Barbour Kindergarten News: December 11, 2020
https://docs.google.com/document/d/11n0UlRz_UcVlva-_lrlSFMnwCAPMikAjBikrg-grZnE/edit?usp=sharing |
Barbour Kindergarten News: November 13, 2020
docs.google.com/document/d/1yc7kgKpXxZBdtGHJRw-zveb0ru3-0It0phjmSpuQqxA/edit?usp=sharing |
Barbour Kindergarten News: November 6, 2020
docs.google.com/document/d/1DI1WwjNZ0JmTR3qGLu4guqokmN5_Cg2c-ooBNdGnGmI/edit?usp=sharing
docs.google.com/document/d/1DI1WwjNZ0JmTR3qGLu4guqokmN5_Cg2c-ooBNdGnGmI/edit?usp=sharing
Barbour Kindergarten News: October 26, 2020
docs.google.com/document/d/1itxOEsjdpBPfT-zPCvtQXJP0Qgkv30b4ej27yv0E96Y/edit?usp=sharing
docs.google.com/document/d/1itxOEsjdpBPfT-zPCvtQXJP0Qgkv30b4ej27yv0E96Y/edit?usp=sharing
Barbour Kindergarten News: October 9, 2020
docs.google.com/document/d/19qC1-RJOKewumA2prRBP017JHWlXSEn7Mult7CLtzDk/edit?usp=sharing
docs.google.com/document/d/19qC1-RJOKewumA2prRBP017JHWlXSEn7Mult7CLtzDk/edit?usp=sharing
Barbour Kinder News: October 1, 2020
docs.google.com/document/d/1ezhJwDW6SUlhVRSukZrszViH4GqIBw3DPvWangOn0Dk/edit?usp=sharing
docs.google.com/document/d/1ezhJwDW6SUlhVRSukZrszViH4GqIBw3DPvWangOn0Dk/edit?usp=sharing
Barbour Kinder News: September 25, 2020
docs.google.com/document/d/19WtsDzIHYsAGvOpEreu7cwATYAcNGQhEKzx-9JOFZtM/edit?usp=sharing |
Barbour Kinder News: September 18, 2020
docs.google.com/document/d/1dT124tc20si5EBdy7b_ZsWdqlXYgT7fXA2MO3sspz8c/edit?usp=sharing |
Weekly News
Kindergarten – Barbour
March 13, 2020
Sharing Assignment: Week of March 16th – Respond with sentences and an illustration to the prompt… “The best thing about spring is…”
Letters: blends Snap/Sight Words: because
Dear Parents,
Our Room 301 kinders are doing well and progressing along as we head into the last bit of our school year. I cannot believe how quickly the time is going by. They are all my wonderful little ducklings…so very sweet and special! I feel lucky to have this opportunity to work with them. Thank you.
On the note of classroom time, I am hoping that we are able to get this major virus under control. The district is limiting large events and volunteers in the classrooms to minimize exposure. In addition, we have cancelled some upcoming field trips as a preventative measure.
Should the District decide on school closures, please make sure you continue with their academics.
Reading: Always…you can even use Raz Kids or Vooks (they have a 1 month free trial if you want to try it out) Don’t forget to check for comprehension of the story, if they can sequence the events in the story, and listen for expression and fluency.
I am also including a Scholastic book order for your children. Please consider taking advantage of these economic book purchases for your child’s enjoyment and learning.
Math: reinforce number sense, writing their numbers, adding on… we are currently in Unit 4 with a heavy focus on number bonds.
Parent tip sheet for number bonds is attached. Dreambox is district sponsored, so please consider using this as well.
Persuasive/Opinion Writing Unit. Here we get to identify opinions verses facts and being able to develop an opinion with some evidence to support it. We are exploring and noticing problems or concerns and solutions. Please make sure you prompt your child for their reasoning when they request something…this is good practice! J Encourage our students to notice a problem, think about it, and write. Example we used in class…running on campus is a problem, because it is unsafe, you could get hurt…, we could put up signs to slow down. We even made up a song to slow down…J
Here is the link again to a fun persuasive read, I wanna Iguana, by Karen Kaufman Orloff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7dswe0DuDU
They can also continue to write “How to” books or personal narratives on events in their life.
Science- experiment and question…. Mystery Science is a wonderful and engaging website that presents science topics in an easy to understand way. Today we watched, “How do Germs get inside you,” and I want to share some of the cuteness I heard from our little ones:
“We are actually made from clay…really Mrs. Barbour”
“We have lots of holes all over our body that let the germs in”.
Even though our wonderful science night had to be cancelled, we had the chance to walk through the MPR and see the experiments. Seven of our students actually did a project which they explained and shared with our class. It was fabulous, and we learned about sink and float and water density, the solar system, phases of the moon, and informative facts on the brain. Great stuff!!
This week we also had a special little treat learning about the celebration of Holi. Mrs. M. was so kind to explain the celebration to the little ones and to treat them to a tad of organic color powder which they could apply to their hand. We love learning about cultures and traditions from around the world.
Lastly, as another reminder, even if I am not conferencing with you at this time, please note that I will still send home a progress report or update for every student after conferences. Thank you.
Stay healthy and enjoy your weekend.
Sincerely,
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
March 18-20th- Conference Days
March 19th- Pipe Protectors, Water Program in house Field Trip (Cancelled)
March 24th- Minimum Day
April 3rd – Minimum Day
April 6-10th- Spring Break
April 15th- Field Trip California Wildlife
April 21st- Lawrence Hall of Science in house field trip
April 25th – Bollinger Canyon Auction
www.vooks.com/parent-resources
Weekly News
Kindergarten – Barbour
March 6, 2020
Sharing Assignment: Week of March 9th – Respond with sentences and an illustration to the prompt… “The Luckiest thing that ever happened to me was…”
Letter: e long and short sound Snap/Sight Words: be, said
Dear Parents,
Welcome to March! We started off our week with our fabulous Read Across America Day and a celebration for Dr. Seuss. Not only do his books explore rhyming fun, but they usually have a bigger message. One of my favorite is The Lorax, but we enjoyed the sharing of the many books from Dr. Seuss. Thank you for sharing your collections. Next week’s sharing is the luckiest thing that ever happened to me. Please make sure your student completes their sharing assignment and has the opportunity to share and practice their public speaking.
We are now starting our Persuasive/Opinion Writing Unit. Here we get to identify opinions verses facts and being able to develop an opinion with some evidence to support it. We are exploring and noticing problems or concerns and solutions. Please make sure you prompt your child for their reasoning when they request something…this is good practice! J
Here is the link to a fun persuasive read, I wanna Iguana, by Karen Kaufman Orloff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7dswe0DuDU
In math, we are using number bonds to help conceptualize the decomposing and composing of numbers. Please practice the numbers 1-20, so your child not only recognizes them, but is comfortable writing them as well.
As a final note, even if I am not conferencing with you, please note that I will send home a progress report or update for every student after conferences. Thank you.
Stay healthy and enjoy your weekend!
Sincerely,
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
March 11th- Science Night
March 18-20th- Conference Days
March 19th- Pipe Protectors, Water Program in house Field Trip
March 24th- Minimum Day
April 3rd – Minimum Day
April 6-10th- Spring Break
April 15th- Field Trip California Wildlife
April 21st- Lawrence Hall of Science in house field trip
April 25th – Bollinger Canyon Auction
Kindergarten – Barbour
March 6, 2020
Sharing Assignment: Week of March 9th – Respond with sentences and an illustration to the prompt… “The Luckiest thing that ever happened to me was…”
Letter: e long and short sound Snap/Sight Words: be, said
Dear Parents,
Welcome to March! We started off our week with our fabulous Read Across America Day and a celebration for Dr. Seuss. Not only do his books explore rhyming fun, but they usually have a bigger message. One of my favorite is The Lorax, but we enjoyed the sharing of the many books from Dr. Seuss. Thank you for sharing your collections. Next week’s sharing is the luckiest thing that ever happened to me. Please make sure your student completes their sharing assignment and has the opportunity to share and practice their public speaking.
We are now starting our Persuasive/Opinion Writing Unit. Here we get to identify opinions verses facts and being able to develop an opinion with some evidence to support it. We are exploring and noticing problems or concerns and solutions. Please make sure you prompt your child for their reasoning when they request something…this is good practice! J
Here is the link to a fun persuasive read, I wanna Iguana, by Karen Kaufman Orloff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7dswe0DuDU
In math, we are using number bonds to help conceptualize the decomposing and composing of numbers. Please practice the numbers 1-20, so your child not only recognizes them, but is comfortable writing them as well.
As a final note, even if I am not conferencing with you, please note that I will send home a progress report or update for every student after conferences. Thank you.
Stay healthy and enjoy your weekend!
Sincerely,
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
March 11th- Science Night
March 18-20th- Conference Days
March 19th- Pipe Protectors, Water Program in house Field Trip
March 24th- Minimum Day
April 3rd – Minimum Day
April 6-10th- Spring Break
April 15th- Field Trip California Wildlife
April 21st- Lawrence Hall of Science in house field trip
April 25th – Bollinger Canyon Auction
Weekly News
Kindergarten – Barbour
February 28, 2020
Sharing Assignment: Week of March 2nd – Bring in or tell about your favorite Dr. Seuss book.
Letter: o long and short sound Snap/Sight Words: on, Who
Dear Parents,
As we say goodbye to February and welcome March, our class is looking at all the wonderful events that transpired. It started off with Punxsutawney Phil having an accurate prediction for spring and feeling the love in the air with our Valentine’s Day celebration. Another special treat was learning about Mardi Gras from Mrs. Friedman and Sawyer. Not only did they share a story, but we were able to taste some authentic King Cake as well as receiving some beads that Sawyer collected for his classmates. A sincere thank you to the Friedmans for sharing! This month we learned about the responsibilities of Presidents and some well- known Presidents. In February, we saw the weather change which helped with our science unit on the study of the weather and seasons. We experienced our wonderful fun run and had not only a study of the character traits of honesty, kindness, humility, and gratitude, but danced, exercised, and ran to the music led by the boosterthon team and Johnny Tsunami. Thank you for all your generous contributions to help out Bollinger. More sensational singing was also happening with the start of our fabulous music classes. Lastly, as a special early treat for Monday’s Read Across America Day, we had some special readers come to read in our classroom… We had a representative from ARF and her four- legged friend visit our class. What a great time and a great way to welcome March!
With only a few months left of school, March will also have 3 conference days for me to discuss progress monitoring with some families/ students. I will be contacting some families for these conferences. Should you feel you have some concerns you would like to discuss, please contact me to set up a time. Thank you.
On Monday, we will also be writing another how to book. It would be very helpful for your child if you could discuss/generate another idea for their how to book collection. Also as a reminder, please return on Monday, any outstanding library books your student might have at home. We still have a few books out, and our class is not able to bring our books home due to this. We are reading the books in class, but our librarian has requested we not take them home yet.
As always, stay safe and healthy and enjoy your weekend!
Sincerely,
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
February 25th – Kinder Music Program starts
February 28th- Fun Run- come watch the run!
