December News

December 20, 2021

Dear PreK Families, 

We have finished the introduction to the uppercase letter using the Fundations Literacy Program.  When we return in January, we will be learning the proper formation of Uppercase letters. Many children in our class are practicing writing their names. It is fine to write in all capitals. Just remember, all letters start from the top. Watch your child when he/she writes and remind them to start at the top. 

This month we have completed a unit of the winter holidays and gingerbread.  It was a lot of fun to read and compare different versions of The Gingerbread Man. One day, we made a gingerbread man, but he ran away from the oven. 

We asked Mr. Stephen if he had seen the gingerbread man running around our school. When we return from the break, we will make our own class book about the gingerbread man. 

We really enjoyed playing in the snow when we had some on the ground. We will still have children wear full snow gear on cold days when we play out, even if there is not snow. It is more fun to play when we are warm enough. 

After the break, we will begin with a unit about winter and animals in winter. 

On Wednesday, December 22nd we will have pajama day. Your child does not have to wear pajamas if he or she doesn’t want to do so. If your child does want to wear pj’s please make sure that they are warm enough. And your child needs to still wear shoes. The teachers will provide the class with a special snack for our holiday party.

I hope that you have a fun and relaxing break. 

Amy

IMPORTANT DATES 

12/23/21-1/2/22 School break NO SCHOOL

1/13/22 & 1/14/22 NO SCHOOL Teacher In-Service

1/17 NO SCHOOL MLK Holiday

November News

 Monday, November 15, 2021

Dear PreK Families, 

Last week, Vermont Institute of Natural Science came to visit our classroom for the first time this year. The teacher did a Small Wonders Pre-K activity with our class and will come back to the school in January and April of 2022. Our first topic was ball and ramps. It was the perfect addition to our classroom study of simple machines, which focused on wedges, incline planes (we called these ramps), screws, wheels, and levers. We did lots of building with different types of blocks, and discussed balance and weight. We read many books: Just a Little Bit by Ann Tompert, Building a House by Byron Barton, Henry Builds a Cabin by DB Johnson, and Balancing Act by Ellen Stoll Walsh.

This week, we have started learning about the Thanksgiving Holiday. Next week, our school will have the Thanksgiving Feast. This is a favorite activity each year. This year, we will have to eat in our classrooms again, but we will still enjoy a delicious lunch. Usually, the whole school all eats in the gym and we have a family style meal. Hopefully, we will be able to return to that in the future. Each class makes a contribution to the meal. We ask PreK families to donate  a jar of applesauce if they are able to do so. 

In our classroom, we practice yoga each day as part of our gross motor movements. The students have learned many poses now and are able to do most poses. Recently, we used the YouTube channel Cosmic Kids Yoga during our rainy days last week. It is a great channel for indoor movement ideas. 

                                    Biking on the playground during the nice fall weather. 

Now that it is getting colder outside, it is time to think about winter gear. At PreK, we go outside for recess every day, unless it is raining or below 10 degrees fahrenheit. Your child should have a full set of winter gear for outdoor play, Including: hat, jacket, mittens, snow pants and boots. You may choose to leave a pair of sneakers or other indoor shoes at school for your child to store in his/her cubby. Please label your child’s gear, as many children have the same colors of mittens, boots, and etc. We have spare items for when children forget an item at home, but please try to check that your child has all of the necessary things each day- as we go outside for 2 recesses. 

Also, if you are interested, our school helps to make holiday baskets for people in need over the holidays. We are collecting canned fruit for the baskets. You may send in cans with your child if you’d like to participate. 

Thank you, 

Mrs. Zayas  

IMPORTANT DATES 

11/19 No PreK: ECP In-Service

11/24-11/26 No School: Thanksgiving Break 

12/17 No PreK: ECP In-Service

12/23-1/2 No School - Winter Break

October News

Monday, October 11, 2021

Hello PreK Families, 

Brittany Adams has joined our classroom as the PreK Assistant Teacher. She has worked in

early childhood for many years and is a great addition to our team. Welcome, Brittany! We

are so happy

that she has joined our team at WRS. 

We have covered several topics of study since last month, including apples and weather.

During each unit we read many books, do projects, have discussions, sing songs, and

participate in other learning activities to build connections on a topic. When we learned

about apples, we read Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins, Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss, and My Apple by Kaye Davies and Wendy Oldfield. We made a graph

comparing our favorite color apples, we played counting and sorting games about apples,

and we made applesauce and wrote a class book about it. 

