Mrs. Agee's Kindergarten

Happy Summer!

2008-06-17T14:10:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone has a fabulous summer and a great time in 1st Grade! Keep in touch!!!

TOMORROW IS OUR LAST DAY!

2008-06-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

Wow...I can hardly believe that tomorrow is already here - the last day of school!

I hope to see many of you at the park tomorrow morning (I will be there by 7:45am) and then again in our classroom at 10:15am for a short end of the year ceremony!

It has been a phenomenal year getting to know you, your children, and your families. Your children have learned so much this year and I have learned from them as well. Although you won't see my face on a daily basis next year, I promise to stop by and say hello and I hope to keep in touch through email as well!

Thank you for entrusting your children to me this year! You are all amazing!!!!

:)
Amanda

LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL SCHEDULE

2008-05-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL FOR MRS. AGEE’S CLASS

**Please make note of the following information for this week!

Monday: Game Day with Mrs. Agee
***Your children may bring ONE (non-electronic) game to school to share with our class. Ex. - board game, toy, book, etc.

Tuesday: Beach Walk with Mr. Bryant’s Class
***Please pack a snack in a disposable container so nothing gets left behind at the beach! We will return by 11:15am.

Wednesday: “Finding Nemo” Pajama and Movie Day
***Wear your pajamas, bring your pillow and/or blanket, a stuffed animal, and get ready for a cozy day!

Thursday: Yearbook Signing, Favorite Stories, Favorite Songs, Etc.
***Regular day today – just hanging out with our friends!

Friday: LAST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
***The last day of Kindergarten is full of excitement, energy, and emotion. Our day will begin AT THE PARK at 7:49am, but will end at 10:50am in our classroom. We will be enjoying breakfast treats, jumpy house fun, and play time at the park and/or Kindergarten playground until 9:20am. You are then invited to join us in Room 15 at 10:15am for a brief end of the year ceremony and sharing of our favorite Kindergarten moments. If you cannot join us for the ceremony, please pick up your child from our classroom by 10:50am!

As always, PLEASE email me or call me if you have ANY questions!

Thanks for an amazing year!

Amanda

What a success!

2008-05-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

It was so GREAT to see ALL of you at Open House last night! I had a great time visiting with you and watching your enthusiasm as your children guided you around our classroom. The cookies were gone, the toys were cleaned up, and the sign-in sheet was full; I'd say that was a successful and fun evening!

I hope that everyone enjoys this extended holiday weekend. I look forward to seeing everyone on Tuesday!

Just a few reminders:
*No sharing this week!
*Please return the gold permission slip for our beach walk by WEDNESDAY!
*Please send in your $5 for the last day of school party by WEDNESDAY (to Gabby)!
*Return Take Home Reading Folders this week!
*The final homework assignement will go home this week - please return by Friday!

Have a great weekend!

Amanda :)

Open House Update

2008-05-20T06:10:00.000-07:00

OPEN HOUSE IS THIS THURSDAY, MAY 22nd!

Open House will begin at 6:30pm and will end at 8:00pm. I will be in the classroom starting at 6:00pm(a little later than the last post). Have some pasta to support the 5th graders and then come on up!

See you then!

Amanda Agee

Week of May 19th

2008-05-18T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful sunny weather this weekend! Your children are very excited about being 1st graders in 14 days, but also have expressed their sadness about leaving Kindergarten. I know exactly how they feel! :)

If your child hasn't brought in their ocean animal model to share with the class, please make sure to send it in before Thursday so I can put it up before Open House.

Thanks to those of you who have already sent in your $5 towards our End of the Year Celebration! If you haven't had a chance to do so, please send it in an envelope with Gabby's name on it so it gets to the right person!

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at Open House on Thursday! We have been working REALLY hard in class to have our best work ready to show off. I will be in the classroom starting at 5:00pm. Since both our class and Ms. Wolcott's class will be in and out of the room all night I wanted to give you the option to come by earlier if you'd like!

This will be our FINAL week of Take Home Reading! Please make sure to return this week's books by Tuesday, May 27th at the latest. Your children have made AMAZING progress in their reading and writing skills this year - I am very proud of them!

Have a great week and hope to see all of you on Thursday evening.

Amanda

Week of May 12th

2008-05-12T20:30:00.000-07:00

Wow...only four weeks to go! It is hard to believe that the year is coming to a close. It was so great to see many of you at the Auction on Friday night - Brian and I had a great time!!!

Tomorrow night is the FINAL Parent Alliance Meeting of the school year. This meeting will be covering many important issues that will affect your child's future education: budget cuts, fundraising, and more. Also, our very own, Sara Higgins (Ava's Mom) will be giving a presentation on ideas for improving the school lunch program; which is one of the only areas of improvement parents highlighted in the survey that went out at the beginning of the year. The meeting begins at 6:30 in the library, childcare is provided and there are some seriously good snacks! PLEASE CONSIDER ATTENDING - YOUR SUPPORT IMPACTS RIO DEL MAR IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE!!!!

This week we are continuing our ocean unit and will be learning about fish, sea anemones, crabs, and lobsters. Reading folders will come home this week and then again next week for the final time. Remember to keep your children reading over the summer to ensure they retain ALL that they have learned this past year! Our intro to subtraction is going well. We have been EXTREMELY busy making a few individual student books which will be on display at Open House!

Please mark your calendars: OPEN HOUSE THURSDAY MAY 22nd!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Watch folders for information and permission slip for our final field trip of the year. We will be walking to the beach with Mr. Bryant's class (our reading buddies) on Tuesday, June 3rd. I will only need 2 - 3 parent volunteers to come along as a chaperone. If you haven't gone on a field trip yet this year and would like to join us for this last one, please let me know! Thanks!

Don't forget to send your child's ocean animal model sharing in either this week or next week! We have had one fabulous take-out box crab sent in so far!

Have a great week!

