Kindergarten Newsletter 01/28/08

Welcome to Catholic Schools Week!

Monday 1/28
We thank parents, families and businesses for supporting OLM School.

Tuesday 1/29
Buddy Day/Spirit Day. Each kindergartner provides an inexpensive gift ($2.00 maximum) for his or her buddy. Kindergartners brought home a note on Friday indicating who their buddies are. Students are allowed to wear free dress (navy blue and white). Students in the enrichment program must bring a lunch as there is
NO HOT LUNCH.

Wednesday 1/30
Kindergartners (and other classes) provide entertainment at the Cherish Luncheon at 11:30am. Students in the enrichment program must bring a lunch as there is NO HOT LUNCH.

Thursday 1/31
Decades Day. Students participate in games and activities from 1920’s to the present.

Friday 2/01
Students go directly to St. Patrick’s Church for the school Mass.
Classes will sit together. Families are encouraged to stay for Mass. My class will return to school on a VIA bus (Thanks to the Pellicano’s).
OLM faculty/8^th graders play volleyball at 11:15am.
Dismissal is at 12:30pm.

Dinner and Auction

Saturday 2/2
Parent Club Dinner and Auction is at 5:30pm at St. Patrick’s Parish Hall.

Homework Calendar
The January homework calendar is due Friday, February 1^st. The February calendar is in this folder.

Other Themes & Topics
The letter of the week is Xx.
The sight word is am.
Lighting the Way is the theme of Catholic Schools Week.
Groundhogs Day is February 2^nd.

Please pray for peace and healing.

God bless you and have a great week.

February 2008 Homework Calendar

February 2008 Homework Calendar
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Please have your child write his or her full name at the top of the calendar.		Read and pray every day!			1 Look through a section of a newspaper. Circle ten words you can read.	2 Make AAB, ABC and ABBC patterns with coins.
3 Fifth Sunday in ordinary time Practice the prayers you know.	4 Write three words using the sounds you hear. Draw a picture for each word.	5 Listen to and talk to God. Tell Him about your day. What is Mardi Gras?	6 Ash Wednesday Spend time with Jesus by praying.	7 Review tying your shoe laces, saying your full name, address & phone number.	8 Practice running, skipping and hopping.	9 Read a favorite book with a partner. Retell the story.
10 First Sunday in Lent Pray for a Holy Lent.	11 Look at a penny and a $5 bill. Discuss Abraham Lincoln	12 Write three words using the sounds you hear. Draw a picture for each word.	13 Cut out foods from the food section of the newspaper and make up a heart healthy meal.	14 Valentine’s Day As an act of love, do something extra helpful at home.	15 Review letters and their sounds. Play a matching game with upper/lower case letters	16 Draw a picture. Write a sentence about it.
17 Second Sunday in Lent Sing a song from school.	18 Say a prayer for our country’s leaders.	19 Write your full name (first, middle, last) 3x neatly. Use colors.	20 Write a list of as many words as you can spell.	21 Review your birthday, the days of the week, months of the year and season.	22 Count by 2’s, 5’s and 10’s to 100. Practice all the sight words.	23 Play a “Simon Says” game.
24 Third Sunday in Lent Read a Bible Story and pray for peace.	25 Write the numbers as high as you can.	26 Practice tying shoelaces. Find five things that come in pairs.	27 List ten things that are rectangular.	28 Pray the Our Father and the Hail Mary with your family.	29 Leap Day! Practice bouncing and catching a ball, hopping, skipping and jumping.	Return this calendar by Thursday, March 1st.

Kindergarten Newsletter 01/22/08

Themes and Topics
*We will learn a little about penguins and do related projects.
*In religion we will discuss how Jesus is our friend.
*The letter of the week is Qq. The sight word is is.
*Can you believe it? This Friday
(01/ 25) we celebrate our 100^th day of school! We will engage in activities relating to this theme.

Show and tell 100!
Students are invited to bring in 100 things for “show and tell” on Friday. Consider the following: pennies, pasta, cotton balls, puzzle pieces, legos, etc.

Feed the Hungry
This Thursday the kindergartners will bring home a lunch bag. Please help your child prepare a lunch for the St. Vincent de Paul Society. Bring it to school on Friday morning (01/25).

Catholic Schools Week
Catholic Schools Week starts Sunday, January 27^th. Please attend any one of the Masses Saturday evening or Sunday and represent Our Lady of Mercy School. Students are encouraged to wear their uniform to Mass.

Events
Monday (1/ 28) Parent/Community appreciation day.

Tuesday (1/29) Buddy Day, spirit day (blue/white free dress). Each child provides an inexpensive gift (no more than $2) for his or her buddy.
NO HOT LUNCH

Wednesday (1/30) Cherish Luncheon. Kindergartners will perform some songs for the luncheon guests at about 11:30am.
NO HOT LUNCH

Friday (2/1) Mass at St. Patrick's Church at 8:15 A.M. Please bring your child directly to the Church (NOT the school) at regular school time.
11:15 A.M. Teachers vs. 8th grade volleyball game
12:30 DISMISSAL

Saturday (2/2) Dinner/ Auction in the parish hall.

God bless you today and always!

“Thanks!” to all who help and support our work in kindergarten. Thanks to all our volunteers who help in and out of the classroom.

Themes and Topics
The letter of the week is Vv.
The sight word is come.
We will look at winter themes.
In math we will identify and work with geometric shapes.

