Newsletter for Dec 13-17

Sorry that I'm a little late posting!  This is our last week of school for 2010!  I still can't believe how time has flown by!  This week we are learning the sight word is and the letter Oo.  Also for social studies we will be studying animals and Christmas traditions.

This Friday is our class Christmas party!  It is going to be more low-key than our Halloween party.  We will be decorating gingerbread cookies, drinking hot chocolate, we will read some Christmas books and sing some Christmas carols.  Students do not need to bring backpacks that day.  Also, the last day of the take-home library for this year is Thursday.  We will start back up in January.

I want you to know how grateful I am to have your child in my class.  They are a joy and I feel so blessed to get to know them.  I'm also thankful for you, their amazing parents, who have been so supportive through out the year!  Thank you for all you do!  I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season!  Have lots of fun and be safe!

If you have any questions or concerns please give me a call or email me! 652-4760  jjacobson@res.washk12.org  

KSL Chopper!

We have some exciting news!  The KSL chopper will be visiting our school this Friday!  They will be here between 11:45 and 11:50 which means that afternoon Kindergarten will already be in school.  If your child is in the morning class though they can come back to school at that time to see the chopper!  If you would like to return with your child to see the chopper make sure you are here no later than 11:40 so that we can sit the kids down on the track.  The chopper is only here for a few minutes, so if you arrive late, chances are you will miss it.  If you decide to bring your child back to see the chopper, please make sure you park out by the field, since the parking lot will be full. 

What a great reward for all the reading our students do!

Newsletter for Dec 6-10

Two more weeks until Christmas break!  Can you believe it?!  This week we will be reviewing the last two sight words: to and have.  We will also be reviewing the letters Nn and Cc.  On Friday we will be taking the assessment for Treasures Unit 4.  Besides reviewing and assessing, we will continue to focus on the holidays!  We have been making some fun art projects for Christmas!

In case you did not see my previous post, we are running low on snacks!  It would be greatly appreciated if you could send something to school with your child.  Also, for those of you who I sent notes home about half-birthdays, you are more than welcome to bring in a birthday snack on that day.

We are still having a bit of a problem with students not being dressed appropriately for the colder weather.  If your child does not bring a jacket/coat OR comes in wearing shorts, I will send them to sit in the office during recess.  It is getting colder and I want to make sure no one catches cold.  Plus, I don't like to hear kids whining all through recess that they are freezing.

I have finished assessing students' reading levels!  If your child is ready to read, starting on Monday they will be bringing only 1 book home --a book that they will read to you!  If your child does not bring home their own reading book, do not fret!  I will re-test them after the holidays! 

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know!  652-4760  jjacobson@res.washk12.org

Snack SOS!!!

Dear parents, we are again in need of snacks for both the AM and the PM classes!  Some of you have asked if it's okay to bring in fresh produce: that is just fine as long as we eat it right away and I have a knife+cutting board.

Thanks for all your help and support!!!

Newsletter for Nov 29 - Dec 3

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We are only 3 weeks away from Christmas break!  Can you believe how time flies?!  It seems like only yesterday we were beginning school!

This week we are back to our normal schedule!  We will have centers everyday at the regular time (AM 10:30 to 11:00 and PM 2:30 to 3:00 EXCEPT for Tuesday is 2:20 to 2:50).  The new letter of the week is Cc and the new sight word we will be focusing on is have.   Please keep reviewing the sight words with your child at home!  It's so great when the kids start recognizing words in books we are reading or in signs they see!  Also starting this week I will be testing students to see who is ready to begin reading! 

Please remind your child to bring a jacket to school!  Now that it's getting colder, I will not let them go out to recess unless they have a jacket.  Even if they are wearing a long sleeve shirt, I will have those children who do not have a jacket sit in the office while we are out to recess.  I am not trying to be mean, I want to make sure no one catches cold.  And especially in the mornings, it has been WAY to cold to be out there without a coat or jacket.

