Christmas Program

Dear Parents,
Please look at the important note sent home in your child's backpack today concerning the Christmas program about what they are to wear to school tomorrow and arrival time tomorrow night. They do not have to wear their gym uniform tomorrow.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Chores for change and cooking

Please remember to give your child an opportunity to earn change for chores for our Advent service project. Giving up something you enjoy and bringing in is a great way to make that connection of sacrafice and service.  I will be asking anyone who brings in ice cream money tomorrow if they would like to give their .50 to our service project. Father Douglas and Sister Doraley came to visit us in our classroom and we explained how we are earning money to share with them so they can buy school uniforms for the children in our twinning parish. Even though we don't speak the same language, their smiles were universal! We know how much they appreciated our efforts.

I am looking for the following donations for our cooking lesson next week.

6 green apples
an apple corer
a tub of the brown sugar waffers
a large bag of purple grapes
a box of Post Alpha- Bits
paper plates

Please let me know ASAP if you can donate any of these items. I will need them by Monday,
Respectfully.
Mrs. Catton

Advent Service Project

Dear Parents,
I will be discussing with the children today our Advent school wide service project Mrs. Parsons has designated this year. We will be collecting funds to purchase school uniforms and shoes for the students of our twinning parish in Honduras. I am asking them to earn change by helping out around home. When they bring in their change they will get to tell me and their peers what they did to earn their money and by doing so they are making the connection of service to others. They will also get to write their name on an ornament to put on the school Christmas tree at the entrance of the school. Each child brought home an Advent calendar with simple activities you can have your child do each day during the next few weeks to help them prepare for the birth of baby Jesus. November homework calendars and Book- It are due tomorrow. A copy of the  December/January goals to practice at home, December homework calendar, and December Book-It will be in Friday folders this week.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Newest Popcorn Words

Dear Parents,
The following are the popcorn (sight words) I introduced to the children last week.

in, my, a, up, be, on, am, like, this, had

You can help your child memorize these words by calling attention to them as you speak them and read them. Make flash cards and play a game with them. You may even hear your child say " That is one of our popcorn words!"

Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Spirit Week

Wow, what a great week in kindergarten. They participation in dressing up has been terrific. Being the mother of three children who participated while at Holy Spirit, I need to say thank you to you parents because I know if adds to your already busy schedule getting outfits ready for each day. Your children loved it though and they were so excited. Despite all of the "extras" this week we have been very busy learning. Our shared reading this week was Rosie's Walk. Please ask your child to retell you the story of Rosie and the fox and their adventures. We also reviewed Cookie's Week and a homework sheet is coming home in Friday folders today. We visited the SmartBoard for interactive learning, made "wagons" during cooking, reading, writing, religion, math, social studies (we got to walk on a GIANT map), and much, much, more. Probably most importantly we made a predictable chart where the children told me what they were thankful for and it was you- their families. :)  A very important homework watcher was sent home earlier in the week about our first field trip on Wednesday, December 21st. Put it on your calendar and plan on joining your child for this tradition here at Holy Spirit. More information will be coming.
Enjoy your weekend,
Mrs. Catton

Family

We have finished our unit of study of school and tomorrow I will be introducing our next unit of study- The Family. The key knowledge point that I want each student to learn from this next unit is that while all families may not look alike they each have responsibilities that are similar. Each family is unique and special and families love each other. We will be talking about  how we have our home family, school family, parish and community families. We will be reading books, doing activities, and sharing about our families. I am asking each child to bring in a family picture. They will share their picture with the class during religion time so I encourage you to have your child practice talking about their picture at home before they bring it in. These will be returned when we complete this unit. We had an opportunity to share today in a community circle how sometimes families celebrate together when great things happen in the family and how sometimes when things don't go so great everyone in the family feels the consequences of that. A few of the kids in the class had a rough day listening and following directions all morning and it spilled over into recess and our special for the day so we had to cancel book buddies :(.  We had a community circle instead where we discussed how our actions not only affect us but others like those in our school family.  It was a good learning experience for all of us and I am confident that tomorrow will be a better day. :)
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Popcorn Words