March 4th – Family Reading Night
March 6th- Art with Miss Tess
March 11th- Science Night
March 18-20th- Conference Days
March 19th- Pipe Protectors, Water Program in house Field Trip
March 24th- Minimum Day
April 3rd – Minimum Day
April 6-10th- Spring Break
April 15th- Field Trip California Wildlife
April 21st- Lawrence Hall of Science in house field trip
April 25th – Bollinger Canyon Auction
Kindergarten – Barbour
February 28, 2020
Sharing Assignment: Week of March 2nd – Bring in or tell about your favorite Dr. Seuss book.
Letter: o long and short sound Snap/Sight Words: on, Who
Dear Parents,
As we say goodbye to February and welcome March, our class is looking at all the wonderful events that transpired. It started off with Punxsutawney Phil having an accurate prediction for spring and feeling the love in the air with our Valentine’s Day celebration. Another special treat was learning about Mardi Gras from Mrs. Friedman and Sawyer. Not only did they share a story, but we were able to taste some authentic King Cake as well as receiving some beads that Sawyer collected for his classmates. A sincere thank you to the Friedmans for sharing! This month we learned about the responsibilities of Presidents and some well- known Presidents. In February, we saw the weather change which helped with our science unit on the study of the weather and seasons. We experienced our wonderful fun run and had not only a study of the character traits of honesty, kindness, humility, and gratitude, but danced, exercised, and ran to the music led by the boosterthon team and Johnny Tsunami. Thank you for all your generous contributions to help out Bollinger. More sensational singing was also happening with the start of our fabulous music classes. Lastly, as a special early treat for Monday’s Read Across America Day, we had some special readers come to read in our classroom… We had a representative from ARF and her four- legged friend visit our class. What a great time and a great way to welcome March!
With only a few months left of school, March will also have 3 conference days for me to discuss progress monitoring with some families/ students. I will be contacting some families for these conferences. Should you feel you have some concerns you would like to discuss, please contact me to set up a time. Thank you.
On Monday, we will also be writing another how to book. It would be very helpful for your child if you could discuss/generate another idea for their how to book collection. Also as a reminder, please return on Monday, any outstanding library books your student might have at home. We still have a few books out, and our class is not able to bring our books home due to this. We are reading the books in class, but our librarian has requested we not take them home yet.
As always, stay safe and healthy and enjoy your weekend!
Sincerely,
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
February 25th – Kinder Music Program starts
February 28th- Fun Run- come watch the run!
March 4th – Family Reading Night
March 6th- Art with Miss Tess
March 11th- Science Night
March 18-20th- Conference Days
March 19th- Pipe Protectors, Water Program in house Field Trip
March 24th- Minimum Day
April 3rd – Minimum Day
April 6-10th- Spring Break
April 15th- Field Trip California Wildlife
April 21st- Lawrence Hall of Science in house field trip
April 25th – Bollinger Canyon Auction
Weekly News
Kindergarten – Barbour
February 21, 2020
Sharing Assignment: week of February 24th – “This is me!” Self portrait and count of how many and which vowels are in your name.
Snap/Sight Words: it, this
Dear Parents,
I wanted to give you again my heartfelt thanks for all your thoughtfulness on Valentine’s Day. I loved your generous gifts of flowers, chocolates, and gift cards for coffee. What wonderful treats. Thank you again!
I hope you had a lovely relaxing extended weekend, and are ready for our big school fundraiser the “Fun Run.” Our students received a bracelet for just signing up on funrun.com, and they are able to acquire more prizes with more participation. The site also has fun videos on character development. This week, we have already reinforced honesty and gratitude, and all of this fun is under our big Wild West theme this year.
Even with our shortened week, we have almost completed our Reading and Writing Units of Study (Bigger Books, Bigger Reading Muscles and our How to Books- Writing to Teach Others) as well as our Math Module. Next up will be our Persuasive/Opinion Unit for Writing as well as composing/decomposing with addition and subtraction. Don’t forget to use dreambox and raz kids to help out those math and reading skills as well. Here is a catchy little sight word song I like to sing with our kiddos . Just plug in any of the sight words we studied or they might be struggling with:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0vWOwIflTs&t=166s
Another one of my favorites our kiddos enjoy to help with syllables is this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psUPYR235O8
Lastly, I am sending home another Scholastic Book Order for you to take advantage of. They have some wonderful reasonable priced books for your child’s enjoyment or for gift ideas. Thank you for perusing the catalogs…I know I send home quite a few, but I really like to give you options and generous selections.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
February 21st- Wild West Dress Up Day
February 25th – Kinder Music Program starts
February 28th- Fun Run- come watch the run!
March 6th- Art with Miss Tess
March 11th- Science Night
March 18-20th- Conference Days
March 19th- Pipe Protectors, Water Program in house Field Trip
March 24th- Minimum Day
April 3rd – Minimum Day
April 6-10th- Spring Break
April 21st- Lawrence Hall of Science in house field trip
April 25th – Bollinger Canyon Auction
February 14, 2020
My Dearest Families,
I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Valentine’s Day and a wonderful long weekend!
Thank you for so kindly sharing your little sweethearts with me every day!
They are the BEST!
Much love,
Doris Barbour
Sharing Assignment: week of February 17th – bring something special to you and be able to explain why it is special.
Snap/Sight Words: do, does
Upcoming Events:
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
February 19th- Fun Run Kick Off
February 21st- Wild West Dress Up Day
February 25th – Kinder Music Program starts
February 28th- Fun Run
February 28th- Family Reading Night
March 6th- Art with Miss Tess
March 11th- Science Night
March 18-20th- Conference Days
March 24th- Minimum Day
April 3rd – Minimum Day
April 6-10th- Spring Break
April 25th – Bollinger Auction
February 14, 2020
My Dearest Families,
I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Valentine’s Day and a wonderful long weekend!
Thank you for so kindly sharing your little sweethearts with me every day!
They are the BEST!
Much love,
Doris Barbour
Sharing Assignment: week of February 17th – bring something special to you and be able to explain why it is special.
Snap/Sight Words: do, does
Upcoming Events:
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
February 19th- Fun Run Kick Off
February 21st- Wild West Dress Up Day
February 25th – Kinder Music Program starts
February 28th- Fun Run
February 28th- Family Reading Night
March 6th- Art with Miss Tess
March 11th- Science Night
March 18-20th- Conference Days
March 24th- Minimum Day
April 3rd – Minimum Day
April 6-10th- Spring Break
April 25th – Bollinger Auction
Kindergarten Weekly News
February 7, 2020 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due the week of February 10th 2020: If I were President….
Letter: Vowel Review- short u, Sight word: up
Dear Parents,
Just some quick highlights of our week:
First off, we are so happy to welcome our new student Aditya. He and his family are a wonderful addition to our class! Our classroom size is currently at 24 students, so please keep this in mind for anything donated to the class.
Wacky Wonderful Wednesday was exceptionally busy this week with our P.E. schedule, Library, Computer Lab, and our spirit day flag salute. Tag on to these events, Words Matter Week, and the energy level was very high. :)
Our Character Trait of the month is self awareness, and our Book of the month is In My Heart by Jo Witek. It is a lovely book of feelings.
In Library, we had 100% return of all checked out books earning us our first Golden Buck! Please keep up the good work! We will hopefully earn another Golden Buck this coming week.
Scholastic Book orders were sent home last week, so please consider these reasonable book purchases for your student’s reading enjoyment.
Wednesday was also World Read Aloud Day and Global School Play Day. We took this opportunity to read Just a Minute by Yuyi Morales. This book was chosen as the Global Read Aloud book this year and was read by many kindergarten classes throughout the world. Global School Play Day recognizes the importance of play in child and adult development. Of course, our students were very open to this and so appreciative of the little bit of time they were given for this activity.
Computer Lab: please feel free to access the Bollinger Tech Lab site for some of the programs the children are enjoying and using in the lab- for example learn to read, and word machine. Link is on our classroom website
Valentine’s Day is next week, so please make sure any Valentine’s Day cards are back to school by Wednesday, February 12th. Also as a quick reminder, we are a nut free zone, so please make sure products/snacks you send to school are nut free. We have a few students in our class that have allergies and sensitivities to nuts and various other foods.
The Fun Run Boosterthon will be here to kick off this school event on Wednesday, Feb. 19th! Our theme this year is Wild West! This event is HUGE for our school and we couldn’t do it without your support! All students are encouraged to register for this super fun event!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d44aaa62fa13-bollinger8
The GFWC Dublin/San Ramon Women’s Club is sponsoring the 2020 Student Art contest. There is no specific theme for the contest and most mediums can be used ie oil,, watercolor, chalk, pencil, crayon, etc. This is open to Kindergarteners and many of our students enjoy art, so I would encourage your child’s participation. For more information on the protocol, please visit their website.
FYI, I will be out of classroom on Monday, 2/10 and Thursday, 2/13 for some professional development classes. Our little ones will be in good hands. :)
Have a wonderful weekend!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
February 19th- Fun Run Kick Off
February 21st- Wild West Dress Up Day
February 25th – Kinder Music Program starts
February 28th- Fun Run
February 28th- Family Reading Night
March 6th- Art with Miss Tess
March 11th- Science Night
March 18-20th- Conference Days
March 24th- Minimum Day
April 3rd – Minimum Day
April 6-10th- Spring Break
April 25th – Bollinger Auction
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
January 31, 2020 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due the week of February 2nd 2020: In honor of Words Matter, please help your child brainstorm, write, and practice reading 5 kind words.
Letter: Vowel Review- a, Sight words: at, that
Dear Parents,
It is hard to believe, but we have now been in school for over 100 days! We had numerous activities to help celebrate this momentous occasion, and quite a bit of counting to 100 by ones, 5’s, 10’s. At this point your child should be more than comfortable with the classroom procedures and have an established pattern in place for school work and managing responsibility …backpacks, jackets, homework folders, sharing assignments, and library books, etc. Although we still need to offer guidance and support with their work, they should have the sense that it is their responsibility to complete/turn in a weekly sharing assignment, or have a snack in their backpack, their library book, their sweater or jacket, etc. Our class is still struggling with returning library books weekly, so our librarian has requested that our class not bring home their library books until all the class books are returned. They have been keeping their new library books in their cubbies here in the classroom and have the opportunity to read them during reading workshop in the interim.
Thank you for your assistance with the “How To” sharing assignment. I saw some great ideas for their writing. The best ideas are simple and not to broad a topic to help with simplicity in the steps of the how to book.
February will again be another busy month with Groundhog Day, Words Matter Week, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, Staff Development Day, and our music program will start, so our February will be full of fun activities and learning. For the Valentine’s Day exchange please make sure your student has enough for everyone (23) and have your student sign their name. These will be due by Wednesday, February 12th or earlier. Please put them in a ziplock back to help with sorting when returning them to school.
Words Matter Week is next week, so our school will have varied activities to support the message. Not only are we choosing kind words, but we need to recognize the power of our words with our choices.
Monday, February 3rd: Team up for kind words!
Wear your favorite sports attire!
Tuesday, February 4th: Words have Power!
Wear your favorite super hero outfit or shirt or hat!
Wednesday, February 5th : Spirit Day!