Catholic Schools Week (January 27-February 1) is a national event. Our students, staff, and community will participate in a variety of activities throughout the week.

In this packet you find a permission form. Please return this form as soon as possible.

Uniforms
Mrs. Blackburn has a few uniform reminders. Only OLM sweaters and sweatshirts are allowed in class. Through February, Girls are allowed to wear Dennis uniform pants to school, except on Mass days. Girls are allowed to wear socks or tights (NOT LEGGINGS nor FOOTLESS TIGHTS).

Sight Word Practice
We encourage you to practice the sight words with your kindergartner. He/she should be able to recognize them written and be able to write them.

Please check out my blog for previous newsletters, homework calendar, the lists of sight words and other information.

Report Cards
Report cards went home Friday (1/11). Please read, sign and return them by Monday (1/14).

Important Dates for January

1/15 Free Dress for students whose parents participated in the Capital Campaign Feasibility Study.

1/18 Family Fifties Dance 6pm to 9pm.

1/21 No School: Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday.

1/27 – 2/2 Catholic Schools Week.

God bless you and have a great week!

Permission Form

Catholic Schools Week 2008

Field Trip Permission Slip

The faculty, staff and students of Our Lady of Mercy School will meet at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church on Friday, February 1, 2008 at 8:15am for Mass as we close Catholic Schools Week. Please bring your child to St. Patrick’s Church by 8:00am. You are encouraged to stay for Mass.

Students in my class will return to OLM School after Mass by VIA Bus (thanks to the Pellicano family).

Please complete and return this form by Friday, January 18, 2008

Thank you.

Mrs. T. Poole

______________________________________

child’s name (please print) has my permission to participate in this field trip.

______________________________________________________

Parent or guardian name (printed)

______________________________________________________

Parent or guardian signature

Phone numbers

Please complete and return this form by Friday, Jan 18^th.

Kindergarten Newsletter 01/07/08

Happy, Healthy, Holy New Year!Welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas vacation. Thank you for the great Christmas gifts.

Themes & Topics

*As OLM School celebrates its 80^th anniversary this school year, the kindergartners will learn a few things that took place in the1920’s.

*We will work on a project for the auction.

*The letter of the week is Zz, and the sight words are do and up.

*We will work on number order and sequencing.

*We will discuss the Holy Family and the gift of our own families.

Friday, January 11, 2007
This Friday (01/11/08) is a minimum day. Students in the enrichment program will be dismissed at 12:30pm.

Homework Calendar
The December/January homework calendar is now due. You will find the homework calendar for the rest of January in this folder.

A Thought about Sharing
Each week your child is encouraged to share something that pertains to any of our themes and topics, not just the letter of the week. In fact, this week I ask the children to consider sharing experiences of acts of love in their own families. Photos are welcome.

Reading Logs
Soon the students will bring home a book envelope/reading log. More information will follow.

Catholic Schools Week begins Sunday, 01/27/08 and ends Friday, 02/01/08. There will be many special activities throughout that week. A school Mass will be celebrated on Friday (02/01/07) at St. Patrick’s Church at 8:15am. Please bring your child (and car seat) directly to the church that morning not to OLM School. We will need chaperones & drivers to sit with the students during Friday’s Mass and to bring them to OLM School afterwards. Please contact me as soon as possible if you are able to assist us. Remember, all chaperones and drivers must have the safe environment training and be fingerprinted before they may volunteer with the children. See Mrs. Blackburn if you have any questions.

Report Cards
Report cards go home soon. Please read, sign and return as soon as possible.

Please continue to pray for peace!

Homework Calendar January 2008

6	7 Welcome back to school! Bring in the December January Homework Calendar	8 Practice writing your full name: first, middle, last names.	9 Review all letters and sounds (upper and lower cases)	10 Make up a story using some sight words. You may have help writing some sentences. Draw.	11 Sound out and write 4 words that begin with the letter of the week.	12 Review the days of the week, months of the year, seasons. Our songs help.
13 Baptism of the Lord Talk about your baptism with your family.	14 Practice tying shoelaces. Count as high as you can by 1’s, 2’s, 5’s, 10’s.	15 Practice writing the sight words on lined paper. Use your favorite colors.	16 On lined paper, write the upper and lower case letters using your favorite colors.	17 Read a favorite book. Draw and write about your favorite part.	18 List five things that are triangular. List five things that are circular.	19 Practice running, skipping, jumping, throwing, and catching.
20 Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Pray for peace and healing.	21 Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday (observed) Make up a prayer for peace.	22 Write as many color words as you can. Use markers, crayons, pencils, etc.	23 Tell Jesus why you love Him. Write and draw.	24 What is your favorite winter snack? Why? Write and draw?	25 Read a story about Winnie the Pooh or Mickey Mouse.	26 Play a board game with a partner. Sing a song from school.
27 Third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Catholic Schools’ Week begins.	28 Write a note thanking your family for sending you to OLM School.	29 Use lined paper and practice writing numbers as high as you can. Use spaces!	30 Make a cheerful card for someone who is sick, sad, hurt or lonely.	31 Do a kind deed for someone else. Review OLM’s Mission Statement/SLE’s	Find the Mission Statement and Schoolwide Learning expectations on the web sight.	Return the completed January Homework Calendar on Friday 02/01.