Families,
Back to school night is tomorrow night! I have attached a picture of the schedule. Mrs. Chalfant will not be there, but I will. This will allow you to get to know me (and Mrs. Chalfant) better, gain an understanding of our teaching philosophies, alongside an outlook for the school year. For this reason, it’s imperative that you come! However, the event is student-free, so please do not bring any students with you. Please refer to this schedule for more information! See you soon! Mr. Chalfant
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Families,
Happy Friday! I introduced the iPads to students today and they began using the app that we integrate into our Math curriculum, called “ST Math.” Students are encouraged to use this at home and can work independently on it. I have attached directions for installing the app at home or how to access it on the computer. I am sending home their “Jiji Tickets”, as well, which have their usernames and their passwords on it. I put magnets on the back, too, so you can place it on the refrigerator, so it does not get lost. Also, ALL students logged into the app by themselves today! Please keep that in mind at home and be patient. Eventually, all students will memorize their usernames and passwords if they use it at home, but it just takes time. Eventually, we will be using a reading program called “Raz-Kids”, which will allow them to read books on the iPad that are on their independent levels. I will be assessing their reading levels next week and get them started ASAP. For those who were just added to our google group (and those already on it), you can click the link below my signature and read any of the emails I’ve ever sent to this group. This will allow you to catch up! So, even if you accidentally delete these, they will always available on that site (groups.google.com). Have a great weekend! Families,
We are almost finished with our first week of Kindergarten! It’s been great spending time with your students and getting to know each and every one of them. We have had a great start to our school year. In an attempt to further this relationship, we are sending home quite a few documents that need to be returned. On Fridays, we send home blue Friday Folders. These always go home on Fridays and need to be returned on Mondays every week! Inside the Friday folder this week, you will find a few things that you need to fill out and a few that your student should complete, too. I wanted to wait until now to send it home, in order to limit the chaos that comes along with the first few days of school. In general, students will bring home their Friday Folders every Friday, but there is not always pertinent information inside. But, please do check this folder every weekend when it comes home and return it with your student on Mondays. Typically student work will come home on the last Friday of the month, which allows them to spend more time working on projects and things in class. Hope this makes sense! A few things we’ve learned this week:
You’ll soon begin to understand the importance of these routines/structures and how their purpose is to develop a greater sense of independence among all of the students in our class. And somehow, we all continue to have fun throughout this process! Next week, we will begin introducing literacy stations with students and begin our Writer’s Workshop. Kindergarten writing is incredibly visual and you can really see the growth during the school year. A few ways to introduce writing in students’ everyday life is to: write down lists (grocery store, favorite things, etc.), write notes to each other, write down how they’re feeling and drawing pictures to match. If a student wants something at the grocery store or a place they’re going, get them to write it down. This is what adults do all the time, so it’s a very natural thing to do. Modeling this in front of students, including your thinking, is a great way to expose them to this. It really demonstrates how purposeful writing is. I have already begun assessing students in literacy and in math. A great way to talk about this with your student is to ask, “Talk to me about what you’ve been doing with Mr. Chalfant at his table?” We typically call this time, “Show me what you know” and I stress the importance of students telling me when they don’t know something. This really encourages students to take control of their learning, alongside letting me know what they need to be taught and how to create small groups based on this, as well! Once again, it’s been a great first week! As always, feel free to ask questions and send comments! Mr, Chalfant Hello!
I hope everyone had a great first day of school. This is just a quick update re: something new (and important) at Murch this year. Murch is now a peanut and tree nut free school so nothing with nuts is permitted. The following information has been provided by one of the parents of a student in our class who has severe tree nut allergies. Please review and let me know if you have any questions. I realize that being a peanut and tree nut free school can seem overwhelming at first, but there is a lot of helpful information and resources out there to make the transition easier. It's also important to note that in the U.S. Peanut / Tree Nut allergies are particular severe; ingestion of even tiny amounts can cause a life threatening reaction There are healthy alternatives out there to peanut and other nut butters as well as to products containing nuts. Some lunch ideas are: Cold cuts, tuna, hot dogs, hamburger, chicken nuggets, cut up chicken, fish sticks, quesadillas, pizza, hummus, cheese, yogurt, chickpeas, beans, edamame, hard boiled eggs, tofu and cottage cheese. There are also several brands of nut free butter substitutes on the market now that are readily available at Giant, Safeway, Whole Foods and Target. Those brands include Sunbutter, SoyNut Butter and Wow butter. The important thing is to read the label as products may change manufacturing methods. There is an extensive list of nut free products that is frequently updated here: http://snacksafely.com/safe-snack-guide/ Other products include: Enjoy Life Foods: https://enjoylifefoods.com/ Home Free Treats: homefreetreats.com Gerbs: mygerbs.com And a local bakery: Baked by Yael: https://bakedbyyael.com/ Families,
We had a great start to our year today and many of your students are already getting very comfortable with each other and with Ms. LaVon and myself, as well. In an effort to learn more about what we do/have done in class, there are many ways you can engage your students in meaningful conversations instead of directly asking myself or Ms. LaVon. I’m sure you have had the frustrating conversations that go something like this: “How was your day?” “Fine.” or “Good.” And that’s all you get out of them. I’m here to help! There are many ways you can find out more information from your students about our everyday schedule and classroom procedures and activities.
There will be many more of these questions throughout our school year that I and Rachel will be sending along to you, but I just wanted to give you a good start. You can get more bang for your buck by asking these types of questions, rather than “yes or no” questions, as well. We’re off to a great start! I am always here for your questions and concerns, too! Mr. Chalfant Hi families!
I hope you and your child are feeling ready for the first day of Kindergarten tomorrow. I know it will be a great one! I'm sending this email with some important first day information that will hopefully make your day easier. But first.. an important announcement! Mr. Chalfant and I are thrilled to announce the arrival of our son, Landon Walter. He was born on Friday evening at 7:17pm. Despite being 6 days early, he weighed a whopping 9 pounds 5 ounces and is 21 1/4 inches long! We are all doing wonderfully. I've attached a few photos below! The baby and I will be discharged from the hospital tomorrow and Mr. Chalfant will be attending the first day of school. The following documents are attached: - Kindergarten Tips: This is a brief overview of Kindergarten procedures, guidelines etc. Hopefully this will help to answer some lingering questions. - School Supply List: The second page of the document has the K supply list. For those of you who have had students at Murch in the past, please note changes from previous years. This is also posted on the Murch website. I'm also including a link from Mr. C's blogpost as well as our Amazon class wish list. I've moved the most needed items to the top of the list (the dry erase markers, ink, laminating pouches) and each item should have a priority (high, medium, low) listed next to it. Lastly, a link to our class website is listed. I will plan to update it later today. First day reminders from Mr. C: http://murchschool.org/first-day-reminders-2/ Wishlist: https://amzn.com/w/3FS1W7SQW7DEB Class website: mrschalfant.weebly.com If you have any questions, please let me know. I understand that making the transition to Kindergarten is a big one and I want to make that as easy as possible for you and your student. As I said, Mr. Chalfant will be at school tomorrow and is also happy to answer any questions. Have a great first day! Rachel |
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