I introduced the first set of popcorn words (sight words) to the children today. I would suggest that you make flash cards and acknowledge these words when you read them and write them with your child. They are as follows: I, it, at, go, we, to, is, the, and, me. The children have already noticed that I have used these words numerous times on morning message, the agenda, and many of the writings done so far this year. Popcorn (sight) words are high frequency words that your child should just recognize and not have to sound out.
October calendars and Book-It are due on Monday. We discussed the Halloween party today and the children understand that I want them to wear their school clothes for the day under their costume so hopefully that will help you as they are getting ready for school Monday morning. The children enjoyed Honors Day today where we celebrated our good work for the first quarter. I gave each child something that they need to work on for the second quarter in regards to work and social skills as a goal.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Second quarter goals

Dear Parents,
Today we moved our bus further up the Learning Mountain since this is the first day of the second quarter. Where has the time gone?????????? I encourage you to get your child to school on time. They can enter the building at 7:20 and I have morning work for them every morning. Those who are late are behind from the get go. The students can not earn a perfect attendance award if they are tardy even if they haven't missed any days of school. This week we will be discussing and charting our new goals for the second quarter. I would like you to speak with your child this evening about what they think a good goal would be and you share your thoughts about what you think a good goal would be for them. My goals for them as a group  are to recognize all capital and lower case letters of the alphabet, make at least 10 of the consonant sounds correctly, write numbers to 20, and count one to one to 20. Hopefully knowing this will help led your discussion with your child.  I encourage you to share a goal that you have personally with your child too. I spent the weekend working on report cards and I am so anxious to sit with each of you next week to discuss them and your child's progress in kindergarten.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Active Listening

Thank you to all of you who helped your child with their active listening homework! I got the biggest kick out of reading them as it gives me great insight. Sounds as if getting up in the morning and bedtime is a challenge with the children listening. I remember those days very well so I can sympathize with you :). We have been working on a song with motions to help the children remember the five things for active listening. Ask your child if they can tell you the five things and have them show you the motions. Book- Its and the homework calendars are not due until the end of the month. If your child does bring back their Book- It, I tell them that they still need to read everyday. I am also looking to see what types of books you are reading and they look great but I encourage you to read those alphabet books and rhyming books too. I am going to a Kindergarten meeting on Friday so I will not be here but Miss Hurst will be. We will be eating in the classroom as the cafe is unavailable due to the Harvest Festival. We will not be doing ice cream on Friday in kindergarten. Your child can bring their lunch and drink or they can order a sack lunch and drink from the cafe in the morning.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Papers

I have explained numerous times to the children what the marks I make on their papers mean. I hope that they have been able to share that with you but in case they have not I'd like to clarify for you. Prior to giving a task to the children I give them verbal directions as well as a visual to follow.For many of the students I have them repeat the directions back to me so I can check for comprehension and understanding. If your child brings home a paper with a check plus on it that means that they correctly followed my directions and gave what I feel was there personal best. I work closely with each child, look at everything that they do, and observe them while they are working so I have first hand knowledge of their strenghts and weaknesses.  If there is a smiley face next to it that lets the child know that it put a big smile on my face to see their good work. If there is a check only that means that the student followed my directions but did not give their best efforts.  If there is a check minus, which you will rarely ever see, that means that they completely missed the directions or concept being checked. I will have the child redo anything that would earns a check minus because I want to be sure that they understand what was being  taught. Please contact me if you have any questions about these symbols and their meaning.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Wonderful Wednesday

