words
· Discusses books with others (illustrations, opinions, predictions, character, setting, cause and effect)
· Draws and writes the beginning, middle, and end of a story
· Uses reading strategies effectively (such as using picture clues, making predictions, point to the words, stretch the word, does it make sense?)
· Speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings and ideas clearly

Writing
· Uses inventive spelling which shows letter/sound correspondence
· Includes detailed drawings that supports writing
· Works toward meeting the elements of the Report Writing Standard

Math:
· Names numbers 0-15
· Places numbers in order 0-15
· Matches numerals with groups of objects 0-15
· Counts orally 1-50
· Demonstrates an understanding of more, less, and equal
· Compares two numerals or quantities
· Count forward from a given number
· Uses sets of concrete objects to represent quantities
· Describe measurable attributes of objects, such as length or weight



Duval County has winter practice packets already made for reading, math, and science. This is a great way to make sure your child is ready when they return to school on January 3rd.





http://www.duvalschools.org/static/students/student_software/winterPackets_2011.asp

Chroma Concert

Recently, the band Chroma came to play for us. During the concert, they explained how science, math, reading, and team work are necessary when making music. The kids really enjoyed it. Take a peek at our pictures!!

Happy Holidays

Thanksgiving Lunch

Thank you to all of our families that joined our school for the Thanksgiving luncheon. We were so excited to see all of you. Pictures coming soon.

Ready to Learn

Our next ready to learn night is Thursday, November 10th. It will start at 6 pm in the cafeteria. This is a great opportunity for you to learn about amazing reading strategies to work on with your child at home. You and your family will also receive a free book for attending.

Thank you to the Abando and Soriano family for attending the last one. We look forward to seeing you all!!

Happy Halloween

Have a fun and safe night of trick or treating. Send Ms. Hawas (hawass@duvalschools.org) an email with a picture of your little one in their costume and she will post their picture on the blog.

PLEASE make sure your child does not bring candy to school tomorrow.

Our first field trip-Conner's A-Maize-ing Acres

Wow!! We had so much fun today at Conner's A-Maize-ing Acres. Our classes went on a hayride, fed cows, rode a cow train, had an adventure in a corn maize, and enjoyed a delicious picnic together. Thank you so much to our amazing chaperones for making sure all students stayed together, followed the farm's rules, and had fun. Thank you parents for making sure your child was prepared for this field trip and on time. Enjoy the pictures!

Volunteer

Want to volunteer in the classroom? To become a volunteer, you must first go to the Duval County Public School website and fill out a form. The website where you can find the form is https://dcps.infomart-usa.net/app/index.php?aid=28.

We truly appreciate your cooperation to ensure the safety of all of our students. Thank you!

Red Ribbon Week

"Ms. Hines and Ms. Hawas say NO by wearing red"

"Blue group says NO by wearing red"

"Green group says NO by wearing red"

The Navy band

"Go for the goal, be drug free"

"Give drugs the SLIP"

"Put a CAP on drugs"

We are gearing up for our Red Ribbon Week (Oct. 17-21) in which we say no to alcohol, cigarettes, and illegal drugs.

We CAN Live a Healthy Drug-Free Life- classes will participate in a can drive starting Oct. 12th and Ending on Oct. 21st. The three top classes will earn an ice cream party.

Dress up Themes
Monday Oct. 17- Put a Cap On Drugs- Students and faculty wear hats or caps to school.
Tuesday Oct. 18- Give Drugs the Slip- Students and faculty wear slippers (please make sure your child also brings shoes for recess/PE).
Wednesday Oct. 19- Go for the Goal, Be Drug Free- Students and faculty wear sports gear for favorite team.
Thursday Oct. 20 – Sock Drugs Out- Students and faculty wear crazy socks to school. The students enjoy the sounds of the Navy TGIF Dixieland Jazz Band on Thursday morning.
Friday Oct. 21 – I Say NO by Wearing Red- Students and faculty wear red to school.

Ready to Learn

"Ready to Learn" is a FREE program to teach you how to help your child at home. The whole family is invited and you will get a FREE book to take home and keep. This program is in the school cafeteria on Thursday, October 13th at 6:00 p.m.

This is a great free resource. I look forward to seeing you there!!

An Apple a Day...

Please have your child bring in one apple to class by Friday, October 15th. The apple may be red, yellow, or green. Students will be using their apple to explore their five senses. If your child does not bring in an apple then they will not be able to complete the taste activity with us. Thank you!

October Newsletter

Friendly Reminders
Field trip money and forms are due on October 5, 2011. No exceptions can be made.
We need chaperones!! If you are interested in chaperoning to our farm field trip please send in $4 by October 5, 2011. We would love for you to join our classes for their first field trip.
Scholastic book orders were sent home. Please send these in by October 31st. Remember if you order online our class will receive a free book.



Congratulations
We are so proud of our marvelous mustangs for the month of September: Kaitlyn and Skylar Way to go!