Wear blue and gold
Thursday, February 6th: Be bright and say kind words!
Wear rainbow colors
Friday, February 7th: Get cozy with kind words!
Wear pajamas
Enjoy the weekend!!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
February 3rd- Groundhog Day
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
January 24, 2020 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due the week of January 27th 2020: list of 6 different things that you know how to do well.
Letter: digraph wh, Sight words: where, what
Dear Parents,
I hope you enjoyed a nice long relaxing weekend, and had a chance to reflect on the report card and areas we can support our children in. Please continue to support nightly reading and our sharing assignments- both are so beneficial to your student. In addition, have fun with the monthly challenges which usually touch briefly on various areas in the curriculum. A new monthly challenge will be coming home next week.
We are still working in our “How to” writing unit. When you are doing fun things with your children, it is a perfect opportunity to ask them for some step by step directions on how to do the task. Please make sure the topics are authentic items for example, how to bake a cake as opposed to how to catch a unicorn. Real activities are easier to write clearly about. J
I am including this funny little video again on how the steps can go a little awry ….enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct-lOOUqmyY
Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner I have included a little information if you want to participate in the Valentine’s Day card exchange. Please make sure your student has enough for everyone (23) and have your student sign their name. These will be due by Wednesday, February 12th or earlier. Please put them in a ziplock back to help with sorting when returning them to school.
Finally, 100 day is this coming Tuesday…amazing! We will do some fun center activities to help celebrate the day.
Enjoy the weekend!!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
January 24, 2020 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due the week of January 27th 2020: list of 6 different things that you know how to do well.
Letter: digraph wh, Sight words: where, what
Dear Parents,
I hope you enjoyed a nice long relaxing weekend, and had a chance to reflect on the report card and areas we can support our children in. Please continue to support nightly reading and our sharing assignments- both are so beneficial to your student. In addition, have fun with the monthly challenges which usually touch briefly on various areas in the curriculum. A new monthly challenge will be coming home next week.
We are still working in our “How to” writing unit. When you are doing fun things with your children, it is a perfect opportunity to ask them for some step by step directions on how to do the task. Please make sure the topics are authentic items for example, how to bake a cake as opposed to how to catch a unicorn. Real activities are easier to write clearly about. J
I am including this funny little video again on how the steps can go a little awry ….enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct-lOOUqmyY
Since Valentine’s Day is just around the corner I have included a little information if you want to participate in the Valentine’s Day card exchange. Please make sure your student has enough for everyone (23) and have your student sign their name. These will be due by Wednesday, February 12th or earlier. Please put them in a ziplock back to help with sorting when returning them to school.
Finally, 100 day is this coming Tuesday…amazing! We will do some fun center activities to help celebrate the day.
Enjoy the weekend!!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
January 17, 2020 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due the week of January 20th 2020: 100 Day collection (paper sent home to attach items to)
Letter: digraph ch, Sight words: get, your
Dear Parents,
We have had a wonderful full week of learning, and report cards went home today to share some of your child’s academic growth since the start of the school year. Please remember that the report card is just a piece of paper that shows the great things your child can do and some areas to continue to work on. Two additional papers are included in your report card envelope- one clarifying the areas being assessed at this time and a letter on blue paper on our report card philosophy. Please read the blue paper first! J You may keep the contents of the envelope and please just sign and return the envelope next week.
One highlight of our week was the chance to work in our “Maker Space” lab. We took on the challenge of building a bird’s nest from a variety of material and supplies. The nest needed to be able to withstand a drop to protect the eggs and no tape, glue, or scissors were allowed in the process. This engineering activity was so engaging and of course after testing, we went back to adjust, and modify our experiment. The children had a stimulating, highly engaging, and enjoyable learning experience. Ask your child to share their thoughts on this Design Challenge with you.
As we continue with our “How to” writing unit, our students will be writing many how to books. Please help and encourage your child by asking them what they know how to do or make. Can they tell you clear step-by-step directions? There are many simple daily things that make great kinder how to books, ex: how to brush my teeth, comb my hair, make the bed, put away toys, draw a picture, do a dance, get dressed, etc…
I am including a funny little video on how the steps can go a little awry ….enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct-lOOUqmyY
Enjoy your long weekend!!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
January 20th – Martin Luther King Holiday
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
January 17, 2020 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due the week of January 20th 2020: 100 Day collection (paper sent home to attach items to)
Letter: digraph ch, Sight words: get, your
Dear Parents,
We have had a wonderful full week of learning, and report cards went home today to share some of your child’s academic growth since the start of the school year. Please remember that the report card is just a piece of paper that shows the great things your child can do and some areas to continue to work on. Two additional papers are included in your report card envelope- one clarifying the areas being assessed at this time and a letter on blue paper on our report card philosophy. Please read the blue paper first! J You may keep the contents of the envelope and please just sign and return the envelope next week.
One highlight of our week was the chance to work in our “Maker Space” lab. We took on the challenge of building a bird’s nest from a variety of material and supplies. The nest needed to be able to withstand a drop to protect the eggs and no tape, glue, or scissors were allowed in the process. This engineering activity was so engaging and of course after testing, we went back to adjust, and modify our experiment. The children had a stimulating, highly engaging, and enjoyable learning experience. Ask your child to share their thoughts on this Design Challenge with you.
As we continue with our “How to” writing unit, our students will be writing many how to books. Please help and encourage your child by asking them what they know how to do or make. Can they tell you clear step-by-step directions? There are many simple daily things that make great kinder how to books, ex: how to brush my teeth, comb my hair, make the bed, put away toys, draw a picture, do a dance, get dressed, etc…
I am including a funny little video on how the steps can go a little awry ….enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct-lOOUqmyY
Enjoy your long weekend!!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
January 20th – Martin Luther King Holiday
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
January 10, 2020 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due the week of January 13th 2020: I have a dream that…
Letter: digraph th, Sight words: with, there
Dear Parents,
Welcome back! It sounds as if everyone had a wonderful winter break, and I want to thank you again for the many wonderful gifts and souvenirs I received from your adventures. Your thoughtfulness is so very much appreciated.
So, we are quickly approaching the half way mark in our school year. I have seen tremendously growth our students’ academics and sense of responsibility. We will continue to work through the kindergarten curriculum in the upcoming months, but I would also encourage you to work with your student completing those optional reading logs, their sharing homework, the challenge ideas, dreambox math, etc. This will help your student immensely as they prepare for the necessary skills in the future.
Current Curriculum Overview:
Math: Measurement, Comparisons, and Patterns
Reading Unit: Bigger Books, Bigger Reading Muscles…taking on more challenging books
Writing Unit: Information Writing- How to Books
Science: Recycling, Reusing Resources and Maker Space Activity
Tech Lab: Typing…please visit the Bollinger tech lab to for your student to access some free educational sites.
Social Studies: Biographies, Martin Luther King Jr., Presidents
Sanford Harmony/Social Skills: Empathy
Character Trait of the Month: Courage
Book of the Month: Say Something by Peter Reynolds
Bollinger Canyon will also be having its annual Science Night on March 11th. If your child would like to participate please submit the Science Fair Proposal form by Friday, January 31, 2020. This is a wonderful opportunity for creative thinking, and exploration.
In addition, our class will be participating in a Makers Space activity on Thursday, January 16th from 10:20-11:10am. We will be doing a Design Challenge to build a bird nest with miscellaneous materials. These hands on learning activities involve group work, creativity, experimentation, and social skills to name just a few. Please let me know if you are available to help in our Maker Space Lab that day. It will be a great opportunity to watch these young minds exploring. Thank you in advance.
Enjoy the weekend!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
January 17th- Principal Offerman reads to our class/
Report cards go home
January 20th – Martin Luther King Holiday
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
January 10, 2020 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due the week of January 13th 2020: I have a dream that…
Letter: digraph th, Sight words: with, there
Dear Parents,
Welcome back! It sounds as if everyone had a wonderful winter break, and I want to thank you again for the many wonderful gifts and souvenirs I received from your adventures. Your thoughtfulness is so very much appreciated.
So, we are quickly approaching the half way mark in our school year. I have seen tremendously growth our students’ academics and sense of responsibility. We will continue to work through the kindergarten curriculum in the upcoming months, but I would also encourage you to work with your student completing those optional reading logs, their sharing homework, the challenge ideas, dreambox math, etc. This will help your student immensely as they prepare for the necessary skills in the future.
Current Curriculum Overview:
Math: Measurement, Comparisons, and Patterns
Reading Unit: Bigger Books, Bigger Reading Muscles…taking on more challenging books
Writing Unit: Information Writing- How to Books
Science: Recycling, Reusing Resources and Maker Space Activity
Tech Lab: Typing…please visit the Bollinger tech lab to for your student to access some free educational sites.
Social Studies: Biographies, Martin Luther King Jr., Presidents
Sanford Harmony/Social Skills: Empathy
Character Trait of the Month: Courage
Book of the Month: Say Something by Peter Reynolds
Bollinger Canyon will also be having its annual Science Night on March 11th. If your child would like to participate please submit the Science Fair Proposal form by Friday, January 31, 2020. This is a wonderful opportunity for creative thinking, and exploration.
In addition, our class will be participating in a Makers Space activity on Thursday, January 16th from 10:20-11:10am. We will be doing a Design Challenge to build a bird nest with miscellaneous materials. These hands on learning activities involve group work, creativity, experimentation, and social skills to name just a few. Please let me know if you are available to help in our Maker Space Lab that day. It will be a great opportunity to watch these young minds exploring. Thank you in advance.
Enjoy the weekend!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
January 17th- Principal Offerman reads to our class/
Report cards go home
January 20th – Martin Luther King Holiday
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
December 20, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due the week of January 7th 2020: Over Winter Break, I ….
(paper sent home last week)
Letter: digraph sh, Sight word: one, for
Dear Parents,
I would like to wish you a wonderful holiday and winter break filled with health and good cheer. Thank you for the many wonderful gifts. Your thoughtfulness is so very much appreciated my wonderful families. It was pleasure seeing some of you helping with our winter center celebration. I hope you enjoyed yourselves; I know the children and I did. We also hope you enjoy the little gift (potholders)/keepsake your darlings made for you.
Again, have a relaxing vacation and don’t forget to have our little ones continue to read and write about their adventures during this break.
All my best,
Doris Barbour
Mrs. Maheshwary (our class para) also sends along a big thank you and well wishes for the New Year!
Upcoming Events:
December 20th- Minimum Day
December 23-January 6th – Winter Break
January 6th - Teacher Work Day
January 17th- Principal Offerman reads to our class/
Report cards go home
January 20th – Martin Luther King Holiday
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
December 20, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due the week of January 7th 2020: Over Winter Break, I ….
(paper sent home last week)
Letter: digraph sh, Sight word: one, for
Dear Parents,
I would like to wish you a wonderful holiday and winter break filled with health and good cheer. Thank you for the many wonderful gifts. Your thoughtfulness is so very much appreciated my wonderful families. It was pleasure seeing some of you helping with our winter center celebration. I hope you enjoyed yourselves; I know the children and I did. We also hope you enjoy the little gift (potholders)/keepsake your darlings made for you.
