Ms. Clark's Room 115 Happenings Abraham Lincoln School Recap of Week 15 & Other Updates Release Date: Monday, December 4, 2023 |
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Greetings Room 115 Families, I hope this message finds you well. My apologies for the recent break in our weekly newsletters. I trust that the purple communication folder and your child's updates at home have kept you informed about our classroom activities. In this newsletter, we'll explore the exciting events from Week 15, where our focus was on bears and hibernation. As we transition into Week 16, our thematic exploration shifts to everything related to gingerbread. Today we learned about the fascinating history of gingerbread, its origins, and various uses. Your child discovered that gingerbread houses were inspired by the classic folktale "Hansel and Gretel," and gingerbread man cookies are believed to have originated from Queen Elizabeth's preference for cookies shaped like her friends. Additionally, we read different versions of "The Gingerbread Man" story, unraveling details about folktales and fairytales, such as their timeless nature and characteristic beginnings with "Once upon a time." Throughout this week, we'll continue our exploration by delving into various renditions of the Gingerbread Man story. We'll engage in activities involving the comparison and contrast of characters, settings, sequences of events, and repeated phrases. Stay tuned for more updates and insights into our exciting learning adventures. Have a WoNDerFul rest of your week! Ms. Clark |
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This week, we're on a mission to gather real-world shapes for our upcoming Shape Museum event, scheduled for Friday, December 8th, 2023. I encourage your child to contribute items for the museum that are recyclable and/or reusable. While other items are welcome, the recyclable/reusable ones will play a special role in our Gingerbread STEAM activity set for Monday, December 11th – a grand Gingerbread extravaganza. Additionally, we'd love for your child to bring in any leftover Halloween sweet treats, as we'll be incorporating a "best looking" gingerbread house element into our STEAM activity. Thank you! |
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Is your child excitedly sharing about Clark Cash with you? We've introduced a new classroom incentive program where students can earn Clark Cash for exceptional efforts, embodying Lincoln Lion Role Model behavior, consistently upholding our class promise, and more. Clark Cash can be exchanged every Thursday afternoon for various rewards like stickers, pencils, choosing from the treasure box, enjoying 15 minutes of free-choice iPad time, and more. Similar to life, earning Clark Cash is a result of accomplishing and doing good things, but just like in real life, it's possible to lose Clark Cash or face fines for not following the Class Promise or breaking our classroom expectations. On Thursday, don't forget to ask your child how much Clark Cash they earned this week and whether they're saving up for a big prize or cashing in right away for a smaller reward. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions! |
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Phonics Leading up to Thanksgiving break, we successfully covered all 26 alphabet sounds. Our focus shifted to the last two letters: Y - Z Additionally, your child has been actively engaged in identifying blends at the beginning of words. Moving forward, we will delve into short vowel sounds, emphasizing CVC and CCVC words. Beginning this week, we are initiating explicit instruction on beginning digraph sounds, and we've introduced four new sounds to our sound wall: CH, SH, TH, WH |
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Handwriting Without Tears HWT In Week 15, we kicked off our focused handwriting lessons. We are emphasizing the importance of beginning each letter from the top, utilizing both straight and curved lines, and practicing lifting the pencil off the paper. Ask your child about this specific handwriting technique: Big Line Down - Frog Jump Back Up - Little Line - Little Line They should be able to share that it represents the letter 'F'. You can also ask them about the other Frog Jump Capital Letters we explored and practiced writing last week, including F, E, D, P, B, and R. |
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Math In math, we persist in exploring numbers 0-10 and introducing the children to numbers 11 and beyond through various counting activities, daily calendar exercises, and Clark Cash. Our focus has been on understanding 2D Flat Shapes and 3D Solid Shapes. As we approach the Winter break, we will shift our attention to the concept of measurement. |
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Second Step In Week 15 of Second Step, we explored the concept of having different feelings about the same thing and recognizing that it's okay. The class engaged in a discussion centered around a photograph, prompting your child to observe the situation, body language, and facial expressions of each student. They successfully identified that one boy enjoyed climbing high while the other did not. We then extended this practice to other scenarios, encouraging your child to express their feelings about specific situations, such as finding a mouse in the house. The class compared and contrasted different feelings about the same situation. In Week 16, we will shift our focus to discussing accidents. Please be aware that there was no home link for last week, and there won't be one this week either. |
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Read Alouds from the Week In Week 15, we explored the book "Going on a Bear Hunt." I trust that your child successfully recounted the story to you, highlighting the sequential order of events. This likely included the identification of various settings traveled to in the narrative and the incorporation of the story's repeated phrases. |
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In Week 15, our attention turned to the book "Bear Snores On." We engaged in conversations about the characters, setting, and the key events, considering the story from its beginning through the middle and to the end. |
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Mark Your Calendar - Important Dates |
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December Fri. 12.8.23 3D Solid Shape Museum In class activity Mon. 12.11.23 Gingerbread STEAM Activity Wed. 12.20.23 Holiday Sing 8:30 - 9 am Fri. 12.22 to Fri. 1.5 NO SCHOOL Winter Break Mon. 1.8.24 School Resumes Order Here Mon. 1.15.24 NO SCHOOL MLK Day Fri. 2.2.24 100th Day of School Mark your calendars! More info to come! |
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Other Events Previously Shared |
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Lincoln PTO News & Updates |
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Previously Shared Information |
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Please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments, concerns, and/or suggestions. I am here to work with you to ensure that your child's needs are being met at school and that they have an AmaZinG year in kindergarten at Lincoln School!! Thank you for your support! Ms. Clark Lincoln Lions are RESPECTFUL - RESPONSIBLE & SAFE! |
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