Volunteering in the classroom

Some of you have already expressed interest in volunteering in the classroom, and thank you so very much!

For those specifically interested in working Mondays and Tuesdays I'm holding a parent training session today at 3:15. I look forward to seeing you then!

Cheers!

Open House is Tonight

Many of you may have received the e-mail, but in case you did not...

The students are so excited to show you their school!  Please join us from 6pm-7pm for the Sauvie Island Academy 2013 Open House. The night will start in the gym for a short message and then you will be free to roam.  This will be a student led night.  Let them be your guide.  

 

For your child's safety please keep them with you as you tour the school.  Please be aware there will be many families that will want to introduce themselves to each teacher. While this event isn't accommodating for conference-like conversations, teachers are always available by scheduled appointments.  In addition we will have Parent/Teacher conferences in the fall and the spring.  

 

Thanks for your support!

Field Trip Success

Wow! What a wonderful Wednesday field trip. We got to do amazing things like taste fresh veggies right off the bush, explore compost, and pollinate plants. It was quite the adventure!

Your kiddos may come home and tell you about our bus adventure. Despite our school’s several calls to confirm the bus, somehow the bus forgot to come this morning. How fortunate for us that those who were volunteering also had their driver’s clearance to. We used our reserve booster seats and car-pooled over to the center. The bus was waiting for us when we were ready to leave. Everyone was thrilled to be on the bus with all our friends, and it was a quick rest of the day.

Thank you all who were able to be with us today. Thank you everyone for sending your child in clothes that could get a bit muddy. Lucky for us, it was beautiful and we managed to keep our bottoms out of the puddles.

In October we have our pumpkin patch trip on the 9^th, and picture day the next day on the 10^th. I’ll send another e-mail reminder sooner to those dates.

Have a happy day. Cheers!

Field Trip Tomorrow

Hello All!

I just got off the phone with our contact at S.I.C. (Yes, as we were both getting ready for bed). Here is what we need to remember for tomorrow.

1) Dress warm. We will be outside from 9:30-10:30.

2) Boots and raincoats are needed!! It's going to rain, and the ground there is already muddy.

3) Bring a change of shoes, socks, and even clothes just in case.

4) Get ready to have a fun time. They have a great program for us! I'm very excited to dive into all they have ready for us.

Good night! See you soon!

Big Stuff Happening This Week

Happy Monday, September 23, 2013

What a wonderful day back from our weekend. It was full of so many smiles and happy words. This week we have a ton of activities and I want to give you a heads up so we are all ready.

First, tomorrow is “Crazy Head Day” and our bus evacuation drill. Crazy head day means we got 250 Sauvie stars (hooray for how outstanding our student are) and now we are celebrating. We get to celebrate with a funny hat, silly hair, or some other school appropriate “crazy head” idea. In my room we will be making apple life cycle headbands, so if you are not inspired there is no pressure to come up with something. The bus evacuation drill is simple and quick. We will get on a bus, the driver will talk about bus safety for around ten minutes, and then we will exit the bus and leave for P.E. So don’t forget your P.E. shoes!

Second reminder is our field trip. Please have your child bring their boots and rain coat. We will be outside most of the time, and we will get wet and muddy. Please put on the appropriate clothes. An extra pair of shoes is a must as well. I, myself, will bring tennis shoes to change into after our trip so we leave as much dirt outside as we can.

Third, this Thursday is our Open House. It’s at 6 p.m. and it is a chance for your child to give you a tour of the school and show off their hard work. For teachers it’s a time to highlight our project placed curriculum this far into the year. Unfortunately, it’s not a time to discuss individual students in depth, it’s mostly a time for your child to shine in their new environment. Watch for the upcoming newsletter.

Finally, on Friday we have a fire drill. We will be discussing this as a class and what it means to practice safety practices. This would be a good time to talk with your student about being safe and practicing emergencies so that we can be ready just in case.

 

Thanks so much all! See you Tuesday!

Cheers.

Tardy

Hello All!

As we enter the fourth week of school I have an import topic for us to remember. Tardy students. Now that we have settled into the routine and are diving right into the school year, we need to be aware of when our kiddos walk in the door. At our recent staff meeting we were reminded how important it is for us to be consistent in our start times. Children who walk in the door after 8:35 will be marked as absent. (We will change that to tardy if they show up late.)

Our kindergarten routine is a flexible process in the morning where we answer the question of the day, write our name, and then read a book. Although there is a variance of who is at which part of the process at 8:35, they all need to be in the room and ready to go. This will help us start our day on time and get to important social and educational tasks. We've been pretty relaxed the first few weeks to let everyone get used to the drop off process. As of next week however, we will be sticking to the strict timing.

Thanks so much for understanding! If you have any questions, please let me know.

Cheers!

This week, upcoming field trip, homework, library

What a wonderful week we’ve had! We discovered more about plant life cycles in preparation of our field trip. We had a new star word, “a.” We also got to be scientists and graph which apples kindergarten likes the best, and start a new experiment. We are testing if an apple piece touched with all of our dirty hands rots quicker or slower than an apple touched with all of our clean hands. How excitingly gross!!

