Issue 2, Volume 8

Feb 26th- Mar 1, 2018 SDSU Kindergarten

Newsletter

What is coming up; Classroom News

Dress Up Days:
Monday Feb 26th; PJ DAY
Tuesday Feb 27th; Crazy
Day
Wednesday Feb 28th;
Blue/Yellow Day
Thursday Mar 1; Hat Day
In science, we began learning about sound waves. We learned that our
voices make vibrations and how our voices cause echos. We created
telephones out of cups and string. One person was the ear, one person
was the voice. We talked to our friends through our telephones and
observed that the cups vibrated when we talked into them.

March 5th-8th; No School

SPRING BREAK.

March 19th-21st; Parent

Teacher Conferences In our reading workshops we have been concentrating on comparing and
contrasting characters from the stories. This week we read The pros and
Important Notes: cons of being a frog by Sue deGennaro and talked about the differences
between the two main characters. We decided you can have different
Kindergarten Information interests than your friends and still be the best of friends!
Night: OnWednesday
February 28th from 6-7pm
we will be holding a
kindergarten information
night for any families who
have incoming kindergarten
aged children for the 2018-
2019 school year, and who
are interested and would like For math workshops, we have had the opportunity of having SDSU
to know more about our students visit us. These students are currently in a math education class.
program. They establish lessons, based on what we are learning in the classroom,
and then implement their lesson to our class. So far, we have worked on
Spring Conferences: During fluently adding to 5 and story problems.
the week of March 19th-21st,
we will be having our spring
conferences. Keep an eye
out over the next few weeks
for a time to sign up.

Sharing Days: Our friends

who will be sharing this
week are..

Monday:Selah & Louis

 Educational News:
Your child has nearly finished kindergarten and may be ready for first grade. This transition is a more
significant shift than one between grades.

Elementary school will present new challenges. The day's activities will be more structured than they
were in kindergarten yet there should still be time for spontaneous learning activities. Kindergarten has
been a continuation of the learning that has been occurring for children every waking moment of their
lives.

Is your child ready for first grade? Barbara Willer of the National Association for the Education of Young
Children says, "School readiness is less a set of scores and child traits than a match between the school
and the child."

Children are always changing in knowledge, skills, experiences and understanding. Readiness is not
something they do or do not have. It is a process of growth and change.

Readiness addresses a child's physical, cognitive, social and emotional development at a particular
time. A child's level of readiness in August will be very different from what it is in December, for example.
It's OK for children to be at different levels. A child's unique differences should be welcomed and
accepted. A group of children will always consist of a variety of capabilities and readiness levels.

The National Association of Elementary School Principals has recommended standards for primary
grades which are very similar to those outlined by the National Association for the Education of Young
Children. The similar recommendations include:

 Schools should be ready for the child and not expect the child to be ready for the school. Early
childhood programs must be based on the ways children learn, not on how adults prefer to teach.
 Since young children learn best through their senses by doing, learning should be the outcome of
hands-on experience, especially play.
 Children should be assigned to classes as close to the research-based recommended class sizes
as possible: ratios of 2 adults:20 children for 3- to 5-year-olds and 2 adults:24 children for 6- to 8-
year-olds.
 Children should be assessed by observation, not tested for success or failure. Letter grades
should not be used.
 Children will learn more quickly if they have actively experienced the process of learning - in other
words, if they have been read to, have acted out what they have learned, have touched the
objects described, have seen some of the places or people described, and so forth.

Retrieved from: https://www.education.com/reference/article/first-grade-ready-not/

Miss Wright’s Corner: If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know at any time. You can always
catch me during pick up and drop off or by stopping by my office at 114 SPC. You can also reach my on my
office phone (605-688-6701), my cell (605-695-0780), or by either of the following e-mails,
emmalee.wright@sdstate.edu or Emmalee.wright@k12.sd.us