Dear Parents,
We had a wonderful Wednesday. We started off with Rosary and Mass and then Father Chris met us after church so we could surprise him with the money we earned doing chores. He was thrilled when we told him we earned enough for five hymnals! The children were adorable as they shared with him what they did to earn their money. He taught us a simple way that we could pray everyday and I have added it to the daily routine of how we end our school day together. We always sing the school fight song and now we are going to sing this prayer and share what we are thankful for. The prayer is sung to One Little Indian. 1 little, 2 little, 3 little thank yous, 4 little, 5 little, 6 little thank yous, 7 little, 8 little, 9 little thank yous, 10 little thank yous Lord. I think this is a great way to end the day together. The fall discovery center is overflowing so Friday will be the last day for the children to bring items in to share. I want to reiterate how much I am enjoying your children. They are really a very special group of kiddos! Wow! I had 100% of the students return their September homework calendars. Working together we will help your child learn and grow everyday.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Fall/Autumn Discovery Center

As we are finishing up our unit of learning about apples we are moving onto leaves next week. I am asking that you help your child bring in an item that they discovered outside to bring in for our discovery center. This discovery center will be very hands on so do not send in anything that you would want returned. Some suggestions are leaves, twigs, acorns, Indiana corn, gourds, mini pumpkins, etc. Please talk with your child about what they are bringing in and why it is appropriate for a Fall/Autumn discovery center. Send it in a zip-lock bag with your child's name on it and they will get the opportunity to tell us all about their item before they put it in the discovery center. Tomorrow is the last day to send in change for hymnals.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Busy Day of Learning

Whew, what a busy day in room 23! We started our day celebrating Mass with Father Paul. We spoke with him after Mass and made plans to met him next Wednesday after Mass to give him the money for the hymnals. He is very curious why we need to see him. The children are so excited. Then our preschool friends joined us to listen to and watch the children act out the story 10 Red Apples by Pat Hutchins. After lunch we had book buddies and then planted apples trees and made an apple tree treat. Just a friendly reminder to please send in a note or call the office prior to end of the day if your child's dismissal routine is different than their normal routine. Unfortunately,  our email has had some issues lately so these other ways of communication are much more affective. :0 I will be accepting change until Friday of this week for the hymnals for our parish family.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Busy day of learning

Faith filled service

Your children are wonderful. As of today they have earned and shared over $65.00. I will be collecting funds until this Friday and we will present Father Paul and Father Chris with the money collected next week. If we bring in $15.00 more dollars we will be able to purchase 4 hymnals! I wish each of you could hear and see the children's faces as they tell us how they earned their money and how good it makes them feel to share it with their parish family. I really appreciate you giving your child the opportunity to earn some change. I would like to thank the anonymous donor of the digital camera. :)
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Cooking

Today we made applesauce in room 23. It was such fun and a great learning activity. We learned many vocabulary words such as blender, corer, utensils, ingredients, etc and  did math with measurement in cups, teaspoons, and tablespoons. The children begged for me to let you know how we made it so you can try it at home. I would suggest you ask your child if they could tell you how we made it in class but here are the ingredients and steps in case they forget.
Ingredients: apples (this is why we brought in apples)
                   sugar
                   cinnamon
                   water

Steps: Peel off apple skin
          cut apples in small pieces and place in bowl
          add sugar and cinnamon to taste
          put mixture into a blender and blend
          add water to your desired consistency.

Enjoy!!!
FYI- Teachers must order their individual classroom scholastic book orders. If you have more than one student in different classrooms, please send that child's order  with their payment to their teacher.
We will be cooking again next week too. The children are so excited!
Mrs. Catton
 
        