I’ve emailed all parents who let me know they had an interest in helping out with the field trip. If you did not receive an email, I did not have you marked as interested, and please let me know ASAP. Please get your CRIMINAL HISTORY in to Sam if you want to come. We cannot invite you until you do. Which is just a crying shame for all of us in the kindergarten classroom. Literally.

Homework went home again today! It’s due the same day as our library books, Wednesday. Thanks so much for all your encouragement for your student. They are doing so well!

Tomorrow's Field Trip Meeting

For those of you who have emailed me stating you wanted to come in tomorrow instead of Monday; I'm so sorry, but I wrote the wrong staff afternoon meeting day (it's actually tomorrow at the same time as ours)! I've emailed those who let me know that tomorrow worked better to figure out a better time. If you were planning on coming in Thursday but hadn't let me know yet, please email me. We will work it out. Thanks for your flexibility and understanding. I'm quite disappointed I don't get to talk to you face to face.

Wednesday is Library Day

A message from our wonderful librarian:

Parents of the cutest Kinders around,

Thank you for sharing your kiddos!  They are a joy to have in the Library.  This week we read the 2013 Caldecott Medal Winner, This is Not My Hat. We discussed what the award was for and how much we can learn from the pictures in books.  It  especially important for Kinders to understand that reading pictures is how reading really starts.  The students have also been learning how to checkout their own books and are doing a great job!

Your student's library day is Wednesday.  Each week during library time they will be given the opportunity to check out a new book if their previous book has been returned.  If they aren't ready to return their book...no problem!  We have Zoo Book Magazines and other things to do during that time if they are not checking out.  If they forget their book, but remember to bring it before the next library class and don't want to wait for Wednesday, they are always welcome to come in during first recess and check out a book.   

 If you are interested in joining us in Library class (Wednesday at 10:15am-10:45am) or volunteering any other time, you are always welcome.  If you aren't sure if your background check info is up-to-date, Sam will have that information.  

Happy reading!

New Opportunity for Parents

Wow!!

I just got this in an e-mail, and it looks super exciting. Please check it out!

T u e s d a y,   O c t o b e r   1 5 ,  2 0 1 3

 

6:30-8:00 p.m. at Grant Watts Elementary’s multi-purpose room

 

Attention Parents:

 

You are invited to a special evening presentation with children’s advocate and bestselling author Trudy Ludwig:

 

Understanding Our Kids’ Online & Offline Social World:  Friendships, Cliques & Power Plays

 

Intentional exclusion, gossip, the silent treatment, teasing, and the spreading of rumors are often dismissed as normal rites of passage, but research shows these behaviors are a form of emotional bullying and they are as harmful as physical bullying—with long-term negative effects. Learn more about relational aggression (the use of relationships to manipulate and hurt others) including the latest research findings, the nature of boys’ and girls’ friendships, cyberbullying, as well as tips, tools, and resources to help you empower your children in their social world.

 

Trudy Ludwig’s work and presentations have received high praise from leading U.S. experts, educators, and organizations. Her nationally acclaimed books, My Secret Bully, Just Kidding, Sorry, Trouble Talk®, Too Perfect, Confessions of a Former Bully, Better Than You, and The Invisible Boy, focus on helping children thrive in their social world. An award-winning writer and an engaging speaker, Trudy has been featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” PBS’s “Keeping Kids Healthy,” the National Crime Prevention Council’s Circle of Respect Program, and served as an expert panel member on Sesame Street Workshop’s video series addressing bullying. This presentation is for adults only.

 

For more information, visit Trudy’s website, www.trudyludwig.com, or contact OPE’s school counselor, Ms. Jessy by phone, 503.543.7111 or email, jgretzinger@scappoose.k12.or.us. 

Field Trip Next Week

Hello All!

  Welcome to week 3! Next week is our field trip to Sauvie Island Center for the cumulative and exciting highlight of our plant life cycle unit. For those interested in joining us and leading a small group of students, please email me  back that you are indeed interested in this first trip. We will have a parent preparation session this Thursday or next Monday after school at 3:15. The Busses leave the school at 9:30 and return at 11, and we will go over this at the preparation session, so it's best to be at the school by 9 or earlier and be prepared to stay until 11:30 or so.

  I look forward to hearing from you! Again, feel free to email me anytime or to check in after school. 

Cheers! 

What a start to the year!

Wahoo! It has been a fantastic start to the year. Everyone is settling into the routine and getting comfortable with new friends. This past week kindergarten has been focusing on how it looks to be in school, what everyone's role/job is, and getting ready to dive into our year feet first.

Don't forget that Tuesday is Curriculum Night! It is a parents only night in the classrooms where we get to talk about curriculum, upcoming events, what our routine looks like, and other nuts and bolts. It starts at 6, goes until 7:30. It will consist of two 40 minute sessions so that you can attend at least two of your children's classrooms if you have more than one child. I look forward to seeing you all there.

The New Page

Hello and welcome to our kindergarten page!

The new blog is up! We will use this page to communicate all new and exciting things happening in kindergarten from field trips to what we are learning. I will post updates as soon as I get them. 

For now...

Our library time is changing so I will post that as soon as I can.
Field trips are solidifying, and I will post as soon as the dates and times are solid.

Bye for now!
Mrs. Sipp