Amanda

Week of May 5th

2008-05-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Time is just flying by and we now only have 5 weeks left in our Kindergarten year! As the year starts to slowly come to a close, we are still busy as bees in Room 15.
We have been reading and writing every day. Two of our large projects have been individual student books about the ocean and about themselves. The final products will be on display at Open House on Thursday, May 22nd!

The children are fully engrossed in the ocean unit and are sucking up every new fact they hear; and teaching me a few things as well! Please watch for a note in folders regarding an optional, but encouraged, ocean model sharing project.

This week we will move on to an introduction on subtraction. Your children did an amazing job grasping the basic concepts of addition and we will continue to review that over the next few weeks. Basic subtraction concepts will be our final math unit of the year.

I hope to see many of you at the RDM Dinner, Dance & Auction on Friday. Thanks to Michelle Chapa and many others...we'll be there too!!

Have a fabulous week!

Amanda

Week of April 28th

2008-04-26T18:05:00.001-07:00

A few items to cover for next week:

****The FINAL Scholastic Book Order of the year is due MONDAY!!! You can order online or send your order into school in your child's red folder. Again, if you'd like help choosing books at your child's reading level, please email me or catch me on Monday!

****LONG MARINE LAB FIELD TRIP IS FRIDAY! We will leave at 8:00am SHARP and be back between 11:30 - 12:00pm. Unless you have notified me of other arrangements, you can pick up your child at the park at that time! Please send their booster seats and paper sack lunches already labeled with their names. It can get quite windy at the Seymour Center so please send a sweatshirt or a jacket.

****Sharing this week will have an OCEAN theme! Please help your child pick out an object or picture of something to do with the ocean, beach, etc.

Start to look around our classroom for signs of an ocean transformation! We are having a blast!

:) Amanda

Week of April 21st

2008-04-20T14:12:00.000-07:00

Hello!

This week we will be "diving" into our ocean unit, which will carry us through until the end of the year. This is my favorite unit to teach and the kids really love to learn about the many amazing animals that call the ocean their home! If you any expertise in this area that you would like to share, please let me know!

Please make sure to turn the permission slip and field trip information to me ASAP.

Book orders will be going home on Tuesday and will be due by the following Monday. Remember you can order online or send your order in to school. This is a great time to purchase books for summer reading!

We have been reading and writing up a storm in class. The many class books that we have written will be on display at Open House, Thursday May 22nd! Your children are making great leaps and bounds in their reading skills. Daily reading and rereading of known texts is a important way of building fluency skills! Keep it up! Students are also working towards earning their high frequency word certificate by knowing all 33 words by site! I have sent home 14 awards and students know they can ask me at any time if they are ready to try for theirs - I am so proud of them! They have all made improvement since report cards went home just last month!

In Math students have been working with addition facts 0 - 10. Math is all around us so have your child make up simple addition problems using kitchen utensils, nature, crayons, clothes, etc!

In Science we are learning about plants (shrubs, trees, grasses, and flowers) and how they grow. Our FABULOUS planter box (built by Ted Goyette) looks amazing and is full of beautiful flowers and herbs (thanks to all of you who donated soil and plants).

Tuesday the 22nd is Earth Day! We will be talking about ways we can keep our Earth clean and will also be doing some school clean-up around campus!

We are just busy as bees in Room 15! Let me know if you have any questions!

:) Amanda

Week of April 7th

2008-04-08T17:10:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Sorry this is a few days late! I will returning back to school tomorrow and am glad to hear from Ms. Weston that the children were great the last two days. I can hardly wait to see the new planter box outside of our classroom. If you were interested in donating soil and/or plants, touch bases with me either in class or through email tomorrow and we'll get that situated!

Since I was home sick we won't be doing Take-Home Reading folders this week, but will resume that on Monday, April 14th.

This Thursday we will be completeing a student-made silent auction item for the Rio del Mar Golf Tournament, Dinner, and Dance! The students will be adding fingerprint artwork to a terra cotta planter that will be part of the on-line auction at the end of the month. The students will also get to help plant flowers in our new planter (a HUGE thank you to Ted Goyette and anyone else who lent a hand)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Along with the weekly homework, please continue to practice the 33 high frequency words every night and also spend at least 20 minutes a day reading to or with your child.

We enjoyed a WONDERFUL field trip to Live Earth Farm last Friday. I hope your children filled you in on the chicken coop, fava bean field, baby goats, and bead bracelet activity! What an amazing experience for all of us.

Our next field trip will be to Long's Marine Lab in Santa Cruz on Friday, May 3rd. Please watch for permission slips and paperwork coming home in the next week or so.

Have a great week,
Amanda

Happy Spring Break

2008-03-20T21:49:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring Break!!!

I hope everyone enjoys their spring break and can find some time to relax and fun with your children! It is hard to believe that we only have a few months left in school. I look forward to seeing all of you on the 31st! Don't forget we have a fabulous field trip scheduled for Friday, April 4th to Live Earth Farm in Watsonville. Thanks in advance to those who have offered to drive; I will be emailing you soon with further information.

Upon our return to school, we will be continuing our discussion on spring, gardening, and growing fruits and vegetables. I would LOVE for the students to have a chance to plant their own garden, but we need a space to do so! If anyone is in the carpentry or landscaping business OR would like to help put in a long narrow planter box outside our classroom (on the hillside of the railing), please send me an email at your convenience: mandabug00@hotmail.com

Enjoy the next week off - I will be doing so on a cruise to Mexico! :)

Thanks for all of your hard work and dedication; your children are amazing!

Amanda Agee

****To those who ordered from the April book order, I'm sorry that it did not come in before Spring Break. I expect it to be waiting for us when we return to school!

Week of March 17th!

2008-03-15T11:26:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Well we have a short week this week (NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY), followed by a week off for Spring Break. I hope you are all planning some fun and/or relaxing activities with the family.

This week is going to fly by in Room 15:

Monday: St. Patrick's Day! It is also a school spirit day so don't forget to wear something green and do something crazy to your hair(if you'd like)! We will be searching for leprechauns and sorting lucky charms too!

Tuesday: Regular Day!

