Week of December 14

We have had a fun week, full of holiday excitement.

This week we finished our alphabet study and set a new goal for independent reading.  We have been writing about Christmas and practiced writing O in our handwriting books.  We have had a really fun week in math too.  We have taken a break from Envision and been learning about odd and even numbers, counting by 5s, and reviewing drawing pictures to show what addition equations mean.  (Even Steven and Odd Todd was a big hit!)

Counting by 5s

Counting by 5s

Counting by 5s

We made presents for our parents.  The presents turned out very cute.  My advice to you, without telling you what exactly we made is:

• Open on Christmas or before, as you choose.  

• They are breakable.  My advice is to bake for 30 minutes on 350 degrees.  

• They have been already baked, but will retain their colors with a little bit longer in the oven.  

• Also, hand-washing is best.  

We had our first rehearsal as a school today and you are in for a treat.  The kids know the song and sing loud enough to hear.  Hooray!  Speaking of the show, here is the link for costumes.

Remember:
Library is still on Monday next week.
There is NO SHOW AND TELL next week.
Tuesday is a 12:00 dismissal day.  No aftercare.  You are welcome to pick your child up from class directly after the show (11:15ish).
No folders are necessary on Tuesday.

Please let me know if you know that your child will not be here next week.  Also, please let me know if you are staying in town and would like to try your green thumb on our class flower boxes over Christmas break.  

Week of December 7

We have had a lot of special guests this week and done a lot of work too. 

Mrs. Tersoff came in to talk about Hanukkah.  She told us the story, shared traditions, and let us play dreidel.  The kids enjoyed spinning the dreidels and were a great audience.

Mrs. Tersoff

Dreidel practice

Mrs. Gray, Noe's mom, came in to talk to us about Haiti.  The class learned a ton and were very interested in life in Haiti.  

Thanks Mrs. Gray!

In reading we practiced retelling Jan Brett stories (The Mitten and The Trouble with Trolls) while paying attention to her specific illustration style.  We read a poem and tried to illustrate it in her style. We studied the letters, X, P, and K.  In writing we learned to write the letter T/t in our handwriting book and made a card for Mr. Hennessy's birthday.  We also continued to practice addition using manipulatives and pictures to solve the problems and figure out how to write addition equations and what each part means in math.   We have been talking about seasons and have started making a weather graph.     

We also decorated our classroom.  We cut snowflakes for our bulletin board and each colored a piece for our classroom nativity scene.  We have been reading an advent book and lighting our advent wreath for examen each day. 

Strengthening our cutting skills

Wise men to come on Epiphany.

Next week we have library on Monday so please make sure books are returned.  On Friday we have the Christmas show rehearsal in the morning. 

Show and tell topic next week is something that you use at your house to celebrate Christmas.  It can be an ornament, a family keepsake, a picture of a tradition, a plate for Santa's cookies, etc.  Please make sure your child can tell us at least 2 things about it.  For example, what it is, why it is used, where it came from, etc. 

Today is Max's birthday.  Please wish him a happy birthday if you see him!

Happy birthday Max!

Week of November 30

We had a fun week, full of learning.

In science we talked about the winter solstice and did a demonstration of the Earth and Sun during the winter solstice and summer solstice. We went to Discovery Theater to see the winter light show.  We learned about the many different cultural celebrations that happen around the shortest day of the year.

This is what summer looks like...

Both kindergartens on the Mall

On our way to Discovery Theater

Bruno and Saoirse volunteered to be shamen

In reading we studied the letters Q and U.  We also looked at beginning blends, particularly s-blends.  (St-, Sp-, Sk-, Sn-, etc.)  In writing we tried to make sure that all of our words had the first and last sounds we heard.

In math we started working on addition.  We have had a very good time playing the adding game Bump.  We will keep going with adding next week as well.

Next week we have mass on Tuesday at 11.  It is also an early dismissal Friday.  If your child is going to aftercare, please let me know.  Show and tell is a favorite Christmas book.  Please make sure that your child knows the title and can tell us his/her favorite part.   Library books are due on Monday as usual. 
 

Happy Thanksgiving

A few reminders for next week:

• Library on Monday.  Please return books.
• We have Mass on Wednesday, December 2 at 8 am in the chapel.  If your child arrives after 8:00 please bring him/her to the classroom since latecomers disrupt the service.  
• I was wrong about our last batch of McKenna Sandwiches.  We have the Wednesday we come back.  If you don't mind bringing in more sandwiches on Wednesday, December 2, I'm sure that the homeless would be happy to have them.  
• We have our field trip to the Smithsonian Discovery Theater on Thursday, December 3.  Look for an email with more details next week.

