Guest Reader and Harmony

We had a guest reader this week in kindergarten- Miss Emily Shea. Emily read us the book The Big Box. She did a great job. Emily asked me if she could read to the class one day. I told her that I wanted her to choose a book from home ( appropriate reading  level), practice with someone at home, and then bring it into school.  She read the book to me and I was able to give her some reading instruction. Once we did that she read to the class with confidence.I was able to video her on our IPAD and shared it with the other kindergarten class.  Many of the children asked me if they could be the "Guest Reader" in kindergarten. So here is the challenge. If your child would like to bring a book into and read to the class they will need to do the above mentioned steps and I will schedule them to be the "Guest Reader." The greatest thing you can do for your child on their journey to literacy is to read to them daily. This week we focused on the word "harmony" during our study of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Please ask your child what the word harmony means and what they can do to help our classroom live in harmony.
Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

Riley Kids

Dear Parents,
Today as part of our Martin Luther King prayer service we were given the opportunity to do service for the kids at Riley Children's Hospital. We had a wonderful presentation about Riley and as a school we are trying to earn $100.00 to donate to Riley. I am asking that you give your child the opportunity to help you out around the house to earn some change. Chores for Change is what we call it and the kids love to help you and help others at the same time. The children can start bringing their change in tomorrow. Thank you for helping your child with this activity about service to others.

Here is another copy of the sight words introduced so far. Please practice them at home along with reading to your child daily (Book-It) and the homework calendar.
and, the , I, go, is, me, at , the, to, it, we, my, am, a, be, on, in, up, this, like, had

Respectfully,
Mrs. Catton

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