SPRING HAS SPRUNG!

August 12-16

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To Kindergarten and Beyond!!

August 12, 2013 What a great first week we have had! We are adjusting to the routine of the classroom and continuing to work on the rules of the school. I am very pleased with how well everything is going! As we head into this week, our days will begin to be more structured. This week, we are working on beginning our units that will carry us throught the first 9 weeks. In Reading, we will read stories about friends and write about how to be a friend. In Language, we will work on the letter Ll, its sound and how to properly write it. In Math, our unit is about shapes. We will explore shapes in our classroom and school. In Social Studies we will continue discussing rules for appropriate behavior. Here are a few reminders: Our specials schedule is as follows: Mondays-Music Tuesdays-Computer Lab Wednesdays-PE (Must wear tennis shoes) Thursdays-Art Fridays-PE (Must wear tennis shoes) Should you need to contact me at any time, feel free to call me at 368-3114 between 8:45 and 9:15, and after 2:30. These are my free times during the day and will allow me to give you my full attention. If you leave a message during other times, I will return your call at the nearest available time. You can also email me at strawick@liberty.k12.ga.us or correspond with me via the agenda as this is where I will make notes about your child’s behavior. I look forward to working with you and your student this year and believe that this will be a great time of learning. Thank you in advance for your support! Mrs. Trawick

Meet Twitch!

We are proud to announce the birth of Twitch, the duckling, Monday, April 29th, 2013. He/She hatched 3 days earlier than expected, but seems to be in fine health judging from the level of activity. The video below shows Twitch still in the incubator with the unhatched eggs.

 

Egg Hatching Update!!

 

Saturday was the 24th day of incubating for our eggs (31 for our duck eggs). The earliest I expected to have any activity of the hatching kind was Wednesday. Imagine my surprise when I noticed one of the duck eggs was starting to "pipe," the process of the bird pecking a hole in the egg. Sunday when I went back to check all the eggs, this egg was peeping and moving and is currently halfway through the hatching process. Soooo, by Monday afternoon at the latest, we should have one of our baby birds out of its egg.
The video above shows the duck pushing against the shell and making lots of noise doing that. Stay tuned for more video as the week proceeds!

April 20, 2013

Happy Weekend to everyone!

I can't believe how quickly April is going! We are very busy in our classroom and I am sure that you have heard a little about what we are doing. Below is a list of some  of the things that we have growing in our room:

Bird eggs-we have 20 eggs incubating currently. Some eggs will have been in for 28 days when we are finished and the majority will have been incubating for 21 days. Sometime close to May 1, we should have baby birds chirping in our room. We have candled (used a flashlight to look inside an egg) this week and estimate that we have at least 10 good eggs in the batch. We aren't sure about the other eggs, but the students have a great attitude about having ANY birds to love next month

Grass caterpillars-we are conducting a science experiment in our room concerning grass growth. We made 4 grass caterpillars by filling different colored pantyhose with grass seed and soil. We voted and decided that the white pantyhose would grow its grass the quickest. HOWEVER, we found out this past week that we were incorrect. All of our caterpillars started sprouting over the weekend and to determine which was the fastest grower, we counted grass blades. The black panyhose won! We are going to take our findings and put together a science fair project for the school's science fair April 30th. We can't wait to let you know how we do!

Caterpillars-we have 16 caterpillars that are in our classroom. Some have begun to go into their chrysalis and by Monday, I expect that all of our caterpillars will have entered the pupa stage. In a week or so, we should have Painted Lady butterflies!

Also, just a quick reminder! Friday, April 26th is Field Day. Please remember that your child may dress down that day in comfortable clothes as long as they meet the Liberty County School System dress code. If you have any questions, feel free to send me a note!

Have a great evening!

Mrs. Trawick

SPRING HAS SPRUNG



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Dear Parents,


What a busy week we had leading up to the Spring Break! The students had a great time hunting for eggs Thursday and of course going on our field trip that Friday. I am very excited that so many of our parents came to see the performance at the Savannah Children’s Theater. It is one of my favorite field trips and the students always enjoy getting to put on their own show. For those of you that were not able to visit us that day, I do have pictures and videos posted. I apologize in advance for the quality of the pictures/video from the field trip. The lighting in the building was very dark and the camera didn’t want to take focused pictures and when I was videotaping, I wanted to get everyone in the pictures but it was hard due to the size of the theater. Despite that, I think you will get a great idea of what happened during our field trip and the fun that was had by all involved!


