Have a wonderful break

Have a wonderful, restful, and celebratory winter break (and think about us as you are shopping-- we need snacks!).

See you next year.

Mr. Melling, Shari, and Mythandra

Pearl

Our thoughts are with Pearl as she recovers from her illness.

Field Trip to NW Library

Late Start Wednesday and more

Hi all:
Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is a late start Wednesday.  Buses and bells will be two hours behind schedule.  I look forward to seeing everyone at 9:55.

By popular demand, Friday will be pajama day.  Your child can come in their favorite P.J.'s and bring a stuffed animal of their choice.  Be sure they wear real shoes -- we will have our usual outdoor recesses.

Thursday is library day -- I am encouraging everyone to check for books at home.
g

This week in kindergarten

Here are some details about this week in kindergarten, plus read below for belated information about last week...

Thank you to the wonderful volunteers who made our trip to the library a success last Friday!

This Wednesday is a late opening -- buses and bells will be two hours behind schedule.

Theme Book: Little Quack
Comprehension skill: plot
New words: me, with, she (week 2)
New letter Rr
Math:length, recognizing quantities 5-10

We will not join the holiday sing-along in the auditorium Friday afternoon.  Instead we will be switching classrooms for afternoon activities.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somehow this never got posted last week.  Here is my report from last Monday

We had a great week last week with several volunteers helping at center time.  It is amazing how much of a difference it makes to have that extra set of eyes and hands helping with centers.  Thank you to everyone who has made time to volunteer in the classroom.

Here are a few dates to keep in mind
December 12 (this Friday) -- walking field trip to NW Library
December 17 -- Late start
December 19 -- Last day of school before winter break
January 5 -- School resumes

This week's themes:
Chapter Book: Dinosaurs Before Dark
Theme Book: Little Panda
New words: me, with, she
New Letters: Nn, Bb
Comprehension: Compare and Contrast
Math: length, pattern block puzzles

Tardiness 2

Thank you to everyone who was here promptly this morning!  It really made a difference and started the day on the right note!

Quick clarification – The students who arrive by bus have been here early and, generally, do a great job waiting outside the classroom.

Thank you again!

tardiness

Hi all:

This morning (actually yesterday morning) when the late bell rang at 8:00, I looked around and less than half of our students were present.  Over the course of the next 40 minutes, twelve students made their way in.  On most mornings we have eight to ten students who are late coming through the door.

This is a challenge for everyone:

For students who are already in class – it is hard to pay attention to the teacher when a friend walks through the door.

For late students – it is a challenge to walk in and immediately start focusing.  Kids need a moment or two to greet friends, say goodbye to parents, and get adjusted to a new setting.

For me -- it is hard to teach with frequent goodbyes, greetings, and students who need redirection.

Our learning time in the morning is short and precious.  I know that it is a challenge to get five-year-olds out the door and that life throws curveballs at all of us, but I ask anyone who is late frequently to carefully look at their schedule to find ways to get their child to school by 8:00.

Thank you so much!

Richard Melling

This week in kindergarten

After the October / November craziness, we enter into three weeks of solid school.  This is a time where we focus on learning and do our best to ignore the mounting excitement about Christmas, Hanukkah and winter break.

We are deep in the heart of basic phonics right now.  This week has no new letters or words, but we continue to focus on using our letters to form simple 3 letter words.  We spend a lot of time substituting letters --  mat to sat to sap to sip to tip to tap...  Most students are having an easy time substituting initial letters, a more challenging time substituting final letters, and a harder time substituting middle vowel sounds.  I have found this "substituting" game a great way to build basic decoding skills.

Here are a few dates to keep in mind...
Friday, December 12 -- Field Trip to NW Library, Noon
Wednesday December 17 --  Late Start
Friday, December 19 -- Last day of school before winter break

This weeks themes:
Theme Book - Whose Garden is it?
Chapter Book Dinosaurs Before Dark
Literary Theme: realism and fantasy
Letters we know: m, a, t, s, p, c, i
Math: December Calendar, comparing sets

Please let me know if you have read a great, kindergarten friendly, chapter book that has been published within the last few years!

New art

Be sure to check out our "texture animals" hanging on our classroom wire.

Library Field Trip

We are planning a walking field trip to the NW library for Friday, December 12th.  Susan Smallsreed will talk about the library and read some books.  We could use a couple of volunteers.  Our plan is to leave around noon and be back by 1:20 or so.  Please let me know if you can make it!

This week in K / Leveled Readers

Be sure to check your child's backpack.  We finally got our long delayed shipment of leveled readers and your child should have four books.  Most students have read most of the books they are bringing home.

Here are some highlights of our short week.

Overall Theme: Thanksgiving, of course
New letter: Ii
New Words: he, for
Theme Book: A Bed for the Winter
Song: Over the River and Through the Woods

On Tuesday afternoon we will be going to Rooms 3 & 4, on Wednesday to Rooms 10 and 1 to learn more about Thanksgiving and do arts and crafts.

There is no school Thursday and Friday.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Library Books!

Today we brought back all of our library books.  We are the first class this year (in all of Chapman) to have every child bring their library books back.  Thank you to everyone who helped their student find and return books.

The current library computer system can cause some confusion -- here is a quick explanation of problems that come up.  The software we use expects books to be returned to the library within one week of check-out.  However, students at Chapman return their books to the classroom, not to the library.  This can cause confusion when we miss a library trip (like last week's snowpocalypse, and next week's Thanksgiving).  When we miss library, the software sends out missing book emails to everyone, even if a book is snug and warm in the library book box in the classroom.

Adding to the confusion, I often remind the class to bring back books.  Students sometimes forget that they have returned their books and grow anxious that their book is missing.

There is no simple answer here.  I  encourage everyone to return books on Mondays.  If your child missed library on a Thursday, or if the class has missed a Thursday library session, take any notice with a grain of salt.  If your child tells you that they were not able to check out a book, it probably means that the book really is missing.