Faith Filled Friday

On Friday as our service to others we snuck into Miss Hill's room while they were at recess and cleaned their chairs and tables. We thought we were being so sneaky until Mrs. Parsons caught us in the act. She loved that we were using our kind actions to help out others. I would like to do something a little different for our next service to others.  I would like the children to little things around the house to earn some change to help our parish community buy new hymnals. Each hymnal is $20.00 and my goal is to have the children earn that so we can present it to Father Paul and Father Chris to use to buy one hymnal and who knows maybe more. I want the children to make the connection of "service" so allow them to do something to help you out and give them some change with the knowlege that they will bring it into school and when we earn enough as a class we will give it to the parish. There will be an insert at the front that will say "Purchased by Mrs. Catton's Kindergarten Class". Won't they be proud that they could do that for their parish family. Please do not just give them money because I will be asking them what they did to "earn" their money. I will start collecting funds on Wednesday as I am going to be explaining this to the children tomorrow. Thank you to all who donated items for our learning centers. I really appreciate it very much! Also, please help your child choose an apple to bring in by Wednesday. It will need to be in a baggie with their name on it. I am looking for a donation of a digital camera if you have an extra laying around that is not of use to you any more. Mine has disappeared to Xavier University with my daughter :) and everyday your children are doing wonderful things that I would love to document in pictures.
I feel so blessed to be with your children during the week. They are wonderful.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Centers for learning

Dear Parents,
I would like to have cooking and science learning centers for the students a few times a month. I am asking that each student bring in their favorite type of apple in a baggie with their name on it by Wednesday of next week. They can start bringing them in tomorrow if you would like. We will be doing a language activity where I will be asking the children why they chose the apple that they did to bring into school. We are working very hard at using complete sentences which is a language standard for kindergarten. We will do some graphing, taste testing, and cooking over the next two weeks with their apples in our learning centers. There are a few items that I need for my learning centers. They are as follows: box of graham crackers, tub of white icing, small bottle of green food coloring,  bag of mini m&ms, small bag of planting soil, dixie cups, bag of plastic works, bag of plastic spoons. Please contact me at my school email or send in a note if you can provide any of the requested items as I need them no later than next Tuesday. I greatly appreciate it! We are just having such fun learning and growing everyday. I am very impressed by this group! Be sure to practice those self help skills (zipping, buttoning, tying shoes), colors, shapes, address, birthday, and phone number. Progress reports will be coming home in Friday folders. Contact me if you have any questions regarding your child's progress report.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Colors and shapes

Dear Parents,
    We have been very busy in class learning vocabulary words in our reading stations. Your child will be assessed on their knowledge of the 8 basic colors : red, yellow,blue, green, purple, black, brown, orange and the 6 basic shapes: circle, square, rectangle, triangle, rhombus (diamond), and oval for the fall report card. Also for the fall report card I will be checking for knowledge of their address, birthday, and phone number as well as their ability to zip, button, and tie their shoes.I wanted you to have this information so you can work with your child by reinforcing these skills at home.  Friday we will have a prayer service as a school community in reverence of the memory of 9/11. Your child is allowed to wear a red, white, and blue shirt as well as blue jeans that school day. This is a solemn occasion. A few reminders: Please send in a snack for your child daily, if you are purchasing a lunch/milk ticket for your child please put it in an envelope with your child's name and what you want to purchase. :) We are into the routine of school and I encourage those of you who are still walking your child into school in the morning to make it a goal to have them come in on their own starting Monday. We have been having problems with our server so homework watcher has been affected. I apologize for any problems you are experiencing.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Goals

Goals for the month of September are: self help skills: zipping, buttoning, and tying shoes
                                                        Safety knowledge skills: address, birthday, phone number and being able to recognize their name in print.   You should work on these at home with your children daily.
Thank you to those of you how sent me a note about how your child is feeling about kindergarten. I got the biggest kick out of them. The kids were great at picture day! We read a story about picture day when we got back from our turn to have our pictures taken. Ask your child what the Amy did at the end of the story to change the class picture. :)
Respectfully,
Mrs..Catton

Friday Folders

Tomorrow your children will be bringing home their towels and Friday folders. Towels are to be washed and returned on Monday. I encourage you to sit down and go through your child's Friday folder with them as there is a special note from the teacher.  We will begin going to Mass next Wednesday as we just practiced the routine of entering and leaving Mass and  proper Church behavior. Monday is picture day and your child does not have to wear their uniform for pictures. It is just a waist up shot so I encourage you to have your child wear tennis shoes as we will be going outside to play. Order forms were in the Kindergarten orientation packets you received at the meeting on the 17th and the children will need to bring it in on Monday. Everyone will have their picture taken even if you are not interested in purchasing.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Wednesday is hump day

