Ms. Nix's Blog

Nix's Notes

Nix’s Notes
Feb. 11th – 15th and Feb. 18th – 22nd
Happy Valentine’s Day!

~ I am combining two newsletters due to the holiday weekend and I will be out a couple of days next week with my son’s knee surgery.

Language Arts: We continued learning about Healthy Habits this week. We culminated our unit with cooperative group work on our Healthy Habit posters and a visit from a Dental Hygienist. Next week we will start our Patriotic Unit as we learn about famous presidents and symbols of the United Sates of America.

Phonics: Our focus this week was on vowel e. We had some great spelling as we sounded out short vowel e words in our phonics lessons and writing assignments. Next week, we will focus on letters Q and U.

Math: This week we began Chapter 6 learning about numbers to 30. We will continue with counting, recognizing and writing our numbers. Please practice this skill at home or during car trips.

Important Dates and Information

• Feb. 13th Valentine Day cards and containers are due
  Wrapped Wedding Shower Gifts that begin with Q or U are due   

• Feb. 14th Q and U Wedding at 9:30 in our classroom
  Valentine Card Exchange

• Feb. 15th Media Center
• Feb. 18th and 19th Student Holidays
• Feb. 22nd Six Flags 600 Minute Reading Sheets are due
  Media Center
  Ford’s High School Musical Dance at Durham Middle School

CONGRATULATIONS to our Star Student, Cristian Bayzid!
~~ Many, many thanks in advance for all those involved in the planning and preparation for the Q and U Wedding. It will be a FUN event for all!
~~ HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Nix's Notes Feb. 4-8, 2008

 Language Arts: This week we learned about healthy habits to keep our body germ free. We did an experiment with glitter and learned how important that it is to wash our hands with soap and water. We will continue learning about healthy habits next week. Also, we learned about Groundhog Day and can’t wait to see what happens tomorrow morning. We are predicting an early spring!

Phonics: This week our focus was on short and long vowels o and a. It would be helpful at home to practice sounding out and spelling words with these vowels.

Math: Telling Time continues to be our math focus. This week our lessons were practicing time to the hour and the half hour. Your child should be able to identify an analog clock, a digital clock, know the names of the clock hands, know how many seconds are in a minute, how many minutes are in an hour and a half hour and be able to tell time to the hour and half hour. Your children have done a great job with a difficult kindergarten math skill.

 

Important Dates and Information

• Feb. 6^th Early Release Day ~ Dismissal      begins at 12:10
• Feb. 7^th  PTSA Curriculum Night
• Feb. 8^th  Dental Hygienist to visit

  Media

  Center

• Feb. 14^th  Valentine’s Day and Q&U Wedding      at 9:30am in our classroom
• (Parents are invited to the Q&U      wedding! A note will be sent home soon.)

 

CONGRATULATIONS to our Star Student, Alyssa Hill!

 
Thank you to Mrs. Glass for another great Earth Lesson! We loved the shadow activities. We hope that Mr. Groundhog doesn’t see his shadow tomorrow!

 

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Nix's Notes

Jan. 28th – Feb. 1^st

J CONGRATULATIONS TO GRANDMA MARY ELLEN! We are so excited that Baby Daniel is here! 

J Thanks for attending Conferences last week. It was great to see you and share growth stories. It is amazing what your children are doing in kindergarten. I am very proud of their progress. Thanks so much for the extra help at home!              

Language Arts: This week we learned about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and continued working on the season of winter. We read The Hat by Jan Brett and compared and contrasted the book to our story from last week, The Mitten by Jan Brett. Also, we celebrated the 100^th Day of School and the 101^st Day of School with several writing activities.

Phonics: Our Phonics Lessons were a review of letters and sounds this week due to our conference week schedule.

Math: We continued telling time to the hour this week but also did a lot of counting activities with our number of school days celebrations. We had a FUN math filled week!