Again, have a relaxing vacation and don’t forget to have our little ones continue to read and write about their adventures during this break.
All my best,
Doris Barbour
Mrs. Maheshwary (our class para) also sends along a big thank you and well wishes for the New Year!
Upcoming Events:
December 20th- Minimum Day
December 23-January 6th – Winter Break
January 6th - Teacher Work Day
January 17th- Principal Offerman reads to our class/
Report cards go home
January 20th – Martin Luther King Holiday
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
December 13, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of December 16th: Over Winter Break, I ….
Letter: review letters, sounds; Number review; Sight word: of
Dear Parents,
Thank you my kind families for all your well wishes. I am feeling much better, but I would really encourage everyone to keep up your health and rest especially during this busy winter season. Only one more week of school, and I can tell the little ones are getting anxious for winter break. Next week is also Spirit Week, so that will also elevate the level of excitement.
Monday: Ugly Holiday Sweater
Tuesday: Holiday Hat
Wednesday: Spirit Day
Thursday: Holiday Socks
Friday: Holiday PJ’s
Friday is also a minimum day. We will have some winter center activities to help celebrate the start of our winter break!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
December 20th- Minimum Day
December 23-January 6th – Winter Break
January 17th- Principal Offerman reads to our class/
Report cards go home
January 20th – Martin Luther King Holiday
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
December 13, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of December 16th: Over Winter Break, I ….
Letter: review letters, sounds; Number review; Sight word: of
Dear Parents,
Thank you my kind families for all your well wishes. I am feeling much better, but I would really encourage everyone to keep up your health and rest especially during this busy winter season. Only one more week of school, and I can tell the little ones are getting anxious for winter break. Next week is also Spirit Week, so that will also elevate the level of excitement.
Monday: Ugly Holiday Sweater
Tuesday: Holiday Hat
Wednesday: Spirit Day
Thursday: Holiday Socks
Friday: Holiday PJ’s
Friday is also a minimum day. We will have some winter center activities to help celebrate the start of our winter break!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
December 20th- Minimum Day
December 23-January 6th – Winter Break
January 17th- Principal Offerman reads to our class/
Report cards go home
January 20th – Martin Luther King Holiday
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
December 6, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of December 9th : My favorite holiday is…. because…
Letter: review letters and sounds; Sight word: you, are
Dear Parents,
Welcome to December! Doesn’t it seem as if the break last week just flew by and now we have a few short weeks until our winter break? I loved hearing about the wonderful trips, adventures, and family time that was enjoyed last week. Having your student write about these times is a good opportunity to work on, not just the basic elements of the writing craft (capitals, spacing, punctuation, elaborating, endings), but it also helps with the reciprocal relationship between reading and writing. Not only should your child recognize the letters and sounds, but the purpose of this phonics component is ultimately to apply this in reading as well as writing. When learning these concepts, the skills can diminish very rapidly, if not reinforced. Please continue to read and write even over these wonderful school breaks and when you are taking extra time off, so all their hard work is maintained.
This week, we had our 2nd opportunity in the computer lab. The children are picking up proper mouse handling techniques and computer terminology. We even used a coding program to help with this. The Bollinger Tech Lab website can be easily accessed from the Bollinger School website.
Wednesdays is our “move day”-just like middle school and high school! We start in the MPR for P.E., on to Library, computer lab, and finally back to class. Please make sure your student has on safe shoes for P.E. and has not forgotten their library book if they didn’t bring it before Wednesday.
Extra this week: we continue having our guest reader on Mondays, we had our monthly Flag Salute in the MPR, and Hearing and Vision Testing took place on Thursday. You will hear from the school nurse if there are any concerns with the hearing and vision test results.
Scholastic Book orders are on their way, so I am expecting their arrival shortly.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
December 20th- Minimum Day
December 23-January 6th – Winter Break
January 17th- Principal Offerman reads to our class/
Report cards go home
January 20th – Martin Luther King Holiday
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
December 6, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of December 9th : My favorite holiday is…. because…
Letter: review letters and sounds; Sight word: you, are
Dear Parents,
Welcome to December! Doesn’t it seem as if the break last week just flew by and now we have a few short weeks until our winter break? I loved hearing about the wonderful trips, adventures, and family time that was enjoyed last week. Having your student write about these times is a good opportunity to work on, not just the basic elements of the writing craft (capitals, spacing, punctuation, elaborating, endings), but it also helps with the reciprocal relationship between reading and writing. Not only should your child recognize the letters and sounds, but the purpose of this phonics component is ultimately to apply this in reading as well as writing. When learning these concepts, the skills can diminish very rapidly, if not reinforced. Please continue to read and write even over these wonderful school breaks and when you are taking extra time off, so all their hard work is maintained.
This week, we had our 2nd opportunity in the computer lab. The children are picking up proper mouse handling techniques and computer terminology. We even used a coding program to help with this. The Bollinger Tech Lab website can be easily accessed from the Bollinger School website.
Wednesdays is our “move day”-just like middle school and high school! We start in the MPR for P.E., on to Library, computer lab, and finally back to class. Please make sure your student has on safe shoes for P.E. and has not forgotten their library book if they didn’t bring it before Wednesday.
Extra this week: we continue having our guest reader on Mondays, we had our monthly Flag Salute in the MPR, and Hearing and Vision Testing took place on Thursday. You will hear from the school nurse if there are any concerns with the hearing and vision test results.
Scholastic Book orders are on their way, so I am expecting their arrival shortly.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
December 20th- Minimum Day
December 23-January 6th – Winter Break
January 17th- Principal Offerman reads to our class/
Report cards go home
January 20th – Martin Luther King Holiday
January 28th- 100 Day Stations
January 31st- Art with Miss Tess
February 14th- Valentine’s Day
February 17th- President’s Day Holiday
February 18th- Staff Development
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
November 22, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of December 2nd : What I did over Thanksgiving Break
Letter: z, qu Sight word: said
Dear Parents,
I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Break. Rest up and when we return we will be starting assessments for this semester, while continuing our learning in this fabulous kindergarten year. I don’t believe I had the chance to share with you one of the things I am so grateful for, and that is my wonderful students and their parents. I am truly enjoying your (my) students and kindergarten so very much. Thank you!
Please remember to continue while we are on break to reinforce our students reading and writing. It really doesn’t take much time while still developing these skills to get a little rusty over break. I would also ask that you try and go over their sight/snap words. Do they know their letter sounds? Do they know how to write their letters and numbers? It would only take a few moments to reinforce this. There are also numerous free educational youtube sights with support and songs the children love. Jack Hartmann has quite a few to peruse, for example.
This week, we also had a guest reader, art with Miss Tess, and our fun, fabulous Turkey treats! We also read one of my favorite Thanksgiving stories about the real message of Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving at the Tappletons’ by Eileen Spinelli. Again, it is another short and sweet little story with a comedic twist!
Lastly, I sent home the December Scholastic Book order last week, so the order can be placed before break and shipped back to us by the beginning of December - just in case you would like to purchase books for holiday gifts. I would like to send in the order tonight, so please take a look if there is anything you need or want.
Enjoy your break!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
November 25th-29th : Thanksgiving Break
December 5th- Kindergarten vision and hearing testing
December 20th- Minimum Day
December 23-January 6th – Winter Break
November 22, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of December 2nd : What I did over Thanksgiving Break
Letter: z, qu Sight word: said
Dear Parents,
I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Break. Rest up and when we return we will be starting assessments for this semester, while continuing our learning in this fabulous kindergarten year. I don’t believe I had the chance to share with you one of the things I am so grateful for, and that is my wonderful students and their parents. I am truly enjoying your (my) students and kindergarten so very much. Thank you!
Please remember to continue while we are on break to reinforce our students reading and writing. It really doesn’t take much time while still developing these skills to get a little rusty over break. I would also ask that you try and go over their sight/snap words. Do they know their letter sounds? Do they know how to write their letters and numbers? It would only take a few moments to reinforce this. There are also numerous free educational youtube sights with support and songs the children love. Jack Hartmann has quite a few to peruse, for example.
This week, we also had a guest reader, art with Miss Tess, and our fun, fabulous Turkey treats! We also read one of my favorite Thanksgiving stories about the real message of Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving at the Tappletons’ by Eileen Spinelli. Again, it is another short and sweet little story with a comedic twist!
Lastly, I sent home the December Scholastic Book order last week, so the order can be placed before break and shipped back to us by the beginning of December - just in case you would like to purchase books for holiday gifts. I would like to send in the order tonight, so please take a look if there is anything you need or want.
Enjoy your break!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
November 25th-29th : Thanksgiving Break
December 5th- Kindergarten vision and hearing testing
December 20th- Minimum Day
December 23-January 6th – Winter Break
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
November 15, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of November 21th: Write and draw a picture about something you are thankful for.
Letter: k, y Sight words: was, have
Dear Parents,
Well, this short week was packed full. Only one more week, and we are off on our Thanksgiving Break. I know the time is just flying by, because we are having so much fun as well as learning and growing so much. Please make sure you are continuing with the nightly reading. Maybe we could display the monthly reading log at home (ex: on the refrigerator) to continue to incentivize your student to keep it up. I would also encourage your student to briefly just run through those sight/snap words nightly, so they recognize them quickly. They can also add more words to their list. This will help support them in becoming super readers.
This week K-2 teachers had an opportunity to observe the New York Teacher’s College Staff work with our students in the writing domain. It is wonderful to experience and learn from other professionals. I also want our children to see that everyone is still a student, and we continue to learn new things throughout our life.
The disguised turkeys sent in were amazing. We had trees, santa, unicorns, princesses, superheros; the creativity was fabulous and the children loved sharing their turkey!
Next week, continuing with the fall theme, we will be doing our little turkey design treat. I have included a signup genius link if you are able to contribute a few of the items we will need. Also again, please let me know if your child has any dietary concerns we should be aware of.
Turkey Design Treat sign up:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094EA4A92AA75-turkey
Computer Lab time will now officially start for our Kindergarten class on Wednesdays from 9:00-9:30am. Again, please let me know if you are available to help out in the computer lab at this time in future weeks. Thank you! (Fyi- next week’s class is unfortunately cancelled.)
Lastly, I am sending home the December Scholastic Book order, so the order can be placed before break and shipped back to us by the beginning of December. I like to do this in case you would like to purchase books for holiday gifts.
Enjoy the weekend! I am thankful for my wonderful students and their families!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
November 22nd : Art with Miss Tess / Principal Offerman reads to the class
November 25th-29th : Thanksgiving Break
November 15, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of November 21th: Write and draw a picture about something you are thankful for.
Letter: k, y Sight words: was, have
Dear Parents,
Well, this short week was packed full. Only one more week, and we are off on our Thanksgiving Break. I know the time is just flying by, because we are having so much fun as well as learning and growing so much. Please make sure you are continuing with the nightly reading. Maybe we could display the monthly reading log at home (ex: on the refrigerator) to continue to incentivize your student to keep it up. I would also encourage your student to briefly just run through those sight/snap words nightly, so they recognize them quickly. They can also add more words to their list. This will help support them in becoming super readers.
