December News

December 6, 2019

Thank you so much for being flexible with the schedule on November 26th. The class had a
wonderful time at the Thanksgiving Feast. Everyone ate a lot of food! 

This week, we worked on our theme about Gingerbread. We have read several gingerbread
stories, and the children have been working to retell the story with characters and they have
been playing gingerbread man on the playground too. Next week, we will cook our own
gingerbread man and make a class book. Our class made a gingerbread house for the
Gingerbread Festival sponsored by the Family Place at Tracey Hall in Norwich on Saturday,
December 7th.  The Family Place sponsors many programs for children in the Upper Valley.
We will continue to work on topics about gingerbread and holidays. 

There is also a Craft Fair at WRS on Saturday, December 7th sponsored by the WRS PTA.
Come out to visit and shop! We ear that Santa may be coming to visit too!

We will have our class party on Wednesday, December 18th. We will wear pajamas to school
and we will read the Polar Express in the classroom. We will also have special snacks. Please
send indoor shoes with your child too unless they do not keep a pair here at school.

You will also receive your child’s TS Gold report on December 18th. Please let us know if you
have any questions about your child’s progress. 

Thank you, 

Mrs. Zayas & Mrs. Paronto 

IMPORTANT DATES: 

12/18 PJ Day and Class party

12/18 TS Gold progress reports go home 

12/20 No PreK - EEE Teacher In-Service

1/6 School Resumes

November News

November 8, 2019

Dear PreK Families, 

It was so nice to see all of you for Parent Teacher Conferences this month. Thank you all so
much for coming in to meet with me!

In October, we had a fun time learning about pumpkins and doing activities about Halloween.
We also read about how pumpkins grow. The students enjoyed pumpkin tapping with pegs
and hammers. After we tapped many holes in the pumpkin we cut it open and scooped out
the seeds. The class also got very good at singing “Five Little Pumpkins Sitting on the Gate.”
The children enjoyed reading Go Away, Big Green Monster! By Ed Emberley and making our
own painted monsters. We just started learning about the Five Senses. 

This month we will also begin our fire safety visits from a HFD firefighter. We will have several
visits for the year to help the students learn about fire safety. 

We have begun reviewing the alphabet as a class. Our school uses the Fundations Phonics
program to teach the alphabet, letter formation, and spelling rules for students in PreK to
grade 3. In PreK students learn the letters, keywords, and sounds. In the second half of the
year, the students will learn how to write the uppercase letters. So far, we have learned letters
A to H. 

Later this month we will have the annual WRS Thanksgiving Feast. The whole school,
students and staff sit together in the gym for a Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday, November
26th. On that day, PreK will be from 10 to 1pm so that our class may join in with the lunch.
Thank you for being flexible with the schedule.

Each class sends in a  food item to help make the feast possible. Please send in jar of
applesauce with your preschooler prior to 11/26. 

Finally, snow has arrived. We go outside every day unless it is less than 10 degrees or raining.
Please send your child in with full snow gear: jacket, snow-pants, boots, a hat, and gloves or
mittens. Please feel free to keep an extra pair of indoor shoes for your child in his/her cubby.
It can also be helpful to have a large enough backpack to pack the gear in or you can pack it
in an extra bag. 

Thank you, 

Mrs. Zayas & Mrs. Paronto

IMPORTANT DATES

11/15 No School - PreK Teacher In-Service

11/26 Thanksgiving Feast (PreK from 10-1)

11/27-11/29 No School Thanksgiving Recess

12/20 No PreK - PreK Teacher In-Service

October News

October 14, 2019

Dear PreK Families, 

In the classroom, the students enjoyed learning about apples. We learned how apples grow. We did many learning activities on the topic, including apple art projects, counting and graphing apples, as well as making and tasting applesauce. We learned the song

Way Up High in the Apple Tree. Singing songs helps to develop early literacy skills. We also read Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins and Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss. 

This week, we are finishing up a study of farms. We did farm art projects, sang songs about farms, such as Baa, Baa, Black Sheep, Old MacDonald, BINGO, and the Farmer in the Dell. We made butter and tasted it on crackers. Together, we created a large picture of farm that had a barn, a farmer, farm animals, gardens, and a tractor. We read 

Mrs. Wishy-Washy’s Farm by Joy Cowley and Big Red Barn by Margaret Wise Brown. 

Next, we do a unit about the Fall season. Also, we have begun reviewing and learning the uppercase alphabet using the Fundations phonics program that is used in our school. We spend a few minutes practicing the letter name, keyword, and sound at circle time three day a week. 

