Chewonki's Owls Visit Dike-Newell

Matt shows the class the largest (Great Horned Owl) that he brought with him to our school.

The kids got to observe and touch several different parts of an owl including talons and wings.

One of the highlights of the kindergarten school year is learning about owls.  They are beautiful and facinating birds to learn about.  The kids have enjoyed our exploration of owls, and have learned a lot since the beginning of the unit.

Recently we have been learning about winter, and owls.  Last week Chewonki visited our kindergarten class and brought three live owls to our school.  The kids were amazed by these birds.  They were able to listen to different owl sounds, touch talons, wings, and other artifacts.

The New Year's Here!

The start of the new year has been busy and fun here at Dike- Newell School.  Highlights of the new year have been setting new goals.  Students thought about what they hope to learn or do in the new year!  Many kids wanted to spend more time with friends and learn to read!  

Fire Safety Week

Fire Safety Week is October 5 - 11, 2014.  This week students will identify objects that are safe and unsafe to touch.  They will also learn how to stay safe in the event of a fire.  Key concepts will include:

Get Out, and Stay Out!

Get Low, and Go!

Stop, Drop and Roll!

Take time this week to complete the fire safety checklist that was sent home in your child's folder.  Discuss with your child a safe place for your family to meet outdoors in the event of a fire at your home.

You Are Invited To:

 The Bath Fire Department's Open House!

Date: Thursday, October 11, 2014

Time: 6-8 pm.

Location: Bath Fire Department

Writing Workshop

Students participate daily in writer's workshop.  This is a very important and fun time in our day.  Students spent the first two weeks of school practicing drawing skills, and learning that pictures can tell a story.

Anchor chart - used to help students draw a detailed picture that tells a story.

At Dike-Newell School we use the Lucy Calkins' Units of Study to teach writing.  Students are writing narratives, that teach others about something they know a lot about.  It has been very exciting to see students taking risks, drawing detailed pictures, rereading their work, and sharing with the class what they have written each day.  Stay tuned for our Growing Writers anchor chart to see the specific skills we are working on in writing.  I will also attach some samples of student's writing soon!

Are You A Book Lover?

Kindergarteners have been learning about our classroom library, and book handling skills.  We use this anchor chart (poster) in our classroom library to help us remember the things book lovers do when reading in the library.

You can help your child practice these skills at home.  Remind them of the five things book lovers do to help take care of their books at home!

We have also been learning about the different ways to read a book.  Below is a second anchor chart that is in our classroom library to help children remember the different ways to read a book.  Practice the first two ways to read a book at home with your child.

When a child can use picture clues to help them tell a story they are much more successful at reading independently.  Have your child tell you a story they already know very well to practice this skill at home.  

Apples, Apples Everywhere!

Apple Song

I'm a little apple short and round

I make a munchy, crunchy sound

If you bite into me

You will see

I'm delicious as can be!

We wrapped up our unit on the five senses Friday!  Highlights of the week included a taste test of red, yellow and green apples.  Students were able to chose their favorite color apple and we made a class graph.

Mrs. Deci's Class
Favorite Apple Picture Graph

Yellow Apples were our classes favorite, and green apples were are least favorite type of apple.

Students also helped to make applesauce on Friday.  We slowly cooked the apples all day, and had a special afternoon snack.  Students were able to touch the apples as we put them in the crockpot, they watched the apples throughout the day (and smelled them cooking too), and finally tasted the final product. It was a huge success!

September 16, 2014

We have been very busy.  Last week's open house was a huge success.  Thank you to all families who were able to visit.  I have attached a few photos of projects we have completed in the first few weeks.  

Students have been busy learning classroom routines and procedures. We came up with the following classroom rules.  They fall under the Dike-Newell Rules of "bee" safe, kind, and responsible.  

Students have been busy learning to read and write their name.  They are also busy learning their new friend's names.  Here are a few projects we have completed to help them learn these skills.

Rainbow Names
Students identified characteristics of the letters in their name.

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom TreesStudents ordered the letters in their name.

Mrs. Deci's Kindergarten Class's Hopes and Dreams for the Year!

The first week of school was spent talking about our hopes and dreams for the kindergarten school year.  Children were asked to share one thing they hope to be able to do by the end of the year,

September 8-12, 2014

Welcome to Mrs. Deci's Kindergarten Blog.  I am looking forward to sharing news and photos of our work in kindergarten during the 2014-2015 school year!

The first week was busy and fun! Students toured the school, had their first fire drill and lockdown practices, and met many new friends.  I am excited for week two!  We will continue to practice routines and procedures this week.  Below is our specials schedule.  Students will meet Mrs. Main, out art teacher on Monday.