My Father's Dragon

We finished our first chapter book today.  Ask your child about what happened in the book.

This Week in Kindergarten

We have a real week, sandwiched into a strange month.  To my knowledge we have few interruptions or other issues this week; in other words a rare normal week.  Here is the plan.

We will roll out a bunch of new centers tomorrow based upon the books Armadillo's Orange, and Animal Babies in Grasslands.  It would be wonderful to have a few volunteers to help out at center time.

We will continue working on reading and writing.  In reading we are working on blending sounds and letters to make simple three-letter words.  In writing we are working on feeling comfortable with the writing process including spaces.

In math we are making a pattern quilt, and will introduce a few more games for "Math Workplaces"

The afternoons this week should have a full smorgasbord of activities including science with Ms. Forst and Social Studies with Ms. Miljkovic.  We have most library books but could use a few more.

Here are a few more details of the week...

New Words: my, we, like
Words we (should) know: I, am, the, little, a, to, have, is
New Letter Cc (In kindergarten, C's almost always sound like /k/)
Letters we know m, t, a, s, p, c
Theme Book: Bear Snores On
Comprehension Skill: realism and fantasy
Math skills: comparing and combining shapes, patterns, comparing sets
Science: more tree science
Social Studies: what is a veteran?

Star of the Week: Jenna

Don't forget, there is no school on Thursday and Friday, November 27 and 28.

Auction art

Many thanks to Terry and David (Brooke's grandparents) for coordinating this.  I hope to see many of you tonight...

Cold Weather

Here's something from my colleague , Mrs. Andrews, that pertains to Room 2…

This seems like a good time to remind you that we go outside every day!  Bundle those babies up!  Also, with inclement weather on the horizon, please be sure to watch the news for any delays/closures.  Here is some official PPS info on ways to stay informed.  

http://www.pps.k12.or.us/about-us/6178.htm

If we are on a two-hour delay, buses will run two-hours behind, like on a late-start day.  School would begin at 10, rather than 8 AM.  If you have a bus rider, now would also be a good time to check your bus' snow route.  Typically when the weather is sketchy, buses run on snow routes, particularly if you live in the hills

I would also add that, at times, school will be cancelled or delayed when there is no snow on the ground in the lower elevations surrounding Chapman (downtown, the Pearl…).  This is because many of our families live in the hills where it can be quite snowy.  Be sure to double check before driving to Chapman, and NEVER drop of your child without coming in to the school.

Friday in kindergarten

Alphabet sorting

We sorted stuff (vintage plastic things from a very old curriculum) by their initial sounds.

This week in kindergarten

Here are some highlights for the week of November 3.

For your calendar...
No School on Monday and Tuesday, November 10th & 11th due to Veteran's Day and more.
No School on the 27th and 28th due to Thanksgiving.
The book fair is happening all week.

The Chapman Auction is on Friday, November 14th.  This is a wonderful and fun evening at the Crystal Ballroom.  This is also Chapman's major fund-raising evening.  You can buy tickets and find much more information at http://chapmanschoolauction.com/index.html.  I look forward to seeing you there!

Here is what is happening in the classroom...

New letters -- Ss (Letters we know: m,t,a & s)
New words -- have, is (week 2)
Literacy skill focus -- beginning to blend sounds to make words
Comprehension focus -- setting
Math -- new games at workplaces using numbers 1-10 and using shapes to make other shapes
Art -- Picasso Hand and Flowers
Art with Mrs. Andrews -- Cornucopia

Star of the week: Jordyn
Weekly song: Jamaica Farewell

Please sign up to volunteer.  Our centers work so much better when we have help!

Sub yesterday

I was happy to have Barbara Goldberg substitute for me yesterday.  Barbara taught in Room 2 for many years and was a mentor to me when I started teaching kindergarten.  By all accounts, the day went well.

I am back today and, hopefully, on the road to recovery from my very nasty cold.

Grandparent day

This week in kindergarten

We are treating this week as less of a regular week, and more as an extension of the surrounding weeks.  For the most part we are not rolling out new themes; instead we are reinforcing what we learned last week and previewing what we will be learning next week.

Here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Grandparents and Special Friends Day celebration is tomorrow from 10:00 to 11:00.
• There is no Costume Parade this year.
• Conferences are Wednesday and Thursday -- Be sure you know the date and time of your appointment, and don't forget that there is no school.
• There is no school on Friday as us teachers recover from two intense twelve-hour-days.
• The Scholastic Book Fair is next week!

Grandparents Day

Tuesday morning we will be celebrating "Grandparents and Special Friends Day Tuesday morning (October 28) from 10:00 to 11:00.  We will have a song, snacks, and a special art project.  Thank you to parent Robyn for putting this together.  Below is the text of an email that should have reached you last week.

Mr. Melling's class is having a parent sponsored party for Grandparent/Special Person Day.  There will be a sign up sheet next to the classroom door for items to bring.  We will have a Halloween art project making webs out of yarn.  The kids will sing a song with Mr. Melling and should be a fun time for all!

Art project : If you happen to have some plastic spiders for our spiderwebs, that would be great but we have black pipe cleaners to make them incase we don't.  That might take too long so I may make them ahead of time.  Please let me know if you have seen them in a store, I looked and they are all sold out!

Let me know if you have any questions; you can email me at robyn.childers@gmail.com,

This Week in Kindergarten

Wow -- It's Wednesday already.  Here are a few highlights for the week!

• Our field trip to Macleay Park yesterday was definitely a highlight.  See the pictures below.
• On the sad side, we say goodbye to Teacher Iris on Friday.  She is off to finish her student teaching in 5th grade at Beverly Cleary school.  Please feel free to stop by and wish her the best in her future endeavors!
• Today is picture retake day!
• Iris will be teaching for most of the morning today.
• Tomorrow, Brooke's grandparents will be in to help us with our Chapman auction project.  This looks to be a really cool item that would look great on a wall near you!
• Next week we have conferences on the 29th and 30th.  Be sure you are signed up and be sure you know your time.  And don't forget -- no school on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday!
• Next Tuesday (October 28) is Grandparents and Special Friends Day.  We will have a party in the classroom from 10:00 to 11:00.  Grandparents, aunts and uncles, and other friends are invited!
• Library is Thursday: Don't forget those books!