Looking ahead, we will have a small Christmas party on the last day before the holiday break (December 17th).  It will not be as elaborate as the Halloween party but we will still try to make it fun for the kiddos.  We will be reading "The Polar Express," decorating sugar cookies and drinking hot chocolate.  If you would like to help out please let me know!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me! 652-4760 jjacobson@res.washk12.org

PM Class

AM Class

Newsletter for Nov 22-23

First off, a big THANK YOU to all parents who met with me last week!  It was great to visit with each of you!  I appreciate all your help and support!

This week we only have 2 days of school!  We will not have centers BUT if it's your week to volunteer on Monday or Tuesday, I would really appreciate you coming in to help out with a little Christmas project!  You can come at the same time we would normally do centers.

Because it's a short week we will mostly be reviewing and doing some fun Thanksgiving lessons.  On Tuesday we will have a popcorn tasting party!  Students will get to wear their pilgrim hats that we've made and we will try different kinds of popcorn: kettle corn, salted, buttered, etc.  If you have a bag of popcorn that you wish to donate, that would be wonderful!

I hope everyone has a fun and safe Thanksgiving Break!  We will see you back at school on November 29th!  If you have any questions or concerns please let me know! 652-4760 jjacobson@res.washk12.org

Newsletter for Nov 15-19

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  It's SEP week at Riverside!  Remember that there is NO SCHOOL Monday and Tuesday!  Also, the rest of the week will be on the Friday shortened schedule.  I am really looking forward to meeting with each one of you! 

Please be mindful of your SEP time since I have a very tight schedule.  If you are too late we might have to reschedule.  Also, students do not need to attend this time.  If you don't have a sitter and need to bring them along that is fine.

Looking ahead, the following week of November 22-26 is Thanksgiving week.  We will have regular school hours on Monday and Tuesday.  There will be NO SCHOOL that Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. 

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call or email me! 652-4760 jjacobson@res.washk12.org

Newsletter for Nov 8-12

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  Please remember that Monday is an early out day!!!  AM Kindergarten will be from 9:00 to 11:00 and PM Kindergarten will be from 12:00 to 2:00.  Also don't forget that next week (Nov. 15-19) is SEP week!!!  On Monday the 15th and Tuesday the 16th there will be no school.  Then the rest of the week we will be on the Friday Early Out schedule: AM Kindergarten from 9:00 to 10:40 and PM Kindergarten from 11:35 to 1:15.  I have already sent out everyone's scheduled SEP time.  If I have not heard from you, then I will assume the designated date and time will work.  I am scheduling 30 minutes for each SEP to give us ample time to discuss your child's accomplishments so far in the year.

This week we will be learning the sight word to and the letter Nn.  We will be finishing up our math unit on Exploring Numbers 0-9.  Through out the month of November we will also be learning and discussing the social studies theme of gratitude.  On that note, I am SO grateful to have your children in my class!  They are sweet and smart little people who make me look forward to coming to work each day!  So far this has been an amazing school year and I know that is because of the wonderful students AND parents I have in my classes!

If you have any questions or concerns please let me know!  My email is jjacobson@res.washk12.org and my number is 652-4760.

Mistake!!!

I am so sorry for the mistake, SEP week is NOT next week!!!  It will be the week of November 15th through the 19th!  I am so sorry if I confused anyone!  Thanks for being patient with me!

Newsletter for Nov 1-5

I hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend!  Can you believe it's November already?!  This week we will be reviewing the words see and go.  We will also be reviewing the letters Tt and Ii.  Friday will be assessment day.  Please make sure that your child is in school that day since it's very hard to assess students later on.

Next week is SEP week (Parent Teacher Conferences).  On Monday and Tuesday there will be NO SCHOOL and the rest of the week (Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) we will be on the Friday schedule.  Meaning AM Kindergarten will come from 9:00 to 10:40 and PM Kindergarten will come from 11:35 to 1:15.  SEPs will be held all day Monday and Tuesday and also after school Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to call me or email me! 652-4760 jjacobson@res.washk12.org

Thnank you!

