Dear Parents,

     Happy 100th Day of School!!  We had a fabulous day celebrating this big milestone in the school year.  "Grammy Porter" made a visit this morning to the class.  She is 100 yrs. old and made a "big impression" on everyone. Several students dressed up for the event and we all enjoyed many activities dealing with the number 100.  

     Next week we will have a short unit of study called the "Bear Facts".  Students will learn about asking questions to learn new facts, compare and organize information gathered through research, practice sharing information learned orally, and working together to present new information by making a PowerPoint slide show.  Your child received a simple "Bear Facts" homework to do over the weekend.  Each child has a specific bear to learn about.  Please help them to explore several websites to see what they can find.  If you'd like to print or send in an image with their facts, that would be fun too.  They will be using this information to continue writing work as they learn to develop a paragraph on one topic to include several sentences.  

     In Phonics, we will be working with the letters sounds of "n" and "p" as well as additional handwriting practice with B, b, P, p. Several more students have mastered their Rainbow Words this week.  Thanks so much for working hard at home.  They are very motivated to move their "paw" up the rainbow and have their name announced on the Morning News.  

     In Math, we will complete our chapter on larger numbers and begin working with money.  In addition to learning the names and values of coins, students will work with counting coins and making combinations of coins.  We will learn to trade 5 pennies for a nickel, and 10 pennies for a dime.  We will also learn how to "purchase" simple items that cost less than 20 cents by creating different combinations of coins.  Let your child sort through your change pile at home and explore the "heads" and "tails" sides of coins and practice naming them with their values.  The best way for them to learn is to gain real life practice.

     Next Thursday is Ground Hog Day.  We will do some predicting and look at Internet resources to check the "official" report for the coming of spring.

     Tonight is the school dance.  Hope your family will come to join the fun.  Mark your calendar for Thursday Feb. 9th.  G.M. will host our annual Family Math Night.  Parents and students will enjoy many math games together.  This is being sponsored by Mathnasium, but G.M. teachers will also be there to help facilitate.   

     Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Denise Porter

Dear Parents,

I just wanted to let you know that, as a gala auction item, the kindergarten team is offering "Munchies and a Moonwalk."

This will be for 12 lucky students. Bounce away with the kindergarten team after school at GM for approximately 1.5 hours.  Fun snacks provided.  Top two bids for each teacher.  Date and time to be worked out between teachers and parents.

The Gala Auction will be held February 4, 2012 at Olde Towne Athletic Club from 7 to 11 PM. Tickets are on sale at http://gmefoundation.org - $35 and $45 at the door or you can Download 2012GALATicketformto purchase tickets in advance. Visit the website for a sample of items to bid on. All proceeds go back to GMEF.

The proceeds will be used to improve our school by providing funding for programs such as technology, educational curriculum and facility improvements. The GMEF will accumulate and distribute resources beyond those provided by Cobb County or the PTA, in order to further enhance, foster and enrich the educational experiences of all students at Garrison Mill.

Thank you for your support!

Dear Parents,

Hooray, Hooray!  We've almost made it to the 100th Day!  We are planning a big celebration next Friday, Jan. 27th for the 100th day of school.  Please be sure to assist your child in completing their 100th day collection of items to bring in to share.  We will be rotating from class to class for special activities and sing "Happy 100th Day of School" all together with 100 cupcakes and candles.

     We will complete our winter unit this next week as we study arctic animals and how animals adapt during the winter.  We'll have some fun with penguin facts and hold our own Eskimo Olympics Day on Thursday.  Learning about polar bears will lead into a short study of bears the following week.  We will learn about the word "research" and the importance of gathering facts.  There will be a simple "Bear Facts" assignment which will allow us to compare and contrast different types of bears. 

     In Phonics, we will be discriminating between the "T" and "G" sounds In handwriting, we'll work with U, S, B, and P.  Several students still need much practice starting their letter formations "at the top".  There are no "bottom up" letters.  When you review your child's work please check to see that they are following the proper direction.  (Fore example: the circle on an O and Q should start with a "backward-circle to the left".)  With continued practice, everyone will improve with their strength and accuracy.  Encourage your child to work slow and carefully when they write.  Their brain needs time to process the directions so that their fingers can manipulate the pencil properly. 

     In Math, we are working with numbers greater than 10.  This includes work with "place value" to understand two digit numerals.  (For ex: 13 is 10 and 3 more...)  We use a graphic organizer called a Ten's Frame to help with this concept.  Students are also learning to write numerals accurately from 0-30. 

     The big GM Foundation Gala is coming up soon on Feb. 4th.  Please remember to purchase your tickets in advance for this special event.  You'll have an opportunity to bid on several items and/or activities with your children's teachers.  Our Kindergarten team is sponsoring a fun filled afternoon of "Jumpy Room" time and snacks with teachers.  I can't wait to see who from our class it will be. 

     Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Denise Porter

Dear Parents,

     Happy New Year!  I hope that your family had a wonderful holiday season.  Porter's Pups are off and running in the new year.  This week was been filled with winter activities, stories, writing, and winter math fun.  Our winter word bank includes words for winter clothing like hats, mittens, boots, coat, jacket and sweater.  Snowman words include: eyes, nose, mouth, buttons, arms, scarf, and hat. Through stories and snowman building activities, students have been able to use these words to describe winter activities.  I am very proud of their writing progress. They are working hard and showing much growth. We will continue this Winter unit for the next two weeks.  We will also explore arctic animals and culminate the unit with an Eskimo Olympics day.  

     Our phonics sorts during the second semester will primarily help students to discriminate between sounds, blend sounds to create new words, and learn how to insert and change letters to make new words.  As students become more proficient with short vowel sounds, we will begin to work with long vowel sounds and the rules for decoding them.  This is an exciting time for young readers when they begin to "make sense" of all of these reading strategies and feel like "real" readers.  

     In Math, we will begin working with larger numbers.  During this unit, we work with a chart called a "tens frame".  It looks like a chart with five boxes across the top row and five boxes across the bottom row.  We will establish and understanding of place value by counting objects using the tens frames and seeing that larger numbers are made up of some groups of tens and some more.  They will learn to "count on" as an important addition strategy and be able to visually see that subtraction is the opposite of addition. We will also be using a number line to help with this connection.  

     Report Cards were sent home on Thursday for the 2nd Quarter.  Please review and then sign the signature card and return in the brown envelope.  The Report Card is yours to keep.  Please let me know if you have any questions.   

     Our students have a renewed enthusiasm for "Reading the Rainbow" words.  Mr. Giesler has begun recognizing those Kindergarten students who have achieved mastery of all 60 words each Friday on the GM Morning News. I have assured them that everyone learns at their own pace, however they would love for you to keep working with them daily at home so that they can be recognized when they accomplish their goal.  

     Please remember that school will be out for the MLK holiday on Monday.  We began this week talking about Martin Luther King and his contributions. We shared many ideas about human rights and living together in peace.  

     Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,

Denise Porter 

Dear Parents,

     Wow! What a big week we've had.  Trips "Around the World", Gingerbread House building, lots of fun at our Holiday Party, and a final ride on The Polar Express.  Thanks so much to our great room Moms for all of their planning and to those who came to help out.  The children were very excited to enjoy special activities, snacks, treats, and time spent celebrating the holidays together.  Mrs. Poirier and I send a big "THANK YOU" for the generous gift cards we received from the whole class along with personalized cups and note paper.  We will certainly enjoy our shopping spree during those after holiday sales.  We hope the children's gingerbread houses made it home in one piece.  They had lots of fun making them.  

     In January, we'll be starting a unit on Winter.  This will include the world in winter, weather, arctic animals and Eskimos, as well as fiction and non-fiction winter books.  Please check out a great web-site at www.janbrett.com.  Jan Brett has written many wonderful winter children's books and she has a fun web-site with activities available.  

     In Phonics, the second half of the year will be spent working with consonant sounds and making sure that students can discriminate between sounds and use the sounds to blend words in reading and writing.  By now, everyone should be able to identify all capital and lowercase letters and produce the sound that each letter makes.  Our letter sorts will now begin to ask them to discriminate between two sounds and sort pictures accordingly.  We will also blend words containing a consonant-vowel-consonant.  Please keep working on those sight words and helping your child to "sound-out" what they hear in words.

  In math, we will have a week of "Winter Math".  It will include some fun snowball activities that will practice counting and adding skills.  Then we will work with numbers larger than 10.  The 100th day of school is coming up in January.  That will be a big celebration day for us and include many special activities to count to 100.  

     I hope that all of you and your families have a wonderful holiday season.  Enjoy some extra time with your child.  I'll see you in 2012.  Students return to school on 1/10.  

Sincerely,

Denise Porter

     We had a great class party today.  Thanks to Olivia's Daddy for taking lots of great pictures for us.  Here are just a few... Animoto link below:

http://animoto.com/play/T07rf0x7O1lx6tuvlaksPw?utm_content=main_link

Dear Parents,

     The countdown is getting close.  Ask your child how many links are left on their countdown to Winter Holidays chain.  Next week we will pack our suitcases, carry our passport, and continue our study of traditions and cultures around the world.  Each day we will be visiting other countries by traveling to other Kindergarten classrooms to learn about Mexico, France, China, Germany, Israel, and Sweden.  You will enjoy learning from your child if you take a peek into their suitcase and ask them what they've learned about places and people around the world.  

     On Tuesday, we will be making gingerbread houses.  We are asking each child to bring two items to share.  Each child needs 1 can of vanilla icing and the designated decorating item that was listed on a note that came home last Friday.  Please send in those items by Monday so that we'll know if we have everything we need.  Thank you to the Moms who will be coming to help on Monday.  Please bring a glue gun if you have one.  

