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Mrs. Powers'
Kindergarten Website!
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Hi! My name is Mrs. Powers and I have a terrific job! I get to teach a pack of wonderful kindergartners!
Welcome!
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<----- Psssst! There's more stuff over there to read if you have extra time on your hands!
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We have a wonderful group of Walker Wolves this year and we are already learning up a storm! We are becoming PeaceBuilders and making lots of new friends. We are doing all sorts of fun activities that put us well on our way to becoming readers and writers. Our math activities include different ways of counting, making patterns, sorting, graphing, adding and subtracting. We have all sorts of science projects planned, too!
We are having a great time!
Sit back, relax,
and read some endless rambling!
I've made separate web pages for a number of topics but below are the odds and ends that didn't merit their own pages.
Thanks for taking the time to visit and, please, if you find something amiss on my site, send me an email, okay? Thanks!
Class Pets
We have an adorable hamster that sleeps through most of the day. :) I thoroughly teach the children how to handle the hamster and I always supervise. She will try to eat anything that is stuck into her cage ~ including fingers, so I am careful to explain Hamster Rules to the children. We also have a tank filled with fish that the kids love to feed and watch. We also spend some time studying them as part of our science curriculum.
Donations and Supplies
Supplies are provided by the school and we only require that your child bring a backpack (every day) and wear a nametag for the first weeks. Throughout the year I'll ask (occasionally beg!) for specific donations. I'll ask for snacks fairly regularly. Please don't buy anything pricey. Cereal-in-a-bag goes a long way and the kids love it. Mostly I use my snack money to make purchases (manipulatives, crafts, special paper, etc) but I rarely have enough and holidays get particularly expensive. Please don't feel you have to donate and if you do take the time, effort, and hard earned money to donate to our room, please know that I am sincerely grateful!
Volunteers
Any time! Drop in unannounced or set up a regular day. You'll need to sign in at the office and pick up a name badge. I LOVE volunteers! Help at home is also great if you have extra time but can't make it into class.
Book Orders
A wonderfully inexpensive way to add to your home library! Please look for the flyers! Also we have two great Book Fairs at school every year.
Field Trips
Yes, great idea! Oh... you want to know more? Well, we haven't ironed out the details or set all our dates. We usually go to a pumpkin patch in October and the zoo at the end of the school year. With a little luck I'll give you plenty of warning so that you can join us if you wish. Tax donations (if we get any!) are used to help pay for field trips, too so if you are interested in this, please let the office know.
Partnership
You are your child's primary educator and it is my job to assist you in that lifelong journey. You've spent 5 years teaching your child already and I don't take all that loving work for granted! I only have 180 days with your child (and I know I'll have trouble saying goodbye in May!). I will devote myself to this group of children and try to instill a love of school and a love of learning while teaching each one to read, write, add, subtract and million other wonderful things. I became a teacher because I love children and I love teaching. I hope to keep in close contact with you throughout the school year and beyond!
Toys
Toys from home are not allowed at school for a number of reasons including loss, damage, and distraction from learning. Trading cards are also not allowed. We have our own learning games at school for the children to enjoy when they are done with their work.
Show and Tell
OK, well, this is the exception to the toy rule. Once we start our Letter of the Week routine (after we do our beginning of the year letter a day program), children may bring in something that starts with that letter. During C week (our first letter of the week) I expect to see lots of clowns, cats, cars, castles - you get the idea! Once Show-and-Tell starts, we'll have it every day - which means your child can bring in something every day! After C week we'll do the letters in the following order: O G A D S L I T F E H U B R N M P V W K-Q J X-Y Z Sh Ch and Th. Letter order is based on the way the letter is drawn and the frequency of the letter in written material. Show and Tell is voluntary but I encourage the children to bring in items because it builds confidence in speaking in front of other people. As your child gets older, s/he will have to do a variety presentations in front of other students. This is a nice, gentle way of introducing public speaking. No breakable or valuable items should be brought and, remember, it needs to start with the letter of the week!
Personal Possessions
Your child's backpack (which is to be brought every day) should have his or her name printed on it in permanent ink. All lunch bags, sweaters, sweatshirts, and jackets should also be clearly labeled. Lost and found is in the cafeteria and any unclaimed and unlabeled items are donated to the clothing bank. Personal pencils, gluesticks, and other school supplies are to be left at home. Students use classroom supplies to avoid "ownership" problems.
Food and Medical Issues
I am given a list of students with allergies and medical restrictions but I like to see this kind of information more than once so please discuss all medical concers with me. Thanks!
Nametags
For safety we give the children nametags to wear every day for the first few weeks of school. Please put it on your child each morning before school and clip it to your child's backpack at the end of the day. Your child should be wearing it as he or she steps onto the bus to come to school or steps onto the school grounds. If you need to make a change in your child's dismissal routine, please write me a note and put it in the front of the nametag.
If you think your child might forget to give me something that is in his or her backpack, just put a note in the front of the nametag pocket (or write on a piece of masking tape attached to the shirt) to let me know to ask for it. Your child is to wear the nametag every day until I collect them after just after two weeks of school. They cost almost a dollar apiece (!!) so if your child loses it, please send $1.00 so I can replace it. Thanks!
FAQs
For more information (can you believe it?), click on the links up on the left! |
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