Thanks to the grandparents and special friends who came to school today.  This week was a focus on Thanksgiving.  We read "Stone Soup," "Balloons Over Broadway," and books about the lives of pilgrim children and used our imagination to pretend we were living like pilgrims.

"Sewing our clothes" (tying practice)

"Picking berries" (sorting)

"Putting on our stockings and garters."

From the grandparents show

Happy Thanksgiving!

Week of November 16

We had a great time on our field trip today.  Here are some pictures.  The overwhelming opinion was that the cider we made was delicious.  Thank you for sending in car seats.  Thanks also to Kate Baker, Juila Torrey, and John Carroll-Gavula for driving.  

In reading, we studied the letters R and E.  We also added they, look, and for to our sight word list.  We read and watched a video about the Mayflower to start our Thanksgiving study.  Each child has a Mayflower book that we will send home next week.  

In math, we kept working on numbers larger than 20 and estimation.

Also, we celebrated Maren's birthday on Monday.  She made egg-free chocolate chip cookies to share.  

Next week:

• We will be mostly reviewing skills, but learning about the pilgrims. 
• Library is on Monday.  Please return books.
• Wednesday is a noon dismissal day.  I know several students have grandparents coming, but have not received a list from development.  Please let me know if you expect any special friends on Wednesday or if you will be out next week.
• No show and tell.

Have a great weekend!

Kate

November 13 News

Reminders...

•  Please remember that report cards are only distributed per semester in kindergarten.  The first one will be coming home in January. 

• We have the lead in McKenna sandwiches on Wednesday.  Please send in all the extra sandwiches you can. 

• If you have any grandparents or special friends to invite to Grandparents' Day, November 25, please return the address form so that invitations can be mailed. 

Next Week...

• Library books are due on Monday.
• Show and tell next week is something that starts with R.   
• The Uniform Exchange will be set up in the upper school next week.  
• We have our field trip to Locust Grove Nature Center on Friday.  Look for an email with more details next week.  No lunch is necessary.  We plan on being back in time for pizza lunch.  We plan on leaving at 9:15/9:30 and being back at school by 11:30.  

This week we had a lot of special guests.

• On Monday, Julia Torrey and Shannon Dunn came in to help us plant window boxes of herbs and onions.  Keep an eye out for the cup with the bulb coming home this afternoon. 
• On Thursday we had Ms. Kitty and Ms. Kathy come in to talk to us about Haiti.

  

  Passing around artifacts from Haiti

• On Friday, Bruno's mom came in to lead GRACE art.  We learned about public art, mosaics in particular.  You can see our finished mosaic hanging outside our classroom. 
  
  
  
  

We celebrated Dave's birthday with ice cream.  Happy Birthday Dave!

We studied vowels.  Here is the song we have listened to several times to help us remember the vowels.  We studied O and G. We talked about gratitude and made 2 cards for people we are thankful to know.

a wonderful thank you card

We also studied numbers on a hundred chart.  We looked for patterns and tried to find numbers on the chart.     

Have a great weekend!!!

Week of November 2

Hi Parents,

This is a day early because I will be out on Friday for a funeral.  I have given Ms. Kelly a list of carpool changes tomorrow.  If there are any other last minute changes, please email us both (kdelayen@htsdc.org and pkelly@htsdc.org).

On Tuesday conference reminders came home.  If there is a conflict, please email me.

You also received two permission slips for field trips coming up.  We have been given a last-minute slot at the Locust Grove Nature Center to end our apple investigation.  It appears that we have enough drivers, however, if you are interested please let me know!!!  We have other field trips which will need drivers and drivers fall through from time to time.  We will also be learning about the solstice and seasons.  To enhance that we will be going to the Smithsonian's Discovery Theater to learn about light and how different cultures celebrate it.  Please return those permission slips as soon as possible.  

Library will return to its normal time on Monday.  Please send books back on Monday.  Speaking of Monday...class picture time!  We will be taking a class picture at 9:40.  We will also be planting on Monday so if you plan on dressing your child in fancy clothes for the picture, sending in a change of clothes would be a good idea.

Please make sure that you have a change of clothes in your child's locker.  Accidents still happen in kindergarten.  The weather is changing so if you have summer clothing, you may want to add long pants/long sleeves to it.
 