I just want to say thank you to all of you for being the best students and parents EVER!!!  I feel so lucky to be at Riverside Elementary and to have such an amazing group of kids in my class (both AM and PM)!!!  Thank you for all the support!!!  It does not go unnoticed!!!

Newsletter for Oct 25-29

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  This week is going to be fun and busy!  Not only is it Red Ribbon Week but also our class Halloween Party is on Friday!  For Red Ribbon Week we have daily themes schoolwide:

Monday --"Turn your back on drugs."  Wear your shirt backwards.

Tuesday --"Sock it to drugs."  Wear silly or mismatched socks.

Wednesday --"Hugs not drugs."  Bring your favorite stuffed animal to school (has to be small enough to fit in your backpack).

Thursday --"Red Ribbon Day."  Wear as much red as possible.

Friday --"Say boo to drugs."  Our class Halloween party!

This week we are learning the sight word go and the letter Ii.  Encourage your students to find the sight words and letters we are learning in their daily environment (the grocery store, the library, at home).  Also, in math we are exploring the numbers 0-9.  

Starting in November, students will take turns with the Show and Tell Bucket.  It will be sent to one student at a time and the directions are right on the bucket.  This will be such a fun experience for all!  If you cannot bring back the bucket the very next day, it's okay.  I would just encourage you to bring it back as soon as your child is ready to share so that we can keep passing it along.

Remember that SEPs will be November 15-19.  We will have NO SCHOOL November 15 and 16 because I will have SEPs all day long.  Then on the 17, 18 and 19 our schedule will be like Friday's schedule: AM will be from 9:00 to 10:40 and PM will be from 11:35 to 1:15.

One more thing!  The turkey homework is due this week!  I think I have received most of them but for those few who have not brought them back --don't forget!!!  They are so fun to make!

If you have any questions or concerns about anything please let me know! jjacobson@res.washk12.org   652-4760 

Thanksgiving Turkeys!

Just a quick note to let you know that our Thanksgiving Turkey homework is due next Thursday!!!  I will be placing them in the hall the following week.  Thank you to all who already brought them back, they are DARLING!!!  Also, a HUGE thank you to everyone's kind donations to our Party Fund!!!

Newsletter for Oct 19-22

I hope everyone had a fabulous Fall Break!!!  This week we are studying the word see and the letter Tt.  Also, help your child review the sight words and letters we've already studied!  Next week is Halloween!  Our class parties will be on Friday October 29.  The times for those parties are: AM class 9:30 to 10:30 and PM class 12:00 to 1:00.  Parents who would like to come and help out please let  the Room Mother know!  Our AM Room Mother is Dixie Christopherson 688-9120 and our PM Room Mother is Stacy Heaps 251-8142.  The Kindergartners have their own separate parade from the rest of the school.  We will have our parade around the Kindergarten playground.  The AM class will begin their parade at 9:15 and the PM class will begin their parade at 11:45.  If you have any questions about the Halloween party or/and parade please let me know!

Since class parties can be expensive I am asking for a small donation of $3 (or less if you cannot afford $3) to help us buy the supplies needed.  This donation will be used for as many parties as possible, meaning, we will try to use the money for the Halloween party, the Christmas party and the Valentine's Day party.  ANY donation is a real help and I thank you in advance for your willingness to donate! 

Also, with the donation I will be purchasing treats so there is NO need to buy candy for the Halloween party!  Each student will get a small baggie of candy from me, and we will be decorating sugar cookies, plus we will have a "witches brew" so I don't think there is any need for MORE candy!  :)

I am in the process of putting together a "Show and Tell Bucket."  Many students have asked if they can show the class something and I have told them no because I am trying to get the Show and Tell Bucket ready.  Please remind students that they cannot bring things to school to show the class UNTIL it's their turn to have the bucket.  I will be sending home more info about it soon!