I heard from a few parents this morning that their children were sluggish and cranky about coming to school. It is very common and believe me it will diminish as they feel more comfortable with the routine of school. We had a great day. We started out with a school assembly where we meet our student ambassadors, Mackenzie (spelling ?) Plunkitt and Natalie Donlan. I know both of these girls and I am thrilled to have them come and work with us in Kindergarten. After we took care of morning learning we got to play in the room during free exploration. It gave me a great opportunity to learn what your child's interests are just by watching what they chose to do with their free time. Then it was time for Animal Island, lunch, recess, restroom, Math workshop, story time, Art, church to learn about Mass behaviors and routines, recess, brain break and snack. Not to mention reflection of the day and ending with singing the school song. Whew, can you see why these little five and six year old children are tired? My suggestion is get to bed early and stick to your morning routine of quickly dropping them off with a kiss and a hug because believe me they are just fine! Thank you to those who have joined me as a follower of this blog.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

First Day

WOW! I have had 15 first days of school over my career  and this has got to be one of the best ever. I found your children to be kind, thoughtful, and fun to be around. I know they will be very tired tonight so I encourage you to get them to bed early. Don't be surprised if in the morning you hear "I don't want to go to school" as it was a long day but after a week or two they are in the routine. When I finish this blog I am heading home to take a nap so I know they are tired.  Remember tomorrow is a gym day so they will need to wear their gym uniform. If they don't have a gym uniform yet they can wear a pair of shorts and a tee shirt. Please relay to your children that I thought they had a great first day of kindergarten and I can't wait to see them again tomorrow.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton
:)

Mrs. Catton is getting ready for kindergarten

Dear Parents,
The first story I will be reading to your child on Monday is Miss Bindergarten Gets Ready for Kindergarten. Well, I would like you to tell your child that Mrs. Catton is busy getting ready for kindergarten too! I can't wait to put faces with the names that I have been writing all week. I will be in the classroom tomorrow if you would like to stop by for a little visit with your child if you feel that would help alleviate any anxiety that they may be feeling. Please join me as a follow so I know who is looking at my blog. For you parents that have had a child in kindergarten before this blog will be taking place of the weekly newsletters that would go home on Fridays from me. :)
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Friday folders

Dear Parents.
Friday folders came home on Thursday with some important information that you will need to review. Early Prevention of School Failure post screening results came home as well as some homework and end of the year conference request forms.  Conferences for kindergarten are on May 31st. We are taking a field trip on Friday May 20 to the Survive Alive House to learn about fire and home safety so the children will need to bring a lunch and drink on Friday. There will be no ice cream on this day. Please put on  your calendar that the last day for kindergarten is the 27th. We will be planning a small celebration  in the afternoon. More information concerning time will be coming this week.  I can't believe that we are already at this time of the school year. :)
Mrs. Catton

Field trip tomorrow

Dear Parents,
Remember to send in a sack lunch and a drink for tomorrow and a  medium sized stuffed animal. There has been a question about when we will be back. We will be back from the field trip by 11:00. Plenty of time before the dress rehersal in the afternoon.
Mrs. Catton

Easter

Dear Parents,
Your child has their Holy Week Book to complete at home. It does not need to be returned to school.  They created it as a gift for you. I would encourage you to keep it though and go through it with your child. This past week has been so enjoyable teaching you children about this most important time in our church. We started the week out by  having a community circle about what the children thought Easter was about. Well of course I heard " The Easter Bunny, candy, hunting for eggs, going to grandmas, etc." All wonderful descriptions of Easter fun. We read the book What is Easter?, watched a movie about Holy week, read stories about Holy Week everyday, went to Mass  on Wed. where Father talked about Holy Week, did Lenten symbols over the last six weeks, and watched  plays put on by our second graders and eighth graders about the Last Supper and Good Friday. Today as our writing the children answered the question again with drawings and I was blown away by their pictures of Jesus dying on the cross. They will be coming home in next week's Friday folders. Rice bowls can be brought back next Tuesday. Thank you for the folders. Huge thank you to Mrs. Land and Mrs. Moyars for helping out today during our writing activity. Thank you Mrs. Mudukuti for helping out last week.  An EXTRA BIG THANKYOU to Mrs. Smith for helping out at literacy centers every Wednesday this year.
Happy Easter,
Mrs. Catton

