Back to School Night is Monday August 17th at 5:30. We will meet in the cafeteria for announcements and then you will be able to come to Room 4 to find out all about our daily schedule, project based learning, homework, and opportunities to volunteer in and outside the classroom. Also, we will discuss any questions you may have about our school or transitional kindergarten/ kindergarten multi-age classroom. 

The best way to get involved starting out this year is to get fingerprinted. This process will allow you to drive on field trips and we need all the drivers we can get (even if you only available for 1 or 2). The Bucks Booster Club (TBBC) will be in the cafeteria at 4:00pm on Monday to assist those you who would like to drive. Please also bring your driver’s license, proof of insurance and a DMV Driver Request. You can get a DMV print out at https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/dmv/detail/online/dr. At the least please get fingerprinted on Monday and the rest of the paperwork can be turned in at a later date. TBBC will be partially funding your fingerprinting process and you will never have to be fingerprinted again as long as your child stays in the Auburn Union School District.

Last, to help make our lunch and snack time go smoother please designate a snack in their lunch box that is labeled with their name on it. The lunchbox tub and snack basket will be outside the classroom. I will also keep a sharpie attached to the basket just in case. Once students come in the classroom they will move their name star card under "Lunch Box, Cold Pack, or School Lunch" on a pocket chart. The cold pack and school lunch are provided by Ms. Nina in the cafeteria. In order to receive school lunch parents must have filled out their Free and Reduced Lunch Form in the first day or registration packet or turn in money in a grey metal box in the office by the preschool front door. If turning in money put your student's first and last name and student ID number (myself or Ms. Kim can provide). Be sure to keep up with money in the box, so that our sweet yet firm Ms. Nina doesn't send home a bill with your student. And if your child is receiving breakfast from Ms. Nina in the morning they will need to bring their own snack from home for first recess. At first recess Ms. Nina will only give out "second chance breakfast" which is NOT a snack. It is important that all students have a small snack around 10:00 am in order to have enough energy to get through the rest of our day.

One more thing... I have been taking such wonderful pictures of our students. Unfortunately, I may only share individual photos to individual families. Any group photos can not be shared unless you sign off on a photo release for the school and a separate release for my blog/shutterfly account. Keep that in mind for Back to School Night on Monday when you are filling out your packet (I was also a photography major in college, so I love taking photos *wink).

How excited are you for the new school year? Most likely A LOT since you might be running out of ideas and activities to entertain you little ones this summer. Well don't worry the school year is about to begin and not only is it new for your Kindergartner, but it is also new for me! 

Over the last 3 years I have taught second grade. I loved every moment of it; from the family history projects to our exploding volcanoes! This year I get to return to my first classroom setting of Kindergarten and I am so excited to bring along with me a love of science. Also, I know exactly where they need to be in a couple of years, so I will also look towards meeting goals that help every child feel successful when they leave at the end of the year.

Also, to help get the year started off quickly I would like to schedule some time to assess your child for where they are right now. That way we can create goals for them each trimester to reach!

Below is a calendar that you can click on and change the title of the appointment to your name and your child's name. If you have any difficulty, please email me directly with a time and date you would like to come. I will put it in myself (first come first serve). This calendar will be used throughout the year for you to schedule any time needed to discuss anything about your experience at AVCCS (my door is always open). 

Thank you so much for attending! Please feel free to contact me with any further questions that you may have forgotten to ask. Visit the contact page or leave a comment below.

Sign up for instant notifications of blog posts or important classroom news via text message. Please go to www.remind.com/join/14-15avcc2 or scan QR code below.


Below are the handouts from our presentation.

Today was such a great day! It was so amazing to see how much
they have grown since last year and it seems we are in for a great year full of
laughter, excitement, and a lot of moving and shaking!
 
We were very relaxed today and we played get to know each other
games. We also discussed what it means to be a great writer. Writing in second
grade is very important because it is my job to get them prepared for all the
papers, essays, and argumentive writing they will do in the future. Today's
focus on writing was expressing ourselves freely.
The students understood that writing is for fun and to help our brains grow!
They wrote in their journals today for the first time and were able to write
about whatever they wanted. I heard some great stories, both imaginary and real
life experiences. I encourage all the students to write whatever comes to them
and not to be concerned about following all the "writing rules." Our first draft
is always great! After we finish we can go back and make it
"perfect."

In an effort to create better communication I will be posting every Friday on this blog. The goal of the Friday post is to (1) inform you of the upcoming week's activities in the Newsletter and (2) display activities, projects, and concepts completed through out the current week. The newsletter and other information will still be sent by email, but every Friday afternoon I hope to publish all of our activities accomplished through out the week and inform you of the following week's goals.

To easily access the newsletter please go to the Newsletter page on this website by clicking above in the menu.

As we get back into the swing of school there will be a few changes to the classroom. Now that we have computers we will be able to do small group more effectively. This means students will be provided with more small-group/ one-on-one attention that is focused at their learning level.

There will also be small changes to the homework. Spelling groups will stay the same for the next couple of weeks, but they will eventually change to spelling patterns that meet or enhance your student's individually spelling ability.

Each week student's will also work on a book report. For students who are reading chapter books, they will write a book report about a chapter they are reading. There will be a couple different of formats students can use. Be sure to look for those different book report forms on the documents page of this website.

Look for these changes starting in mid-late January. For now homework will stay the same as in the previous trimester.

To see our Family History Project video and slideshow of the Holiday Party please check your email for the link. The link will take you to a new blog that is password protected and will be updated with videos and pictures of activities in the classroom. Check your email for the password.

Here are a few of our student's cute Melting Snowman poems. Students created either a stanza poem or an acrostic poem about a snowman. Then they wrote each stanza or acrostic line on parts of the snowman. Then you can turn each part to uncover the poetry. They came out to be very adorable!

You can sign up for a parent teacher conference online. The dates and times available are:

Monday November 18th 9:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday November 19th 2:00pm - 4:30pm
Wednesday November 20th 2:00pm - 4:30pm
Thursday November 21st 2:00pm - 4:30pm

Click Book Now and click on the date first. Then click on the time that works best for you. You will receive an email that will let you know you made the appointment. Once I have reviewed the appointment I will confirm it and you will receive a second email confirming the date and time.

Please contact me if there are any questions about booking.

Each conference is 15 minutes long. We will discuss academics and social skills. We will also discuss short-term and long-term goals as we venture into Trimester 2.

Hi Parents,

I made a mistake in the newsletter...
The field trip to the Roseville Arts Academy is on October 18th at 10:00AM. Permission slips will be sent out this Friday.

The next field trip is on November 19th. Originally we were put on a wait-list for this field trip and we have been moved up to visit the Nimbus Fish Hatchery.

An email will be sent out soon with more information about the October field trip.

Thanks!

An example of a first grade classroom using blogging as an educational tool.

If you would also like to look at my previous research and experience in blogging with kids please click on the link. Developing Weblogs for use with Elementary Curriculum, Demonstration of Learning, and as an Effective Communication Tool