I forgot to mention that last week, because of Halloween, we watched a Veggie Tales clip about being scared.  The gist was that God is always with us and bigger than any monster.  We also sampled pumpkin bread and pumpkin puree in science.  Both were surprise hits.  Kids were asking me to send you recipes.  It's all Libby's.  I added a few chocolate chips to the bread.  In any case, if you want to make it at home, you know how now.     

Next week we will be studying vowels.  I would like to send home homework for vowels we have learned and then continue as we learn more.  The goal is to make a class book for each vowel.  I will start with A on Monday.  Please check folders each night. 

After School is collecting candy for our troops overseas.  We will be collecting candy until Friday, November 13.

This week we learned about syllables.  It's fun to clap words at home for extra practice.  We learned about Y and S.  We read Mr. Bow Tie in preparation for our walk for the homeless.  The kids decorated signs and wrote their own with sight words we already know.  We also started studying big numbers (30-100).  This can be hard for some kids.  If you notice your child struggling with numbers, please practice counting to 30 at home.  We began counting by 10s and will continue working with these numbers next week.  Estimating was also introduced.  We use the word "about" and just  estimate to "about 10," "about 50," "about 100."
 

Today was Bruno's birthday.  If you see him tomorrow, wish him a happy birthday!  Thanks for sharing the strawberries and whipped cream.  Yum!

Halloween Week

Next week:

• We have mass on Monday at 10:45.  You are welcome to join us.  

• Because we have mass during our regular library time, we will not be able to go to the library until Thursday.  Library books are due on Thursday.

• Walk for the homeless is on Thursday too. 

HTS Mini-Walk for the Homeless

WHO:       Holy Trinity School Community (Students, Staff, Parents, etc!)

WHAT:     Assembly and Mini-Walk for the Homeless

WHEN:     Thursday, Nov. 5th.  Assembly begins at 8:15 am in Trinity Hall, followed by the Walk

WHERE:   Trinity Hall (the new Multi-Purpose Room) and a walk around the neighborhood

WHY:       To benefit N Street Village, a shelter for women in Washington, DC

Use the following link to donate: 

https://www.razoo.com/story/Hts-Mini-Walk

Donations are optional -- everyone will participate in the walk. 

• Friday is a 1:00 day.  Please let me know if your child will be in aftercare. 
• In November we will be focusing on service to others (Walk for the Homeless, leading McKenna sandwiches on November 18, bake sale for Haiti).  Kindergarten does not participate in TAG days, so this Wednesday we will have a bake sale at school for our class Service Learning Project-  Haiti.  Please email me if you would like to send in a treat to sell.  It would be great to have most students participate.  We will have speakers from the parish come talk about Haiti the following week. 
• Thursday is Bruno's birthday.  Please wish him a happy birthday if you see him!
• I will begin Parent-Teacher Conferences next week.  I sent home a reminder this week if I have you scheduled next week.  Please email me if your time no longer works.  
• Show and tell next week is something that starts with an S.       

Margaret doing show and tell. 

 

This week:
 In math we began studying teen numbers.  Here is a link to a song that we listened to in class.  It is very helpful for kids who are still not sure what teen numbers look like.  We are working on putting the numbers in the correct order, 19, not 91, and trying to make our numbers face the correct way.

Building teen numbers with candy corn erasers

In writing the class wrote Halloween stories.  While some children wrote their own, some drew pictures while Ms. Kelly and I wrote what they dictated to us.  We were working on having a beginning, middle, and end.

In reading, we have worked on ABC order.  We have practiced putting letters in the order that we say the ABCs.  This is definitely tricky for some so we will keep practicing.  We added we, go, to to our sight word list.  The tutors started assessing the class for reading levels.  When they are done with the whole class, we will adjust the Kids A-Z/RAZ kids levels online and start sending more tailored books home to read.  We also worked on understanding what we read by trying to use details in stories to make pictures that go with what we read.  We put Halloween stories in order too.  The kids brought home a Frankenstein foldable today.  Inside we retold One Halloween Night in pictures.  

Retelling the important part, following directions, and complicated cutting practice

Thanks to Mrs. Paterno and Mrs. Grady for doing GRACE Art with us on Monday.  You probably noticed the self-portraits that came home on Monday.  (Pictures under special guest album.)