The "BUG"

Well it has happened as it always does this time of year. The spring fever bug has bitten this class hard! I would greatly appreciate your reminding your child to follow the classroom procedures that we go over everyday at morning meeting. Ask them to tell you again what they are and ask them if they are following them.  There are only five weeks of school left but there is still a lot that we need to accomplish before moving on.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton
:)

Reminders

Girls should be wearing their plaid jumpers on Wednesdays for Mass now. The expectation is that homework is to be completed and returned in a timely manner. This homework sent home is part of our kindergarten curriculum. Please read this week's  Friday folder. There is some important information. I have only received two folders. I am asking each child to bring in a three prong folder so I can make a writing folder for your child to take home this summer.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

HELP

Dear Parents,
I am asking each child to bring in a three prong file folder for a writing folder that I would like to make for each child to take home at the end of the year. The ones from the supply list are  being used for something else. Feel free to send in two if you are feeling generous.
Thank you,
Mrs. Catton

Special Person's Day

We had a great morning with our guests. After visiting the book fair and getting our pictures taken we met back in the classroom where the children took their guest on a tour of their room and told them all about what they did in school. It was great watching and listening to the children as they talked about what they did during the day and share the items in their work boxes. Today we finished our study of Family and we are moving onto Community.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Popcorn Words

I, the, at, me, and, we , to , go, it ,is are the words that are on our "Popcorn" word wall. The children are reading books where they are reading these words and writing daily using them. We celebrated that we could all read the words  by counting and eating popcorn. WE LOVE POPCORN WORDS!  The children are very excited about Special Person's Day tomorrow.
God Bless,
Mrs. Catton

Easter Egg Hunt

Ms. Lapadat wanted me to relay a huge thank you to those of you who were able to attend the Easter Egg Hunt this past Saturday. It was a huge success and the children were eager to share stories with me today. It gave us a great opportunity to use our oral language!
Mrs. Catton

Conference

Dear Parents,
On Thursday and Friday I attended the Indiana Association of Education of Young Children conference. I love attending these workshops learning new ideas from experts around the country about teaching reading and writing to kindergarten students. I can't wait to get back into the classroom and apply some of the new ideas I learned.I would like to thank Mrs. Schene, Mrs. Fox, and Mrs. Frick for holding the fort down while I was gone and Mrs. Parsons for supporting her staff in professional development.
Mrs. Catton

Empathy Family Challenge

The homework came home today in the children's backpack. I apologize that they were not sent home in Friday folders as I stated in yesterday's blog. They are due by tomorrow AM in order to receive a treat from our student ambassadors. Also, an invitation to an Easter Egg Hunt was in your child's backpack. Information concerning Special Person's Day next Thursday is coming home via homework watcher tomorrow so be sure to check it out.
We are off to a great start after spring break. I am very excited about the learning that is taking place.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Empathy

Dear Parents,
The empathy challenge homework is due on Wednesday, April 6. It was sent home in your child's Friday folder before spring break. I am not sending towels home because we are not taking brain break on a daily basis. Please review the following words with your children as we are working on them at school and they are sight words.  I, at, the, is, to, it, go, me, and, we, in, my, a, up, be, on, am, like, this, had.
So glad to be back from spring break. We have a lot of learning  to do before the end of the school year so working together we can help your child be prepared. We have a new student named Ignacio in the classroom. Welcome!
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Footprint