When we studied the weather, we read Clouds and Rain both by Marion Dane Bauer. We used a weather chart and drew a picture about the daily weather. We

also did a cloud in a jar experiment and we made a small cloud in the classroom. As a class, we made

a chart about what type of clothing we wear in different seasons. We a recurrently working on fall. Next

we will learn about pumpkins and Halloween. If your child has a small pumpkin or gourd at home, he or

she may bring it into class next week. 

We have started reviewing/learning the uppercase letters using the Fundations Literacy Program. We

will review 3 letters per week and should finish the introduction of the uppercase letter by the holiday

break. Then we will learn how to write the uppercase letters. We do not go in alphabetical order, we

learn them in the order of how they are written. Some letters have straight lines, some have curves,

and some have a start and a jump to them.  

Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up in early November, on 11/1 and 11/2. There will be an early release day on Monday and no school on Tuesday. You will receive a sign-up to schedule a meeting time soon. PTC will be done on-line again this year. All of the early childhood PreK Programs in our district use a program called Teaching Strategies Gold to rate individual student development and progress.  In the meeting we will review initial TS Gold social-emotional progress reports (for 3 and 4 year olds) for your child as well as, initial math and letter assessments (for students who are 4 or older). 

In our class, we use direct instruction to teach students to make good choices about their behavior. Social development is an integral part of PreK and school and affects all areas of learning. One of my main goals for students are to be happy, confident learners who can solve problems and work collaboratively with others. Being able to make good choices when they are alone and interacting with others is a BIG part of that.  In our classroom we have started learning about green and red choices to support their social-emotional behavior. It teaches students the expected behaviors in all settings (school, home, community) and across the day. Clear, consistent expectations are paired with visual supports. And expectations are almost always stated positively. We also teach lessons from Second Step. This is a social emotional learning program that teaches concepts with puppets, story cards, songs, and role playing activities. Each week, we cover a new idea. 

IMPORTANT DATES

10/15 No PreK - ECP In-Service

11/1 Early Release - PTC

11/2 No School - PTC

11/11 No School - Veteran’s Day

11/19 No PreK - ECP In-Service

11/24-11/26 - No School - Thanksgiving Holiday

Thank you, 

Amy Zayas

September News

 Monday, September 13, 2021

Hello PreK Families, 

We have had an awesome start to the school year. We are working a lot on learning our routines. We take the beginning of the school year to focus on building our school community.  We are working a lot on sharing, taking turns, picking up after ourselves, taking care of our personal belongings, sitting at group time, and lining up as a class.  

We have started attending our specials classes and the students are really enjoying them each day. The schedule is as follows: Monday- Spanish, Tuesday - Music, Wednesday - Physical Education, Thursday - Library, and Friday - Art. The students are getting to know these new teachers as well and trying out new activities. 

This week, we have started a unit on apples. We will be reading books, having discussions, doing projects, playing games and drawing pictures about apples. Each month we usually cover two units of study that are related to the season or holidays in that month. Sometimes we also study topics because we have a high interest in a topic. 

Our school picture day is this Thursday, September 16th. You should have received the order form from Lifetouch. You can read the order form and pay by check or order the pictures online from their website. 

On Friday, September 17th, we will have our first PreK In-Service. There will be no PreK that day. The HSD PreK teams have In-Service days on the third Friday of the month during the school year. The dates this year are as follows: 9/17/21, 10/15/21, 11/19/21, 12/17/21, 1/21/22, 3/18/22, and 5/20/22. 

Also, if you have not yet filled out your forms for the front office and the health office please do so as soon as you can and send them into school.

Thank you, 

Mrs. Zayas

May News

 May 13, 2021

Dear PreK Families, 

You have gotten notices from the school district that students are going to be doing some at home work to make up for missed school time because of COVID this year. Mrs. Hutchins, the school nurse and I have been working together to plan some activities for you to do with your child at home. The first packet of home learning activities will go home with your child on Friday. When your child finishes his or her work you can send it back to school or take a picture and email it to me. Mrs Hutchins and I will also be available through google meet for office hours if your child needs help completing work or wants to check in with one of us.  You will receive the links by email. 

After the school vacation, we spent some time learning about communities. The class learned about maps and we did projects about maps. We discussed Earth Day and created 3-D towns using blocks, play people, roads, train tracks, and wooden buildings. Students also discussed jobs in the community and thought about what they wanted to be when they became adults. We read many interesting books including: Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney, My Map by Ssara Fanelli, This Is Our House by Michael Rosen,  I Stink by Jim MacMullen and Kate MacMullen, Guess Who? by Margaret Miller, and Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann.  