Important Dates and Information

Jan. 28^th      Last Day of Parent Conferences ~ Dismissal begins at 12:10

Feb. 1^st         Media Center and “Jump Rope for Heart” during Specials

Feb. 7^th        PTSA Curriculum Night and Spaghetti Dinner

Feb. 8^th        Media Center and Dental Hygienist to visit

J The following date will have more information sent soon but you may want to mark your calendar with this date now. Parents are invited!

Feb. 14^th       Valentine’s Day and QU Wedding/Manners Tea

CONGRATULATIONS to our Star Student, Matthew Hall!

J We would like to welcome our new student, Nya Echols! We are so glad to have her in our class.

J Thank you to Mrs. McCullough for another WONDERFUL Art Awareness lesson!

J Many thanks for the items and creative shirts sent in this week. We had a great time celebrating the 100^th Day and 101^st Day of school!

J Thank you for the classroom supplies that have been sent!

J Please return the Journals that were handed out during Conference Week. We need to write in our Journals on Monday.

J Have A Great Week!

Nix's Notes Jan. 21, 2008

I am looking forward to seeing all of you next week for our conferences! I have WONDERFUL things to share!

Language Arts: This week we focused on our writing skills. We made snowmen and added a lot of details. We wrote about our snowmen using story webs to help us remember our ideas. Also, we learned about adjectives (sparkle words) and we tried adding these words to our descriptive stories. The stories turned out great!  We did a super job writing more than one or two sentences. Way to go!

Phonics: Our focus in phonics this week was reviewing consonants and working with short vowel a. We even took a few spelling tests using our short vowel a words. We found out that when we slow down and try to spell each word with all the sounds that we hear amazingly, we can spell a lot of words correctly.

Math: What time is it? This week we worked on learning how to tell time to the hour. We sang a song about clocks, made clocks and played games using clocks. We will continue telling time next week.

 

Important Dates and Information

• Jan. 21st MLK Holiday
• Jan. 22^nd RSVP is due for the Curriculum Night Spaghetti Dinner! YUM!
• Jan. 22^nd – 28^th Conference Week and Early Dismissal at 12:20 pm
• Jan. 23^rd The 100^th Day of School (see note sent last Fri.)
• Jan. 24^th The 101^st Day of School ~ Wear black and white!

 

The Six Flags Reading Program information is coming home today. This is an easy and fun opportunity for your child to earn a free ticket to Six Flags. Please read it carefully and return it by Feb. 22^nd. NO LATE forms can be accepted. Thank you!

We are still in need of glue sticks, crayons and paper towels. Please send these in when possible. Thank You!

Have A Great Week!

 

Nix's Notes Jan. 14 - 18th, 2008

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

It has been a wonderful week! Your children have done a great job adjusting back to our classroom schedule. It is hard to believe that we are already halfway through kindergarten. Yikes! Where does the time go?

Language Arts: This week we focused on our writing skills. We learned about making story webs to help us with our ideas when we write. We are learning to write more than one or two sentences and adding more details to our stories. We will continue this next week as we learn about winter. Your child should be able to write a sentence for you with phonetically spelled words, finger spaces between words and proper punctuation. This is something that we do each day through journal activities and literature responses. Any extra practice at home will be very helpful.

Phonics: Our focus in phonics this week was blending letter sounds, rhyming words and word families. I can tell that many children were reading over the holidays. Thank you!

Math: Calendar Math and New Year’s was our focus this week. If you have a family calendar at home see if your child can tell you about it. What month is it? How many days are in the month? See if they can find their birthday on the calendar. Next week we will continue to learn about time using clocks.

 

Important Dates and Information

• Jan. 18^th  Media Center
• Jan. 21^st MLK  Holiday
• Jan. 22^nd – 28^th Conference Week and Early Dismissal at 12:20
• Jan. 23^rd The 100^th Day of School! (See note in Take Home Folder)

 

CONGRATULATIONS to our Star Student, Sydney Hogan!

Classroom Items Needed:

• Please send in a new box of 8 crayons      if you haven’t sent one for your child already.
• Paper Towels
• Treasure Box Toys - Remember our      Classroom Treasure Box when you are cleaning out.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Nix's Notes for Dec. 17th - 21st, 2007

Please make a note of the dates and reminders below. Thanks again for all of the December supplies. We are looking forward to some fun activities this week!