Here are some themes for this week:
New letters: Aa
New words: is, have
Theme book: Life in the Ocean
Math: Tally marks and quantities to 10
Art with Ms. Rodhe: Clay
Science with Ms. Forst: Tree walk

Star of the week: Lucy
Song: The Midnight Special

Macleay Park Photos

Field Trip to Macleay Park

We had a wonderful trip to Macleay Park today.  We saw trees, waterfalls, ferns, wildlife (if you count slugs as wildlife) and we avoided  rain.  As a bonus, we were very mellow after our long walk.

Many thanks to all the volunteers who made this a success!

Look for photographs tomorrow.

Grandparents Day Info

Below is information from Mr. Choate about Grandparent's Day.  Our Room Parent, Robyn, and I are cooking up exact plans for our classroom.

Dear Chapman Families,

Grandparents/Special Friends Day is coming October 28^th.  The visit will occur between 10:00-10:45 but might vary by grade level.   Teachers will be sending out Grandparent/Special Friends invitations with more detail.  You may have noticed from the Chapman calendar that this year we will not have a Halloween parade.  The decision was made last year when district calendars where completed. With only two days in the week, followed by Parent/Teacher conferences we made the decision to keep Grandparents/Special Friends Day but maintain the rest of the day for academics.

  

Scott Choate

Chapman Principal

(503) 916-6295

Check your child's backpack (and more!)

Your child should be bringing home two important items.

1) School photos:  Be aware that picture retake day is next Wednesday.  The class compilation photo will come out sometime after picture retake day.

2) Leveled readers:  I am sending home 5-6 of these.  Your child may have practiced reading many of the books; in many cases s/he may not have read all of these books.  Now that we have Shari in the classroom, I plan to send these out every other week.  Please have your child read one or two of these to you!

Three more non-backpack related items...

1) We still could use more snacks -- think of us as you shop!

2) Our volunteer calendar is wide open -- we love and need volunteers to help us at center time (9:30 - 11:00).  Please consider signing up for a day or two.

3) We are still hoping to take a walking field trip to Macleay Park next Tuesday morning, leaving around 9:00.  Please let me know if you can help.

Have a wonderful weekend

Srar of the week poster

Each week we have a new star of the week.  Here is an example of a star of the week poster.

This week in Room 2

Here are some highlights for the week of October 13th.

We have a late opening on Wednesday; everything (bells and buses) should be exactly two hours behind schedule.
We plan to work in the Chapman Garden on Friday afternoon.
We are still planning a walking field trip to Macleay Park for next Tuesday, October 21st, weather permitting.  The tentative plan is to leave at 9:00 and return around 10:30.  Let me know if you can help with this.

Here are some themes for the week
New Letter Tt
Week 2 of words a & to
Theme Book Dig Dig Digging
Writing: Sounding out, finger spaces, and /sh/
Literacy Skill: Classify and Categorize
Math: Shapes / Patterns / recognizing numbers and small quantities.
Wednesday afternoon switch: Art with Ms. Andrews.

Star of the Week: Poet
Weekly song: It Takes a Worried Man.

We would love to have more volunteers to help us with centers.  We do centers most days starting at 9:30.  Please consider signing up to volunteer on our calendar, or via email!

Field Trip to Kruger's Farm

We had a wonderful time.  Thank you to all the volunteers who made this a very smooth experience!

This Week in Room 2

Here are some highlight of the week of October 6th

Highlights for the week include an OMSI class about magnets on Tuesday, our field trip to Kruger's Farm on Thursday, and a day off on Friday for Statewide Inservice Day.

Here are some themes for the week:
Letter focus -- Mm
New words -- to, a
Writing -- lower case m's, the king of ing, farm words
Math -- last week of Iris' work sample about shapes
Social Studies with Ms. Miljkovic - The Pledge of Allegiance

Star of the Week: Poet
Poem: October

Don't forget: Field trip Thursday, no school Friday, Late Opening Wednesday the 15th.

Next Week

Here are a few things to be aware of for next week...

Our OMSI magnet class is Tuesday at noon.  We could use a volunteer or two for this.

Thursday is our field trip to Kruger's farm.  We have 14 of 25 permission forms returned.  Please get your form to us by Monday if possible.  Volunteers - please plan to be at Chapman at 9:15.  For those bringing a lunch, please plan to pack your child's lunch in a paper bag and plan to have everything disposable.

Friday is a statewide inservice day.  There is no school.

Our children have seemed tired this week.  Please be sure your child gets plenty of sleep this weekend.

Snacks needed

Hi all.

We are starting to run low on snacks.  Please think of us as you are shopping.  Please be aware that we have a student in Room 2 with a serious tree nut allergy.

Thank you

Thursday Notes

Look for a library book in your child's backpack.  My suggestion is to have your child get in the habit of reading their book over the weekend and returning it on Monday.  We love to see every child returning their books and checking out new ones each week.

Thank you to everyone who returned field trip permission forms.  While we reminded kids to get them out of their backpacks, we did not check each backpack.  It would be wonderful to have all forms returned by Monday.

Tomorrow is Roundup day.  Look for Teacher Iris and Mythandra in the front of the auditorium.

Don't forget -- there is no school next Friday, October 10th due to the statewide inservice day.

This week in Room 2

Here are some highlights for the week of 9-29.  October brings lots of different things.  Be sure to read at the bottom for more information.

Writing
Writing the sounds we hear
Using Finger spaces between words
Adding a period at the end of a story

Reading
Review letters Tt-Zz
Words the and little (week 2)
Theme Book: Miss Bindergarten Takes a Field Trip

During this week, we hope to meet with all reading groups at least once; many reading groups will meet 2-3 times.

