Week 28 Newsletter

Dear TK Parents,

Your child's Student Learning Assessment will be going home tomorrow.  I have to say that as I was working on their assessments, I saw all kinds of growth in your children - socially, academically and spiritually.  Thank you for your hard work with your child's success!

The focus in the third trimester will be on writing.  I want all TK students to enter Kindergarten knowing to how to write ALL letters and numbers correctly.  We will continue to review sounds, however my goal is for all to learn to write and read (appropriate to each student's ability/age). 

We will be practicing a play called The Three Piggy Opera which we will perform for you on May 12.  Please reserve that morning for us!

This week:

*Religion - What does "repent" mean?

*Math - Number 20, subtraction concept/vocabulary

*ELA - The 3 Piggy Opera, Sight words (look/have), writing letter b vs. d; Ii and Jj

*Science - Living/Non-Living Things

Have a great week!

Mrs. Paragas 

Week 27 Newsletter

Dear TK Families,

Last Friday was the last day of the 2nd Trimester.  Can you believe it? We are in the last leg of TK.  During the last trimester, I will be focusing on the following concepts: reading for comprehension, writing letters and numbers correctly, beginning and ending sounds, addition and subtraction, graphing, and measurement.  Many of what we are doing in the last trimester is more like Kindergarten work rather than preschool.  However, will still be doing a lot of review work on letter recognition and sounds as well as counting and matching quantity to numerals.

This week is a review week.  Our theme is St. Patrick's Day.  We will be working on the following:

*Religion - Lenten Theme/St. Patrick

*Math - Review of concepts: numbers, counting

*English/Language Arts - Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato, comprehension and vocabulary, sight words, and letter sound/recognition review

I have been assessing your children since last week for the end of the trimester.  I have to admit, I am super proud.  There are so many things that your children did not know at the beginning of the year that I can now say, "YES! We've finally got this!"  Most students know all their letters and sounds.  Many know their sight words.  We all know how to read a ten frame for math!  Can you tell?  I'm so proud of your kids!

We forgot to send home the HOPE bags for the food collection.  If you have any nonperishable food that you would like to donate, please send it to school.  Those receiving HOPE assistance will be grateful.

Don't forget, we do not have school on Friday.  I hope your child enjoys their extra day off...  an extra bonus if you can enjoy that day off with your child.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Paragas

Week 26 Newsletter

Dear TK Families,

We began Lent last week with Ash Wednesday.  On Ash Wednesday, Fr. Rudy came by our classroom and distributed ashed.  The children were receptive of the ashes, but some were surprisingly afraid.  Our class religion focus for the next few weeks will be Lent and family. Please talk with your child about Lent - prayer, fasting, and alms-giving.

The Second Trimester is coming to a close this Friday.  I will be assessing your children this week and next week and will provide more feedback on the SLAs.  Overall, I am very proud of your children.  Almost all the students know all 52 letter characters and numbers 0-10.  I will ask your child to orally recite the following prayers: Sign of the Cross (and make the sign), Glory Be, and the Our Father.  

My goal for the Third Trimester is to focus on writing letters, numbers, beginning and ending sounds, and reading (sight words).  I will also be continuing the addition concept but also introduce subtraction.  

This week's Goals:

Theme - Plants

Religion: Lenten Season Lesson

Math: Number 18, counting to 30 and to 100; ten frames, addition

English/Language: Letter Gg and Hh; Storys about Plants

Science: Plant Life

Looking Ahead:

In case you want to look through your pantry for donations over the weekend, next Wednesday is the HOPE food drive. 

Have a great week!

Mrs. Paragas

Week 25

Dear TK Families,

This newsletter is coming to you a day early as there is information that you need to be aware of for tomorrow, Tuesday.

As we approach the beginning of Lent, we will reflect on how we can be a better person to ourselves and to one another.  We have been singing "Spread a Little Sunshine" each morning to remind ourselves to smile and share God's blessings of joy, friendship, and love with one another.

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday.  Those that ordered pancakes can enjoy their pancakes in the Hall with their family beginning at 7:15.  However, if your child did not order pancakes, I ordered half portions for them to eat so that we all can enjoy a little syrup!  Those that did not order pancakes will need to be in class at the regular time.  We will enjoy those pancakes in the classroom.  Students who paid for their pancakes need to be in class by 8:30.  If you ordered pancakes but cannot stay with your child to eat, feel free to bring them to our classroom and we can pick up their order from the hall.  Just let us know upon drop off that you paid for breakfast.  If you have any questions, please let me know.

