January Newsletter

Welcome 2009! I hope everyone had a joyous and restful Holiday Break. Thank you to all those who made the fun activities we enjoyed in an action packed December at school possible. Curriculum Focus

During the month of January we will be focusing on two themes: Winter Fun and Pizza. Our Words of the Week (which can be found on the right side of the monthly calendar) will be a mixture of colour and high frequency words. Continuing to review the number words introduced in December as well as the new words will help students master reading these words by sight. As we continue with the Jolly Phonics programme, we will be focusing on many difficult blended sounds and digraphs ( a pair of letters used to make one sound). Please continue reviewing letters already covered while also exploring the new sounds with your child. Please return the green (am)/blue (pm) printing folders that were sent home to practise over holidays, as we need them to add the class printing pages.

As we have already learned many letter/sounds and words, we will begin to apply this knowledge in writing. I will be slowly introducing journals to the class routine and students will be recording thoughts (in a variety of formats depending on their abilities) on paper. I would encourage families to praise all “writing” attempts and find natural ways to write with students at home (grocery list, letters to family members, etc).

Senior Kindergarten students will begin the Snuggle Up and Read programme soon. Each night, students take home a book that is leveled to their reading ability to share with an adult.

In math, we will continue to practice our numeral formation using the number poems as printing cues. We will also be exploring simple computation strategies and measurement. Learning can be supported at home by continuing to practice correct number formation as well as by playing with hands on addition “problems” (i.e. There are 4 people in our family. Tonight Grandma’s coming over for dinner. So how many place settings shall we put out on the table?)

Important Dates

January 16^th – Book Orders due *** I still have a book order from October, there was no child’s name on the order form, but the cheque was from a Colleen/Jeffery Grant. If you know who this is, I have the book order.

Library Journals

Thank you to all of those who have been doing their library journals on a regular basis. Getting involved with your child’s reading strategies is very important. This month we will not be “activating our schema” any more, we are now going to “make connections” to what we already know and have encountered in our real life, in books, on TV, or in movies. Questions to ask your child are: What does ____ mean to you? What connections can you make to ____? Have you ever ____ ?

Please remember to have your child dressed for outdoor play everyday, and have all clothing labeled (boots, hats, snow pants etc.).

Phone numbers/Addresses

I have begun to ask children if they know their phone numbers and addresses to add them to our bulletin board. These are very important for the safety of your child. PLEASE practise this information with your child.

Thank you for your continued support! I am looking forward to a fun and successful 2009 with students and their families!

Mrs. S. Haney