Welcome to the Pre-K 4's class notes page!

Please refer to the information here to answer any questions you might have about happenings in our classroom.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

** Monday, October 15th -- We will visit the "BOOK FAIR" as a class. Flyers were sent home with some of the books available for purchase. IF YOU WISH FOR YOUR CHILD TO MAKE A PURCHASE, PLEASE SEND THE PAYMENT IN AN ENVELOPE LABELED WITH HIS/HER NAME. You may also choose to have your child visit the "Book Fair" with his/her "Special Person" on Tuesday. (See below.)

** Tuesday, October 16th is "SPECIAL PERSON'S DAY". Following our morning "Circle Time", the children and their special person (grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc.) will be treated to breakfast in our classroom from 9:15-9:45. At 10:00, a "magical" assembly will be presented in the Gym, and afterwards, the children and their special persons can visit the "Book Fair" if they wish. At about 11:00, everyone will return to the classroom for a special activity.

** Thursday, October 18th -- NO SCHOOL (Teachers' Conference Day)

** Wednesday, October 31st -- HALLOWEEN! We will have our class party after the "Ragamuffin Costume Parade" which will begin at 1:15 p.m. More details will be forthcoming about our Halloween celebration and class party.
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NEWS.....

This past week found the children learning about two special people; namely, St. Francis of Assisi and Christopher Columbus.

As part of our Religion studies, we celebrated the feast of St. Francis of Assisi on October 4th. We brought our favorite stuffed animals to school and introduced them to our classmates at "Circle Time". We wore the animal crowns that we made in class when we took our animals to visit some of the other classes, and had animal crackers for our daily snack..

Our focus on Christopher Coulumbus included making and reading a "storybook" about Columbus' journey to America. We learned that he was an explorer who sailed with three ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. We learned that Columbus discovered America when he sailed off course while searching for the West Indies. The children enjoyed coloring a picture of Columbus and his ship and making a stand up Columbus "paper doll."

We have been learning to associate colors and their word names through a variety of flash card games and worksheets. This week, we made "colorful caterpillars" to decorate our classroom. To create them, we used circles of the different colors we had previously studied, and added feet, faces and antennae. The children also colored a juggling clown whose balls contained the names of the various colors. The children are learning to match the color words to the decorations or flash cards we have in the classroom before they color the picture. This process is helping to develop their pre-reading skills.

In Math, we have been focusing on geometry skills by learning to identify shapes and their qualities. This week, we learned about the triangle. We learned that a triangle has three sides, and I was able to introduce the prefix "tri", meaning three, by having them identify other words that use this prefix. We talked about a tricycle which has three wheels, and looked at one of our dinosaur toys, the triceratops, which has three horns. The children were also asked to look around the room and find some examples of triangles, then pick out and color the triangles on our class worksheet.

We also read the story of "Phinnaeus Fable", a baker who uses shapes to make patterns that the reader needs to complete. The children did quite well with this activity. In addition, at snack time, the children were given pretzel sticks and asked to form triangles with them prior to eating them!

Next week, we will celebrate "Special Person's Day", begin some Halloween activities, and study the characteristics of squares.

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IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

** Now that the colder weather has arrived and the children are wearing jackets, sweaters and sweatshirts to school, it is imperative that ALL items of clothing be labeled with your child's name. In addition, please be diligent in labeling any other items that your child brings to school. There are many items that are similar (clothing, lunch boxes, backpacks, folders, etc.) and it is difficult to find the owner when the items are not labeled.

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Please note the following SPECIAL REQUESTS:

** The dismissal time for Pre-K 4 students on all half days is 11:25 a.m. The dismissal times are staggered for students on different grade levels in order to facilitate traffic flow. Your promptness is greatly appreciated on these days.

** Please be sure to send in an absence note if your child is absent from school FOR ANY REASON, including illnesses, vacations, or transportation issues. The signed note should be submitted on the day your child returns to school. Our school nurse is required by state law to keep these notes on file.

** Please have your child refrain from bringing toys to school each day. The toys cause the children to become distracted and also interfere with the learning process. Often the items are too large for the cubbies as well.

Thanks for your cooperation with these requests.


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** Please email me by clicking above if you have any questions!
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