Language Arts: This week we learned about where we live using the words: address, city, state, country and continent. Your child should know this information to share with you. We also began our journey to learn about Christmas around the world! We are looking forward to some edible activities with this unit! YUM!
Phonics: Our focus this week was on the initial and final consonants of letters t and h. Also, we worked on blending and spelling short vowel words. We are doing great with our Kindergarten sight words. Thank you for the extra practice at home!
Math: Our math unit this week was making and reading graphs. We learned a lot about our classmates as we shared some of our favorites to graph. We will continue graphing next week along with some seasonal math activities.

Important Dates and Announcements:

• Dec. 14th    December Homework Holiday Customs Book were due and  Gift wrapped coloring book and colored pencils were due (If we are missing these items, please send them on Monday. Thanks!)
• Dec. 19th    Holiday Party at 1:00 – 2:00 pm
• Dec. 20th    Gingerbread Houses with Book Buddies
• Dec. 21st    December Reading Logs are due

Please let us know if your child will not be at school on Fri., Dec. 21st. We want to be sure that all their holiday art and gifts make it home before the holidays.

We will put your child’s sweatshirt on them Wed. morning. Please dress your child appropriately. We want them to be comfortable in our classroom during the day. Also, the sweatshirts have some hot glued pieces on them and will need to be stitched at home prior to washing.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Nix's Notes for Dec. 10th - 14th, 2007

Thank you for sending in the many needed items for December. We are busy little elves this month! Please be sure to read the letter that was sent home regarding our holiday gift exchange. Thanks!

Language Arts: Our focus this week has been transportation. We have learned about various modes of travel on land, in the water and in the air. We graphed our favorite way to travel and grouped our pictures on our Transportation graphic organizer. We completed our week with a cup of hot chocolate and a ride on The Polar Express!

Phonics: This week we worked on the initial and final consonants of letters m and p, short vowel words and rhyming words. Please continue to review letter recognition and letter sounds.

Math: Our math unit this week was ordinal numbers. We matched ordinal words to numbers and enjoyed singing “The Twelve Days of Christmas” to review. We will continue to work on ordinal numbers through calendar math as we move into graphing next week.

 

Important Dates and Announcements:

• Dec. 11^th Holiday Stories and Hot Chocolate in the  Media Center
• Dec. 13^th Hat Day

(Bring $1.00 and wear your hat to support YMCA Youth Programs.)

• Dec. 14^th December Homework Book Due
• Dec. 19^th  Holiday Party 1:00 - 2:00
• Dec. 20^th Gingerbread Houses with our Book Buddies

CONGRATULATIONS to our Star Student, Connor Glass!

 
Thank you to Mrs. McCullough for another fabulous art lesson!

 HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Nix's Notes for Dec. 3 - 7th, 2007

 

Language Arts: This week we focused on the Food Pyramid and learned about healthy food choices. We completed Food Group posters, cut out foods and labeled our own healthy meals. We especially enjoyed reading our Favorite Food Riddles. We wrote some great clues about our favorite foods!

Phonics: Our focus this week was reviewing initial and final consonants m and s. Also, we worked on sounding out and spelling short vowel words. We especially enjoyed using the dry erase boards for our spelling activities.

Math: We are shaping up! We continued learning about shapes this week and identified cubes, cones, spheres and cylinders. We had a great time taking a “Shape Hunt” in the classroom.

Important Dates and Announcements

• Dec. 4^th Author Visit with Melanie Chrismer in  Media Center
• Dec.7^th Polar Express Reading Log is due and wear your pajamas!
• Dec. 19^th  Holiday Party at 1:00pm

CONGRATULATIONS to our Star Student, Will Maryland!

Homework: The November Homework, Reading Log and Red Homework Folder are due. Please see the information that went home today about the December Homework. Thanks so much for all of your help at home!