Last week, we completed a short study about birds. We talked about what we already knew about birds and generated questions that we wanted to know. The class examined some real bird nests and Weston brought one in to share! All of the nests looked different. We completed some art projects such as: painting with feathers and building clay nests. The students also made bird life cycle spinners. We read many books about birds, including: Robins by Melvin and Linda Berger, My Nest is the Best by P.D. Eastman, A Robin Grows Up by Melvin and Linda Berger, Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman. 

Currently, we are learning about the butterfly life cycle. We have some caterpillars that we are observing. Soon they will change into Painted Lady Butterflies and we can release them. 

The 4s have also finished learning about the formation of upper case letters and will be focusing on writing their names independently. 

Next week, I will be sending out a google survey about the WRS PreK Program, please fill it out and submit it at your convenience. 

Students who are moving up to kindergarten will visit the kindergarten classrooms some time before the end of the year to see the space and meet the teachers. Also, the last week of school you will receive your child’s TS Gold report. 

Thank you, 

Mrs. Zayas and Miss Taylor 

IMPORTANT DATES

5/14 First Home Learning Packet sent home

5/18 Mrs. Hutchins Office Hours (by email)

5/19 Picture retake day

5/20 Second Home Learning Packet sent home

5/20 Mrs. Zayas Office Hours (google meet)

5/21 No PreK (ECP Teacher In-Service)

5/25 Mrs. Hutchins Office Hours (by email) 

5/27 Mrs. Zayas Office Hours (google meet) 

5/28 Third Home Learning Packet sent home

5/31 NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day

6/1 Mrs. Hutchins Office Hours (by email) 

6/3 Mrs. Zayas Office Hours (google meet) 

6/4 Home Learning Work Due

6/11 Last Day of School (early release) 

 April 5, 2021

Dear PreK Families, 

The class has really been enjoying playing on the playground without all of their snowgear. And they can get ready for recess much more quickly. 

In March we finished our unit on physical science. The class did work around magnets and magnetism, rocks, and force and motion. We read several books about magnets, such as 

Magnets Push, Magnets Pull by David Adler, Magnets: Pulling Together, Pushing Apart by Natalie Rosinsky, and What Makes a Magnet? by Franklin Branley. The students were very engaged in the work and still enjoy exploring with magnets in the classroom.  It was also fun for the group to learn about rocks. We read the following books: Stone Soup by Jay Muth, Everybody Needs a Rock by Byrd Baylor, and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig. We finished up the unit with projects on force and motion. The students enjoyed building towers and ramps. We read And Everyone Shouted, “Pull!” by Calire Llewellyn and Motion: Push, Pull, Fast and Slow by Darlene Still. 

 

We did several projects about St. Patrick's Day. We read several books including, St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons, The Luckiest Leprechaun by Justin Korman, and Jack and the Leprechaun by Ivan Roberston. We also had a visit to our classroom by a very naughty leprechaun who made a mess. 

And most recently, we have been learning about weather. 

This Wednesday is school picture day at WRS. Please fill out the form or register online with Lifetouch to purchase your child’s picture. We will be having our turn at 8:30 am on Wednesday, before we eat snack or go outside. 

After we return from the April vacation we will be starting a unit on communities. Enjoy the warmer weather! 

Thank you, 

 Mrs. Zayas and Miss Taylor 

IMPORTANT DATES

4/12/21- 4/16/21 NO SCHOOL - April vacation

5/21/21 - No PreK - ECE Program In-Service

5/31/21 - NO SCHOOL Memorial Day 

March News

 March 5, 2021

Dear PreK Families, 

If you have a child who will be enrolling in PreK again next year, please fill out the form that was sent home late last week and return it to school. Mrs. Cooney is collecting them in the office for re-registration. 

Valentine’s Day was a huge success in the classroom. The children were so excited to pass out cards and to receive cards. That week we did several Valentine themed activities and projects. We also read many Valentine's Day books such as: 

Since the February break we have been learning about dinosaurs. This is a very high interest area for our students. We did many projects, including making shape dinosaurs, making fossils and hatching dino eggs. We have read these fiction and nonfiction books on the topic: Little Big Flaps Dinosaurs by Charles Reasoner, Dinosaurs Galore by Giles Andreae, If the Dinosaurs Came Back by Bernard Most, Dinosaur Starts School by Pamela Edwards, Tiny T. Rex and the Impossible Hug by Jonathan Stutzman, and Really Big Dinosaurs and Other Giants by Monica Huhges. 

