December 11, 2023, 

Dear PreK Families, 

It was a very special day to have the annual WRS School Feast on Tuesday, November 21 st. Thank you for all of the applesauce donations. 

Last week, we started working on projects related to gingerbread. We have already read several versions of the gingerbread man and we will be making a graph about which story is our favorite this week, including The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth, The Gingerbread Man by Karen Schmidt, The Gingerbread Mouse by Katy Braun, The Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett, Gingerbread Friends by jan Brett, The Gingerbread Girl by Lisa Campbell Ernst, and The Gingerbread Kid Goes to School by Joan Holub. We have played many gingerbread games and done gingerbread crafts. During the first week of December, we built a gingerbread house as a class and donated it to The Family Place for their annual fundraiser. This week, we cooked a gingerbread man in class and he ran away. We had to go and find him in the office. We will make a class book to tell us about our adventure. 

We are almost finished with our introduction to uppercase letter names, keywords, and sounds. Next, we will begin writing uppercase letters, and writing numbers 1-10. 

In our class we practice yoga each day after nap time. We have been learning poses with the Little Flower Yoga for Kids cards. Last week, we also visited the Cosmic Kids Yoga  website. There is also an app available to download. This is a great indoor activity for students to get some movement when the weather is bad. 

On December 21st, we will have a special snack and pajama day. Your child may wear their pajamas to school if they choose to do so. They can also wear regular clothes if they are more comfortable in that. Please make sure to dress in pajamas that will fit under snow gear, because we will still go outside for recess. 

You will receive your child’s TS Gold progress report before the holiday break.  

Thank you, 

Amy 

IMPORTANT DATES

12/15 - NO PREK - ECP In-Service

12/21 - Pajama Day 

12/22-1/1 - School Break 

 November 13, 2023

Dear PreK Families, 

It was so nice to see you all at the PTC earlier this month. In November, we did a science unit on balance, building and balls and ramps. In the classroom we built structures with different types of blocks. We used ramps and built ramps. We took pictures of what we made and drew pictures of our structures. This week, we will have a lesson from Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS), on the topic of Loose Parts. We will have 2 more visits later this year. 

In October we finished our work on fall leaves and learned about the pumpkin life cycle. We looked at real pumpkins and sorted them by their sizes. We also tapped a real pumpkin with pegs and hammers, then we cut it open and looked at the seeds. We even counted some of the seeds. We will make a class book about pumpkins. We read many books about pumpkins including Pumpkin, Pumpkin by Jeanne Titherington, The Littlest Pumpkin by R. A. Herman, and The Legend of Spookly the Square Pumpkin by Joe Troiano. We learned the song The Five Little Pumpkins and we made a mini book about it too. At the end of the month, we also read stories including: Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberly, There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Bat by Lucille Colandro, and Five Little Bats Flying in the Night by Steve Metzger.

At our school, we use the Bridges PreK Math Program. Bridges is the same math program that is used by the other grades in our school. In the first unit during September, students focused on sorting, counting, patterning, graphing, and comparing. In October, we continued with that same work, but also started graphing and measuring. Currently, we are in the middle of our November work around shapes to make designs, pictures, and larger shapes. Students will also count, sort, pattern, and graph shapes. 

It seems as though colder weather is here to stay. When we have snow, please send in your child with full snow gear: hat, mittens, jacket, snow pants, and boots. You may send in a pair of indoor shoes for your child to keep in their cubby in the classroom.  We will also begin our day with playground time after the Thanksgiving break on November 27th, so you may send your child dressed in full snow gear in the morning. This will probably be our routine until spring.  If there is a delay of school or cancellation, you will get a phone call from the district. Or, you can check WCAX.

Next week, we will be celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday with a school wide Feast. The whole school will all eat a Thanksgiving lunch on Tuesday, November 21st. Each child is welcome to eat the Feast lunch, but if your child would rather eat their home lunch, they can bring that with them as well. Each class is responsible for contributing to the Feast in some way. PreK brings in applesauce for the meal. Please send in a jar of applesauce with your child by Monday, November 20th. 

We will have one more book order before the holiday break. Please have orders in by November 29th.  Go to Scholasitic Book Clubs.

• With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS). 

• Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/K3677

• Shop Digital Flyers for Our Grade with Your Child: https://clubs.scholastic.com/prek

• Class Code: K3677

Thank you, 

Amy 

IMPORTANT DATES

11/15 - Visit from VINS (Vermont Institute of Natural Science) 

11/17 - NO PREK - ECP In-Service

11/21 - Thanksgiving Feast 

11/22-24 - Thanksgiving Break 

11/27 - Picture Retakes 

October News

 October 6, 2023

Dear PreK Families, 

Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up in early November, on 11/2 and 11/3. There will be an early release day on Thursday and no school on Friday. Please sign up for a time to meet and discuss your child’s progress during Parent Teacher Conference Time. 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). 

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 learn the letters 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.  

Recently, we completed a unit on the lifecycle of 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. Next, we are studying the season of fall. This will include pumpkins. If your child has a small pumpkin or gourd at home, he or she may bring it into class next week. 

You should have received information about school picture day. Please fill out the form and return the envelope to us at school, or complete your order on-line. We will have our pictures done early in the day on Monday the 16th. If your child is absent that day, there will be a picture retake day later in the fall. 

Thank you, 

Amy 

IMPORTANT DATES

10/9 NO SCHOOL - Indigenous Peoples’ Day 

10/10 NO SCHOOL - Teacher In-Service

10/16 - Picture Day

10/17 Early Release- pick up at 12:30

10/20 No PreK - ECP In-Service

September News

 September 11, 2023

Hello PreK Families, 

We are settling into our school routines and making new friends in PreK. All of the students have already made great strides and are happy at school. This week, we are starting our classroom jobs as well. Students love having a task to do in the classroom. Each week on Monday we change jobs. 

The students are really enjoying their specials classes each day. The schedule is as follows: Monday- Art/World Cultures, Tuesday - PE, Wednesday - Art/World Cultures, Thursday - PE, and Friday - Performing Arts & Library. The students are getting to know these new teachers and trying out new activities. On Mondays and Wednesdays we will have either Art class or World Cultures. We have one class for 2 weeks straight then switch to the other class. That way, the students will have 4 classes in a row of one subject before switching to the other one. 

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. In September, we will be making All ABout Me books and learning about the lifecycle of an apple.  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.

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 our main goals for students is 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 good choices to support their social-emotional behavior. We review 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. 

Our class also participates in Scholastic Book Clubs. Our first class order is due on October 11th. With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS). You can Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/K3677 or Shop Digital Flyers for Our Grade with Your Child: https://clubs.scholastic.com/prek.  Our class code is K3677.

Once a month on the third Tuesday of the month, the district elementary schools have an early release day. PreK students will be picked up at 12:30 on those days. They will still have lunch at school. Also, Once a month on the third Friday of the month, the Early Childhood Program has In-Service for the PreK teams. There will be no school on those days. Please check the school calendar for these dates sas well. 

PreK Will not be participating in the WRS Open House on Thursday 9/14. We will have some artwork in the hallway, but the classrooms will not be open if you are visiting with your older children. 

Our school picture day is Monday, October 16th. You should receive an order form from Lifetouch. You can read the order form and pay by check or order the pictures online from their website. 

Thank you, 

Ms. Zayas

IMPORTANT DATES

9/15 NO PreK  - ECP In Service

9/19 - Early Release Pick up at 12:30 

10/9 NO SCHOOL - Indigenous Peoples’ Day 

10/10 NO SCHOOL - Teacher In-Service

10/16 - Picture Day

10/20 No PreK - ECP In-Service

 May 8, 2023

Dear PreK Families, 

In March, we did a unit on communities. We discussed things that were important in a community too, such as homes, schools, roads, playgrounds and parks, rivers, police stations, hospitals, and stores. Then we made maps of our bedrooms, our school and we made a big map of our community. As a class we discussed jobs and how people do work in the community. Then students thought about what jobs they wanted to do when they get older. During this unit, we read many books including: My Map Book by Sara Fanelli, Me on the Map by Joan Sweeney,   Where Are You Going Manyoni? by Catherine Stock, Officer Buckle and Gloria by Peggy Rathmann, and Guess Who? by Margaret Miller. 

