Holiday Fun!

Have a Safe and Happy Holiday! Enjoy this time with your family! See you next year.
School resumes on Monday, January 4, 2010.
If you are bored go to our Duval County School website @ http://www.duvalschools.org and click on the Winter Packets. This will keep you enriched during our break. Enjoy!

The Humane Society visits Chets Creek

Our Season of Giving Project was a HUGE success.
Thank you for all the supplies! Meagan from the Humane Society, along with her dog Noodles, provided us with an excellent assembly. The children learned about the Humane Society, caring for a dog and how to approach a dog they do not know. We appreciate your support and participation in giving back to our community!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be THANKFUL for!

Pow Wow Part 2

Pow Wow Part 1

Last Friday we had our annual Pow Wow celebration and it was fabulous! We would like to THANK all of the parents that attended and sent in the supplies and extra items that we needed to make your children’s costumes. We would like to say a special THANK YOU to the moms who could help at school and at home. We really appreciate all that you did to help make our Pow Wow a huge success! We hope your child has wonderful memories of this Chets Creek Tradition.

Pow Wow on Friday

Pow Wow Family Night
On Tuesday, November 17th, we will be having a PTA Family Night. Your family can prepay to have a dinner provided by Gourmet Grocery from 6-7 pm, and then come to our classroom for the Pow Wow Make-N-Take from 7-8 pm. Your family will work together to make a “chickee” (a traditional Seminole house) using the provided directions and supplies. The chickees will be displayed outside our classroom for the remainder of the month. PLEASE make plans to join us for the fun!


Our Pow Wow is this Friday, November 20th. Please make sure your child is at school and in our room by 8:45. After dropping off your child, you will go to the viewing area on the East side of our school. The ceremony will begin at 9:05. After the ceremony you are invited to spend the day with us as we visit different learning centers. Please remember that siblings may attend to watch the ceremony, but they cannot attend the centers with us. Also, you must have attended the Volunteer Training and have received your I.D. badge in order to attend the centers with your child. We will be eating lunch in the Dining Room and your child will need to bring a bag lunch. We will provide a bag for your child to use. It will be sent home on Thursday with a Pow Wow reminder.
Our Pow Wow will be a day your child will not forget!
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Thank You to everyone for sending your Pow Wow supplies. An extra THANKS to Mrs. Weaver and Ms. Souza for all your help. We couldn’t have done it without you both!

Busy Times in November

Important Dates
Mon., Nov. 9th Chick-fil-A Night 6-8 pm
Wed., Nov. 11th Veteran’s Day (NO SCHOOL)
Thurs., Nov. 12th This is the last time! Volunteer Orientation @ 7pm
Thurs., Nov. 12th Flag Raising @ 9am
Tues., Nov. 17th Pow Wow Family Night 6-8pm
Wed., Nov. 18th Early Dismissal @ 1:45
Fri., Nov. 20th Pow Wow @ 9am

WE ARE WORKING ON…
Here is a snapshot of what we are working on in our classroom!

Skills Block: Letter Names & Sounds, Rhyming (Word Family _it, _ig), Vocabulary, Words-in-words
Reader’s Workshop: Literacy Centers, Retelling Stories, Sight Words (we, this, from, of, was, in, on, so, that, it), and Native Americans.
Writer’s Workshop: Writing Genres (Report s) and
S-T-R-E-T-C-H the word (sound by sound for writing)
Math Workshop: Calendar Skills, Patterns, Writing Numbers, Number Recognition 0-30, Math Games, Number Line
Science Workshop: Forces and Changes in Motion ~ Push/Pull

Pow Wow Family Night
On Tuesday, November 17th, we will be having a PTA Family Night. Your family can prepay to have a dinner first, and then come to our classroom for the Pow Wow Make-N-Take. Your family will work together to make a “chickee” (a traditional Seminole house) using the provided directions and supplies. The chickees will be displayed outside our classroom for the remainder of the month. PLEASE make plans to join us for the fun!

Reminders / Needs…• Please send in Pow Wow supplies. If you have any questions about the item/s you were assigned, please ask.
• Don’t forget the last scheduled Volunteer Orientation is Nov. 12th @ 7pm. You must have a badge to attend any school events.
• We need any size coffee-type cans, if you have an extra please send it in.
• We need any size post-it type notes.


School Pictures
Pictures were sent home last week. If you are interested in purchasing pictures, please send your payment with any unwanted pictures and keep the sheets you want. If you do not wish to purchase any pictures, please return the entire package to school.