Math:
Shapes: square, circle, triangle, rectangle and hexagon (with teacher Iris)
October calendar -- learning about months of the year & more

Art: 
Final visit with Mr. Duffy (Monday)
Multi-cultural art with Ms. Rodhe,
Line art with Ms. Lopez.
Shape Monsters with Teacher Iris

Science:
What is a scientist with Miss Forst.

More:
Weekly Song: Home on the Range
Poem: October

Upcoming events in October:
October 7 OMSI magnet Class at Chapman
October 9  Field Trip to Kruger's Farm
October 10 Statewide Inservice Day -- No School
October 15 Late Opening Wednesday.  School starts at 10:00
October 21  Walking field trip to Macleay Park (rain date - October 23rd)
October 22nd  Picture Retake Day
October 24 Teacher Iris' last day at Chapman
October 28 Grandparents & Special Friends Day
October 29-30th Conferences - No School
October 31 No School

Our Room Parent Robyn

Be sure to say hi to Robyn, who has volunteered to be the Room 2 Room Parent.

Mr. Duffy's last class

Our young scholars have enjoyed the stories, games, and life lessons that Mr. Duffy has shared with us over the last few weeks.  Monday morning at 9:00 is Mr. Duffy's last visit.

Feel free to come in for the final session!

Apple tasting

Thank you Food Front

Wednesday morning in kindergarten

School pictures

Hi all:

Yesterday's school pictures went very well.  Here is a little more information that might answer some questions.

• All students were here, and everyone had their photo taken.
• If you did not order prints it is not too late.  I will put directions at the bottom of this post.
• If the photo you receive does not reflect your child's inner beauty, picture retake day is October 22nd.  You should receive pictures before then.  Make sure you let me know that you want a retake (by returning your child's pictures).

If you did not order pictures yesterday email me for an access code and go to

www.lophotos.com

Click on Order School Photos Here

Enter the access code

Sign in and order photos.

Let me know if you have questions.

This week in Room 2

Here are some highlights for the week  of September 22nd:

• Picture day -- Today was picture day; the kids looked wonderful.
• Apple Tasting Thursday -- Food Front will be bringing a variety of apples for us to taste
• Swift Family Run -- Saturday is the Swift Family Run.  Fun for all, even if you are not a runner.
• Shapes -- As a student teacher, Iris has to do a "Work Sample"; a series of carefully documented lessons.  Her work sample is on shapes.  The students will be focusing on shapes throughout the next two weeks or so.  Today the young scholars went on a shape walk around the school.

More information about the week:

• New words: "the" and "little"
• Letter Focus " N-S 
• Art shapes and more...
• Song: "I've Been Working on the Railroad"

Wonderful News

This morning we had Shari Bruno join us as our Educational Assistant in Room 2.  Shari previously worked in the office, where many of you may have met her.  She is very excited to work directly with young students; we are thrilled to have her.

Her hours will be from 8:30 to 12:00 each morning so many of you may not get to say hi as you drop off your children; rest assured, she will be a major part of classroom life.

Next Week

Picture day is Tuesday, June 23rd.  Have your child dress as you want to remember them.

The Swift Family Run is Saturday the 27th.

Bernie Duffy will be back in the classroom Monday and Wednesday.

A number of children are eating breakfast in the classroom.  We want to insure that every child who needs a breakfast gets one.  Some years, a few kids figure out that they can grab a second breakfast when they get to school, and nobody will be the wiser.  Our hope is that everyone who needs a breakfast gets one, and everyone who doesn't need one doesn't get one.  Feel free to ask your child about this, and feel free to let me know if you have questions.

Iris should begin teaching her math work sample early in the week.  She is also teaching random lessons throughout the day.

Line caterpillar art

Roundup Assembly Tomorrow

Tomorrow is our first indoor Roundup Assembly.  We will meet in the auditorium on the floor near the stage.  The kids had a chance to learn where they were sitting today.  Look for Teacher Iris (and Mythandra).  I am on the Roundup Committee and may be running around the auditorium helping with last minute details.

This Week in Kindergarten

It was great to see so many of you at Back to School Night last Thursday!

Please note that Wednesday, September 17 is a late start day.  Everything (buses, bells...) will be two hours behind schedule.

We continue to focus on building routines, learning names, and understanding the way kindergarten works.  This week should include a Tuesday visit from artist in residence Mr. Duffy, a late opening, and our first Friday morning Roundup in the auditorium.

Look for your child to continue to be tired from the long days of learning and new routines.  This should  ease as your child gets more and more used to the rigors of the kindergarten lifestyle.

Thank you to everyone who has packed lunches for your children.  This will be another challenging week as we merge cafeteria lines with first grade.  My sense is that lines should be much smoother next week.

Here are a few highlights of the week:

Song: The Sunny Side of the Street
Weekly Theme Book: "Fix it Duck"
Letter focus: review F-N
Phonemic skills: rhyming, syllables, counting words
Writing: Introducing writing
Math: Counting, probabilities, new games and routines

Math with teacher Iris

Back to School Night

It was wonderful seeing so many of you at Back to School Night.  Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule (and for somehow finding parking) to attend.  If you missed it, I will be sending home the Back to School Night packet in your child's backpack.

I have extra packets available for anyone who needs one.  Please stop by and ask me.  I will  recycle these sometime next week.

Photos and privacy

I am updating a blog post from last September about photos and privacy on the blog.

I enjoy posting photos; however this brings up a quandary.  As you may have noticed, I have taken some pains to be sure that the photos I have posted are not close-ups of individual students.  Before I post close-ups, I want to have a discussion of how parents felt about having photos of their child on the blog, which is available to the wider web audience.  My sense is that the best photos really show children learning, working and enjoying friendships, however I am not ready to post “identifiable” photos until I have checked in with parents. 

So… my hope is to begin posting photos of students sometime in the third week of school (probably around the 17^th).  These photos would not have names attached (look over last year's blog for a better idea of what this would look like).  However I will not post photos of your child if you let me know that you do not want their image on the web.