Here are some pictures from Friday afternoon's festivities.  A huge thanks to all the parents who volunteered to help change kids and set up the snack/party.

Also, check out the bottom of the photos page to see albums from our class.  

Week of October 19

This week...

In reading, we worked on letters N and I.  We added in, is, it to our sight words.  We also got 6th grade reading buddies.  We will see them every other week.  We had our first flash debate.  We read Ninja Bunny and had a class debate as to whether it would be better to be a solo ninja or one with lots of friends like Ninja Bunny.  The class was evenly split.  Some of the most popular arguments were:

• It is easier to be sneaky on your own.    
• You are more likely to win on a team or with friends.  

In writing we practiced grip and horizontal lines.  We also wrote a class book called "In October."

In math, we put our number books in numerical order.  We also talked about what 1 fewer and 2 fewer mean and compared numbers.

 

In science, we began our pumpkin investigation.  We did pumpkin measurements and predictions about size.   

On short Fridays there is no pizza and typically there is not lunch in after care.  Please remember to send in lunch.  

Next week...

Library books are due on Monday.  

Vision screening is on Wednesday.  

Our Halloween parade is Friday at 1:30.  Please send costumes in that morning.  We will change after lunch.  If you are at the parade and would like to leave with your child after, that is fine.  Please just let me know.    

Scholastic reading club flyers are coming home in Tuesday folders next week.  The flyer is mostly Christmas books.  I have a due date of November 20 so that the orders will arrive before Christmas break.  You can order online from many books, not just Christmas books.  Feel free to order online or send in the paper order form and I will submit a class order.  Our class code is:  NGYZH

This is the link to RAZkids, a reading program that can be done online.  The kid login is htsk1k2. Until the tutors finish a complete reading assessment, the kids are starting off at early levels.   

 

More pictures to come.  

Short Week

Hi Parents!  We did a lot in our shortened week!  We had our marble party, learned about Mexico from Mrs. Sobba, and celebrated Sela's birthday with cupcakes.  She turns 6 on Sunday.  Wish her a happy birthday when you see her.  

Learning about Day of the Dead

In writing, we practiced vertical lines and using spaces.  We made space sticks to help keep spaces between our words.

Reading was lots of fun!  We learned the words I, a, see, can, the.  Many of you heard the book we read in class.  I Can See used all of our words and pictures.  Kids who are not ready to read words yet can still be encouraged to read books.  We have learned that readers can read pictures as well as words.  We also studied T and W.  We practiced independent and partner reading.

In math we reviewed patterns and learned about growing patterns.  We also started learning about 1 more and 2 more. 

Please note that I have added both links and photos on a side bar. 

Reminders for next week:

• Library books are due on Monday.
• Tuesday we have chapel at 8 am.  If you arrive after 7:55, please bring your child to class, not chapel, as it interrupts the service.  
• Wednesday is picture day!  Brush those teeth and hair.  We have a  morning slot so we should still be looking our best.  
• Friday is a half day.  Please let me know if your child is in aftercare.   

• Next week's show and tell topic is Kid Choice.  As long as it is something that your child can talk about, not just show, he or she can bring it in.  

Later this month:

• Please sign up here if you would like to volunteer for Halloween parade/party.  
• Vision and hearing testing is available at HTS on October 28.  If you would like your child tested, please return the orange form before then.   

We had such a fun week.  We have taken advantage of the nice weather by going on 2 nature walks and having music and movement at Volta Park.  We have been trying to be scientists.  This week we have been focusing on observation.  We've read about leaves in particular.

We have also been learning the letters B, J, and color words.  We read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?  We've sequenced the story and practiced reading the colors of the animals.  We also went on a Columbus word hunt and sequenced his life. We were really excited about the giant Atlas in our room.  We have learned the difference between letters, words, and sentences, but will keep working on that.

In math, we have shown numbers 6-10 and worked in our math journals.

We celebrated Calvin's birthday today.  He turns six tomorrow so wish him a happy birthday when you see him next.

Thanks for all of the books from the book fair.  You have been a very generous group.  Thank you!

We will have our marble party on Tuesday because the kids already filled up our marble jar!!!  I told them they may wear pajamas and bring in one cuddle toy (pillow or blanket or stuffed animal).  Please NO SLIPPERS.  Kids do not have to wear pjs, but you may want to bring a pair to change into at drop off in case your child changes his/her mind when everyone else is in them.  This happened twice last year. 

Have a great weekend!!!!  See you all on Tuesday!