Mr. Rogers’ Sweater Drive
CCE’s annual Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood Sweater Drive runs through Nov. 28th. Contributions of “gently” used sweaters, coats, blankets, pants & shirts can be dropped off in the lobby of the school.

My Grade Parent Portal
Don’t forget to come by the front lobby November 9-24 between 7am-6pm with identification to pick-up your log on information for the district’s new On Course web based system to access your child’s grades via the Internet.

Thank you for all your help and support! Have a great week!

Fire Safety

Our week started with an assembly about Fire Safety. It was Awesome! The fireman talked about not playing with lighters and/or matches; having a family fire drill with a meeting place and the importance of stop/drop/and roll if you were ever in a fire. The firemen acted out how they would enter a house that was on fire, their gear glowed in the dark. It was really exciting. The children were able to ask questions and our assembly ended with a tour of the fire truck. We also watch a Fire Safety Video. Please discuss with your child your family’s fire safety plan. A big Thank You to Mrs. Harbour for inviting the firemen to Chets Creek.

We are finishing our study of Pumpkins. We explored with our five senses. We tasted pumpkin pudding made by Ms. Lewis’ class. Yummy! We also made predictions about pumpkins being a fruit or a vegetable. Ask your child if a pumpkin is a fruit or a vegetable? Hint: Seeds should help you. We acted out the poem Five Little Pumpkins. Hilarious!
Another question we explored was Will a Pumpkin Sink or Float?
For this experiment we joined Ms. Sasso’s class. We tested several items before testing our 3 pumpkins. As you can see from the pictures the pumpkin floats!

MARK YOUR CALENDAR…
Wed., Nov. 4th Early Dismissal @ 1:45
Thurs. Nov. 5th Student Recognition Awards @ 9:15 in our classroom
Fri., Nov. 6th School Picture Retakes
Mon., Nov. 9th Chick-fil-A Night 6-8pm
Wed., Nov. 11th Veteran’s Day (NO SCHOOL)
Thurs., Nov. 12th Volunteer Orientation @ 7pm
Fri., Nov. 13th Flag Raising @ 9am in the courtyard
Tues., Nov. 17th Kindergarten Family Night
Fri., Nov. 20th Kindergarten POW Wow
Look at the additional information about these events that came home today in your child’s home-school folder.

Diamond D Ranch Field Trip

So Much Too Learn No Time To Burn

We are so busy learning and having fun in Kindergarten. During our Science workshop we have been measuring ourselves and other items with pumpkins. Thank you to all who supplied pumpkins. There is still much for us to learn about them, so be on the lookout for more pumpkin fun.

Our first field trip to Diamond D Ranch was awesome! The kids had a great time. A huge thank you to all the chaperones! The Diamond D Ranch has been a family owned and operated ranch for over 50 years. The beautiful 600 acre ranch is still a working horse and cattle ranch and a place where families and friends can go to enjoy a fun filled day of entertainment. As we rode around the ranch we saw a variety of the ranch animals such as American Bison, Water Buffalo, Ostrich, Sheep, Goats, Antelope and more. Please click on the link above to enjoy more pictures from Mr. Robinson, Dazha’s dad.

The Chick-fil-A cow stopped buy Chets Creek to encourage us to be a Bully Buster. We discussed the top 10 ways to resolve conflicts.

Our literary pumpkin was made like the Chicka Chicka Boom Boom tree. Thank you to Mrs. Weaver for assisting with this craft.

Enjoy the pictures!

Hopscotch Paths

We continue to explore repeating linear patterns in Math Investigations. We arranged large pink and blue squares on the floor to generate hopping patterns and “paths” that resemble hopscotch boards. We made miniature hopscotch paths with color tiles at our table. We ended the day with a trip to the large playground where we all were able to hop on the hopscotch board. So much fun while learning!

Literacy Centers

Literacy Centers were introduced to our class this week. Literacy Centers allow the students to be actively engaged in a list of activities. The students rotate to a different station every day. Each center is set up to focus on a different skill. Our centers consist of Art, Make-a-Book, Poems (Nursery Rhymes), Writing/Reading Journal, and “I see” Theme Book. Ask your child about our Literacy Centers.

Exploring with our Five Senses

Check out our class using their Five Senses to explore, and observe at Centers. So much fun while learning.

