TK Newsletter

Dear TK Family and Friends,

I woke up this morning and checked my calendar and WOAH!  We have less than a month of school left.  The kids are really excited about being in Kindergarten and I keep hyping up the idea of them being the bigger kids next year.  As I watch them each day, I can help but feel proud of how much they have grown academically, but even more so, socially and spiritually.  They entered TK unaware of most of their peers and now, we have become family that will journey on together to 8th grade.  I am so excited for them and honored to have been their first teacher at St. Irenaeus!

This week we will focus on:

• Letters Xx and Zz - Yes, we made it!!
• Number 29, but we will be including 30 too.
• Mary, Our Mother/Hail Mary/Rosary
• Insects:  Life Cycles, body parts, and the importance of their existence
• Patriotism: Honoring those men and women who worked so hard for our freedom and are now in heaven; singing songs about America
• Sight Words - all of the TK List

Don't forget this week is our Hail Mary Presentation.  All students are asked to recite the Hail Mary in front of their peers.  So far, all of the kids are doing great!  I can see they have practiced REALLY hard!  Great job!

Events for your calendar:

• Field Day will be on Friday, June 5.  (Field day will end at 10:30am for TK/K)
• TK students are to wear sports theme related T-shirts/jerseys.  If they do not own a sports theme shirt, the St. I T-shirt, Fun Run shirt, or an every day T-shirt will work.  Please pair it with shorts and tennis shoes that are the right size for your child.
• Please send a snack to school like usual, however, students can purchase additional treat at the Snack Bar.  
• Thursday, June 11 - TK (on campus) Field Trip with Inside the Outdoors @10:15am
• Friday, June 12 - TK/K Picnic (on campus) - you are more than welcome to join us.  However, I do need a couple parents to volunteer to help set up and supervise.  If you are interested, please let me know.
• Last Day of School - Wednesday, June 17 - 11:30 am dismissal

I did not create a homework packet this week.  I suggest that you focus on the letters, numbers, Hail Mary, and Sight Words this week.  

Have a great week!

Mrs. Paragas

TK Newsletter

Dear TK Family and Friends,

We are in the 35th week of school!  The year is truly going by fast.  This week we will be covering the following:

• Letter Xx and Yy - write, letter recognition, and sound
• Number 28 but we are pushing up to 30.  
• We ended our Seeds unit with flower blooms that bees love.
• We began our Insect unit with Bees.
• Insects have 3 body parts, 6 legs, and 2 feelers
• We are still focusing on Mother Mary this week.
• We are reciting Hail Mary and singing Gentle Women
• We are learning patriotic songs this entire month - this week's song is Grand Ol' Flag.
• All TK Sight words are being reviewed this week until the end of the year

Thank you for your response with the Yearbook Question.  It looks like almost all of you would like to purchase a yearbook.  This was just for the office to know how many to order.  The office will send home an official order form for the yearbook.  At that time, you can submit your payment.  Thanks again for your input.

The 8th Grade class will be selling Smencils (scented pencils) for $1.00 outside our class on Wednesday. If your child goes to daycare and you would like them to purchase a Smencil, please send money in an envelope and mark it "Smencil" and place it in your child's folder (please don't just drop it in the tote bag as these don't always get checked).

There are lots of TK and school events coming up.  

• This coming Friday and Monday, we will have no school for a long Memorial Day Celebration/Remembrance.  Please keep all the men and women who have served and/or are currently serving our country.  Let's keep them always in our prayers. 
• Field Day will be on Friday, June 5.  I will give more details regarding this, but if you'd like to volunteer to help, please let me know.
• Thursday, June 11 - TK (on campus) Field Trip with Inside the Outdoors @10:15am
• Friday, June 12 - TK/K Picnic (on campus) - you are more than welcome to join us.  However, I do need a couple parents to volunteer to help set up and supervise.  If you are interested, please let me know.
• Last Day of School - Wednesday, June 17 - 11:30 am dismissal

Before I conclude this week's newsletter, I'd like to share with you some personal news.  My husband and I are expecting our first child this coming November.  I'm currently in my second trimester and thought I'd share the news before my wardrobe begins to change.  It's been an exciting (and tiring) journey thus far.  I ask that you keep my soon-to-be little family of 3 in your prayers.

Have a wonderful week!

Mrs. Paragas

TK Newsletter

Dear TK Parents and Friends,

This week we are learning the following:

• The letter Xx - recognition, sound, and writing
• Adding by counting pictures or objects
• We are on the number 27, but my focus is to review all numbers to 30.  
• Maps - introducing the words north, south, east, west, vs. left, right, top, bottom
• We are finishing up our plants and seeds unit this week.
• We are learning more about Mary and songs about Mary, including Gentle Woman.
• Reviewing all sight words from the TK Sight Words List

I forgot to send home the HOPE bags today.  If you do remember, please send some canned/boxed food to school tomorrow.  If you forget, I'll send the red bags home tomorrow.