This week K-2 teachers had an opportunity to observe the New York Teacher’s College Staff work with our students in the writing domain. It is wonderful to experience and learn from other professionals. I also want our children to see that everyone is still a student, and we continue to learn new things throughout our life.
The disguised turkeys sent in were amazing. We had trees, santa, unicorns, princesses, superheros; the creativity was fabulous and the children loved sharing their turkey!
Next week, continuing with the fall theme, we will be doing our little turkey design treat. I have included a signup genius link if you are able to contribute a few of the items we will need. Also again, please let me know if your child has any dietary concerns we should be aware of.
Turkey Design Treat sign up:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094EA4A92AA75-turkey
Computer Lab time will now officially start for our Kindergarten class on Wednesdays from 9:00-9:30am. Again, please let me know if you are available to help out in the computer lab at this time in future weeks. Thank you! (Fyi- next week’s class is unfortunately cancelled.)
Lastly, I am sending home the December Scholastic Book order, so the order can be placed before break and shipped back to us by the beginning of December. I like to do this in case you would like to purchase books for holiday gifts.
Enjoy the weekend! I am thankful for my wonderful students and their families!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
November 22nd : Art with Miss Tess / Principal Offerman reads to the class
November 25th-29th : Thanksgiving Break
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
November 8, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of November 12th: Make a costume turkey by decorating the turkey pattern sent home.
Letter: E, X Sight word: is
Dear Parents,
Happy November! Well, we start the month off with another long weekend this time to remember our Veterans. I hope you get a chance to relax a little, and if our kiddos should get a bit tired of all their reading over the long weekend J, please take this opportunity to strengthen some of their writing skills and phonics. By the end of the month, we will have covered all our letters and your child should be able to recognize and write them in addition to being familiar with most of the letter sounds. They have also been writing sentences and should be comfortable with the concept that sentences are made up of words, with spaces between the words. Sentences start with an uppercase letter and the thought ends with punctuation. Punctuation can’t take a vacation. In math, we are working with shapes, and we still need support with those fine motor skills, for example, pencil grip and cutting. Just a few ideas to support your student.
I hope you are enjoying decorating the turkey for the fun sharing assignment for next week. I have already seen some quite creative turkeys! Please make sure you have cut out the turkey before sending it to school.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094EA4A92AA75-turkey
Along with our Fall activities, we will also be doing a little turkey design treat. I have included a signup genius link if you are able to send in a few of the items we will need. Also, please let me know again if your child has any dietary concerns we should be aware of.
Computer Lab time will now officially start for our Kindergarten class on Wednesdays from 9:00-9:30am. Please let me know if you are available to help out in the computer lab at this time in future weeks. Thank you!
A few parents have also requested parent emails for birthday parties. Please let me know by Tuesday, if it is not okay to forward your email, and I will be sure to exclude your email from the list.
Enjoy your long weekend!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
November 11th : Veteran’s Day Holiday
November 22nd : Art with Miss Tess
November 25th-29th : Thanksgiving Break
November 8, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of November 12th: Make a costume turkey by decorating the turkey pattern sent home.
Letter: E, X Sight word: is
Dear Parents,
Happy November! Well, we start the month off with another long weekend this time to remember our Veterans. I hope you get a chance to relax a little, and if our kiddos should get a bit tired of all their reading over the long weekend J, please take this opportunity to strengthen some of their writing skills and phonics. By the end of the month, we will have covered all our letters and your child should be able to recognize and write them in addition to being familiar with most of the letter sounds. They have also been writing sentences and should be comfortable with the concept that sentences are made up of words, with spaces between the words. Sentences start with an uppercase letter and the thought ends with punctuation. Punctuation can’t take a vacation. In math, we are working with shapes, and we still need support with those fine motor skills, for example, pencil grip and cutting. Just a few ideas to support your student.
I hope you are enjoying decorating the turkey for the fun sharing assignment for next week. I have already seen some quite creative turkeys! Please make sure you have cut out the turkey before sending it to school.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094EA4A92AA75-turkey
Along with our Fall activities, we will also be doing a little turkey design treat. I have included a signup genius link if you are able to send in a few of the items we will need. Also, please let me know again if your child has any dietary concerns we should be aware of.
Computer Lab time will now officially start for our Kindergarten class on Wednesdays from 9:00-9:30am. Please let me know if you are available to help out in the computer lab at this time in future weeks. Thank you!
A few parents have also requested parent emails for birthday parties. Please let me know by Tuesday, if it is not okay to forward your email, and I will be sure to exclude your email from the list.
Enjoy your long weekend!
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
November 11th : Veteran’s Day Holiday
November 22nd : Art with Miss Tess
November 25th-29th : Thanksgiving Break
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
October 31, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of November 12th: Make a costume turkey by decorating the turkey pattern sent home.
Letter: V, W Sight words: he/she
Dear Parents,
Happy Halloween! It was wonderful seeing many of you today. We have had another fun filled exciting, busy, but short week. A big thank you to our wonderful room mom, Mrs. Prasath, and all the helpers and volunteers. The children love it when you volunteer, and they can share a little piece of their classroom life, and I love it when you help me make their learning extra special.
Just a few quick updates:
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
November 1st: Staff Development Day
November 11th : Veteran’s Day Holiday
November 22nd : Art with Miss Tess
November 25th-29th : Thanksgiving Break
October 31, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic due week of November 12th: Make a costume turkey by decorating the turkey pattern sent home.
Letter: V, W Sight words: he/she
Dear Parents,
Happy Halloween! It was wonderful seeing many of you today. We have had another fun filled exciting, busy, but short week. A big thank you to our wonderful room mom, Mrs. Prasath, and all the helpers and volunteers. The children love it when you volunteer, and they can share a little piece of their classroom life, and I love it when you help me make their learning extra special.
Just a few quick updates:
- Please disregard any notices you might receive from the school library this week. Mrs. Deliramich was out this week, and although we did have library time, we did not check in or check out any books.
- Our class won the Box Top party, so we celebrated with a little pizza party and the wonderful little movie, Room on the Broom. We had read the book, so it was nice to be able to follow up with the movie and compare the two. It’s a cute short story with a kindness theme, if you haven’t seen it yet.
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
November 1st: Staff Development Day
November 11th : Veteran’s Day Holiday
November 22nd : Art with Miss Tess
November 25th-29th : Thanksgiving Break
Kindergarten Weekly News -Barbour Class
October 18, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic Next Week: Decorate Halloween paper costume doll
Letter: D O Sight word: and
Dear Parents,
We had a little shortage of paper which lent itself to going paperless for our newsletter and the sake of our planet.
It was another wonderful week in Room 301, starting with our field trip from the San Ramon Fire Department. We learned when to call 911, and the importance of having a fire evacuation plan at home as well as school. To add to the excitement of the brief visit, the fire truck was called away on a real emergency. They did leave us some great red fire hats and stickers as a little memento of their brief visit.
Halloween is just around the corner. It is a minimum day, and our class will have a little celebration followed by the Halloween Parade. Our class party will start at 8:15am followed by the Cal High Band and parade at 9:45am.
Please keep in mind if you would like your student’s picture in the yearbook or in any class pictures you must sign /have signed the photo release form. We have a few students who do not have a photo release. If you have not signed the release form and would like your child to be able to be in pictures please just write a letter of consent, date it, include your child’s name, class, and we should be good.
Thursday, October 17th was the Great American Shakeout Day; we had an earthquake drill to practice how to “duck and cover”. Wasn’t this timely with the earthquakes we experienced this week?
Our Sharing assignment this week was to map out your fire evacuation/meet up plan for your family. Not only is this sharing assignment one of the skills that will help your child be more comfortable speaking in front of a group, but this information could be vital in an emergency. Please make sure you are helping your student complete all the sharing assignments.
Next week’s sharing is to draw/color their Halloween costume on the paper costume doll that was sent home. I know this sharing isn’t a life skill, but it is one that they will definitely enjoy sharing with their classmates. J
Lastly, please continue to support your student with some of the items we discussed at conferences last week: letters, sounds, sight words, math sense, fine motor skills, etc. The pace is accelerating, and they are now familiar with the classroom routine, so the objective is to really solidify the foundational skills.
I am looking forward to seeing my wonderful families soon…enjoy your weekend in the interim!
J
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
October 23-29th : Red Ribbon Week
October 24th: Maker’s Space Build Out Day
October 29th: Parent Information Night on Reading at Twin Creeks Elementary School
October 31st: Halloween Celebration/Parade….Minimum Day
November 1st: Staff Development Day
November 11th : Veteran’s Day Holiday
November 25th-29th : Thanksgiving Break
November 22nd : Art with Miss Tess
October 18, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic Next Week: Decorate Halloween paper costume doll
Letter: D O Sight word: and
Dear Parents,
We had a little shortage of paper which lent itself to going paperless for our newsletter and the sake of our planet.
It was another wonderful week in Room 301, starting with our field trip from the San Ramon Fire Department. We learned when to call 911, and the importance of having a fire evacuation plan at home as well as school. To add to the excitement of the brief visit, the fire truck was called away on a real emergency. They did leave us some great red fire hats and stickers as a little memento of their brief visit.
Halloween is just around the corner. It is a minimum day, and our class will have a little celebration followed by the Halloween Parade. Our class party will start at 8:15am followed by the Cal High Band and parade at 9:45am.
Please keep in mind if you would like your student’s picture in the yearbook or in any class pictures you must sign /have signed the photo release form. We have a few students who do not have a photo release. If you have not signed the release form and would like your child to be able to be in pictures please just write a letter of consent, date it, include your child’s name, class, and we should be good.
Thursday, October 17th was the Great American Shakeout Day; we had an earthquake drill to practice how to “duck and cover”. Wasn’t this timely with the earthquakes we experienced this week?
Our Sharing assignment this week was to map out your fire evacuation/meet up plan for your family. Not only is this sharing assignment one of the skills that will help your child be more comfortable speaking in front of a group, but this information could be vital in an emergency. Please make sure you are helping your student complete all the sharing assignments.
Next week’s sharing is to draw/color their Halloween costume on the paper costume doll that was sent home. I know this sharing isn’t a life skill, but it is one that they will definitely enjoy sharing with their classmates. J
Lastly, please continue to support your student with some of the items we discussed at conferences last week: letters, sounds, sight words, math sense, fine motor skills, etc. The pace is accelerating, and they are now familiar with the classroom routine, so the objective is to really solidify the foundational skills.
I am looking forward to seeing my wonderful families soon…enjoy your weekend in the interim!
J
Doris Barbour
Upcoming Events:
October 23-29th : Red Ribbon Week
October 24th: Maker’s Space Build Out Day
October 29th: Parent Information Night on Reading at Twin Creeks Elementary School
October 31st: Halloween Celebration/Parade….Minimum Day
November 1st: Staff Development Day
November 11th : Veteran’s Day Holiday
November 25th-29th : Thanksgiving Break
November 22nd : Art with Miss Tess
Kinder Weekly News -Barbour Class
October 11, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic Next Week: Family Fire Escape Plan- draw a picture
Letter: G Sight word: am
Dear Parents,
Thank you for the wonderful conference week and the many generous donations to our class library. It was a pleasure to meet with you again and share how to help make our students successful. In the interim, please continue to make math and reading a daily part of your life with your children- make their learning real world- real fun!
