December News

December 4, 2017

Dear PreK Parents,

Thank you for being flexible for the WRS Thanksgiving Feast. We know that it is difficult to change your schedule. The children had a very nice time at the feast and many of them were very good eaters!

Currently, we are doing a unit on physical science. We are learning about magnets, rocks, and force and motion. The students have been very engaged in these hands-on science activities. We have also read several nonfiction books. To encourage your child to learn more about these topics, your child can play with magnets at home and explore magnetic and non-magnetic items. Many children also collect rocks. Your child go on a rock hunt, and or sort and count rocks from a rock collection.  In learning about force and motion, the students will build towns and ramps with classroom materials.  

As part of the study we read Stone Soup, a well known folktale. On Friday, we will be doing a cooking activity to make our own stone soup to taste at snack. Please send your child in with one vegetable of your choice for the soup on Friday.

The cold weather is coming. We go out for recess unless it is raining or below 10 degrees. When we have snow, please send a full set of snow gear: boots, snowpants, jacket, a hat and mittens. You may also send in a pair of indoor shoes to keep in your child’s cubby. If your child’s snow gear does not fit in his/her backpack, you should send an extra bag for the items.

Next week, we will start some work around holidays. We will have a special holiday snack on December 21st. The students are invited to wear pajamas that day and we will have hot chocolate and decorate cookies to eat at snack time.  We will put out a sign-up sheet for items needed for the party.

As mentioned at PTC, TS Gold reports will be sent home by December 22nd. Please let us know if you have any questions about your child’s progress report when you receive it.

IMPORTANT DATES

12/8 Stone Soup- bring a vegetable

12/15 NO PREK Teacher In-Service

12/21 Class Holiday Party & PJ day

12/22-1/2  Winter Break

Thank you,

PreK Team

November News

November 13, 2017

Dear PreK Families,

Thank you to everyone who came in for PTC. It was great to meet with you all.

We have finished our study of fall and are now working on short unit on the five senses and being healthy. We have been reading many non-fiction texts and doing some hands-on activities. The students have enjoyed working at the science table, using mirrors, looking through color paddles, listening to different bells, making a texture collage, and listening to different things outside. We will also smell mystery items in closed containers, and do a taste test for sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. In the classroom, the children have had fun playing with the doctor kit, to check on our eyes, ears, and body to make sure that we are all healthy. However, they all really like to give shots.

We have continued to work on the alphabet using the Fundations and have covered letters A to J, learning the name, keyword and letter sound.  Next in math, we will be doing work around patterns.  First we will learn about AB patterns, and then move on to ABC patterns.

The Thanksgiving feast is coming up soon on November 21st. This is a memorable day for everyone at school. All of the students and teachers eat a full Thanksgiving dinner in the gym. Our class is responsible for the applesauce. Please send in a jar of applesauce to the classroom collection. Our schedule will also be different on that day so that all of the students can be present for the feast. The AM class will come to school from 10:15 to 1 pm.  The PM class will come from 11:45 to 2:30pm. Thank you for being flexible so that all students may enjoy this special day.

After the Thanksgiving Recess, we will be working on a physical science unit including magnets, rocks, and force and motion.

IMPORTANT DATES

11/13  Book Orders due

11/17  No School- EEE In-Service

11/21  Thanksgiving Feast

11/22-11/24  No School Thanksgiving Break

Thank you,

Mrs. Zayas and Mrs. Paronto

October News

October 17, 2017

Dear PreK Parents,

We have had a busy time at school so far this month. We did a study about farms, farm life and why farms are important to us. We read many books including: The Big Red Barn, Mrs, Wishy Washy, Ba Ba Black Sheep, From Cow to Milk, and Wake Up, Big Barn.  

Farm day was a great success. Here are some pictures from the events of the day. In the morning class, we visited the sheep and saw Mr. Fred shear the sheep. We saw the goats and got to pet and feed them. We were able to observe the bunnies in the cage. The morning class got to milk the cow and see the oxen.  We also got to try some homemade ice cream from Billings Farm.

           

       

In the afternoon, class, we very busy as well. We visited the Holly the horse and the alpacas. We saw the oxen work together and got the brush and pet them. The highlight of the afternoon was going on a tractor ride.

