August 28-Sept 8

We had a great first week of kindergarten! The students are doing so well adjusting to school life.  Now that the first week of kindergarten is done, we are excited to see the students come into school and walk to the cafeteria by themselves.  This is an important part of their learning independence and getting them ready for their future school careers.  It is such a sense of accomplishment for them to be able to grow more independently each day.  Your child is still getting used to the routines of school and they will be tired and cranky when they get home.  Please know that this is normal and the more they get into the school routine the easier it will get.

We have a special friend in kindergarten this year, named Parker. Parker, who is wheelchair bound, is in Ms. Bronk's room. Parker's mother, Michele, is going to introduce us all to Parker this Friday morning at 8:45 am. We will be able to learn more about Parker and his mother will be able to answer any questions. It will be exciting to learn more about Parker and how we can best interact with our special kinder friend. You are more than welcome to join us if you would like to meet Parker and learn more about him yourself! If you would like to join us, please sign-in in the office before coming into the lunch room. 

Reminder:  Friday, September 1st Early Release @ 1:00.

• Our first early release is this Friday, September 1st. I will be sending your kinder home based on what you wrote on your kinder's transportation form. If you would like to change your kinder's end of day (EOD) plans for Friday, please let me know by tomorrowafternoon. We will be dismissing the students shortly before 1:00 pm so the buses can roll out at 1:00 pm. Below are the other scheduled early releases so you can plan ahead!
• *Scheduled Early Release days for 2017-18
  Friday, September 1, 2017
  Friday, November 3, 2017
  Friday, January 19, 2018
  Friday, March 23, 2018
  Friday, May 25, 2018
• If your kinder is going to Clubhouse for early releases and is not scheduled to go to Clubhouse, make sure to email Cathy Kerber (ckerber@cologneacademy.org) to keep her updated.

If you have not sent in your parent apple note, please send that in by this Friday, September 1st. We will start reading them next week :)

NO SCHOOL Monday, September 4th.

Here is a great video to help your child to tie their shoes.
https://carver.macaronikid.com/articles/599c87e73ebf8625fc230e39/teach-your-children-to-tie-their-shoes-in-less-than-a-minute

END OF DAY CHANGES 
Please inform the office of any changes to your normal end of the day routine. Always call or email the front desk and your classroom teacher.
Front Desk email:    frontdesk@cologneacademy.org    
main office phone: 952-466-2276

LITERATURE
How Full is Your Bucket
Good Choice/Sad Choice
Kindergarten Books

This next week we will continue to work on our routines and expectations for our literacy block. The following week, we will dive into guided reading!

MATH
During the months of September and October students will work on the following skills:
·         numbers 0-10 (ordering, identifying, representing, and writing)
·         matching and sorting: size and shape
·         2-dimensional shapes
·         patterns :AB and ABB

Throughout the year students will explore math through open-ended-questions, math stations, chromebooks, IXL, rekenreks, and a variety of math manipulatives.

BACK TO SCHOOL!!

Important Dates

Kindergarten Open House is Thursday, August 17^th from 5:30-6:30. 

        Come join us for a fun filled evening to meet your teacher, see the classroom, make a craft, visit the fishing pond and have a lot of fun!  Parents make sure you see your teacher as they will have a folder for you with important papers to fill out before pre-conferences.

New Family Orientation is also Thursday, August 17^th from 6:30-7:30.

          There will be childcare provided and there will be a group activity for new students in grades 5-8​.

Pre Conferences are Tuesday, August 22^nd from 8:00 a.m-8:00 p.m.

Please sign up using the link if you haven’t already.  https://signup.com/group/716998567094468065

First Day of School is Monday, August 28^th!

May!!

·     Haler Farm field trip is this Friday from 8:45-11:15.If you have not yet send your form to school, please to do as soon as possible.

·  The permission slip for our next field trip to Highland Park (end of the year field trip) will be sent home next week. So, be on the lookout!

·  Monday, May 15th is College T-Shirt Day.

·  The Kindergarten/First Grade Spring Music Concert is on Thursday, May 18th from 7 PM - 8 PM. Plan on dropping your kinder off in the classroom around 6:40 PM. 

·  There will be an early release on Friday, May 19th.

·  The Summer Camp brochure is coming out!  The deadline to sign up is May 20th.

·  Saturday, May 20th is CA's Spring Fling at Lion's Park. (There will be a "teacher experience" with Mrs. Mateen and Mrs. Pogatshnik up for auction!)

·  Spirit Week is from May 22nd - 26th.

·  We will be completing the fourth and final math interim the week of May 22nd.

·  The Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony is Thursday, May 25th at 2:30 PM in the gym. 

·  May's OSA is Friday, May 26th and is also College T-Shirt Day.

·  There will be NO SCHOOL on Monday, May 29th, due to Memorial Day

·  Field Day is Tuesday, May 30th.

·  Our last field trip to Hyland Park is Wednesday, May 31st (field trip permission slips will be sent out mid-May).

·  The last day of school is Thursday, June 1st. We will be participating in fun activities that day, including watching "Brother Bear," which also aligns with our core virtues. The permission slip for that will be coming the week of May 22nd.

·  Lastly, if you would like to share your thoughts about CA, fill out this survey (hey, that rhymes!).  https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N5FXBNB

Thank you for all you do!

LITERATURE

Presidents and Symbols-This unit explores the lives and legacies of five famous presidents and introduces students to several national symbols including the American Flag, the Statue of Liberty, the White House, and Mount Rushmore.

MATH

During the months of April and May  students will work on the following skills

• numbers to 100 (ordering, identifying, representing, and writing)
• addition and subtraction
• ordinal position: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th
•  patterns : ABA and shrinking
• capacity
• telling time to the hour
• money: identify coins and the coin’s value, counting coins with the same value

Throughout the year students will explore math through open-ended- problem solving journals, math stations, ipads/ipods, IXL, rekenreks, and a variety of math manipulatives.

HANDWRITING/WRITING

Students are working on their Kindergarten Memory Scrapbook, Our Last Week in Kindergarten Memory book, finishing our handwriting books, and other end of the year writing activities.

CORE KNOWLEDGE

Concepts in May:  Taking Care of the Earth, Magnets, Jane Goodall, Orville and Wilbur Wright