Next week, we will have more excitement to add to our curriculum. On Monday, we will have our first “field trip”- a visit from the San Ramon Fire Department. Next week the sharing will be having a fire evacuation plan for the family. This ties in with our fire department visit, but please continue to practice having your child know your telephone number as well.
Halloween is just around the corner. It is a minimum day, and our class will have a little celebration followed by the Halloween Parade. More information on the parade/party times will follow as soon as we get more information from the Cal High School Band.
Please keep in mind if you would like your student’s picture in the yearbook or in any class pictures you must sign /have signed the photo release form. We have a few students who do not have a photo release and quite honestly, some do feel badly when they can’t participate in a class picture.
Bollinger Canyon will have a Makers Space Program at our site this year. An information packet as well as permission forms are in your Friday Folder. Please sign and return these forms prior to the October 24th build day, so your child may participate.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Doris Barbour
Note:
Tuesday, October 29, 2019- 6:30-7:30pm@ Twin Creeks Elementary School Multi-Purpose Room
Kindergarten & First Grade Parent Education Night- topic: How to help your child become a strong, life- long reader.
October 11, 2019 / Room 301
Sharing Topic Next Week: Family Fire Escape Plan- draw a picture
Letter: G Sight word: am
Dear Parents,
Thank you for the wonderful conference week and the many generous donations to our class library. It was a pleasure to meet with you again and share how to help make our students successful. In the interim, please continue to make math and reading a daily part of your life with your children- make their learning real world- real fun!
Next week, we will have more excitement to add to our curriculum. On Monday, we will have our first “field trip”- a visit from the San Ramon Fire Department. Next week the sharing will be having a fire evacuation plan for the family. This ties in with our fire department visit, but please continue to practice having your child know your telephone number as well.
Halloween is just around the corner. It is a minimum day, and our class will have a little celebration followed by the Halloween Parade. More information on the parade/party times will follow as soon as we get more information from the Cal High School Band.
Please keep in mind if you would like your student’s picture in the yearbook or in any class pictures you must sign /have signed the photo release form. We have a few students who do not have a photo release and quite honestly, some do feel badly when they can’t participate in a class picture.
Bollinger Canyon will have a Makers Space Program at our site this year. An information packet as well as permission forms are in your Friday Folder. Please sign and return these forms prior to the October 24th build day, so your child may participate.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Doris Barbour
Note:
Tuesday, October 29, 2019- 6:30-7:30pm@ Twin Creeks Elementary School Multi-Purpose Room
Kindergarten & First Grade Parent Education Night- topic: How to help your child become a strong, life- long reader.
Weekly News- Kinder
Room 301
Mrs. Barbour
October 3, 2019
Dear Parents,
Since it was such a short but busy week for the start of October, I will keep this brief….just a few quick reminders:
I am so looking forward to seeing you at conferences and discussing your child’s progress and ways to better his/her learning experience. Please remember your child will not attend conferences with you in Kindergarten. J
I would encourage you to have your child keep their library books in their backpacks or return them to school on Mondays, so they are able to return them and check out a new book weekly.
Also, next week is Book Fair. Please pop into our library and enjoy the shopping experience and atmosphere of our transformed library for this event. Our class will also have an additional opportunity to shop next Wednesday at our library time. You may send money with your child on that day if you would like them to purchase anything, or you can arrange funds with the online account.
An email went home this week as a reminder that family visits at this time are scheduled on Wednesdays from 11:00-11:15am. This is to allow for our P.E. and library schedule in the am. J
Note on Sharing: Have your student memorize their telephone number with the area code please.
That’s it for this Thursday! Enjoy your long weekend.
See you at conferences!
Doris Barbour
Room 301
Mrs. Barbour
October 3, 2019
Dear Parents,
Since it was such a short but busy week for the start of October, I will keep this brief….just a few quick reminders:
I am so looking forward to seeing you at conferences and discussing your child’s progress and ways to better his/her learning experience. Please remember your child will not attend conferences with you in Kindergarten. J
I would encourage you to have your child keep their library books in their backpacks or return them to school on Mondays, so they are able to return them and check out a new book weekly.
Also, next week is Book Fair. Please pop into our library and enjoy the shopping experience and atmosphere of our transformed library for this event. Our class will also have an additional opportunity to shop next Wednesday at our library time. You may send money with your child on that day if you would like them to purchase anything, or you can arrange funds with the online account.
An email went home this week as a reminder that family visits at this time are scheduled on Wednesdays from 11:00-11:15am. This is to allow for our P.E. and library schedule in the am. J
Note on Sharing: Have your student memorize their telephone number with the area code please.
That’s it for this Thursday! Enjoy your long weekend.
See you at conferences!
Doris Barbour
Kinder Weekly News
Barbour Class- September 27, 2019
Room 301
Sharing Topic Next Week- due the week of September 30th: Please help your child bring in an item that reminds you of fall.
Dear Parents,
Please note that we have weekly sharing homework that helps support your student’s oral language and presentation skills. They actually enjoy sharing and the more opportunities they have to present, the more comfortable and fluid they become with these skills. Please make sure you are supporting your child with this activity and developing good work habits as well.
Conferences will be starting next week, so please make sure you have signed up for a time slot. I am looking forward to meeting with everyone! .
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094EA4A92AA75-barbour4
This week we had a school wide emergency drill. These drills are part of our school safety and preparedness activities, and again our kinders did exceptionally well. They patiently waited for 30 minutes for the completion of this activity.
Curriculum Corner: Aside from sharing and nightly reading homework, I am asking that you look over your child’s work from the day. Please note some areas of development and reinforce these skills. We can all use some extra practice whether it be in handwriting, math, or any of the center activities that are being sent home as well. Also, I would encourage completion of any work, that they didn’t finish in class. Even coloring helps with their fine motor skills, and they have quickly caught on to looking at the directions and figuring out the colors they are suppose to use. Resources are on the website for your use.
Thank you for your wonderful stories of when “Eddy” comes to visit. Eddy loves his journal and all our students are excited to share their written stories.
This week, our special person Kian and his family were so kind to visit our class. Our students again were so very curious and generated an abundance of great questions. In addition, it was wonderful how Kian’s family was able to point out to the class the importance of math skills and how heavily they use those skills in their work.
Just as a quick reminder, please note that next Tuesday is a minimum day, so the schedules are going to get a little wacky again. J Conference Week is also the minimum day schedule for everyone. Our class minimum day schedule is 8:00am-10:30am.
Have a wonderful weekend!
:)
Doris Barbour
Upcoming:
October 1st- Minimum Day
October 2nd – Flag Salute
October 4th- No School/ Teacher Work Day
October 7-11th- Conference Week/ Minimum Day Schedule
October 14th- “Class Field Trip” - Fire Department Visit
October 17th – Great American Shakeout Earthquake Drill
October 18th- Principal Offerman visits for Circle time story
October 31st – Halloween Party/Parade/Minimum Day
Barbour Class- September 27, 2019
Room 301
Sharing Topic Next Week- due the week of September 30th: Please help your child bring in an item that reminds you of fall.
Dear Parents,
Please note that we have weekly sharing homework that helps support your student’s oral language and presentation skills. They actually enjoy sharing and the more opportunities they have to present, the more comfortable and fluid they become with these skills. Please make sure you are supporting your child with this activity and developing good work habits as well.
Conferences will be starting next week, so please make sure you have signed up for a time slot. I am looking forward to meeting with everyone! .
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094EA4A92AA75-barbour4
This week we had a school wide emergency drill. These drills are part of our school safety and preparedness activities, and again our kinders did exceptionally well. They patiently waited for 30 minutes for the completion of this activity.
Curriculum Corner: Aside from sharing and nightly reading homework, I am asking that you look over your child’s work from the day. Please note some areas of development and reinforce these skills. We can all use some extra practice whether it be in handwriting, math, or any of the center activities that are being sent home as well. Also, I would encourage completion of any work, that they didn’t finish in class. Even coloring helps with their fine motor skills, and they have quickly caught on to looking at the directions and figuring out the colors they are suppose to use. Resources are on the website for your use.
Thank you for your wonderful stories of when “Eddy” comes to visit. Eddy loves his journal and all our students are excited to share their written stories.
This week, our special person Kian and his family were so kind to visit our class. Our students again were so very curious and generated an abundance of great questions. In addition, it was wonderful how Kian’s family was able to point out to the class the importance of math skills and how heavily they use those skills in their work.
Just as a quick reminder, please note that next Tuesday is a minimum day, so the schedules are going to get a little wacky again. J Conference Week is also the minimum day schedule for everyone. Our class minimum day schedule is 8:00am-10:30am.
Have a wonderful weekend!
:)
Doris Barbour
Upcoming:
October 1st- Minimum Day
October 2nd – Flag Salute
October 4th- No School/ Teacher Work Day
October 7-11th- Conference Week/ Minimum Day Schedule
October 14th- “Class Field Trip” - Fire Department Visit
October 17th – Great American Shakeout Earthquake Drill
October 18th- Principal Offerman visits for Circle time story
October 31st – Halloween Party/Parade/Minimum Day
Kinder Weekly News
Barbour Class- September 20, 2019
Room 301
Sharing Topic Next Week- due week of September 23rd: Please help your child write, learn, and memorize her address, including city, state, and zip code. Please return the sharing assignment paper, in case they need a reminder and to check their responses.
Dear Parents,
As a final reminder, if you have not had the opportunity to complete the previous sharing assignment, which had you make a writing cover sheet for your student on their interests, trips, family, etc, please do so. Let me know if you need another paper to decorate or any further clarification. Thank you.
As a quick reminder, the signup genius link for the October fall conference for our class is published. Please make sure you have signed up for a time, and note in kindergarten, your student does not attend the conference with you.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094EA4A92AA75-barbour4
Last week, we had a lock down drill where the children had to sit quietly in the classroom awaiting any further instructions. They did exceptionally well, and we discussed the importance of just practicing for any emergency situation. Next week we might have a school emergency drill, where they will leave the classroom and go to our special spot on the large playground and wait for further instruction…similar procedure as a fire drill. These drills are part of our school safety and preparedness activities.
Some curriculum updates:
Phonics: Letters P and S and “go” and “like”. Please see if your child can spot any of these words when you are reading together.
Reading Workshop: coming to the end of our first unit on Names and our Old Favorites…please ask your student for some tips of what good readers do…hint… reread, add a sprinkle of extra information, notice the cover and think about the story.
Raz- Kids- students enjoy this, so please try it at home as well.
Dreambox- this platform adjusts the content levels when students are using it frequently.
Writing Workshop: We have been generating writing ideas, drawing pictures and labeling our writing.
Math: We just completed the mid- module assessment for Unit 1…students are learning, the numbers 1-10, to match, sort, count on, 1 more, 1 less, recognize ten frame cards, and to write their numbers.
P.E. Basketball, hoola hoops, and mat work. We also had a discussion on the heart and what is does for our bodies.
Science: What is a scientist? What do they do? Living and Non-living
Stanford Harmony: Circle time, Community Building, and meet up activities with our class buddies.
