Back to School Night

ORTEGA BACK-TO-SCHOOL NIG
Mrs. Brazil and Mrs. Harrold

CURRICULUM 

            READING
  • Readers’ Workshop – Readers’ workshop is a research-based approach that addresses the needs of all students in the class. RW begins with a group mini-lesson where we address/model a strategy or skill. After the mini-lesson, the children read independently to practice the strategy or skill. Finally, RW ends with a group share to summarize the important understandings of the lesson.
  • Read Alouds
  • Shared Reading
  • Phonics/Word Work- Words Their Way and Zoo Phonics
  • Poetry Journals

WRITING
  • Writers' Workshop- -Children will be exposed to many kind of writing:  Narrative, Information, Procedural, Opinion and Persuasive.  They will learn what good writers do.  They will see themselves as writers.  Children will share their writing and learn how to respond to other children's writings.
  • Interactive Writing--together, children will participate in classroom writing activities
  • Writing Center---Children will have the opportunity to utilize a variety of writing materials(i.e.: markers, colored pencils, stamps, different kinds/sizes of paper, etc.)
As an essential part of both writing and reading, the children will be creating their own books to go in their books bins.

MATH
  • Free exploration of materials
  • Calendar Math
  • Sorting and Classifying
  • Number sets 1-20
  • More and Fewer
  • Addition/Subtraction
  • Numbers to 100
  • Patterns
  • Graphing
  • Shapes
  • Length, Weight, Capacity
  • Place Value
  • Composing and Decomposing Numbers

Welcome to our class. Thank you for coming to Back-to-School night. We look forward to sharing information with you regarding the curriculum and classroom management.

PHILOSOPHY
Goals:
  • To foster a learning environment which focuses on:  independence, as well as cooperation; compassion; and respect for others.
  • To individualize educational approaches in order to meet the needs of each child.
  • To become a community of learners who communicate respectfully, responsibly, and resourcefully.

CURRICULUM

  • MUSIC/ART:  Integrated through the curriculum: music in the classroom; Mrs. Ulmer will be teaching art.
  • MOVEMENT/PE: Ms. Tiffany will be teaching PE
  • SCIENCE/GARDENING:  Integrated through the curriculum;  Ms. Agler will be working with us in the garden.
  • SOCIAL STUDIES:  Integrated through the curriculum; special celebrations.

LIBRARY: Children will check out books each week.  

BLUE BOOK BAG:  Issued on Monday—to be returned on Friday.  Due to the organization of the book bags, if the bag is not returned by Friday your child will not be issued a new one the following Monday.  Once we rotate the blue book bags through the whole class, we will begin our Readers’ Workshop nightly reading homework.
PROGRESS REPORTS (see attached):  Standardized-based report cards will be issued three times a year. Parent/Teacher conferences will be held twice a year.

HOMEWORK: Monthly Homework Calendar- Each month your child will receive a homework calendar. As well as the calendar, we will periodically send home worksheets.   In addition, you may find that your child brings home unfinished work pages. This will vary due to your child’s progress and developmental stage. Watch for growth in the work that comes home.  We do not grade work done in class. Most work is done together at first and gradually, when students understand concepts, they may work on pages alone. Please return the homework calendar at the end of the month with the work attached. 

In addition to the monthly homework calendars, please read from book bags, library books, etc. for at least 20 minutes a day.

FIELD TRIPS: We have 2 field trips planned for this year. We will have dates soon!

DISCIPLINE: Positive reinforcement; time-out to “regroup”;   give back time for accountability and responsibility; contact parents; meet with Mr. Lorenzen. 

DISMISSAL: At the end of the kindergarten school day we ask you to leave campus and not stay and play on the playground. You may return at the end of the regular school day.  Also, when the lid is on the sand box and it is closed, please do not allow students/siblings to open and play in it as we try to keep sand off the pavement for safety reasons. Please help us teach respect to the children by following our school rules.

BIRTHDAYS:  If you are hosting a party for your child and want to pass out invitations here at school, PLEASE HAVE AN INVITATION FOR EVERY MEMBER OF THE CLASS. If your party is only for select friends, please mail the invitations. Because of food allergies and our healthy snack policy, we ask that you check with us before sending in birthday treats.  A great alternative to food treats are pencils and stickers to honor your child’s special day.  We will be presenting your child with a birthday crown and certificate to celebrate their special day.   Also our library has a wonderful “birthday book” program.  Look for information in the school newsletter.

COMMUNICATION:  We send out a weekly classroom newsletter on Fridays.  Please read for important information and dates.  If you need to contact us in an emergency, please call the office.  We typically do not check email in the morning or when we are teaching so please send a note if it is something pertinent that we need to know at the start of a school day.  If you need to discuss something with us, we can be reached after 2:00.

We will also be creating an email distribution list for communication for classroom parties and events.  Please send us an email at mbrazil@pacificasd.org.  Please include your name, child's name, phone number to best reach you,and any other email addresses you want included our our distribution list.  In addition, please fill out the attached form carefully so we are sure to have your correct email address.  If your email or phone number contact changes during the school year, please let us know.

LUNCH:  When the students stay for their late day, they will have the option to buy a hot lunch.  Lunch Cards need to be purchased in the office before school or online.

BOOK ORDERS:  We send home a monthly catalog from Scholastic Book Club.  It has wonderful books at great prices.  When you order we receive free books for our classroom.  When ordering, please send a check payable to “Scholastic”.  You may also place your order directly online by using our classroom code.  Visit our website and follow the link to order from Scholastic Book Club.

Thank you so much for the donations. You are so generous!
Here is a list of the items we still need and will ask for throughout the school year:

  • Napkins
  • Clorox Wipes
  • Instant Hand Sanitizer
We also need families to help with photo processing for us throughout the year. We use the pictures for your child’s scrapbook as well as the school yearbook.  We are looking for a classroom photographer to assist us with this endeavor.  In addition we need families to help with developing costs and to pick up our photos at Walgreens in Pacifica.  If you are interested, please fill out the attached form.

If you would like to help out at home, you can take a few of our bags of materials to prep.   We truly appreciate any time you can give!!

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT!  WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH YOU THIS YEAR!!
Mrs. Brazil and Mrs. Harrold


       




Back to School Night
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