 

IMPORTANT NEEDS:

Every child will need to bring the following items for special holiday

projects as soon as possible: 2 large (1 inch or larger) black buttons,

1 pair of tan or light brown pantyhose and 1 wire coat hanger. Extras

are appreciated! Thank You!

 

Please send in items that are needed to decorate Gingerbread Houses with our

Book Buddies. Please send it to school by Mon, Dec. 10^th. Thanks!

Have a great week!

Nix's Notes for Nov. 19th, 2007

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
I am soooo thankful for my wonderful students and parents! I hope that you have a Happy Thanksgiving filled with safe travels and family fun.

Language Arts: This week we learned about the Native Americans from the Wampanoag Tribe. Squanto and the Wampanoag tribe joined the Pilgrims for the First Thanksgiving Feast. Please have your child share their Native American book that they made this week. We had fun using our Native American names and dressing the part. We are looking forward to our own Thanksgiving Feast with our Pilgrim Book Buddies on Monday and Native American activities on Tuesday.
Phonics: Our phonics focus this week was on letters Yy and Zz. We have completed our entire Zoo Phonics alphabet and can’t wait for our letter parade through the first grade classrooms! We will be jumping straight into the Kindergarten Open Court Phonics program next week as we learn more about our letters. Please practice letters and sounds at home if your child is showing weakness in these areas. By this time in kindergarten, your child should know their letters and sounds.
Math: We have moved on to learning our plane shapes (triangle, rectangle, square, circle, diamond, and oval) but continue to review numbers, number words and counting. Counting is a great skill to practice on car trips. There are so many things to count as you travel down the road.

Important Dates and Information:

• Nov. 19th    Book Buddy Thanksgiving Feast
• Nov. 20th    Native American Centers with Mrs. Mathis and Mrs. Burgamy
• Nov. 21st – 23rd Thanksgiving Holidays ~ Happy Turkey Day!

CONGRATULATIONS to our Star Student, Amanda McCullough!

THANK YOU…

• Thank you for joining us at Barnes and Noble on Tues. afternoon, having lunch with our class on Wed.  and for coming to our Thanksgiving Play.  WHEW! It was great fun! Also, thank you to the parents that prepared and helped with our Book Buddy Thanksgiving Feast. You are the best!

Have A Great Week!

Nix's Notes Nov. 5th - 9th and Nov. 12th - 16th

We are looking forward to a WONDERFUL trip to the Pumpkin Patch tomorrow! Please remember to wear yellow Ford shirts and send lunches in a disposable bag. A special thank you to Mrs. Hall and Mrs. Triesenberg for chaperoning our trip.

Language Arts: This week we focused on fiction/nonfiction and real/fantasy. We read stories about bats and listed character traits to determine if the book was fiction or nonfiction. Also, we learned about safety and will continue our safety unit next week.

Phonics: We have almost completed our Zoo Phonics Program as we learned about Umber Umbrella Bird, Vincent Vampire Bat and next week, Willie Weasel. We will be celebrating with a Zoo Phonics parade through the first grade classrooms. Parade information will be sent home soon. Please keep reviewing letter sounds. Your extra help is really showing! Thank You! 

Math: We have completed writing and recognizing numbers and number words to 10. Please continue reviewing number words at home. Next week, we will begin our shapes unit.

Important Dates and Activities:

• Nov. 5^th Student Holiday
• Nov. 6^th Election Day and Student  Holiday
• Nov. 9^th Media Center
• Nov. 16^th Thanksgiving Play at 8:30 am ~ Parents are invited!
• Nov. 19^th Thanksgiving Feast with our Book Buddies

*** We are still missing 5 white pillowcases. If your child doesn’t have a pillowcase at school tomorrow, they won’t have a costume for our Native American activities later this month.

The October Homework Calendar and Red Homework Folder are due. Thanks for the great job with homework and listing books read at home.

THANK YOU to all the parents that helped with the Fall Centers. We had a great time and were very well behaved. THANKS WONDERFUL PARENTS!

 

HAVE A GREAT

HOLIDAY

WEEKEND!