4th grade Buddy class: read/watched the Gingerbread Man Fairy Tale and The Ugly Duckling, together, and we will be taking a nature walk around campus weather permitting for our Science exploration.
Social Studies: I am working with the National Geographic Organization this year, so our class has started a study on maps, (countries, continents, and our local and global community.) In addition, as a tie in with that, we have been discussing our responsibility to keep our community and world safe and clean. This is also in alignment with our Social Studies curriculum for Kindergarten.
Lastly, outside of sharing, we also had Blake’s mom visit our class as a special guest. Our students were so very curious and generated an abundance of great questions.
Whew, it has been a busy week! I am looking forward to seeing you at conferences soon….don’t forget to sign up.
In the interim, have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!
:)
Doris Barbour
Barbour Class- September 20, 2019
Room 301
Sharing Topic Next Week- due week of September 23rd: Please help your child write, learn, and memorize her address, including city, state, and zip code. Please return the sharing assignment paper, in case they need a reminder and to check their responses.
Dear Parents,
As a final reminder, if you have not had the opportunity to complete the previous sharing assignment, which had you make a writing cover sheet for your student on their interests, trips, family, etc, please do so. Let me know if you need another paper to decorate or any further clarification. Thank you.
As a quick reminder, the signup genius link for the October fall conference for our class is published. Please make sure you have signed up for a time, and note in kindergarten, your student does not attend the conference with you.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094EA4A92AA75-barbour4
Last week, we had a lock down drill where the children had to sit quietly in the classroom awaiting any further instructions. They did exceptionally well, and we discussed the importance of just practicing for any emergency situation. Next week we might have a school emergency drill, where they will leave the classroom and go to our special spot on the large playground and wait for further instruction…similar procedure as a fire drill. These drills are part of our school safety and preparedness activities.
Some curriculum updates:
Phonics: Letters P and S and “go” and “like”. Please see if your child can spot any of these words when you are reading together.
Reading Workshop: coming to the end of our first unit on Names and our Old Favorites…please ask your student for some tips of what good readers do…hint… reread, add a sprinkle of extra information, notice the cover and think about the story.
Raz- Kids- students enjoy this, so please try it at home as well.
Dreambox- this platform adjusts the content levels when students are using it frequently.
Writing Workshop: We have been generating writing ideas, drawing pictures and labeling our writing.
Math: We just completed the mid- module assessment for Unit 1…students are learning, the numbers 1-10, to match, sort, count on, 1 more, 1 less, recognize ten frame cards, and to write their numbers.
P.E. Basketball, hoola hoops, and mat work. We also had a discussion on the heart and what is does for our bodies.
Science: What is a scientist? What do they do? Living and Non-living
Stanford Harmony: Circle time, Community Building, and meet up activities with our class buddies.
4th grade Buddy class: read/watched the Gingerbread Man Fairy Tale and The Ugly Duckling, together, and we will be taking a nature walk around campus weather permitting for our Science exploration.
Social Studies: I am working with the National Geographic Organization this year, so our class has started a study on maps, (countries, continents, and our local and global community.) In addition, as a tie in with that, we have been discussing our responsibility to keep our community and world safe and clean. This is also in alignment with our Social Studies curriculum for Kindergarten.
Lastly, outside of sharing, we also had Blake’s mom visit our class as a special guest. Our students were so very curious and generated an abundance of great questions.
Whew, it has been a busy week! I am looking forward to seeing you at conferences soon….don’t forget to sign up.
In the interim, have a wonderful, relaxing weekend!
:)
Doris Barbour
Kinder Weekly News
Barbour Class
Room 301
Sharing Topic Next Week: Bring in a drawing or object that starts with the letter “P” or “S”
Dear Parents,
Thank you for an amazing early birthday. Your thoughtfulness and kindness is so very much appreciated. What a wonderful class I have both children and parents. Thank you again. As a little token of my appreciation their goodie bag from me is a book, If You Give a Mouse a Brownie. Please enjoy the book with your child…it is low calorie, but still delicious! J
I have included again a 1 page instruction sheet for Raz kids and Dreambox, so please make sure you have had the opportunity to explore these platforms. Both programs recommend daily work for maximum acceleration and have specific passwords for our class.
If you have not had the opportunity to complete the previous sharing assignment, which had you make a writing cover sheet for your student on their interests, trips, family, etc, please do so. Let me know if you need another paper to decorate or any further clarification. Thank you.
I have also published the October fall conference schedule for our class. The signup genius link is on our webpage …look under class resources or the link is in the newsletter. I know we are a few weeks out, but I like for you to have as much information as soon as possible. In kindergarten, your student does not attend the conference with you.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094EA4A92AA75-barbour4
We have been fortunate to have been able to meet with our 4th grade buddy class on Wednesdays. Both classes are enjoying this bonding time immensely. I have scheduled numerous activities for them to do together…writing, reading, math games, and science. This is a great learning opportunity for both classes.
We also had a Street Smart Assembly this week, learning about proper care and safety when crossing the street or riding a bike. Our class was exceptional, respectful, and patient during the assembly. I know these attributes are from their exceptional parents too. J
Lastly, Sunday, September 15 is International Dot Day. Please read the book or watch the video, The Dot, by R Reynolds. Get inspired by this simple story on making your mark.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Doris Barbour
Barbour Class
Room 301
Sharing Topic Next Week: Bring in a drawing or object that starts with the letter “P” or “S”
Dear Parents,
Thank you for an amazing early birthday. Your thoughtfulness and kindness is so very much appreciated. What a wonderful class I have both children and parents. Thank you again. As a little token of my appreciation their goodie bag from me is a book, If You Give a Mouse a Brownie. Please enjoy the book with your child…it is low calorie, but still delicious! J
I have included again a 1 page instruction sheet for Raz kids and Dreambox, so please make sure you have had the opportunity to explore these platforms. Both programs recommend daily work for maximum acceleration and have specific passwords for our class.
If you have not had the opportunity to complete the previous sharing assignment, which had you make a writing cover sheet for your student on their interests, trips, family, etc, please do so. Let me know if you need another paper to decorate or any further clarification. Thank you.
I have also published the October fall conference schedule for our class. The signup genius link is on our webpage …look under class resources or the link is in the newsletter. I know we are a few weeks out, but I like for you to have as much information as soon as possible. In kindergarten, your student does not attend the conference with you.
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F094EA4A92AA75-barbour4
We have been fortunate to have been able to meet with our 4th grade buddy class on Wednesdays. Both classes are enjoying this bonding time immensely. I have scheduled numerous activities for them to do together…writing, reading, math games, and science. This is a great learning opportunity for both classes.
We also had a Street Smart Assembly this week, learning about proper care and safety when crossing the street or riding a bike. Our class was exceptional, respectful, and patient during the assembly. I know these attributes are from their exceptional parents too. J
Lastly, Sunday, September 15 is International Dot Day. Please read the book or watch the video, The Dot, by R Reynolds. Get inspired by this simple story on making your mark.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Doris Barbour
Kindergarten News
Room 301- Ms. Barbour
September 6, 2019
Dear Parents,
I hope you enjoyed your long weekend; I did hear from our little ones about some of your adventures. They are just a bundle of “cuteness”, and just make me smile!
Thank you to those who elected to order from our Scholastic Book Club. The order was placed and should be here in about 10 days. Please continue with the nightly reading. This class loves to be read to, and they truly get so engaged in the story. You might want to even try some of the classic fairy tales, but nothing too scary before bedtime. J
September’s optional monthly calendar homework (sent home last Friday) makes mention of the “Dreambox” program. Dreambox is an adaptive math learning platform that the District has paid for. The District is pushing out the class roster, and we are working on changing the password to a picture for our kinders. I will let you know as soon as this happens. I did notice that some of you were able to access the program; this is because you are already in the District system.
Special Person of the Week will also be starting the week of September 9th, next week. Instructions for what this entails (poster, guessing box, interview questions, family visit times) are in your Back to School Night packet. J I have sent home another hard copy to all of the September students. The guessing box will be sent home a minimum of one week prior to your student’s special week. Please return all the items on Monday including the RSVP. Thank you…I really want your child to feel comfortable for this event.
In Kindergarten, we also have “Weekly Sharing homework.” A topic is assigned on Fridays and due back the following week on Thursdays. Last week’s Sharing Topic was to decorate the card stock paper for their writing journal. This sharing topic is due next Thursday. Some students have already turned this in early, and they shared this week.
This week, we also had some special time with our buddies here at Bollinger. Our buddy class is Ms. Wright’s fourth graders. A little buddy interview was sent home. I hope you had a chance to see it.
I am also attaching directions/passwords for your student’s RAZ kids account. This is an online literacy program that will support their reading. I would suggest you tape the password card to the inside of their blue folder for safe keeping and use here at school as well.
Lastly, I want to make sure that everyone has visited our class website. I will be moving away from the paper copies of my weekly newsletters now that we have the kindergarten basics down, but please check the website for updates. The link on our Bollinger Canyon website does work for my weebly account, but I know the Bollinger staff website is still being updated/edited by the district, so I am still listed under 3rd grade.
Enjoy the weekend!
Doris Barbour
Sight Words: a, see
Letters: Bb, Ll
letters in names
Kindergarten News
Room 301- Ms. Barbour
August 30, 2019
Dear Parents,
This is the last day of August, and September will start our first full month of school. Wow! I have to also commend my families on your flexibility and adjusting to our tricky little schedule. it has been wonderful for the class though… this gift of a block of small group time to work with our little ones. Now, we have to just watch out for those minimum days schedules…we have a few coming up in October where the release time will be 10:30am.
At the start of each month, I will be sending home some suggested monthly “homework” outlined for you in a calendar format, as well as completing any work they might have in their backpacks. In addition, I am including a simple reading log to help our little ones’ awareness/accountability for daily reading….just have them color in the monthly/daily object when they do their daily reading. I am trying to establish a pattern of daily reading versus finishing the monthly sheet in a week. A reading sheet for you with some reading thoughts/ideas is also attached. J
Scholastic Book orders were sent home with our access code last week. This is a great way to build reading excitement. As I mentioned before, it is a wonderful way to build a library economically and as our kiddos learned in Reading Workshop… “Good Readers Reread,” so a book in their hand is vital. We have also been working on the concepts of print. I know it seems basic, but everyone was once a beginner and started off with this fundamental work. At this point in time with most of our readers for a short amount of time, you can have them actually point below the words when looking at books to create that one to one correspondence with the words and for tracking purposes.
Please make sure your child is packing their backpacks with their folder and library books (when we start checking out books) daily with your guidance. I would like for them to personally handle and do this, so again we are establishing a pattern, helping their dexterity, and personal responsibility and independence.
Special Person of the Week will also be starting the week of September 9th. Instructions for what this entails (poster, guessing box, interview questions, family visit times) are in your Back to School Night packet. J The guessing box will be sent home a minimum of one week prior to your student’s special week.
