2-1-10

**Today in your child’s red folder you will see a bookmark from the Texas Tornado hockey team! They have a reading program (all the information is on the bookmark) where you can receive free hockey tickets! After your child has read 6 books, please staple a list of the books to the bookmark and return it in the red folder for the tickets. Thanks!

**A note from the Recycling Committee…
Hi Everyone,
It’s time to gather all your old phone books and help Spears with its Phone Book Recycling Program. The school with the most phone books will win a Rufus Recycling Party sponsored by Frisco ISD. So, remember to bring in your phone books between January 27 – February 10 to your classrooms. Thanks for participating!

If you have any questions, you can email me at vfgoldberg@hotmail.com
Vicky

**If you are a big supporter of helping out the communityand love football then check out this link. http://www.collegefootballfrisco.com/ There is currently an interest in trying to bring the NCAA Division l Football Championship games to Pizza Hut Park in Frisco!

** This week we will celebrate the 100th day of school! I can't believe how fast this year is going! Each day we have projects and lessons celebrating this very special number. On Friday we will make our very own 100th Day Trail Mix and dress up like 100 year old people. I'm also going to have the class call my great grandmother in New Mexico to talk to her. She will turn 100 years old in a few weeks and is looking forward to talking with the kids about being 100! We are also wrapping up our Teeth Unit with a science experiment.

It's a very special week in Kindergarten! I'll post pictures soon!

A Note from the Office

Parents,
When checking out a student early from school, your license must be scanned to add your name into the Raptor system. The scanning of your license, will associate your name with your student's name in the system.

So, next time you come to get your child early, please have your purse or wallet with you so you won't have to walk back out to your car to get it.

How to sign your child out at the kiosk: using the mouse, click on "student out", enter PARENT name and it will pull up your child, then select what child you want to check out.


NOTE: PLEASE KNOW THAT ALL LICENSE WERE SCANNED INITIALLY FOR ENTRANCE INTO THE BUILDING, THIS SECOND SCANNING MUST BE DONE, AS IT IS NOT FOR THE SAME PURPOSE AS THE FIRST.

Thank you for your cooperation!
Spears Office Staff

Red Folder Alert

There are two important papers coming home this week in the red folder.

#1 Today I will be sending home information about Valentine’s Day Cards, as well as a class list with the names of our friends. We will, as a class, decorate sacks for our cards. You do not have to send in a bag or box, etc. We will exchange cards here at school. The note will explain to you how to go about getting the cards ready. (Your child can write first names only.) Also, remember that this is one of the times that candy may be included for each child.

#2 Yesterday I sent a note about our 100th Day Celebration that we are having next Friday, Feb. 5th. We are trying something new this year by having the children dress up like they are 100 years old! I think this will be super cute! Please don’t think you have to go buy anything for this. Just see what you have around your house. This is not mandatory…it’s just for fun! We have fun activities planned for the entire day in Kindergarten! I'll be taking lots of pictures to post!

Each day this week we have learned something new about our teeth. We've talked about the layers of our teeth and how to take good care of them. Yesterday we learned why our baby teeth fall out. The Tooth Fairy will be making a special visit next week to visit with our kids about all of these things!

Have a great day!

Report Card Day!

This has been a very busy week in Kindergarten! We are back to our regular schedule with Guided Reading and Centers. We celebrated a birthday and spent some extra time in the computer lab. Today we checked out new books from the library and tomorrow we'll have Fun Friday!

The most special part of our week was learning about Martin Luther King, Jr. We had some great discussions on the importance of treating everyone fairly regardless of how they look. Your children gave excellent examples of how we can go about doing this! Today each student came up with their own "I Have a Dream" sentence. They worked so hard on them!

Your child's very first report card is coming home today!!! If you notice asterisks on your child’s report card, these would be areas that need improvement. You might consider spending a little extra time on these concepts during your homework time. You may keep all the papers inside the white envelope. Please sign the envelope, and if you'd like, there is a space to leave a comment. All you need to do after you sign the envelope is send it back to school in your child's red folder for me. Thank you! I'm so proud of the progress we have made so far in Kindergarten! This has been a great school year - thanks for your support!

Have a great night~Mrs. Dooley

Message from the PTA

This week we welcome FOX 4 Good Day Fitness Expert Leisa Hart as our guest speaker at our PTA General Assembly Meeting this Thursday, Jan. 21 at 9:30am. Leisa is also a Spears Mom! It will be a light-hearted, interactive presentation to help you find areas in your life - physically, mentally and spiritually - that you need to focus on to be the best mom you can be. Leisa will guide you to formulate a game plan to get where you want to be. You definitely don't want to miss this one! Please see the flier that went home yesterday for more information.

The Mitten by Jan Brett

3 quick things:

1. We will continue mid-year and report card assessments this week so no Guided Reading during the day. I am sending home 2 books for you to read with your child. You can return the guided reading folders on Thursday.

2. The teachers have updated their Wish Lists on the kinder web site. If you would like to donate items for classroom use you can find them here:
http://teachersites.schoolworld.com/webpages/spears_k/supply.cfm?subpage=917352

3. No school this Friday - teachers have a workshop to attend. No school on Monday in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.


Today we read the story The Mitten by Jan Brett. Many of your kids had already heard the story so it was exciting to see what they remembered from the time they read it with you! When we read this book we looked for new words we didn't know and saw many of our word wall words. As we worked on our comprehension skills I had the children inferencing - making a connection to text by looking at the illustrations, cover, title, and plot of the story. Tonight your children are bringing home a mitten they made with all the characters from the story. You can have your child practice their comprehension skills by having them retell you the story by using the mitten and characters. You will be seeing these reading skills on the upcoming report card. Having your child orally retell you stories you read together is great comprehension practice! Here are a few pictures of us working on our reading project:

January 4th

Wow!!! From all the stories I heard today it sounds like you guys had a great holiday break! We are back in the full swing of things around here! As funny as it sounds, I will begin the big push of getting the children ready for first grade. Remember...the time goes by fast and we have a lot to cover! While we have been talking about handwriting, spelling, reading, math, and behavior, etc.; now that break is over I will raise the bar on the level of expectations in these areas. As always, there is a period of adjustment. You will see more notes on papers to keep you updated on their progress in the classroom.

We will be completing report card and all mid-year literacy/math assessments from January 4 through January 14 during our guided reading time slot. For this reason, we will not meet with guided reading groups. We will send home guided reading books for you to use at home with your children. They may work on decoding the words, fluency, and comprehension. Thanks for your help with this. Look for the report cards on January 21!

I have had several questions about tutoring in Kindergarten. Yes, there is after school tutoring for those students who qualify. I will contact you if your child shows areas for improvement after I complete all mid-year assessments. You will have an option to agree to or deny tutoring, but I am required to offer it. Also, we do have a list of private tutors in the area (FISD teachers) if you would like to pursue this. Just let me know and I can get that list for you.

Looking ahead at important dates…January 15 (Staff Development Day) and January 18 (Holiday) there will be NO SCHOOL.

Thanks again for all your support at home!