Each week on Tuesday, we visit the gym for free play time. In the gym, the children have some free time to run and move about freely. We also play one game or do a challenge activity together. We have also had a lot of fun attending Library class for stories and book looking, and World Language- Spanish class. The students are learning many new songs in Spanish. 

The cold weather will be coming soon. We go outside to play every day unless it is below 10 degrees or raining. In cold and snowy weather, please send your child with snow gear, including: jacket, snow-pants, boots, hat, and mittens. You can keep a pair of indoor shoes here at school in your child’s cubby if it’s more convenient. If there is a delayed start of school or a school cancellation due to bad weather, there will be no PreK in the morning. The HSD central office will send out a call to the phone number that you listed as your contact. 

We have also included a Scholastic Book Order, check your child's cubby at school. If you would like to buy books from Scholastic, please fill out the form and send in a check to school by Monday, 10/21, or you can fill out the order on-line. Our class code is K3677, please enter that on scholastic.com and pay on-line. 

We will have a special snack on Halloween. We will post a sign up sheet the week of 10/21. We do not dress up in costumes for Halloween at WRS. Please enjoy that activity as a family. 

Parent Teacher Conferences will be held on 11/4 and 11/5. There will be no PreK on those days. Please look for the sign-up sheet for conference times when you drop your child off in the morning. 

The family collages are looking great in our hallway. If you do not have a printer to make the family collage, feel free to email photos to me and I will print them at school. Just forward the pictures to me at zayasa@hartfordschools.net. I will print them and put them in your child’s cubby. 

Thank you, 

Mrs. Zayas & Mrs. Paronto

IMPORTANT DATES

10/18 NO PREK - Teacher In-Service

10/31 Halloween Class Party

11/4 NO PREK - PTC day

11/5 NO SCHOOL - PTC day

11/8 PreK Picture day

11/11 NO SCHOOL - Veteran’s Day

11/15 NO PREK Teacher In-Service

11/26 WRS Thanksgiving Feast

September News 2019

September 13, 2019

Dear PreK Families, 

Hartford School District Prek programs have Teacher In-Service on the third Friday of the
month. The In-Service dates for the 2019-20 school year are as follows: 

9/20/19

10/18/19

11/15/19

12/20/19

1/17/20

5/15/20

Since there is PreK In-Service on September 20th, our class’ picture day for PreK will be
on November 8, 2019 which is the WRS school picture retake day. Please fill out the order
form from Lifetouch or order your pictures online. 

Our PreK class also participates in the PTO Boxtops program. There is a collection
container just inside our classroom door. Check your boxes of food at home for the Boxtop
logo. Just cut them out and bring them in to drop in our folder. Thank you!

We have finished our All About Me books, please check your child’s backpack for these.
The students made pictures about their favorite things, such as: colors, foods, toys, birthday
cakes, and pictures of their family. Next, we will be learning about apples, and how they grow.
Please send in an apple with your child to share with the group by Thursday, September 19th. 

We have started our fresh fruit program at snack time. We receive fresh fruit for snack three
days a week, on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Your child will be offered fresh fruit at
snack time each day. 

Last year, the Prek Class started practicing Yoga at circle time. We will continue this activity.
Yoga and mindfulness have been shown to produce positive changes in the brain in people. 
There have been changes in self-awareness, communication, and overall self-regulation after
beginning regular yoga practice. Implementing a yoga practice in the classroom will help
the students to pay more attention, regulate their emotions, get physical exercise and have
fun. I aim to incorporate ten minutes of yoga practice into circle time, for at least three times
a week.  Please check out the yoga cards on the bulletin board in the hallway. 

Thank you, 

Mrs. Zayas & Mrs. Paronto

IMPORTANT DATES

Friday, 9/20- NO PreK, EEE In-Service 

Start of School

September 6, 2019

Hello PreK Families,

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.  

If your child will be absent from school, please call the office to let us know, the number is
295-8650. Otherwise, the school secretary will give you a call to see why your child is not
at school. 

Thank you to everyone who attended the WRS Open House and Hot Dog Dinner! It was
great to see you. 

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. We will send
them home when they are completed. 

School picture day is coming up soon. We will send more information when it is available.
Order forms will be distributed. Please fill out the form and send in a check or purchase
your order online.  You may purchase individual pictures of your child. Everyone will
receive a class photo. 

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 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

May News

May 23rd, 2019

Dear PreK Families,

We had a wonderful visit with Miss Hannah from VINS earlier this month. We had perfect weather and all of the students were so engaged in the activities. Miss Hannah gave us a puppet show, we looked at photos of real insects, we sang an insect song, and we searched outside in the back garden for real insects. Thank you for being flexible with our schedule so that all students could participate in the special day.