Our pet, Eddy the teddy (bear), has been out visiting and having some grand adventures, that we have been reading about in class. Thank you for helping your child with this. The class is enjoying the visits and hearing about it. Please make sure Eddy is returned the next day, so another child may take him home. J
In Kindergarten, we also have “Weekly Sharing homework.” A topic will be assigned on Fridays and due back the following week on Thursdays. Next week’s Sharing Topic will be to decorate the enclosed card stock paper for their writing journal. See the pink note with the paper for more ideas and specific directions. This sharing topic will be for two weeks to allow you more time with the writing journal deco.
A volunteer sign up genius for support in our classroom for P.E./Library/Centers is currently on our website. Thank you in advance for your support and help with this. I will be putting out sign up genius conference schedules in the next few weeks.
Relax, enjoy, and have a wonderful extended weekend!
Doris Barbour
Sight Words: the, I
Letters: A, T
Letters in names
Kinder Weekly News
Room 301- Barbour
August 23, 2019
Dear Parents,
Thank you for a wonderful Back to School Night, and for sharing your amazing little ones with me. Hopefully, you are feeling more comfortable with the Kindergarten curriculum and expectations. Please feel free to contact me should you need any further clarification or assistance. I am here for you!
This week has mainly focused on classroom/school routines to help make our time at school a good and safe community environment and as productive as possible for the short few hours I have with our children. We visited the library, had our first P.E. class (remember to wear good shoes for P.E. in the MPR), learned about Fire Drills, community building activities, and smart choices. In addition, we started our first Reading Unit (print is all around…not just in a book), have worked with math manipulatives, shapes, and our concept of patterns, started our Phonics study with the perfect beginning of analyzing our name, continued to work on our fine motor skills…cutting, penmanship, etc, and the importance of taking pride in your work….” No scribble, scrabble work here.” Whew, we have been busy! :)
Next week, our routine will change slightly with the start of the early/late readers on Tuesday. Please know that there were a number of factors considered when making the decision for your child’s placement, but it comes down to how I can help he/she/them the best. Also, our class will need a 9:00 am parent that wouldn’t mind helping walk our later group to the classroom, so we can get started quickly. Please let me know if anyone can help out with this. The early/late schedule is posted on our website, if you need to double check on it.
As a little reminder, Tuesday is also Picture Day. We will have a class picture, as well as individual pictures. I am trying to schedule this as early as possible, so please make sure you are on time to school. I am excited for my first “Kindergarten” picture as well. :)
Remember Sharing Homework next week will be “Free Choice.” We have our sharing on Thursdays…just something small that they can talk briefly about to help with their oral language skills.
Lastly, Monday is a minimum day for our school. Our class schedule will be all students in my kinder class from 8:00-10:30am….just a little reminder.
Have a wonderful weekend, and again thank you my fabulous kinder parents for your kind and generous donations (funds from the pink envelope donation go directly to our classroom), for volunteering, for being so open, warm, and kind, but most of all for sharing your precious little ones with me everyday! It is going to be a great year……- oh the places we will go….. (-Dr. Seuss)
:)
Doris Barbour
Room 301- Barbour
August 23, 2019
Dear Parents,
Thank you for a wonderful Back to School Night, and for sharing your amazing little ones with me. Hopefully, you are feeling more comfortable with the Kindergarten curriculum and expectations. Please feel free to contact me should you need any further clarification or assistance. I am here for you!
This week has mainly focused on classroom/school routines to help make our time at school a good and safe community environment and as productive as possible for the short few hours I have with our children. We visited the library, had our first P.E. class (remember to wear good shoes for P.E. in the MPR), learned about Fire Drills, community building activities, and smart choices. In addition, we started our first Reading Unit (print is all around…not just in a book), have worked with math manipulatives, shapes, and our concept of patterns, started our Phonics study with the perfect beginning of analyzing our name, continued to work on our fine motor skills…cutting, penmanship, etc, and the importance of taking pride in your work….” No scribble, scrabble work here.” Whew, we have been busy! :)
Next week, our routine will change slightly with the start of the early/late readers on Tuesday. Please know that there were a number of factors considered when making the decision for your child’s placement, but it comes down to how I can help he/she/them the best. Also, our class will need a 9:00 am parent that wouldn’t mind helping walk our later group to the classroom, so we can get started quickly. Please let me know if anyone can help out with this. The early/late schedule is posted on our website, if you need to double check on it.
As a little reminder, Tuesday is also Picture Day. We will have a class picture, as well as individual pictures. I am trying to schedule this as early as possible, so please make sure you are on time to school. I am excited for my first “Kindergarten” picture as well. :)
Remember Sharing Homework next week will be “Free Choice.” We have our sharing on Thursdays…just something small that they can talk briefly about to help with their oral language skills.
Lastly, Monday is a minimum day for our school. Our class schedule will be all students in my kinder class from 8:00-10:30am….just a little reminder.
Have a wonderful weekend, and again thank you my fabulous kinder parents for your kind and generous donations (funds from the pink envelope donation go directly to our classroom), for volunteering, for being so open, warm, and kind, but most of all for sharing your precious little ones with me everyday! It is going to be a great year……- oh the places we will go….. (-Dr. Seuss)
:)
Doris Barbour
Kindergarten News
Room 301- Ms. Barbour
August 16, 2017
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Kindergarten! We have had a wonderful first week of school getting to know each other and the classroom rules and structure. We are going to have a great year of learning. Thank you for sharing your wonderful children with me, and I look forward to Wednesday, at Back to School Night, having the opportunity to go over the extensive Kindergarten curriculum and an overview of the year.
In the interim, please make sure the children are “reading” nightly (looking at books or being read to). I will be sending home the Scholastic Book orders monthly for ordering wonderful books economically, but you are under no obligation to purchase anything. Our Scholastic Book code for our class is HTLLX
Special Person of the Week will also be starting the week of September 9th. Instructions for what this entails (poster, guessing box, interview questions, family visit times) are sent home a minimum of one week prior to your student’s special week.
Our pet Eddy the teddy (bear) will be visiting your home for one night at a time. Instructions and his writing/diary are included in his overnight bag. Please make sure Eddy is returned the next day, so another child may take him home. :)
In Kindergarten, we also have “Weekly Sharing homework.” A topic will be assigned on Fridays and due back the following week on Thursdays. Starting the week of August 26 our first sharing work will start. The topic will be free choice.
I will also be putting out a volunteer sign up genius for support in our classroom for P.E./Library/Centers/Room Mom as soon as our schedule is confirmed. Thank you in advance for your support and help with this.
Lastly, Kindergarten has included in your blue folder a Donation Letter to help with class supplies and field trips.
Finally, your song for the month…sung to the tune of Found a Peanut….(no allergies with the song)
Fill a bucket, fill a bucket,
Show a kindness every day
Be a filler, not a dipper
With the things you do and say
Fill a bucket, fill a bucket
That is what I said and did
Be a filler, not a dipper
And sometimes you need a lid
There will be a test on this song when you come to Back to School Night….ok just kidding …no singing necessary….Just looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday.
In closing, I would like to leave you with one of my favorite quotes
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step.”
Welcome to Kindergarten,
Doris Barbour
Room 301- Ms. Barbour
August 16, 2017
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Kindergarten! We have had a wonderful first week of school getting to know each other and the classroom rules and structure. We are going to have a great year of learning. Thank you for sharing your wonderful children with me, and I look forward to Wednesday, at Back to School Night, having the opportunity to go over the extensive Kindergarten curriculum and an overview of the year.
In the interim, please make sure the children are “reading” nightly (looking at books or being read to). I will be sending home the Scholastic Book orders monthly for ordering wonderful books economically, but you are under no obligation to purchase anything. Our Scholastic Book code for our class is HTLLX
Special Person of the Week will also be starting the week of September 9th. Instructions for what this entails (poster, guessing box, interview questions, family visit times) are sent home a minimum of one week prior to your student’s special week.
Our pet Eddy the teddy (bear) will be visiting your home for one night at a time. Instructions and his writing/diary are included in his overnight bag. Please make sure Eddy is returned the next day, so another child may take him home. :)
In Kindergarten, we also have “Weekly Sharing homework.” A topic will be assigned on Fridays and due back the following week on Thursdays. Starting the week of August 26 our first sharing work will start. The topic will be free choice.
I will also be putting out a volunteer sign up genius for support in our classroom for P.E./Library/Centers/Room Mom as soon as our schedule is confirmed. Thank you in advance for your support and help with this.
Lastly, Kindergarten has included in your blue folder a Donation Letter to help with class supplies and field trips.
Finally, your song for the month…sung to the tune of Found a Peanut….(no allergies with the song)
Fill a bucket, fill a bucket,
Show a kindness every day
Be a filler, not a dipper
With the things you do and say
Fill a bucket, fill a bucket
That is what I said and did
Be a filler, not a dipper
And sometimes you need a lid
There will be a test on this song when you come to Back to School Night….ok just kidding …no singing necessary….Just looking forward to seeing you on Wednesday.
In closing, I would like to leave you with one of my favorite quotes
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one small step.”
Welcome to Kindergarten,
Doris Barbour
Kindergarten NEWS
ROOM 301
AUGUST 13, 2019
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Kindergarten. We are going to have a great year of learning. Thank you for sharing your wonderful children with me, and I look forward to Wednesday, at Back to School Night, having the opportunity to go over the Kindergarten curriculum.
Now, please make sure the children are reading nightly. I will also be sending home the Scholastic book orders monthly as well, but you have the ability to order on line. It is a great opportunity to order wonderful books economically, but you are under no obligation to purchase anything.
Thank you for being so diligent and checking your blue folders nightly. Please feel free to drop me a quick note in them if you need to talk to me or just email me. August will also involve quite a bit of assessing to see how our students are starting off the year. Please make sure our young students are getting enough rest with the earlier start time, the newness of school and other events and activities. We have to build up our stamina..
On Wednesdays, we will have P.E. as well Computers and Library, so please make sure your student has water and the proper shoes on Wednesday in particular. We will be asking for volunteers for these classes shortly.
As an overview, this week you noticed the reading and math and community building activities.
We are growing strong readers and writers, so every moment counts. Let’s try and find some books that excite them about reading.
Sincerely,
Doris Barbour
ROOM 301
AUGUST 13, 2019
Dear Parents,
Welcome to Kindergarten. We are going to have a great year of learning. Thank you for sharing your wonderful children with me, and I look forward to Wednesday, at Back to School Night, having the opportunity to go over the Kindergarten curriculum.
Now, please make sure the children are reading nightly. I will also be sending home the Scholastic book orders monthly as well, but you have the ability to order on line. It is a great opportunity to order wonderful books economically, but you are under no obligation to purchase anything.
Thank you for being so diligent and checking your blue folders nightly. Please feel free to drop me a quick note in them if you need to talk to me or just email me. August will also involve quite a bit of assessing to see how our students are starting off the year. Please make sure our young students are getting enough rest with the earlier start time, the newness of school and other events and activities. We have to build up our stamina..
On Wednesdays, we will have P.E. as well Computers and Library, so please make sure your student has water and the proper shoes on Wednesday in particular. We will be asking for volunteers for these classes shortly.
As an overview, this week you noticed the reading and math and community building activities.
We are growing strong readers and writers, so every moment counts. Let’s try and find some books that excite them about reading.
Sincerely,
Doris Barbour