Week of September 2, 2013

 

Dear Parents,

This is the first of my Tuesday letters to you. My letters  can also be  found on the SSJ school website. Please be sure to read ALL of the information found on the school website.

You can  email me at echalk@ssj.org . I check my email in the morning @ 6:45 and after school, if I don’t have a break during the day.

 

MASS: We attended Mass with the rest of the Student Body on Friday. The children did well, and I STRONGLY encourage you to attend Mass as a family on the weekend., so it won’t be a new experience for them. Sitting near the front tends to keep them more engaged in the Mass. Read the school website to see when we will be attending Mass. We usually go to Music practice the day before Mass, so we will be leaving the classroom at 1:45 to go over to church. If you are picking up your child early, you may come get them @1:40. On those days.

 

STAY CARE: Please tell me in the morning if your child will be going to STAY CARE. Dismissal time is 2:50, and if you are not here to pick up your child, they will be walked down to Stay Care. 

 

LIVE SCAN: Please get live scanned as soon as you can, so you can participate in classroom activities and parties. Visit the Accounting Office for information and paperwork.

 

SPANISH: We are fortunate to have Mrs. Cristina Botas teach our class Spanish on Tuesday’s at 2:15. Please try to have your child stay til the 2:50 dismissal on Tuesdays. Mrs. Botas is wonderful with the children, and will be telling them about the holiday customs in Mexico, as well as teaching them their colors, numbers, and greetings in Spanish.

 

MUSIC: Mr. Maurice Freleaux, SSJ’s music teacher, will be visiting our class at 8:00 each Tuesday.

 

LIBRARY: We will be going to the library each Friday at 9:45. The children will hear a story from our librarian, and then choose a book to check out. Be sure they RETURN the books by the following Friday , or they will not be allowed to check another one out.

 

SNACKS: Be sure your child knows what is for snack, and what food is for lunch. They must sit for  10  minutes to eat their snack,  and 15 for their lunch. Remind them of the importance of eating at these times. If you see food coming home, you may want to let them have a choice as to what they pack.  Be sure they eat a good breakfast before coming to school. Sometimes our snack time does not happen until 10:00 even though we aim for 9:30.

 

FINE MOTOR SKILLS: We have many papers that involve cutting on the lines, and we            always write our names with a pencil. Please have your children practice these skills at home.

It is very important they hold their pencil and crayon with the proper grip. Lakeshore Learning Store has many pencil grips, if your child is struggling.

 

NAME PRACTICE: the children should be writing their names with a capital letter ONLY at the beginning of their name. We will be sending home a  name practice paper so you can see the proper way to write it.

 

HOT LUNCH AND EARLY PICKUP: I   will post a signup  sheet on my front door for children receiving hot lunch, and  having an early pickup. Please fill it out if needed.

 

UNIFORM GUIDELINES: Please read the school handbook section on uniforms, especially shoes and socks. The children MUST wear crew length socks. They cannot wear the lowcut socks.

 

BIRTHDAY SNACKS. We have many birthdays coming up. Please let me know the day before if you will be sending in a snack. If you choose cupcakes, make sure they have very little or no frosting on them.  We have 29 students in our class.

 

Also, if someone other than a parent, sibling or grandparent is picking up your child, please fill out a yellow form, on the side of my filing cabinet.

 

Here is a review of our coming week:

 

Religion: We will be talking about the Bible story, “The Four Fishermen.”

 

Math: We will be reviewing numbers 1-10, and matching them to the correct number of objects. We will also be introducing patterns, ab,abc, aabb,

 

Animal of the Week: Apes

 

We will also have continuing discussions about bugs and nursery rhymes.

 

I know the first few weeks of school can be overwhelming, especially if you are new to SSJ, but it will get easier and all these “housekeeping” points will become second nature!

PLEASE see me if you have any questions about school policies or curriculum.

 

Have a great week!

 

Edde Chalk