Congratulations to all of our students of the week for the month of September: Arista, Larrecia, Trey, Avery, KJ, and Riley YAY!

Today we had our first lunch bunch crew join Ms. Hawas and Ms. Hines for lunch in the classroom. Way to get green every day since the first day of school: Rachel, Larrecia, Kaleb, Maria, Skylar, Trey, Gabrielle, KJ, Gavin, CyKia, Avery, Sienna, and Jessica. We can not wait to see who will join us next month!!



Classroom Needs
Lysol wipes
Lysol spray
Construction paper
Address Labels- Avery Template 5160 or Avery Template 5161
AirWick air fresheners
Glade air fresheners
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SURVEY TIME!!! PLEASE RETURN THE BOTTOM PORTION FOR A CHANCE TO WIN A BOOK BY October 10TH, 2011!

All answers can be found on our class website http://hawashines.blogspot.com/
Who gives the students a special note when they are chosen as king or queen? _________
What unit are we learning about in Social Studies? _____________________________
We are looking for a volunteer to help our art teacher. What is her name? ____________
How do we know if a book we are reading is too easy? ____________________________

Our first field trip

Our first field trip is to Conner's A-Maize-ing Farm!! This is one of our favorite field trips and we can't wait to go.

Conner’s A-Maize-Ing Acres Farm is located in Nassau County, Florida. Because this is an out of county field trip, it is required that any student attending must have a medical release form on file. If you would like for your child to attend the trip, please return the attached medical form with this permission slip and payment. (These will be sent home this week)

Student cost for the field trip is $7.50. Cash only accepted. No refunds.

Chaperone cost is $4.00, cash only. Chaperones will need to drive themselves or carpool due to the cost of bus rental. No refunds.

We will leave school at 9 a.m. and return at 1:30 p.m.

All students will need to bring a bag lunch, labeled with their name. No drinks with straws will be allowed due to animal safety.

Permission slip, medical release form and field trip payment for students and chaperones is due by Wednesday, October 5th.

The field trip is on October 27th. If money and forms are not turned in by October 5th, then your child will not be able to go on this field trip with us.

Progress Reports

Progress reports will be sent home on Monday, September 26th. Please make sure to check your child's red folders. The second page of the progress report must be sent back to school by Wednesday, September 28th. If you would like to schedule a conference, please let us know. We would love to discuss how your little one is doing and what steps can be taken to move him/her to the next steps.

Have a great weekend! Go Tigers and War Eagles!!! :)

Volunteer

We are looking for a volunteer who is willing to come to school on Friday afternoons and help out our art teacher, Ms. Reiger. During art, she has Ms. Hawas and Ms. Hines' classes together. She could really use the extra assistance to help pass out materials or help students when needed. If you are interested, please let one of know. Art is for 45 minutes every Friday.

King and Queen

Each week in PE, a king and queen are chosen for making purple choices the whole week. A student is only chosen as the king or queen if they make green every day and really show improvement. Why become the king or queen? Whoever is chosen as the king or queen gets a special note from Coach Brown Smith and they are known as the class role models. We are so proud of all of our students and we can not wait to crown them all. :)

Queen and King from the green group Week of 9/19

Queen and King from the blue group Week of 9/19

Queen and King from the green group Week of 9/4

Queen and King from the blue group Week of 9/4

Queen and King from the green group Week of 9/11 Queen and King from the blue group Week of 9/11

Twitter

Follow us on Twitter!! This is a great way for you to see what is happening in the classroom. Once a day, we will try and tweet about one thing we did in our classroom. We may talk about something we learned, ask you to ask your child about a skill we reviewed, remind you about important dates, etc.

Ms. Hawas' username- HawasKdg

Ms. Hines' username- (hasn't had a chance to join yet but will be joining asap)

Want to follow our school? Look for the username: MerrillRdElem

We love incorporating technology into our classroom. Please follow us and stay updated! If you send in a note by 9/26 telling me (Ms. Hawas) what one of our tweets said, then your child will recieve a free book. If you become a follower of our twitter, then your child will recieve another free book. :)

New Pages

Under the blog title, Swimming into Kinder'garden', there are links to go to certain pages. By clicking the links you may now individually look at what is happening in each subject. All other topics will be posted on the home page. Enjoy!

Open House

Thank you so much for coming to open house. We really do appreciate your involvement in your child's education. We loved getting to see you all again and getting to chat with you after for a few minutes. Remember if you want to schedule a conference in October to let us know.

A message for you
As sugar and flour come together to make
A wonderful cookie creation that you bake,
Parents and teachers join as one
To create an educated daughter or son.

It takes lots of love, caring and understanding
But an individual will emerge who is special not withstanding.
We will work together to help each child bloom
So they can grow and prosper as they learn in our rooms.

So we share this little confection with you as we say
We are committed to helping your child grow each and every day.
Yes, the road is long, but the journey's begun
As we strive to educate your daughter or your son.