I hope that all of you are getting a chance to relax and have some fun this week. With no more breaks until the end of the year, I have definitely been trying to enjoy this time away from the classroom and catch up on some much-needed rest. That is mostly because this month will consist of completing all of our assessments for GKIDS. Be prepared for your child to come home tired as we approach our deadlines!!! We will hit the ground running this Monday and won’t slow down until after Mother’s Day as we finish up our last units. Don’t worry, though, there are some really fun things happening this month as well, so it won’t all be difficult! I would tell you more, but I really want to let the kids find out a bit of what is happening before I tell any parents. I promise to post pictures and videos as we continue our learning and exploring!

If you need to contact me, feel free to send me a note, send me an email (strawick@liberty.k12.ga.us) or call the office @368-3114.

Happy Spring!
Mrs. Trawick

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WE'RE BACK!

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Wondering where we have been? :) Our blog has been on a self-imposed hiatus, but we should be on our regular weekly updates now. Thank you so much for your patience! Below are some of the things happening in our classroom!

UPCOMING EVENTS

MARCH 8-NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS

MARCH 11-15 –SCHOOL BOOK FAIR

MARCH 15 –DONUTS FOR DADS 7:20-7:40am

MARCH 21- REPORT CARD DAY

MARCH 28 – EASTER EGG HUNT/CLASS PARTY

MARCH 29 –KINDERGARTEN FIELD TRIP TO SAVANNAH CHILDREN’S THEATER

APRIL 1-5 – SPRING BREAK

WHAT ARE WE LEARNING?

READING

• COMPARING/CONTRASTING CHARACTERS IN BOOKS

• BLENDING SOUNDS TO READ SHORT SENTENCES

WRITING

• WRITING AN OPINION PIECE

• WRITING AN INFORMATIONAL PIECE

• WRITING LETTERS CORRECTLY

• WRTING SENTENCES WITH FIRST LETTER CAPITALIZED, SPACING BETWEEN WORDS AND CORRECT END PUNCTUATION

LANGUAGE/PHONICS

• LONG VOWEL SOUNDS

• DIGRAPH /ck/

• DIGRAPH /sh/

• DIGRAPH /th/

MATH

• Comparing items by length, weight, capacity

• Continued work in addition and subtraction

SCIENCE

• Sorting items by observable characteristics

• Introduction to baby animals and plants

SOCIAL STUDIES

• US Symbols

• How to be a good Citizen



Welcome Back!

FROM THE TEACHER’S DESK

I hope that everyone has had a great winter break. I know that I enjoyed having the time with my family to celebrate the holiday season. Now, though, it is back to work! My experience has been that this coming 9 weeks is the most focused, productive portion of the year. Students know the expectations and are at the point developmentally to truly use the skills that introduced so far. It is an exciting time to be in a Kindergarten classroom!

Just a reminder: Please make sure that your child is in school, on time, in proper uniform attire everyday. We are heading into our most rigorous 9 weeks of instruction, and it is important that your child be here as much as possible. If your child has to be absent, please send a note of excuse within 3 days. 5 unexcused absences or tardies, necessitate that a social worker referral be completed.

As always, thank you so much for all that you do to help your child be successful in school. I brag often about the quality of the parents and students with which I work this year. It is a pleasure to work with all of you!

Upcoming Events

January 10-Report Cards Go Home

January 11-AR Party

January 21- Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday

January 22-100th Day of School!

January 29-Art Show 6:30– 7:30 p.m.

What are We Learning This Month?

Letters E, Y, D, V

Sounds /e/, /y/, /d/, /v/

Sight Words no, see, play

Using describing words in sentences

Isolate and identify initial, medial and final sounds in words

Opinion Writing Focus

2d/3d shapes

Introduction to Addition/Subtraction

Night and Day Sky

Martin Luther King, JR

Celebrating Our Differences

December 3-7 2012

What a busy week! This week we started our new math unit on shapes and we are learning about quadrilaterals, vertices and all sorts of wonderful geometry terms. I look forward to getting many pictures of shape projects that we have on our agenda for the upcoming weeks!