Wednesday: We will be watching the 1st Grade Play from 8:20 - 8:55, volunteers for today are welcome to join us and then follow us up to the room to help out until recess (if you can).

Thursday: First Day of Spring! We will be decorating cookies to enjoy with our reading buddies down at the park. We will be having regular centers today as well.

Remember no take home reading this week, but please keep reading to your child at least 20 minutes every day.

Thanks for all of your hard work at home!

Amanda Agee

Week of March 10th!

2008-03-08T17:37:00.001-08:00

Hello everyone!

Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful sunshine this weekend (or at least it was sunny in Salinas)!

For sharing this week, please have your child bring in an object that is somehow a product of a farm animal (ex. milk carton, wool sweater, egg carton, yogurt cup, etc.). These items will add to our discussion on how farm animals are used in various ways.

It was so great to see so many of you at the SPECTRA performance on Wednesday! We will truly miss seeing Christopher on Wednesdays - what a gift he is to all he works with!

This Thursday, March 13th students will enjoy an assembly by Rock Lerum from 8 - 8:50am. If you volunteer on Thursdays you are welcome to join us and then come back to class after for a shortened center time if you'd like!

We are continuing to read, write, count, and learn many many things in Room 15! Stop by any time to take at look at your childrens' writing on the walls and Georgia O'Keefe flowers that will be up early this week (they are stunning)!

As usual, if you have any questions please email or call!

Thanks so much for all you do at home! Report cards will be coming home on Friday and I'm happy to say that everyone has made great progress this trimester!

Amanda

Is it really March already???

2008-03-01T17:20:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

I can't believe that we are already into March! Where did February go?! I'm hoping for many days of warm and sunny weather ahead. :)

The March & April Scholastic book order forms will be coming home in folders on Monday. If you'd like to order this time, please either place your order online or send your payment into class by this FRIDAY, MARCH 7th! The quick due date is to ensure we receive our books before Spring Break!

We are in the middle of our mini-unit of farm animals and life on the farm. We have been writing about farm animals, reading farm stories, learning about various animals, and much more! If you have a special farm story you would like to share with the class, please let me know. You can either send it to school with your child or set up a time with me to be a guest reader. This week's sharing theme will be: farm.

We have been so busy in class that I haven't updated you on ALL of the learning that has been taking place. Your children are reading and writing up a storm EVERY day! We are focusing on the short o word families (og, ot, ock, op). We are also really working on memorizing our high frequency words. This week I will introduce the word "have". In Math, your children are learning about the value of a penny, nickel, and dime. They are having fun using real money in class to trade in coins and buy fake objects. Please make sure to practice writing from 1 - 30 at home!

I will be sending home take home reading for the week of March 3rd and March 10th, but not March 17th! The public library and Kaleidoscope are great resources for finding books at your child's level to read over Spring Break!

PLEASE TURN IN YOUR FEBRUARY READING LOGS IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO! THANK YOU!

See you on Monday!

~Amanda

Week of February 19th

2008-02-18T21:02:00.001-08:00

Hello!

I hope everyone enjoyed their three day weekend!

This past week your child's weekly homework had a different look! In order to include our learning of high frequency words and word families, I decided to change the format. This format may take a few more minutes each evening, but is a great review of the learning we are doing in class. The homework will continue to come hom on Mondays but the due date will now be Friday OR Monday!! I know how busy your lives are so if you'd rather have your child complete the homework over the weekend and turn it in on Monday please feel free to do so! If you have any questions about the new format, just let me know.

A reminder that presale YEARBOOK ORDERS are due on FRIDAY! If you would like your child to have a school yearbook, now is the time to buy. I have extra order forms in the classroom if you need one.

Classroom Learning:

Language Arts: Your children will continue to read with me on Mondays and Tuesdays in order to send home their Take Home Reading Folders on Tuesdays. We are also focusing on short i and short o word families. We have been spending a few days a week writing at centers, in journals, and as a whole class.

Math: Over the next couple of weeks we will begin a very basic introduction to money and time. We will introduce the value of the penny, nickel, and dime and will show students how to tell time by the hour.

Science: We are beginning the second unit in our Science series: Plants and Animals.

In the weeks to come we will be doing a mini-unit on "The Farm." This unit will give students a look at life on a farm, farm animals, and the differences between farms of today and of the past.

Have a fabulous week!

Amanda

Sharing: Student Choice

Valentine's Day!

2008-02-05T18:11:00.001-08:00

We will be celebrating Valentine's Day on Thursday, February 14th! Students will be exchanging valentines after recess and then enjoying a sweet treat together.

Please have your child bring 20 valentines to school signed with their name only! In order to make it easier for students to deliver their valentines, please have them sign only THEIR names and not the names of individual students!

Let me know if you have any questions!

Just a reminder we don't have school on Monday, February 11th and 18th.

Week of February 4th

2008-02-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!

A few reminders about next week:

*Winter Clothing Drive: Please bring in at least one item of warm winter clothing to support the needy families of Santa Cruz County! Some of the needed items are: gloves, hats, socks, jackets, and travel size toiletries.

*100th Day: Please have your child bring in their collection of 100 items in a baggie for our 100th Day Celebration on Monday, February 4th!

*Sharing: This week will be an open sharing week! Your child can bring in ONE item of their choice!

Last Week's Learning:

Language Arts: Take Home Reading began and it sounds like it is a huge success! Remember reading the same book multiple times helps build students' fluency skills and reading confidence. We also are working on our short i word families (-it, -ig, -in, -ip, -ill, -ick). Your children are practicing their high frequency/sight words everyday! I will be sending home a list of these words soon with some game ideas for practicing them at home.

Math: We are continuing to focus on numbers 11 - 20 and will soon be moving on to an introduction to time and money. Please practice reading, writing, and counting from 1 - 30.

Science: Our "investigation" this week was called "Sink or Float?" Students learned what characteristics objects need to sink or float.

Theme: We have completed our study of winter, mittens, and snow and will be learning about many "February" themes! Rain, Valentine's Day, President's Day, etc....