In April, we have been working a lot in science. We learned about magnets and magnetism. We did several experiments about what objects are magnetic and how magnets work together.  After that, the class did some learning about rocks and the rock cycle. We went on a rock hunt, we looked at rocks with a magnifying glass, we painted rocks and put them in the garden. Finally, we read Stone Soup by Jon J. Muth and made stone soup in class. We also read many books, including: Magnets: Pulling Together, Pushing Apart by Natalie Rosinsky, Learning About Rocks by Mari Schuh,  Rocks: Hard, Soft, Smooth and Rough by Natalie Rosinsky, and Sylvester and the Magic Pebble by William Steig.

Recently, we have studied the weather. We have done experiments on the water cycle, studied clouds and also done experiments with light. This past week, we learned how to make a cloud in a jar.  We are finishing up this work and next will be a unit about insects and plants. And at the end of the year we will make special class books. 

In math, we have finished work on a robot unit in which we learned about shapes, sorting, patterning, counting, solving story problems, and collecting data. The students played many math games, worked with partners, read stories, and had discussions about these topics. This month, we have just begun working on an insect unit to explore symmetry; sequence events; order numbers; compare sets; create different combinations of 4, 5, and 6; and practice addition doubles.

We are doing our last book order of the year. You can choose to have your books shipped to your home or delivered to me with our class order.  With a $25 order, you can pick a FREE $5 Book (use code: READS). 

Class Order Due Date: 05/12/23 Ms. ZAYAS Class Code: K3677

Shop Our Class Page: https://orders.scholastic.com/K3677

Shop Digital Flyers for Our Grade with Your Child: https://clubs.scholastic.com/prek 

Please share the Class Page link to extended family and friends. All orders also earn FREE Books for our class.  Thank you for your support!

 

Field Day will be the last week of school. We will send more information when we are closer to that event. The last day of PreK will be June 16th. This will be a full day of PreK. There will be no PreK on June 19th. 

Thank you, 

Amy 

IMPORTANT DATES

5/19 No PreK - ECP In Service

5/29 NO SCHOOL - Memorial Day  

6/16 LAST DAY for PreK  

 March 10, 2023

Dear PreK Families, 

Last month we had a great Valentine's Day Party. All of the students showed kindness in making cards for their classmates. Everyone was also very patient and used good manners to pass out cards during our card exchange. Thank you to everyone who sent in items for our party. The students enjoyed it very much. 

After the February break we did an author study on Dr. Seuss. We read The Cat in the Hat, Bartholomew and the Oobleck, Fox in Socks, The Many Colored Days, Green Eggs and Ham, and The Lorax.  We made many projects about our readings, we made oobleck and flubber, we did color yoga, and we even ate green eggs and ham. It was a fun week of work. 

This week, we had our last visit of the year from Miss Laurie, our VINS educator. At the visit we studied earthworms. We are learning about worms this week, and our class will be setting up a worm box in the spring. 

Next week, we will do a unit about St. Patrick’s Day.  PreK will not be participating in the Spring Concert slated for 3/17, since we do not have PreK that day. 

In Math, this month we have been using teddy bear counters to compare sets, write numbers, add numbers together, sort, pattern, and graph. Next week, we will have a Teddy Bear Celebration on Wednesday, 3/15. Your child may bring in a teddy bear for the day. We will do several math activities with our bears and sleep with them during rest time. They will come home at the end of the day. Please help your child choose a small or medium sized bear from home that can be used at school. Please let me know if your child needs a bear, because we have some at school. 

Students who will be returning to PreK next year should have gotten re-enrollment forms. Please fill them out and send them back to school to register for PreK next year. Students who are moving up to Kindergarten are already registered for K because they have attended PreK here at WRS. Those students will get some paperwork from the office for Kindergarten. Mrs. Cooney will reach out to anyone who is missing any forms. You will also be receiving a Kindergarten registration form to give to any friends or neighbors who  may have a child who will be entering Kindergarten here at this school. 

Spring Parent Teacher Conferences are coming up at the end of the month. You will receive a link to a sign up sheet to choose your appointment times. 

Thank you, 

Amy 

IMPORTANT DATES

3/17 No PreK - ECP In Service

3/30 Early Release - PTC

3/31 No School - PTC