September Newsletter

Welcome to Kindergarten! The children are excited to be attending school and are looking forward to learning some interesting bear facts, as well as the rules and routines of school! I would like to point out that our Kindergarten classroom has a blog site. Here you will find a copy of our monthly newsletters, a calendar to keep you posted on school and classroom happenings, links to Kindergarten games that reinforce skills we are practising in class, and a place I can add quick updates and reminders. I encourage you to visit this site on occasion. Your child will enjoy sharing our classroom games with you!! The address for this blog is: http://mrslippaikinderblog.blogspot.com/.

Our topic for the month of September will be Bears. We will be learning bear chants and songs, listening to bear stories, completing bear crafts, going on bear hunts, and celebrating our first month of school with a Teddy Bear Picnic! Children will be invited later in the month to bring one of their teddy bears to school for the day to join in a variety of math and literacy activities. Weather permitting, the children and their teddy bears will play a variety of games and enjoy a teddy bear snack outside on our picnic day. If the weather is poor we will be spreading our blanket down on the classroom floor and enjoying a snack in our room. Look for a teddy bear picnic invitation to come home a bit later in the month.

Throughout the month of September the children will also be learning about school routines and rules. As well, they will practise printing their first name using a capital letter to start and small letters to follow. Children will also work toward recognizing and naming colours and letters in the alphabet. Our classroom will be using the Animated Alphabet Program which uses stories, songs, and motion to reinforce the letters and sounds studied. We will be learning about the letters Pp, Uu, and Oo this month, and how these letters make the words pup and pop. All curricular areas of study are incorporated into activities related to the topics covered.

Students will also learn about and put into practice Social Skills. These skills include: following directions, listening to others, and using a quiet voice. Our school Counsellor will be coming into our classroom to provide examples and help us practise these skills.

Our first unit in math this year is Exploring Patterns. Our focus will be on sorting objects, comparing sets, and identifying, describing, and reproducing patterns. Children will have a variety of experiences to work hands-on with objects to achieve curriculum outcomes. Two pages of information have been added to our classroom newsletter to help further explain our new math curriculum and suggest ideas to further enrich your child at home!


Reminders:

1). Early Dismissal does not fall on a Kindergarten day this month.

2). Please return library books each Day 1 so that your child may choose new books when visiting the library. The maximum number of books out at any one time is three.

3). Identify any important notes to your child that should be handed in to me, and remind him/her to set them at his/her spot on the table in the morning. I, too, will remind the children to pass along any important messages right away in the morning.

4). Please remember to inform your bus driver any time your child will not be riding the bus (either a.m. or p.m.)


I look forward to a great year together! Please feel free to call anytime you have questions, concerns, or comments. As well, I have included my email address if you would prefer to email me.

Enjoy your Kindergarten year!


Sincerely,

Mrs. Lippai