Thank you for all the help and support you give your child and our class!  I REALLY appreciate it!  If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to call or email me! jjacobson@res.washk12.org   652-4760

THANK YOU!!!

A HUGE thank you goes out to all the families who came to Red Robbin last night!!!  We had an amazing turn out and it's all because of you!!!  It was great seeing and visiting with you outside of school!  We found out today that we earned $500 for our school!!!  That is AMAZING!!!  Again, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!  I really appreciate all your help and support!!!  Have a fabulous Fall Break!!!   

Newsletter for Oct 11-14

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  Don't forget that Monday night is our school's fundraiser at Red Robbin from 5 to 8 PM!  The kindergarten teachers will be serving fries and drinks from 5 to 6 so please come visit us!  It's going to be a lot of fun!  Plus 15% of your purchase goes towards our school!

Don't forget that Fall Break starts this week!  We will have NO SCHOOL on Friday October 15th or on Monday October 18th.  I hope you all will have a fun and safe vacation! 

This week we will be finishing up our 3rd Literacy unit!  The students are doing really well with this new program!  They have learned the words: like, can, I, we, am, the, and a.  We've also been studying the letters Mm, Aa, Ss, and Pp.  A few weeks ago I sent home a green paper that was labeled "Kindergarten Words."  Those are ALL the words that your students should know by the end of the year.  I gave you that list so you would have a general idea of what will be on the post-assessment.  

Remember that book orders are due this Wednesday!  If you wish to order any books please return your order list with a check made out to Scholastic as soon as possible!

One more thing --I am in desperate need of new snacks for the students!  Please send them with your students as soon as you can!  Thank you for all your help and support!

If you have any questions please email me or call me 652-4760 jjacobson@res.washk12.org

SOS for Snacks!

I am in need of more snacks for your students!  Please send them to school with your students as soon as possible!  Thank you for all your help!

Newsletter for Oct 4-8

 I hope everyone had a great weekend!  Last week students learned 2 new sight words: like and am.  So now your child should be able to read the words I, we, can, like, am and the.  

Remember that Thursday is Math Night.  It will be very similar to our Literacy night, but obviously we will be introducing you to our Mathematics program instead of our Literacy program. 

On Monday October 11^th Riverside is hosting a fundraiser at Red Robbin.  From 5 to 8 PM our staff and faculty will be serving drinks and fries along with your meal if you come on in!  A small percentage of your bill will be donated to our school.  The Kindergarten team (Mrs. Buzzell, Mrs. Hatch and I) will be serving from 5 to 6 PM –please come visit us with your child!  It will be a fun night!   

Remember that if your child missed picture day or you would like retakes, picture retakes are scheduled to be on October 20^th.  Also, Fall Break will be October 15^th through 18^th.

I am sending home the first book order of the year!  Book orders are great for Christmas gifts!  There are 2 catalogs to look through, See-Saw and Firefly.  For those unfamiliar with book orders, here’s what you need to do: look through the catalog and mark on the order form what you want to order (the order form is on the back of the catalog).  Please make sure that your child’s name is on the form and that you have marked all the books you want.  When you have filled it out, write a check out to Scholastic (NO cash and NO checks to me!) and bring back to school the form plus the money.  This first book order is due Wednesday October 13^th.

Each time I send a book order home, I like to give you a small list of great books and deals found in that month’s issue.  This month, in the See-Saw catalog I found some great books that I know the kids will enjoy: #72 and #73 “The Skippyjon Jones Collection” is darling and very funny!  #49 “The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog” The kids LOVE all the pigeon books!  #46 “Penguins, Penguins, Everywhere!” is a great deal… only $1!  

In the Firefly catalog this month I recommend: #35 “Llama Llama Holiday Drama” and #37 “Llama Llama Trio” are great buys for rhyming books and the kids love them!  #69 “The Story of Ferdinand” is one of my favorite books!  I obviously love that it takes place in Spain (where I’m from) but also it’s a GREAT story!  #19 “The Gingerbread Man” We have already talked about this story as a class but I think it’s such a great buy for only $1.