As always, if you have any questions please call the school or email me at mandabug00@hotmail.com!

Have a great week,
Amanda

Week of January 28th

2008-01-27T17:53:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Just a late reminder that Scholastic Book Orders are due TOMORROW, Monday the 28th! I will wait until Tuesday to order just in case anyway forgot and still wants to place a last minute order.

This week we will be starting our Take Home Reading Program. Please look in TUESDAYS folders for an explanation letter and your child's reading folder. The folders will come home on Tuesdays and should be returned on Friday, or Monday at the latest! I will not be able to send new books home until the folder is returned.

Remember to wait and bring in your winter clothes donations during the week of February 4th (next week)!

Our 100th Day of school is on Monday, Feb. 4th and we will be having a fun celebration. A baggie and note will be coming home this week. Please help your child think of 100 things to collect and send them to school in the baggie for us to share on the 100th Day!

New High Frequency Words: play, the, and, is
New Word Families: short i families; -it, -ig, -in, -ick, -ill
Math: practice writing numbers 11 - 20
Science: Phases of Water (solid, liquid, gas); Sink or Float
Thematic: "The Mitten" by Jan Brett mini-literature unit

Please let me know if I can answer any questions! Thank you and have a great week!

Amanda

Yearbooks & Winter Clothes Drive

2008-01-23T18:46:00.000-08:00

In today's folders you should have found a yearbook order form on the "Bring Back Side" that is due by February 22nd! The yearbooks cost $15 and are printed in color. Nicole Molina (Justin's Mommy) is doing our yearbook page so if you have any pictures you would like her to consider, please email them to her at her address on our class contact sheet!

The past two weeks we have been learning about the dreams and wishes of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as well as about the many characteristics of winter weather. In class, we had a discussion about what kind and caring things we could do as a class to help those who may not have the needed warm clothes for this cold winter season. I was very pleased to hear many of your children suggest giving, donating, or buying winter clothing for those in need. We decided as a class that if every family could help by donating at least one item we could really make a difference for those less fortunate in our community.

So, with this information I did some research and have talked with the Social Services Department at The Salvation Army in Santa Cruz. They would LOVE our help and were touched by our offer to provide clothing at this much needed time. We're asking that each family donate one item of either gently used or new winter clothing. The biggest needs at this time are:
*Socks (men, women, children)
*Gloves/Mittens
*Hats
*Travel Size Toiletries (soap, shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, etc)
*Jackets/Sweatshirts
*Blankets

I am so excited about this opportunity for our children to make a difference in our community and learn a bit about gratitude, appreciation, and gratefulness!

Please wait to send in your donated items until the week of February 4th. If you have any questions please let me know!

Thank you,
Amanda

Week of January 21st

2008-01-20T12:59:00.000-08:00

Hello Room 15!

I hope everyone enjoys their extra day off! We have been talking about Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in class and the students came up with their dreams for our world. We will have them up in the classroom by Wednesday or Thursday; please take a look when you get a chance.

We were quite busy last week writing about things we like and don't like about winter. Your children did an amazing job of using their knowledge of letter sounds to write new words and are really memorizing how to read and spell their high frequency words. Their amazing writing is displayed on the bulletin board and windows in our classroom.

A new set of Scholastic Book Orders will go home on Tuesday and will be due on Monday, January 28th! If you would like to order, please either send your check and order forms in to school in your child's red folder or order online at www.scholastic.com/parentordering

This week we will start our journal writing, learn two new high frequency words, start working with short "i" words (sit, pig, lid, etc.), and focus on numbers 11 - 20.

Keep reading to and with your child for at least 20 minutes a day! Please watch for information regarding a "winter clothes drive" that our class is going to take part in.

Thanks for all of your support! Please contact me with any questions or concerns!

Amanda

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year everyone!

I cannot believe it is 2008! 2007 sure did fly by! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and was able to spend time with family and friends. I have been going non-stop but I am looking forward to some downtime soon.

School starts back on Tuesday, January 15th! I look forward to seeing you then. If you are out and about shopping, our classroom is in need of paper towels and glue sticks (preferably the STAPLES brand or Elmer's (white glue not purple))!!!!

Thank you and we'll see you in two weeks!

Amanda/Mrs. Agee

WEEK OF DEC. 17th!

2007-12-16T19:05:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!

Well 5 more days to go until our well deserved winter break! I hope that everyone is enjoying the holiday season and is ready for some time off - I am!

Room 15 will be quite the busy place this week! Here is a glance at what's to come:

**I am still looking for someone to bake 2 dozen gingerbread men for the students to decorate on TUESDAY!!! They are going to mysteriously "run away" and we will have to go find them. This is always an exciting activity, so please let me know if you can help! Christy is bringing in the decorating supplies, all we need are the cookies.

**Thursday is our class party! NO SNACK NEEDED! We will be eating after recess and doing fun holiday/winter activities during centers. Please feel free to stop by any time that day. We will be in ROOM 15 for the entire morning.

**Friday is going to be a "Cozy Day"! Students are encouraged to wear either pajamas or "cozy" clothes. They may also bring ONE stuffed animal or blanket if they'd like. We will be finishing up the movie "Polar Express," reading some wonderful winter stories, hanging out, and having fun! We will still be going to reading buddies, but we WILL NOT be having sharing!

****PLEASE MAKE SURE TO BRING BACKPACKS AND FOLDERS EVERY DAY THIS WEEK!!!****

If you've been wondering what has been happening during centers the past few weeks here is a quick summary:

Language Arts: We have been busy reading short a words and little stories that short a words in them. Students have been practicing the word families -an, -ad,
-at, -ag. They have also been doing more writing and learning that a complete sentence starts with a CAPITAL letter, ends with a PERIOD, and has SPACES between each WORD. After we return from winter break we will be starting a "Take-Home Reading Folder" that we will go home each week with books for students to read independently and then send back to school.