Monday - Art (Mrs. Main)
Tuesday - Library (Mrs. Hernandez)
Wednesday - Music ( Ms. Cyr)
Thursday - Library 9 Mrs. Hernandez) - Book are returned on Thursdays.
Friday - P.E. (Ms. McCauley)

I will post pictures of our first week, and projects we have completed later this week.  Stay tuned!

You're Invited

to 

Dike-Newell School's Open House

Location:  Dike- Newell School

Date: Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Time: 6 - 7 pm.

A Visit To The Farm

The house was packed Tuesday night for the kindergarten class's choral concert!  The students worked very hard preparing for the show.  Ms. Cyr our music teacher created adorable costumes and worked tirelessly to prepare the kids for the show.  It was a HUGE success!  Here is our class before the show...We were ready for a HOEDOWN!

100th Day Collection

100^th Day Collection

Dear Parents,

Tuesday, February 14^th will be our 100^th day of kindergarten!  We will be participating in many activities to celebrate the day.  One activity will be the creation of a 100’s Museum containing collections of 100 things brought in by each child. 

To help the children see the different ways 100 looks, I am asking each child to bring in a collection of 100 items.  Here are the criteria for your child’s collection:

o   The collection must be transported to and from school in a backpack or carried by your child.

o   The collection can be 100 of anything!  Common household objects are recommended (cereal, macaroni, photos, stickers, beads, etc.), but you are free to be creative and choose anything that is small.

o   Display the 100 items in a unique way.  Glue them to a piece of poster board, create a collage, or arrange them some other way.  Use your imagination, but keep it simple.

o   Collections are due on Monday, February 13, 2012.  Please have your child bring their collection to school on this day. 

Have fun and feel free to call me if you have any questions.

Happy 100^th Day!

Mrs. Deci

94 Days and Counting...

February 6, 2012

Greetings Kindergarten Families!

THIS WEEK: 

We will begin preparing for the 100^th day of school.  It is hard to believe how quickly the school year is going by, but today is day number 94, and the hundredth day of school will be next Tuesday.   This week we will read Mrs. Bindergarten Celebrates the 100^th Day of Kindergarten, and Eric Carl’s, The Very Hungary Caterpillar.  We will complete art projects, and writing assignments to accompany these stories.

Below is an outline of the concepts that will be taught this week.

Language Arts ·       Letter Ff ·       Review –at and –an word families ·       Blending and Segmenting

Math ·       Number Formation ·       Addition ·       Graphing ·       Attribute Block ·       Sorting

Science ·       Weather/Seasons

BOX TOPS:

We are still collecting box tops.  If you have box tops at home please send them to school in your child’s folder.  Remember all money raised will go directly to Dike-Newell school.  Thank you for your support!

PENNIES FOR PAWS:

As a school wide community service project we care collecting pennies for sheltered animals.  Please send in spare change for this cause.  I will check folders daily for any donated change.

VALENTINE’S DAY:

Next Tuesday we will have a Valentine’s Day celebration.  Students will exchange cards and celebrate this holiday in the afternoon.  I have attached a slip of paper to this newsletter if you offered to donate a snack item for this party.  Please send items to school with your child on or before Tuesday, February 14^th.   Below is a list of the students in our class, so that valentines can be filled out. 

Dale                  Abby

Benjamin            Arden

Bradley            Elijah

Penelope            Seamus

Carena            Maja

Sebastian            Dakota

Isabella            Shane

Jaidyn            Elizabeth

Tristan            Shilee

Khristian

Thank you for your continued help and support. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns at 443-8285. 

Have a great week!

Mrs. Deci

Chewonki Visits This Week To Wrap Up Our Owl Unit.

Mrs. Deci’s Kindergarten News

January 30, 2012

Greetings Kindergarten Families!

THIS WEEK: 

We will continue learning about owls.  Students will create their own owl book with facts about owls and illustrations to match.  We will also continue to read and write about owls.  Our unit will come to a close with a visit from Chewonki.  They will be presenting to our class on Thursday morning. 

Below is an outline of the concepts that will be taught this week.

Language Arts ·       Long Vowels ·       Review Aa and Oo ·       Blending and Segmenting

Math ·       Counting and Number Games ·       Number stories (adding and subtracting)

Science ·       Weather/Seasons ·       Owls

ASSEMBLY:

This morning students attended a school wide assembly.  A slide show was presented of students busy at work and play!  Classes also prepared special presentations to share with the school. The kindergarten class sang our school song.  Ask your child if they can sing it for you. The lyrics are written below. 