This week, we have started to learn about the fall season.  We will be doing some work with pumpkins as well. If you have any pumpkins at home that you would like to send in, we would love to have them. We cannot guarantee that you will get them back. We will take pumpkins of any size, shape or color. We will compare them, and we will cut one open to learn about the inside of a pumpkin and the pumpkin life cycle. Thank you for your help!

This month, Mrs. Hutchins, the school nurse will be conducting vision and hearing screenings on all students. If there are any discrepancies in the assessments, she will give you a report to bring to your doctor.

In the classroom, we have started to work on the alphabet using the Fundations Literacy Program. This is a multisensory program that all students in grades PreK to 3 use in our school. In math, we have started doing some work around collecting, sorting and classifying. These are activities that are very common for PreK students to do, as they are developmentally appropriate.  You can encourage this at home too. 

The students are paying attention to the calendar and know that Halloween is getting closer. We will celebrate Halloween with a special snack in the classroom. We will put out a sign-up sheet for donations next week. We try to have some healthy choices because the children will get lots of treats from trick or treating. Please do not send in candy with your child for snack. Please do not send your child to school in a costume.

Parent teacher Conferences also coming up at the beginning of November on the 2nd and 3rd. There will be NO PreK on those days so that we may have time to meet for conferences. Next week, there will also be a sign-up sheet for parents to choose a time to meet.

Important Dates:

10/20: Nos School PreK In-Service

10/26: Picture Retake Day

111/2 and 11/3: No School for PreK Parent Teacher Conferences

Thank you,

Mrs. Zayas & Mrs. Paronto

September News

September 25, 2017

Dear PreK Families,

We have finished our projects for All ABout Me, please look for your child’s book in his or her backpack. It will be a fun booklet to read together at home.  

We have started an integrated unit of study on apples. The students will do language, math, science, social studies, art, and cooking projects around the topic of apples. We will be reading fiction and nonfiction books about apples. Some of those titles are: Ten Apple up on Top, My Apple, Welcome Fall: Apples, Apple Grows, Ned’s New Home, and Ten Red Apples.

We have also been counting and sorting a lot. These are two activities that you can do with your child at home. They can sort coins, legoes, buttons, socks from the laundry, and other small items. We count every day in class. There are also many opportunities in the day for counting. One strategy to model is to count one item at a time by moving the items as your child counts aloud. If your child can already do this, encourage your child to count higher, or to count in sets.

The students have really enjoyed singing “Way Up High in the Apple Tree,” as a group at circle time. Singing songs is an important part of literacy development in young learners and is a foundation for reading readiness. “Singing helps to build vocabulary and develop sound discrimination. Both skills are crucial to the development of literacy. The size of a child’s vocabulary and his or her ability to discriminate sounds are strong predictors of how easily a child will learn to read when he or she is older. Oral language and phonological sensitivity (sound discrimination) are not the only skills that are developed when children are exposed to songs, chants, and rhyme.  They can also develop listening and thinking skills. Oral language (vocabulary), phonological awareness and comprehension (thinking skills) are the building blocks of literacy. With conscious effort, songs, chants and rhymes become a perfect springboard for developing all three of these critical skill areas” (http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_home.aspx?ArticleID=478).

As part of our study, we will be doing an apple taste test and making applesauce. We would use your help in this project. Please send in an apple with your child sometime this week. We hope to cook our sauce on Friday or early next week.

We also wanted to touch on birthdays. Many children will celebrate their birthdays on a school day. Parents are welcome to send in a special snack for your child to share with his/her classmates. Just please make sure that it is a nut free treat and check in with us before sending anything in for the class. Parents are also welcome to visit the class to read a special or favorite story/song with the group on the birthday.

Thank you,

Mrs. Zayas & Mrs. Paronto

WELCOME: 2017-18 School Year

Hello PreK Parents,

We have had a great start to the school year and are having a lot of fun in the classroom. All of our returning students remembered the school routines after the summer break. Our new students are adjusting well to our classroom learning environment and making new friends.  

As we mentioned at Open House, the PreK team has professional development days on the third Friday of each month. The first one is next week on 9/15.  The rest of the dates are as follows: 10/20, 11/17, 12/15, 1/19, 2/16, 3/16, and 5/18.