Math: We finished up our unit on measurement and are continuing to work on number formation, complex patterning, and every day math skills. When we return to school we will move on to numbers 11 - 30 (writing, recognizing, number order) and will also dive into an INTRODUCTORY unit on money and time.

Science: We have started our weekly Science lessons and are currently learning about matter (solid, liquid, gas), observation skills, and magnets!

Thematic Unit: We have been reading MANY versions of "The Gingerbread Man." Your children have really enjoyed hearing the different stories and we have some great discussions comparing the CHARACTERS, SETTING, and ENDING!

Think I covered almost everything! Please email me if you have any questions or comments about this week!

Happy Holidays,
Amanda
mandabug00@hotmail.com

7 days to go...

2007-12-12T19:31:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone!

Well our Winter Break is quickly approaching!!! Here are a few reminders for the next week and half:

Thursday Dec. 13th: KINDERGARTEN COOKIE SWAP 6:30 - 8:00pm

Thursday Dec. 20th: Holiday Centers and Party (all festivities in Room 15)

Friday Dec. 21st: Cozy Day in Kindergarten (children are welcome to dress in jammies or comfy clothes and bring their favorite blanket and/or stuffed animal). We will be spending the day reading stories, singing songs, finishing "Polar Express" and more!!!

*****Next Tuesday we will be decorating gingerbread cookies that are going to mysteriously "run away"! If you would like to help out by baking enough gingerbread boys/girls for our class and/or bring in items to decorate them, please email me ASAP. mandabug00@hotmail.com In the midst of holiday craziness, I forgot to ask for help with this additional fun activity!

Hope everyone is enjoying this time of year and staying warm during these very chilly days!

Happy Holidays,
Amanda

Week of Dec. 3rd

2007-12-06T20:43:00.000-08:00

Hello Families!

This week we have been learning about the many animals that call the polar regions home! Specifically, we have been talking about penguins and polar bears. Your children are bringing home a lesson that they did exploring polar bear camouflage. Please ask them to explain this activity to you. On Friday, we will also be doing a polar bear blubber experiment that I know they will LOVE to tell you about! Have fun discussing these wonderful creatures at home.

The next two weeks will be full of Gingerbread Men, Boys, and Girls! We will be reading various versions of this great tale. If you have a unique version at home that you would like to share, please send it to school with your child. Make sure your name is written somewhere inside.

Barbara brought in a great story to share with our class this week. The book "The Elf on the Shelf" is about an elf that reports to Santa every night on whether the children in the house were naughty or nice that day (hmmm)! If you are interested in this fabulous tale, check out the website: www.elfontheshelf.com

The next 10 days will fly by! Please keep checking your email, the blog, and folders for updates, notes, and reminders!

Happy Holidays!

Thank You!

2007-11-29T17:19:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say "Thank You" to those of you who were able to attend my Parent Volunteer Workshop on Wednesday night! It was so great to have you there!

I hope your children shared with you all that we learned from Christopher Watkins, our SPECTRA artist-in-residence. Christopher will be with us on Wednesdays for the next few months. On Wednesday, he introduced the students to monologues and some beginning sign language. He has an amazing talent with students and I know that we will all enjoy our time with him!

The last set of Scholastic book orders are coming home TOMORROW (Friday) and will be DUE WEDNESDAY, DEC. 5th!!! I hope you find them useful in checking off your Christmas lists. There truly isn't a better gift than a book! Please be assured that these books WILL be here by winter break and I can "hide" any that are going to be Christmas gifts.

Thanks for all you do!

Amanda

Week of Nov. 26th

2007-11-25T17:13:00.000-08:00

Hello!

I hope everyone had a fabulous week full of family, friends, food, fun, and relaxation! The next four weeks leading up to our longer Winter Break will be filled with many new things. We will be learning about some of the animals found in the polar regions and will begin talking about winter weather across the country. In Math we will be continuing our discussion on measurement. New high frequency words will be introduced and we will continue reading the little books that focus on short "a" words (ex. cat, fan, man, bag, sad)!

Reminders:

Tomorrow, Nov. 26th is the DUE DATE for the T-shirt contest entries!

If you ordered from this last Scholastic Book Order, I'm expecting your orders to be here in the next couple of days. I will be sending home ONE MORE set of book orders next week to provide you with a chance to get a little bit of Christmas shopping done!

This week we start a 10 week session with our SPECTRA Artist in Residence, Christopher. The first five weeks will consist of basic Visual & Performing Arts lessons based on the Kindergarten VAPA Standards and the second half of the session students will be learning two songs in American Sign Language. I will keep you posted on what your children are learning during SPECTRA each week. We are all looking forward to this wonderful learning experience!

Continue to check the blog and your email regularly for updates and reminders!

Thank you,
Amanda

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T10:58:00.001-08:00

Wishing you and your family a vey Happy Thanksgiving filled with friends, family, and all the things you love!

Thank you for all you do for your children, me, our classroom, and our school!

With much gratitude,
Amanda

Week of Nov. 12th

2007-11-11T16:39:00.000-08:00

First off, thank you to all of the parents who drove and chaperoned on our field trip to Natural Bridges on Friday! Although it was quite "drizzly" as we arrived, the sun came out and it was a beautiful morning. A special thanks to the Candau family for the yummy Monarch cookies - delicious!

All though we have a short week coming up, Room 15 is going to be a busy place!

MONDAY: No School - Veteran's Day
THURSDAY: Mr. Science Physic's Assembly @ 8:00am (No Centers Today)
FRIDAY: NO SHARING THIS WEEK - We will be working on a special project with our buddy reader class after recess and will not have time for sharing!

Thank you to all of you who have donated to class thus far in some many ways. Without your support we would not be able to do so many exciting activities in our class. I greatly appreciate each and every one of you!

Enjoy your extra day off and I'll see you on Tuesday!

~Amanda Agee

FYI - Students have all of next week off for Thanksgiving Break!

Wish List Update

2007-11-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

Hello parents!

I have a few updates to our classroom wish list! To avoid everyone bringing in the same item, please post a comment to this blog to let everyone know what you would like to take care of. Please check the comments to make sure someone didn't already agree to bring in one of the needed items. Thank you for all of your support.