Follow the rules (snap, snap)

Follow the rules (snap, snap),

Follow the rules, follow the rules, follow the rules (snap, snap),

Be safe, and be kind, be responsible, three simple rules,

For Dike-Newell School. 

Follow the rules (snap, snap),

Follow the rules (snap, snap),

Follow the rules, follow the rule, follow the rules.

REPORT CARD ENVELOPS:

If you have not already done so, please sign and return your child’s report card envelop tomorrow.  I was so impressed that everyone signed and returned them during the fist quarter.  Let’s do it again!

BOX TOPS:

We are still collecting box tops.  If you have box tops at home please send them to school in your child’s folder.  Remember all money raised will go directly to Dike-Newell school.  Thank you for your support!

WINTER CLOTHES:

Don’t forget to send your child to school with snow pant, boots, mittens/gloves and a hat.  Students must have these items on to play in the snow.

Thank you for your continued help and support. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns at 443-8285. 

Have a great week!

Mrs. Deci

Seasons, seasons there are four. Winter, spring, summer and fall. Which Season do you like best of all?

Over the past few weeks students have explored the four seasons, weather, and of course winter (we live in Maine)!  We have read many books, written about our favorite season and activities we like to do during that season!

We created a mitten graph (below) which shows which season was liked most in our class (summer).  It also shows whether the students liked the story, "The Mitten", by: Jan Brett.  As well as how old the students in my class are.  Each mitten is a glyph.  The students decorated their mitten after answering several questions.  The decorations they used represent their answers to each question.

We also read "Snowmen at Night".  This story is a great example of nonfiction.  Students created their own snowmen at night, and wrote about what they thought their snowman would do at night.

Box Tops, Box Tops...Send In All Box Tops!

Mrs. Deci’s Kindergarten News

January 9, 2012

Greetings Kindergarten Families!

THIS WEEK: 

We will be exploring seasons, winter weather and more!     We will read several Jan Brett stories including: The Mitten and The Hat.  Last week we read the Mitten and students acted out the story and practiced retelling skills.  This week we will do a class rewrite of the same story and read a new winter tale.  Students have been reading and writing about winter and their favorite activities to do in this season.

Below is an outline of the concepts that will be taught this week.

Language Arts ·       Final Consonant Sounds ·       Letter Oo ·       Blending and Segmenting ·       Short Oo Word Families: -ot, -op, and -og

Math ·       Counting and Number Games ·       Probability ·       Patterning

Social Studies ·       Winter Science ·       Weather/Seasons

BOX TOPS:

Dike- Newell School with support from the PTA is collecting Box Tops for Education.  Each box top that is collected is worth .10 cents for our school.  Please send them in your child’s folder, and I will collect them each morning.

REMINDER:

There will be NO school on Friday, January 13, 2012.  This is a professional development day for the school district.  There is also NO school on Monday, January 16, 2012 in recognition of Martin Luther King Day.

DONATIONS:

Below is a list of items we are unfortunately still in need of.  I appreciate all donations made to our classroom.

·       Hand Sanitizer

·       Tissues

·       Lysol Wipes

·       Colored Pencils  (12 pack)

Thank you for your continued help and support. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns at 443-8285. 

Have a great week!

Mrs. Deci

Welcome Back!

January 3, 2012

Greetings Kindergarten Families!

It is nice to back at school.  I hope that everyone had a restful and fun holiday.  Coming back to school after a break can be challenging at times.  We will spend the first few days back going over routines and expectations. Please remind your child daily that it’s their responsibility to come to school to do their best and have fun. 

THIS WEEK: 

We will discuss new years resolutions and setting goals.  Discuss with your child what they hope to learn or be able to do within the next year.  There are so many possibilities, I look forward to discussing and learning about their goals this week!     

Below is an outline of the concepts that will be taught this week.

Language Arts ·       Final Consonant Sounds ·       Letter Hh ·       Blending and Segmenting

Math ·       Counting and Number Games ·       Probability ·       Patterning ·       Measurement: Pan Balance

Social Studies ·       Winter Science ·       Weather/Seasons

REMINDER:

There will be NO school on Friday, January 13, 2012.  This is a professional development day for the school district. 

DONATIONS:

As we begin the New Year there are several items that we are in need of in our classroom.  If you are able please try to donate one item. 

·       Hand Sanitizer

·       Tissues

·       Lysol Wipes

·       Colored Pencils  (12 pack)

Thank you for your continued help and support. Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns at 443-8285. 

Have a great week!

Mrs. Deci