So please shoot me an email if you do not want pictures of your child used on the blog.  Feel free to email or respond on the blog if you otherwise have strong feelings on this subject.  

Back to School Night

Tonight is back to school night.  I am really hoping to see someone from every Room 2 family.

Here is a quick picture of what the evening will look like.

The evening starts at 6:30 in the auditorium and will begin with an introduction of staff, and then lots of information about Chapman.  Around 6:55, families will be dismissed to classrooms.

I will be giving two presentations, one at 7:00 and one at 7:30.  There are two separate times so that families with more than one child can visit multiple classrooms.  I usually make the first presentation a formal and comprehensive overview of classroom life as well as "things parents need to know".  The second presentation covers a few highlights of the earlier presentation but is more informal and allows much more time for questions.

There is childcare available for your kindergartner, but not for younger siblings (it helps to arrive early - there is usually a crush of families around 6:25). I look forward to seeing you there!

Mr Duffy telling a story

This week in kindergarten

This is a busy week in kindergarten.  Our most important item is introducing the routines of the classroom so we can focus on learning throughout the year.   We are also working hard on learning names - names of friends and names of the adults in our lives (Mythandra seems to be a tough one for the young scholars).

Here are some of the unique things that are happening this week
-- Our Artist in Residence, Bernie Duffy (Mr. Duffy to the students), starts today.  He will be teaching about friendship and feelings through storytelling and acting.  He will be in twice each week for the next three weeks.  This is a wonderful part of our year!
-- We got on a school bus yesterday in order to learn about bus safety.
-- Yesterday we had our first Mandarin class (Monday and Wednesday mornings) and our first music class (Tuesday and Thursday afternoons).  Students can look forward to P.E. (Wednesday and Friday mornings), Library and Guidance on Thursday afternoons and Reading Buddies on Friday afternoons.  I will be giving out a full schedule at Back to School night on Thursday.
--Our first Friday Roundup will be on Friday on the Steve Brand Field (the turf field in back of the school).  Your child should go directly to the field in the morning.

Here are some of the academic highlights of the week...
--Reviewing the letters A-E
--Working on Phonemic Awareness Routines
--Beginning to learn the kindergarten writing process
--Getting to know the math materials
--Beginning our Worktime Centers routines

Our song of the week is "This Land is Your Land"

Four major requests:
--If your child rides the bus -- please always make sure I know of any changes to the afternoon routine.
--Please be sure your child is here on time.  The late bell is at 8:00 and your child is considered late after the bell.  If you arrive after 8:10 please go to the office first to get a late slip.  This will insure that the attendance program is updated and you don't get a call saying that your child is missing.
--Be sure to check the blog often:  I should be sending out updates soon about student pictures on the blog (and privacy concerns), more information about back to school night, and lots of pictures of life in Room 2.
-- Finally, please, please, please be sure to attend Back to School Night on Thursday, beginning at 6:30 in the auditorium.  Childcare is available for your kindergarten student!

Fist Mandarin class

First day reflections

We had a great first day of kindergarten.

We learned a song (This Land is Your Land), we read several books including It Looked Like Spilled Milk and Good Dog Carl, we made self portraits, enjoyed some quiet reading time and had a great time during our two recesses.

It seems like a great group of kids.  It is always a joy to see kids starting to make friends and get to know one another.

Have a great weekend.  Help your child get lots of rest as they brace up for the first full week of kindergarten!

Thank you to everyone who packed a lunch.  My sense is that the lunch line should be much quicker within a week or two.

I look forward to seeing everyone on Monday.

First day of school - quiet reading time

Ready for tomorrow

Classroom supplies

Hopefully you have found your school supply lists.  Here is a link in case you have not:

http://www.pps.k12.or.us/schools/chapman/files/school-chapman/Kinder_Supply_List_2014-15_year.pdf

Be aware that all supplies are shared and distributed as needed; students do not keep their individual supplies (except backpacks).

We get questions about why we recommend specific products.  We do this when we have had issues (generic glue whose caps stopped opening, markers with different size lids, paints that are good for one art session)  When we do recommend specific brands / products we try to find ones that are widely available.

Welcome to the 2014 -2015 school year

Welcome to kindergarten!

This should be an exiting and fun year in Room 2.  Here are a few things to note:

The Ice Cream Social is this Thursday from 3:00 to 4:00.  This is a wonderful opportunity for you and your child to meet me (and Iris -- see below), make friends, and begin finding their place in the Chapman community.

Conferences are next Tuesday-Thursday.  During these days, I meet with families one by one for half an hour.  During this time I get a chance to talk with students and families, help everyone learn about life in kindergarten, administer the Oregon Kindergarten Assessment and do my best to answer your questions.

We have a student teacher -- Iris Law.  Iris will be here in September and most of October.  Iris was in the classroom last spring and brings a ton of energy, kindness and insight.  Iris will be helping in all areas of the classroom and will have a special focus on math.

Back to School Night is Thursday, September 11th from 6:30 to 8:30.  Please clear your calendar and make plans to attend.  This is a wonderful opportunity to learn much more about kindergarten.

We love volunteers -- please let me know whether you might be able to volunteer in the classroom.

I use this blog in place of a newsletter.  Please be sure to bookmark this site, or use the "Follow by email" function.  I usually update the blog several times each week.

I am leaving last years blog posts up for a few more weeks.  Feel free to browse back to get a feel for how a year in kindergarten evolves.

Check your child's backpack

All students are bringing home Multnomah County Library summer reading cards (actually we were short a few), and Run for the Arts pencils.


A few students are bringing home Run for the Arts T-shirts.  I quietly slipped these into backpacks, so your child may not know that they have these.  In order to get a T shirt, students needed to have accrued 30 points -- a combination of the number of sponsors and number of laps.  In a perfect world, all kinders would get a T shirt. 