The students have been so interested in learning about the lifecycle of the Painted Lady Butterfly. It took our caterpillars 25 days to change from eggs, to caterpillars, to cocoons, and finally butterflies. We will be releasing them back to nature this week. During the study, we read many books about butterflies, made several projects, kept a log on the lifecycle process, and did many observations.

This week, our class is hosting an Art Show on Thursday May 30th. The morning class will come from 8:15 to 8:45 and the afternoon class will come from 12:15 to 12:45. Please stop by to see the artwork, we have made some projects using, paint, clay, and collage.

During the last week of school, students who will be transitioning to K, will do a classroom visit to the K classrooms to meet teachers and see what the room looks like. All students moving into K will go on the visit even if they are going to another building next year.

On June 6th, the whole school has a Field Day with indoor and outdoor games. Each class/team wears a different color. The PreK classes wears stripes. We will participate in 2 to 3 special activities that day. Please apply sunscreen to your child before school, as we will be outside for longer than our usual recess time.

IMPORTANT EVENTS

Art Show, May 30th: am 8:15 to 8:45 and pm 12:15 to 12:45

Field Day, June 6th

Last Day of School, June 7th

Thank you.

Mrs. Zayas & Mrs. Paronto

April News

April 29, 2019

Dear PreK Families,

Right before the school vacation, we finished a science unit on magnets, rocks, and force and motion. The students
really enjoyed this hands on study. Each day, we did active projects. When learning about magnets, we tested
things around the room for magnetism, we compared how magnets are attracted to each other, and we tested
the strength of different magnets. When studying rocks, we did a rock hunt outside, shared special rocks from
home, painted rocks, and learned about how rocks are formed. For force and motion, we build towers, bridges,
and ramps with blocks. When making ramps, we rolled different objects down and up the ramps.  It was the most
fun to try out all of the ramps on the playground.

Currently, we are learning about our world and our community. We have talked about kids around the world,
neighborhoods, maps, community helpers, and jobs. Next, we will learn about the butterfly life cycle.

As we near the end of the school year, there are many special activities coming up. Next week, we are starting
off with a visit from the VINS Small Wonders Program.  Both classes will be at the visit and the class times will
overlap. It is great way for students who are going to Kindergarten together next year to meet each other. Our
lesson is from 11-12 on Thursday, May 9th. The AM class will attend from 9-12am, and the PM class will
attend from 11-2pm that day.  PM students can bring a lunch with them and we will give extra time to eat
at noon when the program is over.

Also, on Friday, May 24th there will be no PreK. The rest of the school, grades K to 5 will take a trip to the Boston
Aquarium for the whole day.

On May 31st, we will have a Special Person visit and Art Show. The am class will have visitors from 8:15 to 8:45
and the pm class will have visitors from 12:15 to 12:45. At the Art Show, the visitors will come to the class, see
the art work, and do an activity with their student.

IMPORTANT DATES

May 9th: VINS visit: AM 9-12 and PM 11-2

May 17th: No PreK , Teacher In-Service

May 24th: No PreK, K-5 Field Trip to the Boston Aquarium

May 31st: PreK Visit and Art Show

June 7th: Last Day of School

Thank you,

Mrs. Zayas and Mrs. Paronto

April 1, 2019

Dear PreK Families,

Thank you so much for coming in last month for PTC meetings. It is always so nice to meet with you all and discuss student progress.

We completed a lengthy unit on Fairy and Folk Tales.  We read the following stories: Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Little Pigs, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and The Little Red Hen.  We read classic versions of these stories and new versions as well. It was interesting to compare the different versions. The students played with may manipulatives, and dress up items to retell the well known stories. They also enjoyed making puppets to bring home.

We did several hands on projects related to the stories. We tried to grow magic green beans just like Jack did. Please let us know if your child planted his or her bean plant and let us know if it produces beans. Everyone enjoyed making mini pizzas, just like The Little Red Hen Who Made a Pizza. Lastly, we voted on our favorite stories if all of the books that we read.

Currently, we are doing a unit about science, and are learning about topics such as magnets, rocks, and force and motion. This Friday, your child may bring in a special rock from home to share with the class. Your child should be able to pick up his/her own rock independently.

After the school vacation, we will be learning about communities and community helpers.

We are sending home snowpants at this point. We are hoping that the we don’t have any more storms at this point. If it snows again, please send your child with snowpants again.

IMPORTANT DATES

April Vacation: 4/15-4/19

Thank you,

Mrs. Zayas and Mrs. Paronto