Wish List

*2 packages of white tube socks (6 pairs per package) - needed by Tues, Nov. 13th
*Paper Towels (6 rolls - preferably the ones that can be torn into smaller portions)
*Necessary ingredients for a turkey treat we will be making next week:
- 1 bag of candy corn
- 1 container chocolate frosting
- 1 bag of mini M&Ms
- orange decorating icing (2 tubes)
- black decorating gel (1 tube)
*24 round sugar cookies (baked and brought to class on Friday, Nov. 16th)

I can hardly believe that we are approaching our week off for Thanksgiving! Thanks for all of your help and support this year.

Reminder: Please turn the turkey feather homework in no later than FRIDAY!
Field trip to Natural Bridges is this FRIDAY!
We will be "Jogging for the Arts" this THURSDAY from 10:45 - 11:00am!

Week of Nov. 5th

2007-11-03T09:06:00.000-07:00

We have a busy two weeks before our week long Thanksgiving Break! Please check your child's folder and the blog for updates, reminders, and new information.

For this week:

Wednesday, Nov. 7th the Scholastic Book Orders are due! Remember you can order online with your credit card, or you can return your order and check to me at school.

Thursday, Nov. 8th we will be doing our Jog-a-thon! Thanks to the two moms who offered to bring the water and juice bars. The students will be jogging from 10:45-11:00am up on the track. Parents that are there can help pin on their paper that will become a tally record of how many laps they completed. If you can, please stop by to cheer them on!

Friday, Nov. 9th is our field trip to Natural Bridges! I will send a note to parent drivers early next week and then a reminder to everyone on Thursday. This is always a fun morning, but can be chilly - so dress in layers.

We have now learned the following high frequency words: I, a, like, see, my, go, to
This week we also beginning blending simple short a words (ex. cat, man, hat, bat). We will read our first "little book" next week titled "Nat at Bat." Anytime little books come home, please make sure to have your child read them multiple times for practice!

Over the next two weeks I will be assessing your students in Language Arts and Math for the report cards that come home on Nov. 16th! Keep practicing those letter sounds and the first 7 high frequency words I posted above. Thanks for your support at home!

See you all soon!

Ahh...Time Flies!!!

2007-10-30T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Oh my goodness, where does the time go??? I can't believe that it is almost November, Halloween is tomorrow, and I haven't posted a blog since last week!

We have been having a lot of fun in class finishing up a few Halloween art projects, doing a book/author study of "Where the Wild Things Are," and learning new high frequency words each week!

If you haven't turned in your permission slip for Natural Bridges, please do so ASAP!

Halloween is TOMORROW! No snack is needed as we will be eating at the end of our morning! The parade begins at 8:15am - all are welcome.

Please help your child memorize the following high frequency words: I, a, see, my, like, to, go

Thanks for checking in even if I don't post anything for a few days!

Happy Halloween

Fabulous Field Trip!!!

2007-10-24T19:04:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of the Moms who drove on our field trip today! What a fun and warm day at Gizdich Ranch. The students had a wonderful time playing on the haystacks, picking out their pumpkins, tasting the yummy apple juice, and touring the cold storage room!!!

A few reminders:

***Please return the signed permission slip for our next field trip to Natural Bridges on Nov. 9th by THIS FRIDAY! Thanks!

***If you have not picked up your Innisbrook Fundraiser orders, please do so ASAP. The boxes are on the stage in the multi-purpose room.

***Picture Re-Take Day is Tuesday, October 30th! You must return the entire picture package if you want to have retakes done (or bring money if you were absent).

***Halloween is Wednesday, October 31st. Students can come in costume for the day. No snack needed as we will be eating during our party.

See you all soon!

~Amanda

Field Trip WEDNESDAY

2007-10-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for all of the AMAZING books that many of you purchased for our classroom from the Scholastic Book Fair! I can hardly wait to read all of them to the class. Also, thank you for taking the time to attend our parent-teacher conferences. I really enjoyed meeting with each of you and look forward to the rest of the year that lies ahead.

REMEMBER...Our field trip to Gizdich Ranch is Wednesday, October 24th. Please make sure that your child brings his/her booster seat labeled with his/her name (if needed) and also brings their snack in a paper bag for the day. We will be wearing our special apple print t-shirts that we made in class, so please have your child wear something lightweight so their shirts will fit over what they have on! Thanks for your help and I am looking forward to our first exciting field trip together.

Coming home in tomorrow's folder is the permission slip for our next field trip which is already coming up on FRIDAY, November 9th! Please make sure to fill this out as soon as possible and return back to school no later than this FRIDAY!

Thank you and I'll see you all soon!

~Amanda

To conclude our unit on pumpkins, sharing this week will have the theme of "orange". Please help your child pick out something orange to share with the class on Friday.

Thank you!

2007-10-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone -

I just wanted to say thank you to those of you I have already met with and also to those of you have already purchased books for our classroom from the Book Fair! I am truly enjoying my conversations with all of you and of course, I always love new books!

Remember the BOOK FAIR is open from 8:00 - 3:00pm until Friday and also WEDNESDAY night from 6:00 - 8:00pm. Today in your child's folder you will find a yellow "wish list" they had help filling out during our library time.

I'm looking forward to meeting with the rest of you in the next few days!

See you soon!

Conference Week

2007-10-14T10:14:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Conference Week is now upon us! Although the rest of the school gets out early all week, the Kindergarten schedule stays the same!

Please make sure to arrive on time to your parent-teacher conferences. We will be meeting in Room 25 to the left of the track on the upper playground. Make sure to sign in at the office before coming up to the classroom. Please wait outside the door until the conference in session is over. Thank you!

Field Trip: Our field trip to Gizdich Ranch is next Wednesday, Oct. 24th! Please watch your child's folder for reminders, parent driver information, and more! If you signed up to drive and haven't told me otherwise, I have placed you either as a driver or in a car as a chaperone.