Don't forget - next week features a field trip to Macleay Park on Wednesday (plan to pack lunches in a paper bag) and a end-of-year party at 12:30 on Friday (everyone is invited).

Peter Pan cast visits Room 2

Magic with Iris

Room 2 at Roundup tomorrow

We will be singing "The Erie Canal" for the Friday morning Roundup tomorrow.  The young scholars should meet on stage with their backpacks.  We will leave the assembly after our song.

Visiting Ms. Kuether's first grade classroom

Monday Notes

Here are some notes for the week of June 2nd


The last day of school is Friday, June 13th.
We have a field trip on Wednesday the 11th.
The volunteer tea is tomorrow June 3rd.  If you have volunteered at Chapman, please join us in the cafeteria / gym after school on Tuesday.


Thank you to everyone who returned library books.  I think we are down to one missing book.
We will be going to see the 4th and 5th graders perform Peter Pan on Wednesday morning.
Thank you to everyone who has volunteered for our field trip.  There is still some room for volunteers.


This week's themes...


Everything Peter Pan
Extending our writing
Reading groups on Tuesday, Thursday, and maybe even Friday
More about buildings, cities, towns and country.
More subtraction.


We are very close to having enough snacks for the rest of the year.  We may need 2-3 days of snacks, but certainly no more.

Field Trip Volunteers needed

I am hoping to pull off a field trip to Macleay park with our 3rd grade reading buddies on Wednesday, June 11.  Our plan would be to leave Chapman at 10:30 in the morning, hike to lower Macleay park and eat lunch, then venture up the trail to the Stone House.  We would return to Chapman by 1:00.




In order to have a safe trip with 50+ kids, we need to have at least four volunteers (and preferably more).  If you might be able to come with us, please send me an email.

Congratulations Dr. Iris

Iris returned from China yesterday, having successfully defended her dissertation.  Dr. Iris will be working full time in the classroom for the rest of the year.

Late Start Wednesday

Everything will be two hours late on Wednesday, 5/21

Monday Notes

We are back to a normal schedule in the classroom this week.  We will be working hard on our centers, reading groups and more.  Iris should be back from China beginning Wednesday.



Don't forget...

There is a late start on Wednesday, May 21.  Everything runs two hours behind schedule.

There is no school on Monday, May 26, due to the Memorial Day holiday.

Library books are due Thursday.

The "Volunteer Tea" is Tuesday, June 3rd, right after school in the gym.  If you have helped in the classroom, please attend!

The community performance of the 4-5 musical, Peter Pan is at 12:30 on June 4.  While there is an evening performance on June 5, families without children in the performance are asked to attend the community performance so that families of performers will fit into the auditorium.  (Our class will be attending a morning performance).

Our end-of-year party is scheduled for Friday, June 13th.  The tentative starting time is 12:30.  Parents and relatives are invited.  We will have more details as the date nears.



This week's themes.

General theme: Houses, buildings, and homes.

Other: more books about Africa

Math: subtraction

Writing: handwriting



Star of the week: Poppy

New pictures on the wire

Check out our interpretations of Childe Hassam's "Mount Hood" on our classroom wires...

Friday Notes

We are starting to run a little short on snacks.  Think of us as you shop this weekend!

We return to a regular daily schedule (including Dana) next week!

Thank you to our volunteers.  This continues to be a wonderful year for volunteers.

Give your thoughts and best wishes to Iris, who will be defending her PHD thesis in Chengdu on Saturday (Sunday, China time).  She will be in the classroom full time starting next Wednesday.

From Morgan

More from Morgan, our room parent...

Dear Room 2 Parents,

 

The last day of school is Friday, June 13th (there were a couple days added due to snow days). There are two things I am starting to work on. One is end of the year gifts for the teachers and the other is planning the last day of school. 

 

We're looking for 5-6 adults to come into the classroom and help out with an end of the year party. We'd love to have a parent at each center table hosting an activity which could be supervising a board game or art project of your choosing or Mr. Melling or I can put one together for you. Please let me know (moko_77@yahoo.com) if you can come into the classroom for an hour or so on Friday, June 13th.

 

Also, please let me know if you are interested in contributing to end of the year gifts for the teachers. Rather than get a bunch of small gifts from many families. I thought we could pool together and get a more substantial gifts. Let me know (moko_77@yahoo.com) if you'd like to participate. Please know that no contribution is too small.

 

I hope everyone is enjoying this amazing spring weather,

 

Morgan

moko_77@yahoo.com

Reading with Iris

Making frog story problems

This week in Room 2

Here are some highlights of the week of 5-12.

With lots of luck, we will have Dana back with us each morning this week

Don't forget...
Library books due Thursday!!
Late Opening on May 21
No School May 26, Memorial Day
End of year party on June 13 @ 12:45-ish (Note this is the last day, not June 11!)

This week's academics:
General theme: Homes and Houses
Math:Creating and solving story problems, subtraction, counting to 100
Writing: 1st grade writing paper & letter formation, autobiographies
Reading: Read-alouds with Iris, our student teacher
Theme Book: Homes Around the World
Letters / words: We have reviewed every letter in the alphabet and we have explored all sight words (If you do not have a list of the kindergarten sight words, please let me know.)
Science: comparing liquids
Social Studies: Other cultures
Song: The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night

Making frog story problems

This ship holds ten precious stones

More OMSI "Sink or Float"

OMSI class

More stuff coming home...

Seems like I have been saying this a lot recently...

Today you should find results from vision and hearing screening in your child's folder or backpack.

Check your child's backpack...

Two important things coming home today...
1) A bag for food for our food drive.
2) An appeal for funds for keeping class sizes small.

Here are a few things to send to Chapman...
1) Any last Run for the Arts pledges
2) Library books (Due Thursday)
3) Green and blue forms regarding next year's placement (due FRIDAY!!)

Math time

Kindergarten Info Meeting tomorrow

On Tuesday, we will be having our annual kindergarten information meeting for next year's kindergartners and their parents.