There’s one more thing about the book orders.  Every time you purchase a book, I receive some points.  I use those points to purchase new books for the classroom.  So not only are you buying for your family but you are also helping our classroom!  On your catalogs you’ll see something about ordering online and how that can give our class free books as well, but the ordering online service is unpredictable and hard to use.  I hard a difficult time with it last year, so I am NOT going to attempt to use it this year.  Just remember, whenever you order you are still helping us receive free books.

I am so sorry for the novel this week!  If something doesn’t make sense or you have additional questions or concerns please call me or email me! 652-4760 jjacobson@res.washk12.org

Newsletter for Sept 27 - Oct 1

Can you believe we’ve been in school for over a month now?  October is almost here!  I got so busy last week that I did not have a chance to send home the name homework!  I am sending it home today!  Remember that students should be learning the correct way to write their names.  They should only have a capital at the beginning of their name; the rest of the letters should be lower case. 

Last week we reviewed the sight words the and we.  So even though we do not have new words to add this week, please make sure you are still helping your child with I, we, can and the.

As a Kindergarten team we have decided to increase our security during the AM session pick up time.  Instead of keeping kids in front of the school until parents arrive, we are going to have them inside the gated Kindergarten playground until we see their parents.  You do not have to get out of your cars but you need to be parked in a safe area before I will let them go to you.  Even though this does not apply to the PM session, I still want to remind everyone to be safe when picking up/dropping off students!  Make sure you are parked in the designated areas –we want to make sure that there are no accidents!

Looking ahead, October 7^th is Riverside’s Math Night.  It will be very similar to our Literacy night, but obviously we will be introducing you to our Mathematics program instead of our Literacy program.  If your child missed picture day or you would like retakes, picture retakes are scheduled to be on October 20^th.  Fall Break will be October 15^th through 18^th.

One more thing, I am really trying to be eco-friendly so, if you have accepted your invitation to the class blog, this will be the last hard copy of the weekly newsletter.  I will continue sending hard copies to those who still have not accepted their invitations or those who do not have Internet access. 

If you have any questions or concerns about anything please call me or email me! 652-4760 jjacobson@res.washk12.org

Newsletter for Sept 20-24

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  Thank you to all who came to our Literacy Night on Thursday!  We had a great turn out! 

The most recent sight word we’ve learned is the.  So now your child should be able to read the words: I, can, we and the.  Please review those with your child whenever you have the chance! 

Also, I will be sending home a name homework sheet with each student this week.  Students should be learning the correct way to write their names.  They should only have a capital at the beginning of their name; the rest of the letters should be lower case.  I would like to have your child practice writing their name every day.  Please take the name homework sheet that I will be sending home and make copies so that your child can practice each day.  

Remember that Wednesday is Picture Day!  If you are interested in purchasing pictures please fill out the paper that was sent home and return in to me before Wednesday.

I believe we have finalized our center volunteers for the year!  I still have a couple of days with no volunteers; so if you would like to help out please let me know.  The days I still need help for are Wednesday (AM Session) and Monday (PM Session).

If you have any questions or concerns about anything please call me or email me! 652-4760 jjacobson@res.washk12.org

Thank you for all your help and support!  You are amazing parents!

Wednesday AM Centers

I have decided to try and do centers daily!  I have enough volunteers for all the days EXCEPT Wednesday morning.  If anyone is interested in coming in for 30 minutes on Wednesday mornings please let me know!  Thanks a bunch!

Literacy Night

Just a reminder that Thursday is Literacy Night!  The first session will begin at 5:30 and the second session will be at 6:00 --both in my room (Room 2).  Students will be able to visit some literacy stations in the lunchroom/gym while the sessions are running.  Hope to see everyone there!