Friday, Oct. 19th: This Friday is Mr. Heffner's last day as our principal this year! He has been an amazing leader and I know we will still see him around quite a bit. The students will be making a card to say thank you for all he has done for Rio del mar!

Mrs. Weston will be in class for me this Friday as I will be attending a conference on using interactive centers in Kindergarten. I hope to learn many new things and bring back some exciting materials to use in the classroom.

DON'T FORGET: PLEASE STOP BY THE SCHOLASTIC BOOK FAIR IN THE SCHOOL LIBRARY!!!!!!

The book fair will be open all day, every day and even Weds. evening for a special parent night. I have already created my wish list from the many wonderful books that are available to be purchased (Teacher wish lists can be found right outside the library door). Please consider purchasing a book or two to donate to our classroom library. Thank you in advance!

Have a great week and I look forward to speaking with all of you at conferences this week!

Sincerely,

Amanda

Fireman Kent's Visit

2007-10-10T18:00:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!

Today we had a very special visitor come to our class and talk to us about a very important topic! Fireman Kent (aka Barbara's Daddy) came and spoke to our class today about the importance of fire safety. He did an amazing job and the children LOVED every minute of his presentation. He came in his full firefighter uniform with all of the tools he uses in tow.

Fireman Kent gave each of your children a homework assignment and I would like to reinforce that assignment as well. He asked each of your children too:

1. Ask their parents to check all of the smoke alarms in the house and change the batteries if needed.

2. With your family, create a fire-escape plan for your house and then practice your own fire drill. The more prepared we are, the better we will be at handling something as unexpected as a house fire.

3. Included in your fire-escape plan, decide on a special meeting place that everyone in your family knows about. This would be a place where everyone would go in case of an emergency like a fire (i.e. neighbor's house, mailbox, etc). Make sure to remind students of this meeting place on a regular basis.

Please take time to do these three items over the next week or so and go over all of the fire safety tips your children have learned at school! They have been very attentive and I'm sure they could teach us all a thing or two!

Thank you for your support!

FYI - The white paper bags that came home in folders yesterday are to collect food for the 2nd Harvest Food Bank this holiday season. We will be talking more about this in class in the future, but feel free to start the discussion at home with your family. You can bring in the bags at anytime and we will get them to the right spot!

A few things...

2007-10-04T18:25:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

Just a few reminders:

*If you are driving on the field trip (all 15 of you!), please make sure to fill out your driver forms THIS WEEK. You can get these in the office from Gail or Maria.

*Please turn in the conference questionnaire by MONDAY. Your responses really help me prepare for conferences, so please write as much as you would like!

*During Parent-Teacher Conference Week Rio Del Mar will be hosting a Scholastic Book Fair in the library. Parents will be able to visit the book fair during school hours, after school, and on a designated parent night. You will not only be able to purchase books for your child, but there will also be a wish list of books to purchase for our classroom library. Due to the book fair, I will not be sending home Scholastic Book Orders again until early November and then again once more before Winter Break. Watch for further information in your child's take-home folder!

Thanks for checking the blog at least once a week!

Amanda

Week of OCTOBER 1st!

2007-10-01T16:47:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

I really cannot believe that we are already in October! Wow - time flies! Thank you so much for all of your caring thoughts and words of kindness during this difficult time. It was so nice to know that the students were in good hands and that everyone was understanding of the situation.

Please make sure to turn in both parts of the field trip paperwork no later than this WEDNESDAY. The white half sheet regarding drivers and the goldenrod permission slip!

Also, look for a note in Tuesday's folder regarding parent-teacher conference sheet. Please double-check the date and time and return the confirmation half sheet to school on Wednesday. If you do not receive a note, please contact me so we can set up a time to meet!

We have transitioned out of apples and into leaves, fall, and pumpkins (coming soon)! During centers we are really working on the correct formation of our letters, how to write our names the "Kindergarten" way, learning our first two high frequency words (I, see), writing our numbers, and many other fun learning activities.

I look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Agee

Week of September 24th

2007-09-23T20:49:00.001-07:00

Hello again!

Hope you all enjoyed an exciting and/or restful weekend! It's hard to believe that it is already the last week of September. Please make sure to complete the "apple ideas" homework with your child and send in by Tuesday!

This Thursday the author of the book "Simon's Hook" will be at Rio Del Mar. Our students will be going to an assembly where the book is brought to life. In the story, Grandma Rose teaches Simon how to "swim free" and not get caught by the "hooks" that many children send his way. This book has been a great resource at the beginning of the school year and we have done some role-playing in regards to how not to bite the "hook" if someone is teasing you. The five strategies that Grandma Rose talks about are:
1. Do Little or Say Nothing
2. Laugh or Make a Joke
3. Agree
4. Distract or Change the Subject
5. Stay Away

We have been learning some fun apple songs and poems in class! Ask your child to share them with you and you can learn them too. I had a request to put the words to our newest song on the blog so here they are:

Sung to the tune of "Bingo"

I know a fruit that grows on trees
An apple is it's name oh!
a-p-p-l-e
a-p-p-l-e
a-p-p-l-e
An apple is it's name oh!

In summer and in early fall
It's time to pick an apple.
a-p-p-l-e
etc.

It may be sweet or may be tart
It's red or green or yellow.
a-p-p-l-e
etc.

A McIntosh or Granny Smith
A Fuji or Delicious!
a-p-p-l-e
etc.

Make apple juice or apple sauce
or apple pies with apples!
a-p-p-l-e
etc.

(repeat first verse once more)

I look forward to another exciting week with your children!

Week of September 17th

2007-09-16T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

A few reminders for this week:

*Please complete and send in your child's apple family homework assignment.

*PICTURE DAY is TUESDAY! You must send in your order envelope by Tuesday to purchase these pictures.

*Please send two apples to school with your child on Thursday. They can be any size, shape, or color.

*Friday will be our "Apple Day". We have one parent bringing Apple Crisp Bars; if you would like to bring an apple pie, homemade applesauce, or another treat please email me soon and let me know. Thank you!

Hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Sincerely,
Mrs. Agee

Notes in Folders

2007-09-13T17:18:00.000-07:00

Happy Thursday everyone!

Hope you all have some fun things planned for the weekend! Just a quick heads-up about two important things going home in folders.

1. Picture Day is Tuesday, Sept. 18th! If you want to order pictures, you HAVE to send a check in the included envelope to school on or before Tuesday. If your child's picture doesn't turn out, there is a retake day!

2. If you have the chance, please take a few minutes to fill out the parent volunteer survey that went home today. This is part of my Master's Degree project and I really value your input and participation! It is due on Thursday, Sept. 20th.

Next week we will be having an "Apple Day" on Friday. If you have a home-made special apple treat that you would like to share with the class (pie, muffins, applesauce, etc) please let me know by Tuesday.

Thanks for all of your support!

~Mrs. Agee

Week of September 10th

2007-09-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I hope everyone enjoyed a great weekend - I know many of you started soccer on Saturday! I have submitted the Scholastic Book Order and our order should be here within two weeks. Thanks to everyone who placed an order; I ordered quite a few new books for our classroom! DON'T FORGET that the last day to turn in the Innisbrook Fundraiser packet is TUESDAY, SEPT. 11th.

See you tomorrow!

Week of September 3rd

2007-09-03T19:38:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone enjoyed their 3 day weekend - I sure did! This week our parent volunteers will start coming in and students will be working in 3 to 4 centers each morning. Start looking for more work to come home in their red folders!

Both Scholastic Book Orders are reading to be browsed online at scholastic.com/parentordering I hope you will all consider ordering this month as it is not only a chance to buy books for your child at home, but also a way to earn points for our class to buy books for school.

Sharing will start this Friday! Remember your child is only allowed to bring one object that he/she should be able to carry by themselves.

I look forward to seeing all of you soon!

Sincerely,
Amanda

Scholastic Book Orders

2007-08-30T21:59:00.001-07:00

Hello Parents!

It was so great to see so many of you at Back to School Night. One of the Scholastic catalogues is now ready to browse online at www.scholastic.com/parentordering. The second catalogue should be up by tomorrow evening (I wrote down the wrong code so I need to fix it once I get to school).

Thanks again,
Amanda

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT!

2007-08-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

Just a reminder that BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT for parents is tomorrow (Thursday) at 7:30pm in our classroom! Mr. Heffner will be addressing all parents at 7:15pm on the upper playground. See you then!

Week of August 27th

2007-08-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I hope everyone enjoyed a fun and restful weekend! This week we will begin learning our Zoophonics animal names and sounds, start our handwriting lessons, and continue getting used to all of the new Kindergarten routines.

I know many of you are anxious to start working in the classroom and we will start having parent volunteers come in next week (Sept. 4). I will be sending home a schedule sometime this week.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 30th at 7:30pm is Back to School Night! I hope to see all of you there. I will be explaining our kindergarten program and going over other important information. This is a parent only evening! If for some reason you will not be able to make it, please let me know.

Thanks for all of your kindness and generosity thus far! It is greatly appreciated.

See you soon!

Week of August 20th!

2007-08-19T10:14:00.000-07:00

Hello! Hope you all enjoyed your weekend. As the first full week of school approaches us, please make sure your kindergartener gets plenty of rest and eats a healthy and filling breakfast. This first full week of a new routine can be tiring for them.

Please make sure to turn in all forms that went home in folders last week by WEDNESDAY. Also look for a peach paper from me that asks for specifics about when you want to volunteer! We had a great response at orientation and now I need to get some more specifics in order to organize a schedule.

We have a great group of students and families this year and I can't wait to get to know all of you!

See you Monday!

First Day was a Success!

2007-08-15T16:57:00.000-07:00

Hello students and families!

I am very happy to say that our first day of kindergarten together was a huge success! Your children got to sing, play, listen to stories, tour our school, meet Mr. Heffner and Mrs. Dorney, and most importantly enjoy a cookie from Chester Raccoon from "The Kissing Hand"! Thank you so much for helping your child get settled into the classroom this week. It will be routine in no time! I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

Thanks for Coming!

2007-08-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

Hello families!

Thank you all for coming to the Kindergarten Orientation this morning! I know it was a little packed in our room, but I hope coming to the classroom helped ease some of the nerves about starting school. I look forward to getting to know all of you better over the next year! Have a good night's rest and a big yummy breakfast in the morning! See you bright and early!

Kindergarten Orientation

2007-08-08T18:22:00.000-07:00

Hello families!

Kindergarten Orientation is a time for you and your child to come and see where our classroom will be, meet their teacher, and have fun! I look forward to seeing all of you on Tuesday, August 14th at 10:00am in Room 15. Remember, the first day of school is Wednesday, August 15th!

Thanks!

Kindergarten Supplies

2007-07-30T08:58:00.001-07:00

Hello Morning Kindergarten Parents!

In Kindergarten, students share school supplies throughout the year. To help us start out the year with plenty of materials, here is a list of suggested school supplies to purchase:

*Crayola crayons (Box of 8/16 Regular Crayons)
*Elmer's or Scotchguard Gluesticks (1-2 packages)
*Pair of Fiskars Children's Scissors (blunt-end)
*One package of baby wipes (used to clean EVERYTHING)
*Box of Kleenex
*Roll of Paper Towels
*Anti-bacterial Hand Gel (1 bottle)

Your child will also need a REGULAR sized backpack that can fit a folder and their lunchbox/bag. Make sure to write your child's name somewhere on the backpack. *For safety reasons, please no rolling backpacks!

I'm looking forward to meeting all of you! It is going to be a great year!

See you soon!

2007-2008 Kindergarten

2007-07-29T21:03:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Kindergarten at Rio del Mar Elementary School!

School begins Wednesday, August 15th at 7:49am!

The parking lot can be a hectic place in the morning, so feel free to arrive as early as 7:30am on the first day of school!

See you soon!