Summer 2016

I'd like to thank the students and parents from my kindergarten class of 2015-2016 for a wonderful year, and I look forward to meeting our new kindergartners of 2016-2017!

Kindergarten Orientation is Tuesday, August 16th, from 10:00 to 11:00 (a.m.) and 11:00 to 12:00 (p.m.)

Supplies that we usually ask for in kindergarten include glue sticks, tissues, white board markers, baby wipes, and hand sanitizer. Check Back-to-School sales for these items-- we appreciate it!!

School begins on Wednesday, August 17, 2016-- morning session is 8:05 to 11:25 and the afternoon  session is 11:30 to 2:50. Child care for both sessions is available at Champions (408) 356-3178 or Holy Cross (408) 356-6828.

You will receive a letter the week of August 7th stating whether your child will be in the morning or afternoon session.  Due to fluctuation in enrollment, we cannot let you know before that time.

For kindergarten readiness, the AV kindergarten team highly recommends that your child comes into kindergarten:

• recognizing most letters
• writing his/her name legibly, using one upper-case & the rest lower-case letters
• recognizing numbers to 10 & beyond
• knowing names of basic shapes
• having good cutting/scissor skills
• able to sit attentively for the duration of a picture book

We highly recommend LeapFrog's  DVD "The Letter Factory" for a good review of letter recognition and letter sounds.

If you have any other questions about our program, please feel free to e-mail me at: gristn@unionsd.org

Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you in August!

Week of 6/5

Dear Parents,

It's exciting and a little sad at the same time, but we are heading into our last week together. What a wonderful year it's been! I'd like to thank you for the fantastic support you've given me all year long.

Here is a day-by-day run-down of the week:

MONDAY: No special activities. Please send your child with a backpack as we continue to send things home.

TUESDAY:  Promotion Ceremony in K2.  Be prepared for a brief presentation from the children and a great walk down memory lane of our wonderful year together. Please plan on attending this event or sending another family member who can attend! This is a special time to share with your children. No snacks or backpacks needed-- refreshments will be served. Approximate schedule of events for those who need to arrange around work schedules:

• 9:00 to about 9:30: Children perform songs we've learned throughout the year, followed by presentation of memory binders
• 9:30 to 10:05: Video review of our year. If you need to leave after the 9:00 presentation, this would be a good time to leave, as I will be sharing out the video presentation.
• 10:05-10:30: Refreshments and conversation!
• If you need to take your child home after the ceremony, please be sure to sign him/her out in the office. Otherwise, children will stay at school and have choice time and fun for the remainder of the day.

A final note about the Promotion Ceremony: Because this event will be in the classroom, and we have 25 students in our class, space is extremely limited. I really like to keep this event to parents and younger siblings only-- if both parents come and a handful of younger siblings, that's already around 80 people in our classroom. Unfortunately, we simply don't have the space for many more people than that. Thank you for your understanding.

WEDNESDAY: Olympic Day. This is a school-wide event. Please wear class t-shirts and appropriate footwear! Sunblock would also be a good idea, and hats, too. The event starts at 10:00 and goes on until dismissal.  We will have an early snack time, so please send snacks and backpacks on this day. Thank you to the parents who have already volunteered to help. If you'd still like to help, please email me or go to this link: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e084cafae29a64-alta2

THURSDAY: All children in kindergarten on an early schedule (8:05-11:25), so we will have 47 children in the room! I will be there at the beginning of class, but will not be ending the day with your children due to the promotion ceremonies of my own children. Children will clean the classroom, sign yearbooks, and have some last day fun with Mrs. Beadle and Mrs. Arrasmith. Please send a snack on this day if you think your child will get hungry.

Happy Summer!!!