Entertainment Books

Every student was given an entertainment book on Tuesday this week. The entertainment books cost $25.00. If you would like to buy the entertainment book please send in the money with your child's name and put it in their red folder. If you do not want to buy the entertainment book please return it to school. If your entertainment book is not returned then you will be charged $25.00. There are great coupons in the entertainment book so take advantage of this great deal. Which ever class sells the most entertainment books in the school will recieve a popsicle party. :)

Flag Raising

The first Friday of every month is flag raising. This means we go outside in the courtyard with the whole school. We get to watch the flag being raised, say the pledge, and listen to special announcements from our principal. Our classes were so great this morning. Enjoy the pictures!

Golden Septor

Today we heard the Kindness Queen on the morning announcements. Coach Brown Smith's "cousin", the Kindness Queen, will be looking for students and adults
who exhibit Noblesse Oblige manners. Noblesse Oblige is French for
nobility obligates or noble obligation. True royalty behaves in a kind, generous and responsible manner. If teachers see a student or adult do an extra kind, generous or responsible deed they are to let the Kindness Queen know. The honored person or class will receive a Golden Scepter award; his, her or their photo featured on the Kindness Queen's wall and an extra 15 minutes of P.E.

Our very first Golden Scepter goes to someone who really demonstrated what it means to be a great friend and supporter. He was spotted being extra kind during math workshop. A student was having trouble writing a number and after many times she wrote the number the right way. Instead of saying something negative, this Golden Scepter friend said, "Yay! You got it. Way to go!!" I am so proud of him for encouraging his friends when they have proud moments. Way to be a great friend!!

Skills for the 1st Nine Weeks

Each nine weeks we will be learning new skills in kindergarten. Every nine weeks we will update you with the skills we are learning. It is great to know these skills so that you can practice them with your child at home.

Math
Names numbers 0-10
Places numbers in order 0-10
Matches numerals with groups of objects 0-10
Counts orally 1-25
Can accurately answer the question "How many?"
Names 2-D shapes (square, circle, triangle, rectangle, oval, rhombus)
Names colors

Communications
Names letters
Uses phonics and decoding skills to recognize letter sounds
Spells first name verbally
Writes first name
Reads sight words without hesitation (I, see, a, the, can)
Asks and answers questions about stories read aloud
Reads independently
Recognize/create words that rhyme

Writing
Generates his/her own topics
Includes drawings that support the meaning of their stories
Writes daily (pictures or words are done neatly and legibly)
Speaks to adults in complete sentences (this includes states and responses to adults)
Working toward meeting the elements of the Narrative Writing Standard

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Emails: We need your emails to keep in touch. Please email either Ms. Hines at hinesa1@duvalschools.org or Ms. Hawas at hawass@duvalschools.org with your email. This will be an extra way for us to communicate.

Supplies: If you have not brought in supplies, please bring them in as soon as possible. We are still in big need of primary journals.

Red Homework Folder: Every day your child will bring home a red folder. If for some reason you do not receive it one day please email one of us. These folders will contain weekly homework and important papers. We do not want them to get lost. They are also a way for you to see what color card your child received at school for that day. If there is an asterisk on the calendar that means that day is an Early Dismissal Day. This means that your child will get out of school at 1:20 pm.

Lunch Money: If you need your child's student number please contact the office. You need their student number to be able to put money into their lunch account. If you are sending lunch money to school with your child it needs to be put in an envelope with their name and teacher's name in case it gets lost. Please put the envelope in their red folder because these get checked every morning.

Change of Dismissal: If you need to change your child's way of getting home, you must write a note. We can not take the word of your child telling us they are not a bus rider one day because of safety reasons. Safety first!!

Allergies: We have a couple of friends in our classes with allergies. If you are ever thinking of bringing in a treat for our class please contact one of us first to make sure it is ok. Thank you!

Our First Day of School

Just in case you are wondering who David is...

Looking everywhere for David. Where can he be?

Happy to be at school. :)

We can build or make a pattern with linking cubes.

Learning how to use linking cubes. Counting to 100!!
This is how we walk in the hallways.
This is how we enter the media center.

Wow!! We had such an amazing first day. Everything was perfect. We started the day by drawing a picture of what we did over the summer and shared our pictures with our new friends.

Both classes joined to read the story David Goes to School by David Shannon. This book helped us learn the rules at school. We learned the rules for the media center, walking to the office, playground, hallways, and cafeteria. We went on a tour of the school and looked for David (stuffed animal). We had so much fun looking for David. Our classes ended the tour with a juice box and cookie for following the rules and not acting like David.

In writer's workshop we are working on adding details to our pictures. We heard the story What I Like About Me and drew a self portrait. In skills block, we sang songs to learn our alphabet and letter sounds. In math workshop, we explored how to use linking cubes and charted our answers on chart paper. We sang math songs and learned how to use a calendar. In our unit study, we talked about what school is and why we go. We also heard the story First Day Jitters which helps students to see that the teacher feels just as nervous as they do when they meet new people.

Enjoy the pictures! What was your child's favorite part of their first day of school?