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Mrs. Matthews's Language Arts Class

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Rescheduled Field Trip to Recycling Center!

Great News! We were able to reschedule our field trip to the Boulder Recycling Center! On Tuesday, March 3rd we will be going with our Service Learning Group to the Boulder Recycling Center. Ms. Valenza and our service learning buddies will be joining us, so we will not be needing chaperones this time around. Please click the link below and fill out the digital permission slip for your kindergarten student. If you have any questions please feel free to email your student's advocacy teacher! 
 

Literacy Workshop: Long Vowel Patterns 2/24/20

Hello families, 
This week we will continue listening for, reading, and spelling words with long vowel patterns. Students will be able to identify long and short vowel sounds in a story read aloud to them. Our spelling words for the week are: game, same, ride, side, said, only, you, out, of, here. 
In writer's workshop we are wrapping up our final Non-Fiction, All about, books. Our Goal is to have all students ready to publish their pieces by Thursday for our second Publishing Party! I am really excited for the students to share their work and show off what talented authors they have become!
You can support your student by reading aloud or having your student read to you for 20 minutes each day. Also be sure to point out our long vowel spelling pattern when you see it in print around the house or in a book. 

When to Keep Kids Home

Hello Parents,

We have seen quite a few different illnesses going around school the last few weeks so I thought it might be helpful to send a few reminders.  Please review the attachment that explains when to keep kids home from school.  We have this policy in place to help keep your family and the rest of our community healthy.  Here is a link to the health clinic page for more information:

 

https://www.westgateschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=598156&type=d&pREC_ID=1129506

When to Keep Your Student Home: 
1. The child is unable to participate in daily activities.
2. The child doesn't feel well enough to take part in normal activities. 
3. The child needs more care than staff can give, and still care for the other children. 
4. The illness is on the list on the Health Clinic page and staying home is recommended.See Attached Form Please. 

 

If your student does need to stay home for any reason, please make sure to let the school know by either calling, filling out an attendance form, or emailing directly.  If at any time your student is seen by a provider, please get a note from them for school so we can excuse the absence.  Here is a link to the attendance page for more information:

 

https://www.westgateschool.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=598156&type=d&pREC_ID=1129395

 

All medication, including over the counter medications, that need to be taken by students must be kept in the school health office, the appropriate form filled out and must be kept in the original container. Our school medication form must be filled out by a doctor and signed by the parent. Find the form you need on our Health Clinic page. You can email, fax or drop off forms at the front desk. If you have any questions please email the school nurse at [email protected].

 

Please feel free to call or email with any questions you may have!

Many Thanks! 
 

Literacy Workshop: Short and Long Vowel Sounds 2/19/20

Hello Parents! 
This week we will begin examining short and long vowel sounds. Students will review vowels and consonants and then begin learning about long vowel sounds and spelling patterns. Our spelling list for the week is: go, no, so, be, he, me, she, we, hi, flu
We will wrap up our most recent non-fiction book and possibly have another publishing party depending on timing and student progress. If we don't have time this week we will work it into plans for next week. 
You can support your student at home by reading together for at least 20 minutes each day and asking/answering questions about the text. 

Literacy Update: Adjectives and Verbs Wrap Up 2/9/20

Hello Parents 
Hello Parents, 
This week we will wrap up our unit on parts of speech and the rules for manipulating the action timing. We will practice the rules for adding -ing and -ed to the end of cvc and cvcc words.
For example: 
hug -> hugging ->hugged 
OR
help -> helping -> helped 
Students will also use adjectives to describe objects, characters, and emotions. Students will continue using adjectives in their writing to expand their ideas and grow their writing skills. We will use our adjectives poster as a class to support the use of adjectives in our writing for the remainder of the school year.
Our Spelling words this week are: flipped, flipping, stepped, stepping, there, from, be, to, we, or
You can support your student at home by reviewing our spelling list at home using flash cards, logging into the SuperKids, or just reading together for 20 minutes each day. 
 

Literacy Workshop: Verbs & Adjectives 2/3/20

Hello Parents, 
This week we will continue learning about parts of speech and the rules for manipulating the action timing. We will learn the rules for adding -ing and -ed to the end of cvc and cvcc words.
For example: 
hug -> hugging ->hugged 
OR
help -> helping -> helped 
Students will also use adjectives to describe objects, characters, and emotions. Students will begin using adjectives in their writing to expand their ideas and grow their writing skills. We will create an adjectives poster as a class to support the use of adjectives in our writing for the remainder of the school year.
Our Spelling words this week are: asked, asking, grinned, grinning, hugged, hugging, helped, helping, shopped, shopping.  
You can support your student at home by reviewing our spelling list at home using flash cards, logging into the SuperKids, or just reading together for 20 minutes each day. 
 