The meeting begins at 9:00.  Dana will be taking students out to recess, and I will bring a bunch of future kindergartners back to the classroom for stories and songs.  When students come back, we will share choice time. This is a great opportunity to have students be mentors and role models for next year's kindergarten.

Dancing in Mandarin class

Check your child's backpack!

Today your child is bringing home two important pieces of paperwork.  One is a green form asking whether your child expects to return to Chapman.  The second is a blue form (similar to one you may have filled out prior to kindergarten) asking about your child's learning style.  The blue form is used to help us place your child next year.
Please return these forms by Monday, May 9th.

Goodbye Alina

Reading with third graders

Staff Appreciation Week

Morgan, our wonderful Room Parent, writes..

Hello Room 2 Parents,

As you may be aware, next week is Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week. Although it may be tempting to purchase a gift(s), our teachers would prefer something simpler and personal, like a note, card or drawing from their students. So rather than run around trying to choose the right gift, please find a little time this weekend to help your child make a card for Mr Melling, Dana and other teachers and staff that make a difference in your child's school experience. Please keep it simple and hopefully your child will enjoy recalling what he/she appreciates about the teachers and staff that they encounter daily at school. At the end of the school year, I will coordinate a collective gift from our class for our teachers, so save your pennies and gift ideas for then.

Additionally, there are opportunities next week during school to support our teachers and staff. Below is a schedule from PTA President Mary Dolich.

Best,

Morgan Nystrom

Moko_77@yahoo.com

(Max's mom/rm 2 room parent)

STAFF APPRECIATION WEEK

 Mary Dolich is heading this up so please contact her atmarydolich@gmail.com if you are able to help any of the following days: 

Monday - Coffee and breakfast treats, bring in by 7:45, clean up by 2:15.

Wednesday - Provide lunch.  Last year I had The Bent Brick bring the food and will do the same this year, I would like to have helpers set up the tables to look nice.  Clean up.

Thursday - Set up a snack box buffet.  I have Chinese food containers.  I set out a bunch of different snack items and the staff can fill the containers with favorites.  Helpat 8:00 or 8:30 to set it all up.

Friday - Mr. Choate does this day.

A few notes:

I came down with something, including a cough and a slight fever  -- the sum seemed greater than the parts!  I seem to be on the road to recovery.

Here are a few miscellaneous notes...

1) The due date for Run for the Arts is tomorrow.  We have received many pledges, but there may be a few more out there...

2) Library books are due tomorrow.

3) On Friday afternoon, we are having younger siblings join us around 1:55.  We'll find some way to keep everyone entertained for the duration.

4) Kindergarten Information Meeting, for next year's kindergartners is Tuesday.  We will have a bunch of the younger set in the classroom.  Tell your neighbors & friends.

5) We are back at Friday Roundup beginning this Friday in the Auditorium.

6) It has been wonderful to have so many volunteers.  Today's crew was all from the southern hemisphere, from countries that began and ended with the letter "a".  We will be without Dana for several more weeks -- please keep signing up and coming in!  Thank you!

Last hour of the Museum of Kindergarten Art, West

Art Ball Update

It looks as if Malvina is scheduled to be the last performer at the talent show (probably sometime after 6:15).  I will open the "Museum of Kindergarten Art, West" after her performance.

Making our museum sign

Art Ball

Tonight is the Chapman Art Ball.

This is Chapman's yearly celebration of the arts and is a big event.

Here are a few highlights...

• The talent show runs from 5:00 to 6:30.  There are always amazing and amusing acts.  Between the songs, skits and other routines, our own Malvina will be wowing the audience with her violin playing.
• Art activities begin at 6:30.  I understand that there will be yet more Jackson Pollack inspired artwork.
• Our reading buddies will be displaying their bridges in the 3rd grade classrooms upstairs.
• The entire school will be transformed into an art gallery.
• Room 2 (and Room 4) will be transformed into a museum of kindergarten art.  I hope to have the museum open from about 6:15 to 7:30.

Thank you to Morgan for all her hard work yesterday, and to all of Thursday's volunteers for helping to put this together.

This week in Kindergarten

Here are a few highlights for this week in kindergarten.

Don't forget...
Run for the Arts pledges are due May 1
Art Ball is the evening of Thursday, April 24.
This week is Secretary / Administrative Professional week.  Be sure to say "thank you" to Angela, Heather and Shari
Library books are due by Thursday.

This week's themes...
Literacy theme: transportation (continued)
Weekly story: The Little Engine that Could
Chapter Book: Down Girl and Sit
Weekly Letter Uu
Word Wall Words said, what, was
Writing: writing a book
Math: Addition / making sense of numbers in the 20's
Art: Self Portraits
Science: liquids
Social Studies:  exploring other cultures

Art Ball volunteers needed

The Art Ball is this Thursday, April 24th.

As part of the evening, I hope to have Room 2 set up as an art gallery.  This will take a solid crew of volunteers during the day and after school on Thursday.  One or two parents have already volunteered but it would be great to have another 3-6 helpers.  Please let me know if you can help.

Ask your child

It has been a crazy and busy week.  Here are a few questions for your child...

Did you enjoy Schoolhouse Rock?
What grade put on Schoolhouse Rock?
What other performances did you see you see this week (Imago & second grade)
How do you spell said?
Who is Iris?
What happened in Mayday Mayday

Report Cards Coming Home

Be sure to check your child's backpack for report cards this afternoon.  As always the report cards are a mixture of objective and subjective.  Please feel free to contact me if you have questions or concerns.

Please note: Those families who have two households will receive their report cards in the mail.

Library Books

Due to Run For The Arts last Thursday, we did not have library (and did not return library books).  The library's computer system thinks that all these books are overdue.  Hopefully this should all be resolved by tomorrow afternoon.

If you do have a library book at home, please be sure to return it tomorrow.

Iris

Many of you may have met Iris, who is volunteering prior to a stint as a student teacher.  She will be in Room 2 through the Spring (and next fall).