Newsletter for Sept 13-17

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  Remember that Thursday is Literacy Night!  We will have 2 sessions; the first will begin at 5:30 PM in my classroom.  Your children will be able to go into the lunchroom for some literacy games while I present a quick slideshow about our new literacy program.  Hope to see you there! J

We have just finished making 2 classroom books!  One is a math book of “silly creatures” the students have made and the other is a get-to-know-you book that has pictures and some information about each child.  The students are SO excited to show you that I decided we would send these 2 books home!  So along with sending home the Principal Book of the Month, starting on Monday, each child will have the opportunity to take these books home to share with you too!

In the Kindergarten end-of-the year testing students are required to know certain words.  We call these sight words or high frequency words.  Every couple of weeks students will learn a new sight word.  Each student is responsible to know these words so in my weekly newsletter I will make sure to write down what words we’ve learned so far so that you can help your students remember them.  So far we have learned: I, can, we.  Please review those with your child whenever you have the chance! 

Remember that Wednesday September 22^nd is Picture Day!  Let’s get dressed up! J If you have any questions or concerns about anything please call me or email me! 652-4760 jjacobson@res.washk12.org

Thank you for your help and support!    

Early Out Monday!

Just a quick reminder that Monday is an early out day!  AM Kindergarten will go from 9 to 11 and PM Kindergarten will be from 12 to 2.  Have a great weekend!

Newsletter for Sept 7-10

I hope everyone had a great Labor Day weekend!  Starting this week I will be taking turns sending home the Principal Book of the Month with each student.  You will read the book to your child and return it back to school the following day.  This month's book is "Hip Hip Hooray for Annie McRae!"  It is a wonderful book written by one of my favorite professors at BYU.  I hope each one of you will enjoy reading it to your child!

Also, looking ahead, on Wednesday September the 22nd we will have school pictures!  I believe they will be taking everyone's pictures and then when they are printed out you can decide if you want to buy them or not. 

Just a little reminder not to send your students to school too early.  I am not able to be on the playground to supervise them so it's best if you can't stay with them to just drop them off 5 minutes early.  The reason I cannot let them in too early is because I'm still setting up and getting ready for the day!

I am going to work out my volunteer schedule this week and give everyone a call as soon as possible!  Thanks for your patience!  

If you have questions or concerns about anything please let me know by email jjacobson@res.washk12.org OR please call me at 652-4760
 

No SEPs Next Week!

Just wanted to let you know that even though the rest of the school (first through fifth grade) will be having SEPs on September 1st and 2nd, Kindergarten will not.  We already met before school started this month so our next SEPs will be in November!

First Task Card

I just sent home today the first task card for homework!  Remember that these cards can be completed in your own time frame.  As soon as a child passes off the entire card, please sign it and return it to me.  Your child will then receive a treat from the class vending machine.

If you have any questions please let me know!

Weekly Newsletter Aug. 23-27

Welcome to our first full week of Kindergarten!  The first few days have been long for everyone but everyday gets a little easier!

Along with a brand new week, I have some exciting news!  I have decided to "go green" and start a class website!  This will ensure that we use less paper plus for some of you it might be more convenient.  Rest assured that this website is private and you can only view it by invitation.  That being said, if you do not have access to the internet, please let me know and I will make sure you receive a hard copy of the weekly newsletter.

We are going to continue studying colors this week!  Just a quick reminder that Tuesday the color is orange, Wednesday it's purple, Thursday it's brown and Friday will be black.  Along with learning the colors we will be studying the sight word "can" and reviewing the letters G through R.  I will start sending home the homework cards this week too!  Don't forget that the take home library starts this week!

If you have any questions/concerns please email me or call me! jjacobson@res.washk12.org (435) 652-4760

--Miss Jacobson

Welcome!

Welcome to our class website!  I have decided to be more eco-friendly and to post information, activities and/or pictures on the web.  Rest assured that this blog is private and only people who are invited to join can view the contents.  Your child's safety is very important to me.  I hope that you will check out the website often to see what we've been up to!  Also, if you ever need anything please email me jjacobson@res.washk12.org