Newsaug22 2014

News & Notes from Room 3
Hoover School
August 22, 2014

Off to a GREAT Start
Welcome to
!"#$%&'(&)%#* I am
thrilled to report that the
students in Room 1 have
successfully completed
their first week in
Kindergarten! Thank you
for sending me such enthusiastic and
cooperative kids. I am enjoying getting to
know each of them and look forward to a
fantastic year ahead!
In these last 4 days we spent a good
deal of time going over routines and
procedures for daily life in our classroom.
First thing each day we gather on the carpet
for our morning meeting during which we
take attendance, pledge allegiance to the
flag, sing a few songs, and read a story. We
quickly learned to freeze and respond to my
call, Stop, look, and listen. We also
practiced transitioning from one activity to the
next with the 1,2,3 signal. Ask your child to
explain.
In an effort to establish a sense of
appropriate school behavior, we spent the
week reading and discussing the adventures
of Bono the monkey. Please take the time to
read this book to/with your child and discuss
the questions at the end. He/she may
continue coloring the pages (if not finished
already) and keep the book at home to read
again and again!
We also generated a list of 3 class
agreements, which we decided are necessary
in order for all of us to feel safe, happy, and
successful:

! Be friendly and safe.
! Always do Whole Body Listening.
! Be quiet when the teacher is talking.
! Use an indoor voice.

These are posted in the room and everyone
had a chance to sign his/her name as a
promise to adhere to these agreements.

Getting to know each other
It takes time to build a classroom
community and in the beginning of the year
we spend a lot of time getting to know our
classmates. This week we began the routine
of our Greeting Circle, during which we pass
an object from person to person as we say
good morning. Since Hoover draws students
from all over Palo Alto, I encourage you to
network with other parents and set up
playdates at nearby parks or other venues.

Literacy
We spend a lot of time in kindergarten
chanting rhymes and reciting poems. This
week we learned a new way to sing the
alphabet called, The ABC Rap. Ask your
child to try chanting it (or part of it).
If you havent met Pete the Cat, ask
your child about him.
This week we read and
listened to the author
read aloud, Pete the
Cat: Rocking in My
School Shoes. Pete
demonstrates keeping
calm under stress,
such as being nervous
about going to school.
We put our fine motor
skills to work as we created Pete during a
directed art lesson and we learned how to
draw a cat using basic shapes.
Other work included learning
procedures for our daily Writing Workshop.
Each child received a special writing folder in
which to keep his/her writing samples both
finished and in progress. I look forward to
explaining more about this process at Back to
School Night when Ill be giving a brief
demonstration of the evolution of a childs
writing so youll know just what to expect this
year.

Math Matters
Part of our daily routine includes a
number of activities centered on the calendar.
News & Notes from Room 3
Hoover School
August 22, 2014

Each day a different student has the job of
calendar helper and is responsible for
turning over the next date on the chart, for
leading the class in counting up all of the
numbers, for marking the weather graph, and
for helping us note the dates yesterday,
today, and tomorrow.

Free Choice & Social Skills
In addition to our academic pursuits,
we choose how to spend some of our time
each day. This week we spent some time
exploring Tool Boxes, which hold a variety
of manipulatives that well be using during
math. Free exploration activities allow for
creative play and language building, but also
strengthen skills like cooperation, negotiation,
patience, and how to deal with
disappointment. Learning to get along with
others and conflict resolution are important
kindergarten concepts.

This weeks read-aloud books
Children benefit from hearing stories
read aloud multiple times. Each week Ill list a
few of our favorites in case youd like to look
for them at the library:

The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn
We Share Everything by
Robert Munsch
Howard B.
Wigglebottom Learns to
Listen by
How Do Dinosaurs Go
to School? by Jane
Yolen
My Teacher Sleeps in
School by Leatie Weiss
If You Take a Mouse to
School by Laura
Numeroff
Pete the Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes
by Eric Litwin

Friendly Reminders
Mon. 8/25: Return your Friday Folder to
school.
Tue. 9/2: Back to School Night
Please remember that this is an adults-only
event and that there will be no childcare
provided at Hoover.

FYI
When your child arrives in the morning,
s/he should proceed directly to class.
Children are to remain seated at the picnic
tables until their teachers open their doors.
They are not permitted to play on the
playground. Our tables are the very first two
closest to the fence. Ive asked the kids to
line up at the door when they hear the first
bell. Ill be sore to be ready for business each
day by 7:55.

Home-School Communication
Today your child brought home a
Friday Folder. Please be sure to check this
folder every week for important papers and
completed work. The folder should come
back to school on Monday.

Have a GREAT weekend!
" Ms. Potter

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News & Notes from Room 3

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