Dear Parents,
We need to add to our footprints in the hall. Please trace your child's footprint again, have them color it purple, and cut it out. They are to write or dictate to you something they are working on or giving up and write it on the back.
Respectfully,

Mrs. Catton

That naughty little lepechaun

This afternoon after lunch  we came into our classroom and it and been ran shackled by a naughty little leprechaun! He stole our pots o' gold that we made in the morning and left us a note with directions on how to find them. Good thing we could read so we could follow the directions that lead us around the school campus and back to the office where he had left our pots o' gold with a treat and a shamrock. The candy is good to eat and the shamrock reminds us to pray.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Kindergarten Writing

Dear Parents,
    Yesterday we were working on the letter Qq in literacy centers. We will be doing a lot more writing in the fourth quarter so I wanted to do a preassessment to see where the children were in regards to their writing. I gave each child a piece of paper and asked them to write me a question. I model write for the children and they write everyday so I was anxious to see how they would do. I was blown away by how well they did!  I hope that you are seeing your children write at home and I encourage you to encourage them to write. Today we are making another chart about the things we would like to write about in the fourth quarter. We are very hit and miss about brainbreak so I will not send them home until the last day before spring break They will NOT need to be returned after spring break.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Pedometers

Dear Parents,

Today at church the children received ashes on their foreheads. They also have a pedometer in their backpack to use at home. Please feel free to send me how many steps they walked daily or weekly at home.  I will keep track here of how many steps we take during the school day with the classroom pedometer. We are "walking" to Honduras with Father Chris.

Mrs. Catton

Pep Rally

We had a pep rally at the end of the day to wrap up Spirit Week. I was so pleased with the participation from the children each day. Thank you for helping your child with their clothing.  Each child got a treat for their participation all week. Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Mrs. Parson asked each child to trace their foot, cut it out, color it purple, and write down what they are giving up for Lent. We will post these outside the room. Please help your child with this assignment from Mrs. Parsons.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Conferences

We are busy assessing skills for report cards this week. Please review with your child their address including city and state, phone number, and birthdays. It is not uncommon for them to know it earlier in the year then forget it if you do not review. If you would like to have a conference please contact me this week. Spring conferences are by parent or teacher request.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Plaid day

The kids looked great in their plaid clothing today. We had a special treat today when one of our second grade classes came down and read three different plays to us. They did a terrific job and I was very proud of them. All of the kids in this classroom were at Holy Spirit when they were in kindergarten and it was so exciting to see how much they have learned and grown. I told the kindergarteners that those kids did the same literacy centers when they were in kindergarten and how important the work they are doing now is going to benefit them as they develop their reading.
Have a nice evening.
Mrs. Catton :)

Happy Birthday

Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday and we celebrated with our book buddies. We made our Cat in the Hat hats earlier in the week where the children had to come up with words that rhyme with the word "AT".  We read some his most famous books together and then watched the Cat in the Hat movie. We had a great time and ate cookies as a treat. The kids looked great today in their Sunday Best and I was so proud of how well they behaved at church this week.
Mrs. Catton

Volunteers

Let me know if you would like to help out at centers. Helping out at centers is a great opportunity for you to get a first hand experience of what your child is doing in school as well as what I expect them to be doing. It is also a lot of fun and the children love when their parent comes into the classroom. scatton@holyspirit-indy.org

Thanks,
Mrs. Catton

field trip reminders

Please send in a sack lunch and drink Friday for lunch. There will be no ice cream for kindergarten on Friday.We will be having out valentine's day party Monday, Feb 14th in the morning.  There are 22 students in the classroom. If you would like to have your child hand out valentines please only have them sign them. DO NOT PUT NAMES ON THE FRONT. It takes just to long to distribute.
Thank you,
Mrs. Catton

Friday field trip reminders

Friday's field trip reminders

Finally Back and trying again

Dear Parents,
My blog was not functioning as planned so we are trying again. I hope that all of you follow me and check us regularly as I will be moving away from using homework watcher to posting blogs. I am so excited about where we are in kindergarten and where we are going in regards to literacy.