Next, we will be working on a unit about physical science including activities around magnets, force and motion and rocks. 

Later this month we will be having Parent Teacher Conferences again. We will discuss your child’s progress, plans for summer, and either Kindergarten or PreK for next fall. PTC will be in the afternoon of 3/18 and during the day on 3/19. You will receive an email to sign up on a google doc for a meeting time. 

Thank you, 

 Mrs. Zayas and Miss Taylor 

IMPORTANT DATES

3/18/21 EARLY DISMISSAL Parent/Teacher Conferences

3/19/21 NO SCHOOL Parent/Teacher Conferences

February News

 February 5, 2021

Dear PreK Families, 

You may have read the message from Mr. Kussius about Valentine’s Day. We will still celebrate Valentine’s Day with a card exchange at school. Please only send in cards with your child if you choose to make them. We have 10 students and 2 teachers. For PreK, we suggest just writing - from, (your child) - since many students cannot read each other’s names yet. Please do not send in treats or goodie  bags because we cannot pass them out this year. Cards should arrive at school by Tuesday, February 9th, so that we have time to quarantine them before passing them out on Friday the 12th. We will make collection bags at school during the week. 

We are just about finished up with our number writing books and will begin working on writing uppercase letters using Fundations at the end of this week. PreK 4’s will be learning to write the letters by the formation of the letter, such as straight line letters, curved letters and so on. We will be learning to write them out of alphabetical order. When learning to form the letters, we always start at the top and also practice the keyword and letter sound. This helps with phonics in later grades. 

For the past two weeks, we spent time learning about snow. The class did many art projects and had several science discussions about snow. We read many stories including: The Little Snowflake by Steve Metzger, Hello, Snow! by Hope Vestergaard, The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats, Snow by Marion Dane Bauer, Best in Snow by April Pulley Sayre, and All You Need for a Snowman by Alice Schertle.

The class has been working very hard to make green choices. We have collected so many beads and we will be doing a special activity this week to celebrate our hard work. We have also been reading many books about positive behaviors, such as Have You Filled a Bucket Today? By Carol McCloud, Try a Little Kindness by Henry Cole, and Learning to Share (Peppa Pig) by Meredith Rusu. When we discuss the book, the students are asked to notice green and read choices in the story. We have also been doing lessons from our Second Step program. In PreK, the focus of the program is teaching students to listen, pay attention, manage their behavior, and get along with others. 

Thank you also for dressing your children in the winter great at morning drop off! We are able to get outside more quickly for our first recess of the day. 

Thank you, 

Mrs. Zayas & Miss Taylor

IMPORTANT DATES

2/15/21-2/19/21 NO SCHOOL February Break 

3/2/21 NO SCHOOL Teacher In-Service

3/18/21 EARLY DISMISSAL Parent/Teacher Conferences

3/19/21 NO SCHOOL Parent/Teacher Conferences

 January 10, 2021

Dear PreK Families, 

We had a busy week back at school remembering our daily routines and getting back to work at school. This week, we have been discussing green and red choices at circle time. Green choices are positive desirable behaviors and red choices are negative undesirable behaviors. The students are very adept at identifying the different behaviors. This week, we will be reading the story How Full Is Your Bucket by Mary Reckmeyer and Tom Rath. We will be working on the life lesson that “every moment matters. Each of us has an invisible bucket. When our bucket is full, we feel great.” In our class we will working to recognize positive behavior and interactions. The class will be collecting beads when the teachers observe positive behaviors. When we fill our class container with beads, we will have a celebration, such as extra recess, or time to play with a special toy/activity. 

We still enjoy regular playground time unless it is below 10 degrees Fahrenheit. It is helpful when our students arrive wearing their snow pants and boots. It makes getting ready for our morning recess time easier. Please make sure that your child has all of their snow gear for each day. 

PreK 4’s will be working on number books, to practice identifying numbers 1-10 and writing numbers 1-10 in proper formation. Once the number books are completed we will begin practicing uppercase letter formation using Fundations with the PreK 4’s. 

We have also begun an author study of Jan Brett books, including The Mitten, about animals in winter. The children have loved reading the stories and working on projects to go along with the books. This week we will read more books, The Hat, The Snowy Nap, and Annie and the Wild Animals. Next week we will wrap up with activities about how animals survive in the winter. 

Thank you, 

Mrs. Zayas & Ms. Taylor

IMPORTANT DATES

1/14 & 1/15/21 NO SCHOOL: Teacher In-Service

1/18/21 NO SCHOOL: MLK Holiday

2/15/21-2/19/21 No School Winter Break