The TK class will begin working on our class play, The Three Little Pigs.  I will assign them their parts, please practice their role and songs with them each night.  It is best to have everything memorized.  The performance is scheduled for late May or June.  I have not quite picked up a date.

We will continue with last week's learning goals for this week.  It was such a short week that we did not finish.  Our theme will be centered on Dr. Seuss' books and Ash Wednesday/Lent.

Have a great week!

Mrs. Paragas

Week 24

Dear TK Families,

This week will be really short.  As you know, there will be no school on Friday due to the Religious Education Congress.

Tomorrow is a non-uniform dress day!  Thank you for doing your best to submit your child's intention form for Kindergarten.  Please refer to the St. I Parent-Student Handbook for non-uniform dress code.

Also, tomorrow Andrew Chin will be having a concert at school at 1:00 pm.  You are welcome to return to school to enjoy this concert with the school.

Do you have photos of the class or groups of children from the class?  If so, please e-mail them to me.  The Yearbook Committee is looking for photos to put in the yearbook.

Just a friendly reminder, please do not send a toy to school.  In the last few weeks, I have noticed an increase of children bringing toys to school.  As stated at Back to School Night, I would appreciate if toys are left at home as they pose as a distraction for your child and for the other students.  If your child needs a comfort item due to separation, please discuss this with me.  Thank you for your attention.

This week:
Theme: Presidents

Religion - Jesus' friends
Math - writing number 17, Counting to 30 and 100 by 10s, addition
ELA - writing letter Ee, Reviewing all letters and sounds, sight words (please refer to the sight words placed at the back of your child's folder).
Social Studies - presidents and our country

Have a great week!

Mrs. Paragas

Week 23

Dear TK Families,

I hope you enjoyed a day filled with love on Valentine's Day.  I felt so much love from your children with their Valentine's Day greetings, cards, hugs, and goodies.  Friday is our February Birthday snack and in combination, also our Valentine's "celebration".

Below is the note Mrs. Hayden sent out regarding returning your letter of intent.  Whatever your decision is for your child for next year (I hope you stay with us!!), please return your Intent Form which was given to you last week.  If every family in our class returns the form, we can have a chance for non-uniform dress!

Hello Parents/Guardians, Your kids love Free Dress and on Wednesday, February 22nd you can help them earn this fun privilege.  The Intent to Re-register Form was sent home on Monday February 6th through your oldest returning student (the form is attached if you did not receive it).  We still have many families who have not returned the form and the $50 per student re-enrollment fee.  We are currently in the careful process of planning and budgeting for the 2017-2018 School Year and need ALL Families to turn in their intent form by Friday, February 17th.  Every class with 100% response by turning in the Intent to Re-register Form will earn Free Dress on Wednesday, February 22nd (Andrew Chinn is coming that day so it will be extra fun!). Please help your child earn Free Dress and more importantly help us in planning another successful school year! Blessings,Mrs. Hayden

This week's theme:
Valentine's Day and 3 Little Pigs

• Religion - Valentine's Day, Love
• Math - Writing 16; Counting to 30 and Counting to 100 by ones and tens; Ten Frames, basic addition
• ELA - Characters and Setting of a story, comprehension checks; writing letter Cc and Dd, All letters sounds
• Sight Word: love, have

Have a great week!

Mrs. Paragas

Week 22 Newsletter

Dear TK Families,

Tomorrow is our 100th Day in TK!  We have been practicing how to count to 100 for the past couple weeks.  Hitting 100 days is a milestone as we have made so much growth this year.

Valentine's Day is next week.  If you choose to send Valentine's cards for your child to pass out, please do not write each child's name.  Please have your child sign his/her name only.  This will make passing out cards much faster and more enjoyable.  If you plan to send a little candy treat, please DO NOT send chocolates or candies that contain nuts - such as (but not limited to) Reese's, Snickers, etc.

Birthday Snack will be on Friday, February 17.  If your child has a birthday this month, our wonderful room parents will contact you.

February Mystery Share - this month's Share theme is love and presidents/patriotism.  Just a reminder to stay on topic so that it is easy for the students to guess their mystery item.  The following is the schedule for sharing:

February 13 - Numbers 18-20
February 14 - Numbers 15- 17
February 15 - Numbers 13-14
February 16 - Numbers 11-12
February 17 - Numbers 9-10
February 21 - Numbers 7-8
February 22 - Numbers 4-6
February 23 - Numbers 1-3


This week's theme:
3 Billy Goats Gruff/Goats/100 Days

Religion - Our family
Math - 100, number 15, ten frames/addition, patterns
ELA - fairy tales, 100 days of school, characters and setting
Science - goats
Social Studies - our county

Have a great week!

Mrs. Paragas