 

Literacy Workshop: PALS Wrap Up 1/27/20

Hello Parents! 
This week we will wrap up administering our Mid-Year PALS assessment. Please be sure that your student has a good night sleep, a healthy breakfast, and arrives to school on time. 
Student will also continue working on Non-Fiction writing with a focus on transition words such as first, then, next, finally, also. We will also look at our introductions and learn about writing an engaging "hook" to get our reader's attention. 
You can support your student at home by reading with them each night. Encourage them to retell the important parts of the story and make predictions for what might come next. 

Literacy Workshop Update: PALS Assessment 1/20/20

Hello Parents! 
This week we will begin administering our Mid-Year PALS assessment. Please be sure that your student has a good night sleep, a healthy breakfast, and arrives to school on time. 
We will continue to study verbs and tense. We will create a classroom list of verbs and practice manipulating the tense depending on the situation. For example: Mat will walk to school. Mat is walking to school. Mat Walked to school. 
Student will also continue working on Non-Fiction writing with a focus on transition words such as first, then, next, finally, also. If time allows we will also look at our introductions and learn about writing an engaging "hook" to get our reader's attention. 
You can support your student at home by reading with them each night. Encourage them to retell the important parts of the story and make predictions for what might come next. 

Literacy Workshop Update: Routines and Procedures 1/13/20

Hello Parents, 
Welcome back! I hope you all had a wonderful Winter Break. I am excited to hear the stories about all the fun that was had. 
This week we are reviewing classroom routines and procedures following the long break. Students will practice read to self, buddy reading, word work, and free writing. 
We will begin learning about words ending in /ed/ and changing verbs to past tense using /ed/. Our spelling words are: yelled, smelled, jumped, bumped, look, your, the, was, are, for. 
You can support your student at home by finding words ending in /ed/ when reading at home together. You can also encourage the proper spelling of their sight words when writing at home. 

Winter Holiday Party Update

Hello Parents! 
The Kindergarten pod will be hosting our winter holiday party on Wednesday , December 18th at 1:30pm. Students and teachers will also celebrate with a PAJAMA DAY! Students are allowed to wear school appropriate pajamas and boots or tennis shoes. No Slippers Please.
We will need your help and support to make this party a huge success. We are planning a hot cocoa bar, cookie decorating, tasty snacks, and a fun holiday game. You can sign up to donate items, your time, or both, Just click HERE.
Thanks so much for your support!!!
The Kindergarten Team 

Literacy Workshop Update 12/16/19

Hello Parents!
This week we will be working hard to complete and publish our Non-Fiction writing pieces. Students have been working really hard on their books and I am so excited to share them with you at conferences this week! We will have a popcorn publishing party on Tuesday and share our books with others.
You can support your student over break by reading together daily and encouraging them to free write in a journal each day. 

Winter Conference Sign-Up

Hello Parents, 
The Winter conference sign up window has closed. If you have not yet scheduled a conference, but would like to, please contact Ms. Chalstrom at [email protected]
We will do our best to fit you in to our schedule. 
Thanks! 

Kinder Winter Holiday Party Sign Up!!! 12/18/19

Hello Parents! 
The Kindergarten pod will be hosting our winter holiday party on Wednesday , December 18th at 1:30pm. We will need your help and support to make this party a huge success. We are planning a hot cocoa bar, cookie decorating, tasty snacks, and a fun holiday game. You can sign up to donate items, your time, or both, Just click HERE.
Thanks so much for your support!!!
The Kindergarten Team 

Literacy Workshop Update 12/9/19

Hello Parents,
This week we will focus on finishing strong and wrapping up our current reading and writing pieces. Students will learn to read and spell words ending in /le/ and our familiar sight words. This week’s spelling list is candle, fiddle, handle, little, do, have, show, me, a, how. 
Students will continue investigating the world around them through non-fiction books. This week students will continue their research on an animal or other non-fiction subject. This research will carry us into writer’s workshop where students are well on their way to publishing their first non-fiction piece of writing. Students will add non-fiction text features to their writing piece, including headings, page numbers, diagrams, and a table of contents. If everything goes smoothly this week, we should be ready to host a publishing party and invite others to come and read our work with us on Friday! 

Literacy Workshop Update 12/2/19

Hi Parents, 
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving break! I am excited to get back into the classroom and back to our normal routine. 
This week we will be reviewing procedures and expectations for read to self and buddy reading. Students will learn to read and spell words ending in /ng/ such as king, sing, bring, thing, hang, bang, sang, long song, hung, sung. 
Students will continue investigating the world around them through non-fiction books. This week students will select an animal that they would like to research. This research will carry us into writer’s workshop where students will become the author of their own non-fiction book. Students will organize their information by answering the 5 w’s (who, what, where, when, why). Once our first non-fiction books are completed we will host a publishing party and invite others to come and read our work with us!