Today your child might mention that we had a LOCKDOWN at the end of the day. For those parents that have not had a child in the Liberty County School System, periodically the schools will practice how to hide in our classrooms in case there is a possible threat on campus. I was very proud of how well my class did today since we did not have any idea that this drill was happening and many students were not familiar with our lockdown procedures. Student safety is a huge priority on our campus and I am very pleased with how well the students followed directions throughout the procedure. :)

DONATIONS NEEDED~

empty, clean milk jugs (gallon size)

pencils

stick glue



BOOK CHARACTER PARADE 2012

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November 2012 Week 2

November 5-9 What an exciting week! We had great fun with our visit from the Fort Stewart Fish and Wildlife group. We learned about animals native to our area, made snakes and turtles, played animal bingo and even got to pet a real alligator, tortoise and snake. Thanks Mr. Dee, Mr. Gary and Ms. Rachael for all that you did to educate us!

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Children’s Book Week

November 13-16

Don’t forget to have your child participate in our book week activities listed below. If your child is going to dress up for the book character parade, please let me know so that I can begin planning costumes for students who are not bringing a costume/book from home. Also, all students participating in the book parade MUST have a book with that character in it. After Thursday, there will be no checking out books from the media center for this event.

Events Include:

Tuesday: Crazy Socks Day

Wednesday: Crazy Hat Day

Thursday: Camouflage Day

Friday: Book Character Parade Day

(Students may bring their costumes/books to change into after lunch for the parade)

November Week 1

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Week of September 24-28

Dear Parents,

Happy Fall!!  I hope everyone is enjoying the change in seasons and the (somewhat) cooler weather that has arrived this weekend! I just want to be in contact with you about a few things happening in our classroom and school.

I am pleased to announce that the Accelerated Reader program is up and running. This program will enable your child to take comprehension tests over the library books that they bring home from school. Because we got a late start these 9 weeks, I am setting a goal of .5 points, which is the equivalent of passing one test with a score of 100%. Attached you will find your child’s password information for Renaissance Place where you can check your child’s progress towards his/her goals. In addition, there is an AR readiness slip for you to send with your child when they are ready to take a test on their book and a space for me to note the child’s score on the test.   AR is a great part of our classroom and I am excited that we are finally able to participate.

Progress reports have been on hold because of our mid-term reports, conferences and the fact that I was out of the classroom part of this past week. They will resume this Friday, September 28^th. Thank you for your patience with this.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to come conference with me about your child’s progress. If you have not come in yet, please let me know when we can meet!

This week the students will be practicing for their music program. The performance will be Friday, September 28 @ 1:00. Hope to see you there!!

Have a great week!

Mrs. Trawick

September 2012

Mrs. Trawick’s Kindergarten

 

NOTES FROM THE TEACHER

It is so hard to believe that we have finished our first month of school! We have worked very hard on practicing procedures in the classroom and are now focused on the learning that is the reason your child is in school.

I am pleased with the progress that I am seeing with your students. As many of you know, kindergarten requires much more than it has in years past, which is why it is essential that your child comes to school focused and ready to learn. Thank you for all you do to help with this.

This month I will contact you to have our first Parent-Teacher Conference. Please make every effort to attend this. It is important even this early in the year to make sure that you are aware of how your child is doing academically and socially so that he/she can be successful in my room. I will send home available times for these conferences so that you can schedule a time that is convenient for you.

 If you need to contact me, feel free to send a note in your child’s binder, email me strawick@liberty.k12.ga.us or call me during planning (10:30-11:15) or afterschool @912-368-3114.

Happy September!

Mrs. Trawick

Mark Your Calendars!

SEP. 4-14 Coca-Cola Truckload Sale (more information to follow)

SEP. 10-Progress Reports

           Grandparent’s Day      Luncheon

SEP. 21- Class Picture Day and Make Up Day

Coca Cola Delivery

SEP. 28-Kindergarten Musical 1:00-2:00

 DON’T FORGET!

EVERY WEDNESDAY-ICEE SALES $1

EVERY THURSDAY-LIBRARY VISIT

EVERY FRIDAY– POPCORN SALES $.50

(Please make sure to mark what any money sent in is for)

 

What Are We Learning?

Letters Tt, Pp, Nn, Aa and their sounds

Sight Words: I, like, it, go, we, at

Numbers 0-20 (Writing/Labeling Sets)

Comparing amounts using more than/less than/equal to

Community Helpers

Living/Non-Living Things

 IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Congratulations to Kaylin!

She received the Principal's Award for our class for the month of August. Recipients of this award are well-behaved students with an exemplary work ethic. Look for new faces in upcoming months!!