Important Dates
Wed., Oct. 7th EARLY DISMISSAL @ 1:45
Fri., Oct. 9th SMILE! Fall Pictures
Mon., Oct. 12th Book Fair Week / Chick-fil-A Night
Tues., Oct 13th Book Fair Family Night 6-8pm in the Media Center
Thurs., Oct. 15th Field Trip to Diamond D Ranch
Here are some reminders for chaperones:
• Chaperones MUST have a current Chets Creek volunteer ID badge
• Chaperones cannot ride the bus—they can follow it or meet us at our destination
• Siblings are not allowed
Please be sure to turn in your child’s permission slip and payment by Oct. 8th. This will be a great trip!

We Need Pumpkins!
Please send a small (ornamental) or medium-sized pumpkin to school on or before Friday, October 9th for our upcoming Science unit. We also need a large one to observe and to decorate for the Literary Pumpkin Festival. If you would like to donate it, please send a note in your child’s folder. Thank you in advance!

FALL FUN
ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23RD WE WILL BE HAVING A FALL CELEBRATION. THE CHILDREN WILL BE ALLOWED TO DRESS UP AS THEIR FAVORITE LITERARY CHARACTER & WILL PARTICIPATE IN A PARADE AROUND THE SCHOOL. OUR CLASS WILL CONTINUE THE FUN THROUGHOUT THE DAY. YOU ARE INVITED TO COME & SEE THE PARADE AND STAY FOR THE FUN. WE WILL BE SENDING HOME A LETTER SOON ASKING FOR YOUR HELP.

THIS YEAR’S PTA “SYMPHONY OF FUN” FALL CARNIVAL WILL BE FROM 6-9 PM ON THE SAME DAY. OUR CLASS WILL BE SUPERVISING “PUTT-PUTT” AND WILL NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR 30 MINUTE SHIFTS THROUGHOUT THE EVENING. IF YOU CAN HELP OUT PLEASE SEND A NOTE IN YOUR CHILD’S FOLDER WITH A DAYTIME CONTACT NUMBER.

THE PTA NEEDS CANDY DONATIONS FOR THE EVENING. PLEASE LABEL ANY DONATIONS & SEND THEM ANYTIME BEFORE THE 23RD.

ART TO REMEMBER
Friday you received the ART TO REMEMBER Fundraiser packet from our ART teacher, Mrs. Snead. The due date for the envelopes to be returned is Friday, October 9th.

WE ARE WORKING ON…
Skills Block: Letter Names & Sounds (Star of the Day), Rhyming (Word Family –at), Vocabulary
Reader’s Workshop: Literacy Centers, Retelling Stories, and Sight Words (and, is, to, go, for, have, said, are, at)
Writer’s Workshop: Writing Genres (Report & Functional Writing) and S-T-R-E-T-C-H the word (sound by sound for writing)
Math Workshop: Calendar Skills, Patterns (Identifying the unit of a pattern), Writing Numbers, Number Recognition
Science Workshop: Five Senses, Pumpkins

Can you hear the music?

Thank You!

Happy Birthday Mrs. Lankford!
Wow! Thank you so much for the beautiful cards and the sweet well wishes! I appreciate all you do!

Apples, Apples, We Love Apples

Apples, Apples, We Love Apples!
THANK YOU to all the families that sent apples! Our activities were a huge hit! We learned about graphing, making applesauce, and the best part was tasting! YUMMY! Please ask your child about apple tasting and making applesauce.

Important Dates
Tues., Sept. 29th PTA Family Night @ 6:00 pm
Fri., Oct. 9th Fall Pictures
Mon., Oct. 12th Book Fair Week
Tues., Oct 13th Family Night Book Fair 6-8pm
Thurs., Oct. 15th Field Trip to Diamond D Ranch

Progress Reports & Conferences
This week your child will bring home a progress report. Please sign and return your child’s Progress Report as soon as possible so that we can begin contacting parents to schedule conferences on an as needed basis this first nine weeks. If we didn’t indicate the need for a conference on your child’s progress report then your child is meeting academic expectations at this time. Please let us know at anytime if you feel you need to schedule a conference with us.

WE ARE WORKING ON…
Skills Block: Letter Recognition & Sounds (Star of the Day), Sight Words (I, a, an, can, see, my, the)
Reader’s Workshop: Literacy Centers
Writer’s Workshop: Report and Functional Writing
Math Workshop: Calendar Skills, Patterns, Writing Numbers, Number Recognition
Science Workshop: Five Senses, Seasons (Fall)

Five Senses

Wow! What a great turn out for Open House! We appreciate everyone who attended. We hope you enjoyed yourself and got a glimpse at how your child spends their day in our classroom at Chets Creek.