     Wednesday we will have our class holiday party at 9:30.  Parents who are coming to help should come to the room at 9:00 to set up.  Thank you for the donations that will help to make this a special time for the class.

     Thursday we'll take our last trip of the season all the way to the North Pole.  Thursday will be Pajama Day and we'll take an imaginary ride on the Polar Express.  Your child is encouraged to wear pajamas to school on this day.  It will be cold in the Arctic North Pole, so we will enjoy some hot chocolate as we ride the Polar Express and have lots of magic fun.  

     Your child will be bringing home a family gift next week.  Please help them to carefully place it under our tree or with family gifts.  

     We will NOT have Kinder Keys homework or Poetry Notebooks this next week or during the holidays.  Students will be able to check out two books from the Media Center next week to keep over the holidays, so be sure to return the book they have now next week.  

     Have a wonderful weekend!

Sincerely,

Denise Porter

Dear Parents,

     The holiday season is in the air.  Our class is learning about the many ways that families and cultures celebrate special events in their lives.  The children love the fictional stories that entertain as well as informational text about people from other countries.  We enjoyed learning a little about Italy this week when Rosie our "Top Dog" for this week shared about Italian pasta and shared some Italian words with us.  We would love to borrow any cultural artifacts that you may have for us to look at. We will continue next week with our holiday theme.

     In Math, we have culminated our geometry unit with a Construction Project.  After learning about transportation, vehicles, and maps last week in our webquest: (https://sites.google.com/site/ohtheplaceswewillgowebquest/ ), we formed building teams and each group designed a "Shape Community" complete with roads, background objects, a compass rose, vehicles, and buildings made out of shapes.  Once each community was complete, shapes were tallied and counted and then data was recorded into graph form using an application called The Graph Club.  A lot of planning and cooperation went into these successful projects. Each student was given the chance to share orally as we compared communities and graphs.  

     We will be reviewing and assessing several basic language arts and math skills this next week as we complete the 2nd Nine Weeks of school.  Please continue to review our "Rainbow Words" frequently so that your child will be fluent in their sight word reading.  Once they can read them, please continue to reinforce by having them write and spell as many as they can.  

     Thank you for your donations to the GM canned food drive! The children loved seeing their cans line the hallway.   This project has also helped us to understand the concept of "wants" an "needs".  During this season of presents, we are able to compare the things that we really need with those that we want.  This is a very important economic concept for young ones to grasp.  

     Have a great weekend.

Sincerely,

Denise Porter

Dear Parents,

     Porter's Pups are on the "Go".  We've had a great week learning about transportation by air, land, and sea.  Our study of maps has helped the children to begin an understanding of other states, countries, and continents.  We have read fiction and non-fiction books about vehicles and written stories about places we would like to go.  Next week, as we begin our holiday unit, we will continue learning about the world around us through a study of cultures and traditions around the world.  We will read about children in other countries and how they are the same and different in many ways.  If you happen to have any items of interest from other countries that you would be willing to let us share and display in the classroom, please send them in.  We always strive to be sensitive about holidays celebrated by our families here at Garrison Mill.  Although we enjoy making seasonal projects, we do not teach religious concepts.  If you have any questions or concerns related to our activities, please fell free to let me know.  

     In phonics, we will continue working with word families as well as reinforcement of consonant sounds and blending words.  Working with vowel sounds in the middle of words helps students learn to blend new words by combining a beginning, middle, and ending sound.  Students practice how to change the beginning or ending letter of a word to make a new word like: dot changes to hot by taking away the d and adding an h.  Mop changes to mom by taking away the p and adding an m.  We call this "word work".  Please practice this with your child at home to help them progress in their blending skills.  It will help them in reading and writing many words.  

     In Math, we will be finishing up with our geometry unit.  Everyone has done very well learning to name, describe, and look for shapes in everyday objects.  Next week we will be working in Building tEams to design neighborhood maps by combining shapes to create buildings and vehicles.  Then each team will tally their number of shapes.  Using a program called Graph Club, we will compare the neighborhoods by making graphs of the number of each shape used.  This project based learning is a fun way to apply their learning and practice working collaboratively with their peers. 

     Our Room Moms are making plans for a wonderful Holiday Party for our class on 12/21.  If they call for any help or donations, please give them your support.  On 12/20 we are going to decorate gingerbread houses.  You will receive a note next week to ask for a small donation of a certain type of candy to send in.  I will be hot-gluing milk cartons to plates and gluing graham crackers on them to build their houses.  If anyone could help me with the gluing on Monday, 12/19 during my Planning time (12:50-1:30), that would be great.  If I have 2-3 helpers with glue guns, we can get them all done in that hour.  Please let me know if you'd like to help.  

     Please remember our upcoming Pancake Breakfast on Sat. Dec. 3rd.  This will be a fun family event.  

     Our "Canned Food" drive will continue throughout next week.  We're hoping to line the whole hallway with food.  

     Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Denise Porter