Even more art

More art

Last day of art with Tracy

Substitute Today

Barbara Goldberg should be substituting for me today as I stay home and nurse my back.  My plan is to be there tomorrow.

Barbara Goldberg has subbed for me several times this year and used to teach both kindergarten and first grade in Room 2.

Snacks Needed

We are starting to run low on snacks for the classroom.  Please think of us as you shop this weekend!

No School Tomorrow

Quick reminder: There is no school tomorrow due to our Teacher Planning day.  I plan to be here working on report cards.

Lost and Found

Has been moved to the hall.  This is your chance to find your child's clothes...

This week in kindergarten

As always, a few highlights for the week of April 7...

Don't forget...
Have your child wear painting clothes Tuesday and Wednesday.
Speaking of painting, we could use an additional volunteer on Tuesday and Wednesday at noon.
Run for the Arts is Thursday afternoon.  Stay tuned for more news...
There is no school on Friday, due to a teacher planning day.  I will be here working on report cards
There is a late opening a week from Wednesday (April 16).
Art Ball is April 24th
Dana will be helping intermediate grades starting April 14th.  I would love to focus volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays until she is back in the classroom.

Academic themes.
New letter this week; Xx
New words: yellow, green, blue (continued).
Math: Non-standard measurement, place value & more
Theme book: Mayday Mayday
Author focus: Robert Munsch

More...
Star of the Week: Camille
Song: Erie Canal (continued)

Random Thursday Notes

Don't forget -- No roundup Tomorrow (or anytime in April).  We will meet in the classroom at our usual time.

We have art on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons at noon.  I already have some volunteers signing up, and could use a few more.  Thank you so much to the crew who helped us this week.

I am spending lots of time assessing students for report cards,  I am excited to see everyone's growth.

Art Ball is April 24.  Be sure to mark your calendars!  This is a super-fun evening.

Art 4

Art 3

Found Key

I found a stray house key in the classroom today.  I am imagining it belongs to a student and is somewhat of a "toy", but if you are locked out of your home, it could be yours.

Art 2

Art 1 with Tracy

But wait, there's more...

Don't forget.  Tuesday and Wednesday we will be working with permanent paints!  Make sure your child is wearing older clothes!

And keep working on those Run for the Arts sponsor sheets.  Please take a look at the rules regarding T-Shirts.

This week

Here are some highlights for the week of March 31...

I hope everyone had a delightful and restful spring break...

We will begin our art residency with Tracie Broughton on Tuesday afternoon.  It looks like we are in fine shape for volunteers on Wednesday, but could still use a volunteer or two on Tuesday (tomorrow!).  Please let me know if you can help.  We will be working downstairs in the Art-Science Room from 12:00 to 1:00.

April is a no-roundup month for kindergarten.  We will be meeting in the classroom every Friday morning.

I am sending home information about the Autism Awareness Day assembly.  At this point I am unsure whether our class will be attending due to crowding issues.

Thursday is dental / vision / hearing screening day.  We will be out of the classroom for part of the morning for this activity.

Below are some academic subjects we will be covering.

Literacy:
Theme for April and early May: Transportation
New letters: Jj and Ww
New words: yellow, blue, green
Final "s" on plural nouns

Math:
Measuring using non-standard measurements
April calendar
Probability

More:
Star of the Week: Felicidad
Song: Erie Canal

Spring Break Notes

A few notes as we get ready for Spring...

1) Your child should have brought home a Run for the Arts sponsor sheet.  Run for the Arts is the main way that Chapman raises funds for artists such as Bernie Duffy, Grupo Condor, Tears of Joy Puppet Theater and Tracie Broughton (who will be doing art with our class in the spring).  Spring break is a great time to find sponsors.  I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you carefully read the rules in terms of points and T-shirts.  There is a fairly complex formula at work here.  Our run is scheduled (weather permitting) for April 10 in the afternoon.

2) Our artist in residence, Tracie Broughton, will be here Tuesday and Wednesday the 1st and 2nd and plans to work with our class from 12:00 to 1:00.  I would love to have 2-3 volunteers to help out those afternoon.  ON TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY STUDENTS WILL BE WORKING WITH PERMANENT PAINTS.  PLEASE WEAR NON-PRECIOUS CLOTHES.

3) Art Ball is Thursday the 24th.  I would love to have more volunteers to help during the day and after school.  Please let me know if you can help.

4) The volunteer calendar for April, May, and June is up (and very empty).  Beginning in mid-April we will be without Dana for several weeks.  During this time, I am hoping to consolidate volunteers on Tuesdays and Thursdays for Center time, (hopefully with two volunteers each day) so I can still pull reading groups in the classroom.  Please consider volunteering in late April and early May.

5) Have a wonderful break

We made necklaces

Art project with Mildred (Serena's grandmother)

Sorting sea creatures by attributes

This week in Room 2

Here are some highlights for the week of March 17

Don't forget:
Wednesday March 19 is a late opening.  Everything (bells, buses...) will run 2 hours behind schedule
Spring Break begins March 24th
Library books are due by Thursday
No Roundup in April

This week we will:
Continue working on Ee
Continue working on go, here, from
Read Abuela and hear some Irish folk tales
Do more opinion writing (would you rather be a city dog or a country dog).
Think about likenesses and differences in math
Continue to work on 2-D and 3-D shape names (I may assess these later in the week)

Our Star of the Week is Graham
Today we will sing Paddy Works on the Railroad.  I'm not sure whether that will continue through the week.

St. Patrick's Day

Monday is St. Patrick's Day.  I will probably read or tell an Irish folk-tale or two.

Wearing green is wonderful.  Reminding children that they don't, under any circumstances, pinch others is even better!

Tired kids

The young scholars seemed a little more tired than usual this week -- things were definitely lively in the classroom.  My hope is that this was due to the time change, and not early adolescence.  Please help your child get lots of rest this weekend.

Also, I am still looking for the owner of the British Pound coin that appeared in our classroom on Tuesday or Wednesday.