This week we are working on…
Skills Block: Letter Recognition & Sounds (Star of the Day), Sight Words (I, a, an, can, see, my, the)
Reader’s Workshop: Book Bins (Independent Reading Time), Reading Strategies (Look at the Pictures, Point to the Words)
Writer’s Workshop: Responding to Literature (Favorite Part) &
S-T-R-E-T-C-H the word (sound by sound for writing)
Math Workshop: Calendar Skills, Patterns Writing
Science Workshop: Five Senses, Seasons (Fall)

Important Dates
Wed., Sept. 23rd Early Dismissal @ 1:45 pm
Fri., Sept. 25th Scholastic book orders are due.
Fri., Sept. 25th Flag Raising in the courtyard @ 9:00 am
Sat., Sept. 26th Campus Clean-Up @ 9:00 am
Tues., Sept. 29th PTA Family Night @ 6:00 pm

THANK YOU!
Our class enjoyed a popcorn party because of you! Yeah! Thank you for supporting our PTA.
Thank you to the families that have provided us with items from our “Wish List!” We appreciate your support. We are still in need of the following items:
Lysol wipes
Post-It notes

The Music Continues!

The Music Continues

In Math Workshop we continued to work on Making Patterns. The students used a variety of math manipulatives to construct their own two and three part linear patterns. After using the math manipulatives, the students were able to construct patterns with different color construction paper. They shared their finished patterns with each other. Awesome!
Using our book bins during Reader’s Workshop was also a hit!

We look forward to showing you much more at Open House on Thursday, Sept. 17th @ 6:30 pm in our classroom. Our Volunteer Orientation will be held via the TV at that time. At the conclusion of our classroom presentation please plan to go to the dining room to get an ID badge made if you plan on volunteering at the school, attending field trips, or eating lunch with your child. See you at Open House.

Kindergarten Fun!

Making sweet sounds in Kindergarten!
Every morning begins with our Skills Block. During this time our focus is on the “Star of the Day”. Every “Star” shares valuable information about themselves. It’s a great way for the children to learn about their new friends and the letters/sounds in their names. Each child draws a picture of the “Star” to take home. After Skills Block we move right into Writer’s Workshop. This week we learned about Reading and Writing strategies. Picture walk (look at the pictures), and point to the words. During our Writer’s Workshop we worked on an “I see” book. To help the students with writing we use our pocket chart with family word cards.
In Reader’s Workshop we heard the “Star Book” Caps for Sale. We made monkeys to help with our retelling of the story. Stop by our hall to see our tree filled with monkeys wearing different color caps.
Sharing our homework assignment was great! The students needed to find items at home that begin with the first letter/letter sound of their first name. Wow! We were exposed to several thoughtful items. We ended the week with some dancing. The song titled Let’s Dance: Learning Basic Skills through Music by: Hap Palmer was a great way to end the week!
Can you hear the music?

Our First Week of Kindergarten

After you enjoyed your Boo Hoo Breakfast, our day started with a WOW assembly held in the dining room, featuring The KTG Musical Entertainment group. It was awesome and we all totally enjoyed it.
Most of Monday was spent teaching rituals and routines, practicing a Fire Drill, Tornado Drill and touring the school. On Tuesday, we started our day with our Skills Block. During this time all the children practice reading and sounding out each other’s name along with a Letter Name and Sound song. During Reader's Workshop we heard and "read" Nursery Rhymes and other poems.
During our Writer’s Workshop Mrs. Meissner read the story The Night before Kindergarten by Natasha Wing. The students were asked to think about what they did the night before Kindergarten. After turning and talking with each other, the students were asked to go to the tables and draw and write about what they did the night before Kindergarten. The children were also introduced to our “Star Books”, Caps for Sale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, and Where the Wild Things Are. The children will hear these books several times this month.
After reading these books the children were asked to retell their favorite part with pictures and words. The students shared their work front and center in the “Share Chair”
In Math Workshop the children were able to explore with our manipulatives.
Each child used interlocking cubes to count out the letters in their name. We discussed and created patterns with our colored shapes. Calendar Math was also introduced. We could hardly wait to see what next week will be like. Thank you for entrusting your children to us.

Awesome Orientation!

Welcome to Kindergarten!
It was such a pleasure to meet so many of you at Orientation on Friday! We are looking forward to getting to know your child very well in the coming months. We will be communicating often in these first few days and weeks, as there is so much new business to take care of. Please make sure you have filled out and returned ALL forms that were sent home with your orientation packet. It is very important for us to have the information for our classroom records and for the school’s records.
If you have any questions please email or jot us a note in your child’s Home-School Folder. We look forward to an exciting year! :)