We have started the year with an All About Me Unit. We are having discussions at circle time, reading books in the classroom, and making special memory books.  As part of this project, we need some help from home. Please send in a baby picture of your child for the memory book. If you do not have a printed photo, feel free to send one to me by e-mail at: zayasa@hartfordschoosl.net.  We also have another project for you to do with your child at home.

Family Collage Homework Project

    

    Here is your first PreK homework assignment. Enclosed is a piece of heavy stock paper. Please write “_______’s Family” (ex. Sally’s Family) on the top. Then, you can cut out pictures of members of your family (or others that are close to your child) and arrange them as you like on the paper - using glue, two-sided tape, etc. to adhere them. Make sure to write each person’s name next to their picture so that we can tell who they are. You can also cut pictures out from magazines of things that are your child’s favorites.  We will laminate them and hang them up to view.

    

    Usually the preschool “homework” will not be so involved, but these collages become a very important part of our classroom environment and the preschoolers love to share their family collages with their friends at school.

    Please try to have these done as soon as you can so we can have everybody’s family “join us” in class every day.

Thank you,

Mrs. Zayas & Mrs. Paronto

March Newsletter

March 10, 2017

Dear Pre-K Families,

We have been working on a study about Fairy Tales and Folktales. We have read Goldilocks and The Three Bears, The Three Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Little Red Hen, and The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  When reading these stories, we have been working on discussing characters, setting, author’s message, retelling, sequencing, acting out stories and participating in dramatic play. We have also done several art projects and math games related to these topics.

Please send in a small box or some container, such as a yogurt cup, a tea box, a mini cereal box, and etc. for your child to build a leprechaun trap by the end of this week on Thursday. You man send the container in any time.

The following week, we will be doing a short unit on St. Patrick’s Day.

This week, we will be starting a program with Vermont Art from the Start. We will be working with an Art teacher from the program two times a week from now until the end of May.  You will find an information sheet attached to the newsletter. There is also a photo release form to sign for promotions that the VSAVT does around the state.

Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up soon on March 23rd and 24th. There will be a sign up sheet posted by the sign-in area. Please sign up for a time that works for your schedule.

We are also collecting bottle cap for our loose parts collection. Please rinse them off and send  them in, we will have a collection box by the sign-in table.

REMINDER: Please remember to pack a full set of spare clothes for your child. You may keep them in your child’s backpack or in your child’s cubby. If your child borrows clothes from our extra collection at school please wash them and return them so that we have extras available. Our supply has gotten very low again.

Upcoming dates to remember:

March 17th: NO SCHOOL Teacher In-Service

March 23rd & 24th: NO SCHOOL PTC

Thank you,

The Pre-K Team

February Newsletter

February 3, 2017

Dear PreK Families,

In the classroom we have been working on a study about winter and animals in winter. We have learned about snowflakes, and how animals survive in winter. Some animals stay active and some hibernate. We even saw many animal tracks on our playground. Searching for animal tracks is a fun activity to do outside with your child.

In language, we have begun writing the uppercase letters using the Fundation Phonics Program. In math, we have been working on estimation, surveys, counting, and number identification.

We have had a visit from Firefighter Dan, and Hartford Firefighter to teach the children about fire safety. They all enjoyed his visit very much. He will be back 3 more times to work with the children.

Recently, the school nurse, Mrs. Hutchins did vision screenings with the help of the Hartford Lion’s Club. If your child had any issues on his or her eye exam, you will receive a report from Mrs. Hutchins to give to your health care provider.

This month we will be having a Valentine’s Party at school. We will have some snacks and we will be making heart cookies in class. We will put out a sign-up sheet for party snacks next week. We will need things such as red colored fruit, cheese sticks, juice boxes, napkins and plates.  The children will also be exchanging Valentine’s Day cards. You should send in enough cards for all of your child’s classmates. There are 12 children in the morning class and 14 children in the afternoon class. PLEASE DO NOT SEND IN CANDY with the Valentine Cards.  You do not need to label the cards, just label who the card is from.

 

Next month, we will be offering Parent Teacher Conferences. We will send more information when we get closer to that time.

Upcoming dates to remember:

Feb. 14th: Valentine’s Day

Feb. 17th: No School, Pre-K In-Service

Feb. 20-24: School Vacation

Thank you,

PreK Team