Sorry it's been a while since I have given you any updates. It's been a bit crazy in kindergarten this last week. We have been busy working on third quarter assessments and Report Cards that will go home during Parent/Teacher Conferences. Conference appointment letters have gone home with every child. Please take a moment and clip the bottom portion and return it to me before Friday. I have a couple of parents who need to reschedule and I need to know what times might be available. I have gotten 15 of them back already so Thank you so much for returning them so quickly.
Academically the class is doing quite well. We are working on time-the hour and the half-hour, which is presenting a bit of a challenge for a few, so you might want to review that over Spring Break. We have also been working on rhyming and word families as well as reading our little books like crazy. After break we will be doing money-penny, nickle, dime, quarter and dollar bill. Mostly we will work on recognized each coin with it's name and value, another thing that can be worked on over Spring Break.
This Friday, March, 12, 2020, we will be doing "Pack your Snack in a Sack". We have been working on rhyming patterns the past couple of weeks and this is just a little fun thing I like to do. Your child just needs to bring a juice box, water or other healthy drink (NO SODA) along with a simple healthy snack-a half a sandwich-a few crackers or pretzels or any other simple healthy snack-please no cookies, doughnuts or other really sweet items and nothing that needs to be refrigerated or extremely messy or hard to ear. We will decorate a brown paper sack in the morning and put our snacks in them. At snack time we will be going out to the field to have our snacks and enjoying the hopefully warm sunshine.
We have had a couple of incidents of minor bullying in our classroom so I feel it is worth just mentioning here and having you talk as families to help your child understand what bullying is and why it is important not to be a bully and what to do if someone is bullying them. First all the children need to understand that saying things like: "I am going to kill you" or "My dad is going to beat you up" or "I am going to shoot you" or any other threatening statements are considered bullying at school. The school has a zero tolerance for bullying and since we have talked extensively the last couple of days about this in class anyone continuing to use these statements or other bullying actions will be referred to Mr. Hamm and they will be suspended from school. Also the inappropriate use of scissors, pencils or other objects that could hurt another child is an immediate referral. Again we have talked in class extensively about these things and the children should have a pretty good understanding of what bullying is and what to do if they are feeling threatened. I also thought that the parents needed a clear understanding of what we expect at school and it would give families a chance to talk about these issues and remind them about how we need to be treating our classmates. Please also remember if your child is on the receiving end of any kind of aggressive behavior to make sure they know they need to come and tell me immediately. We want everyone to feel safe and secure at school and want to maintain a positive safe environment for each and every student. So please make sure I know about any of this kind of behavior.
On a more positive note we have lots of fun things coming up. Our Field Trip to the Superstition Farm is planned for April 12. That is a Monday. Printed information will come home by Friday. Keep in mind that I can only take 5 parent chaperones with us on the bus. Other parents will be able to meet us at the farm, but other children or siblings will NOT be allowed at the farm! The farm is normally closed on Mondays and they are making a special exception for us to come and have asked that only the kindergarten students be allowed to attend that day. The cost for the field trip is $8.00 which includes entrance into the farm, ice cream at the farm and the transportation to and from the farm. Again all the printed information will be sent home by Friday.
Celebration Shirts- please remember we are doing a celebration shirt with a class photo on it to wear the night of the celebration. I have not yet received any shirts so please be on the look out for sales and get those into me as soon as possible. It will take a while to get them printed a ready to wear. Our color is yellow.
There will be no homework sent home this Friday because of Spring Break. Please continue to read with your child and practice with the time and money if you have some extra time. We will sent new packets home on Tuesday, when we return. I hope everyone has a great break. Please be safe!
Mary Wolters
Hi! My name is Mary Wolters. This is my seventh year teaching at Simonton. I taught second grade for four years and this is my third year teaching Kindergarten. I have 3 children; ages 22, 20 and 17. I have a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education, a Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, a Reading Endorsement and an ESL Endorsement. I am looking forward to an awesome year with your children!
Trisha Wright
Welcome to kindergarten students and parents. It is my pleasure to introduce myself to you. My name is Trisha Wright and this is my sixth year teaching kindergarten at Simonton. I am a graduate of Arizona State University with my bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education. Kids and teaching are my passion and I look forward to working with each and every one of you. I am excited to start a fun filled school year with your child and would like to thank you for allowing me to be a part of your child’s first year in school.
Kelly Trowbridge
Welcome to Kindergarten! My name is Kelly Trowbridge and I was born and raised in Tempe, Arizona. I graduated from Northern Arizona University with a degree in Elementary Education in 2006, a Masters degree in Early Childhood Education in 2008, and a Masters degree in Elementary Education with a Reading Endorsement in 2009. This will be my third year of teaching at Simonton. This is my second year of teaching kindergarten but my first year of teaching an am/pm session. Teaching is my passion and I cannot imagine doing anything else. I am very excited and enthusiastic about getting the opportunity in helping your child start or continue his or her educational career.
Joline King
Welcome Kindergarten at Kathryn Sue Simonton Elementary School. We are so excited to be your partner in educating your child. My name is Joline King and this is my twenty-first year teaching, my eighth for the J.O. Combs District. I am a fourth generation Arizonian and have made the East Valley my home with husband, three children and our beloved dog Salvador for the past twenty-three years. I graduated from Brigham Young University with a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Early Childhood after completing an Associates Degree from Eastern Arizona College. I also have a Master's Degree in Adult Education and Distance Learning. My children, both at home and at school are my greatest joy! I have three children that are almost grown: Matthew 24, Jennifer 20 and Bryant 18. I look forward to a great year full of fun and lots of learning.