Tomorrow is the Talent Show.  TK will be watching it tomorrow at 10:15am, but I do encourage all families to attend the night show at 6:30pm in the Hall.

Don't forget, if you are interested in purchasing summer books for your child, I have extended the Scholastic Book Club Order until Friday, May 15.

Just a friendly reminder, during morning drop offs, please wait for the school bell to ring.  Mrs. Herrera and I are usually meeting in the morning to discuss the day's plan and other important things to make the class run smoothly.  Please refrain from knocking/banging on the door.  If the door is not open, this may mean I have a meeting or conference with a grown up.  Thank you for your understanding.

A couple events to put on your calendar:

• Field Day - Friday, June 5
• TK on campus field trip with Inside the Outdoors - Thursday, June 11
• TK/K End of the Year Picnic - Friday, June 12
• Last Day of School - Wednesday, June 17

The end is near, but there is still lots of learning to be done!

Have a great week!

Mrs. Paragas  

Scholastic Book Order

I am extending the Scholastic Book Order Due Date to this Friday, May 15.  

If you plan to order, please do so by Friday.  Thank you :)

TK Newsletter

Dear TK Family and Friends,

This week in TK we are studying:

• Reviewing ALL letters to Ww - recognition, sounds, and writing
• Reviewing ALL numbers 0 to 26 - counting, identifying, and adding up/counting down
• Seeds and how seeds grow
• Parts of a plant/flower
• Mary is Jesus' Mother
• Mother's Day
• Mother's Day isn't just to remember our mommies, but to remember our grandma, aunts, and those ladies that love us and take care of us.

This Friday, we remember the victims in the Nepal Earthquake.  I have copied the notice in the letter Mrs. Hayden wrote regarding how we can help.  Friday, is a free dress day if your child brings in a donation of some sort.

We all know about the terrible earthquake that hit Nepal on Saturday, April 25th. Relief efforts need monetary donations more than anything at this time. St. Irenaeus wants to do their part in helping those in need. This Friday, May 8th, we will be collecting monetary donations for the people of Nepal. With ANY size donation, students may have a non-uniform dress day and wear the colors of Nepal's flag: red, white, and blue. All donations will be given to Catholic Relief Services. The following information has been published by Catholic Relief Services: CRS RESPONSE CRS is providing 10,000 families (50,000 people) with emergency shelter materials, blankets, water treatment and hygiene kits. Given the scale of the disaster, we expect to expand relief activities to additional families. CRS is working with Caritas Nepal to identify the most pressing needs in the hardest hit districts between Kathmandu and Pokhara, and will scale our operations accordingly. Your support helps to provide immediate relief. The following costs for relief items are estimates based on similar emergency relief efforts in the region: $8 provides a water kit for a family. This includes a jerry can, a pail and aqua tabs for water purification. $15 provides an emergency shelter kit. This includes tarps and nails to use with local materials to build shelters. $22 provides household living supplies. This includes sleeping mats, blankets, utensils, plastics, glasses and a cooking pot. $28 – provides hygiene kits. This includes soap, laundry detergent, toothbrush, toothpaste, and towels. For more details on the relief efforts, visit the Catholic Relief Services website at www.crs.org. The school Talent Show will be on May 13 at 6:30pm.  The TK kids will get to watch the talent show at 10:15am but I encourage families to attend the evening event to support the school children Oh My it's May!  We will return to Share Week next week.  Your child is welcome to share one of the following: Book - tell us about the story; or Something your child made - tell us what it is and what it is made of If your child is sharing something they made, please be sure that it fits in their tote bag.  Share Schedule -  .May 11 - #1-4 May 12 - #5-8 May 13 - #9-12 May 14 - #13-16 May 15 - #17- 20 The last share this month, each child will recite the Hail Mary. .May 25 - #1-4 May 26 - #5-8 May 27 - #9-12 May 28 - #13-16 May 29 - #17- 20 The year is going by so fast!  I hope you are enjoying it as much as I am! Mrs. Paragas

Our Bodies are Special

Today we discussed that God made our bodies special.  We talked about keeping our body parts to ourselves.  One of the areas that I address was to imagine wearing swim suits.  The areas covered by our swim suit shouldn't be touched by anyone except our mommies and daddies.  Please note that I simplified it by saying mommies and daddies, but I do ask that you talk to your child about grandparents and other family members or care givers that you do give permission to help your child.  One student asks "what about doctors?".  My reply is that Mom or Dad is with you and that they will give permission to the doctor.  I also discussed how even our closest friends cannot touch the special areas covered in our imaginary swim suits.

I did not want to go too deep in this topic as lots of it is sensitive.  I do ask that you discuss this further with your child if you feel the need to.