Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Library tomorrow!

Dear KG Parents,

This is just a quick post to let you know that we have scheduled time tomorrow for our classes to return and check books out at the library. We ask that you please make sure your child brings their library bag to school.

Thank you and we hope you have a great long weekend!

Sunday, August 27, 2017

Week 3. Aug 27 - 30

Dear Parents,

We had such a wonderful first full week of school! First of all, we want to thank all parents who came last Wednesday for Back To School Night. It was a good start to our home-school partnership and we look forward to more collaboration. We would truly appreciate your feedback, as we’re always looking for areas where we could improve as a team.
We will be having other parent sessions in the future to address the specifics of KG’s curriculum and how parents can support their children at home. Stay tuned!

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On Tuesday we had our first Elementary assembly, these assemblies happen every Tuesday from 7:55 to 8:25. All KG classes leave the playground when the music starts at 7:45 to drop backpacks in front of our classrooms, then we head down to the ES Hall. If your child comes after 7:45, please make sure you drop their bags in front of the classroom and then walk them to the ES Hall where they can join us. Parents are always welcome to all assemblies!

House Event!

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This Tuesday the assembly will be our first House Event, all kindergarteners are in a house with other elementary students. For these events students are expected to wear the color of their house until we receive new house shirts that will be provided to all students. Most house events happen on the ES lawn or Middle School field, students will drop their backpacks in front of their classrooms and then join their house! Here are all kindergarten house teams:

KGB HOUSE TEAMS

Red
Yellow
Green
Blue
Dina
Leila
Yorgo
Adam
Nayla
Nada
Susanna
Yasmina
Noah
Carter
Hang Hang


KGC HOUSE TEAMS

Red
Yellow
Green
Blue
Mia
Catherine
Malak
Lara A.
David
Tallis
Andres
Marie
Aly
Mariam
Ramsay
Amy


KGS HOUSE TEAMS

Red
Yellow
Green
Blue
Lara K.
Farouk
Rasheed
Finlay
Ethan
Maliya
Clara
Nicolas
Kalliope
Engel
Tamara
Salwa


ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CELEBRATES
EACH PERSON AS THEY MAKE
CAC THE BEST PLACE TO BE!

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ELEMENTARY BANNERS

Students, faculty & staff are invited to draw, paint, sew, or image their self portrait on a banner provided by school. Our self portait banners will be displayed around our division to celebrate each of us and our school community.

We look forward to seeing your creative designs! Please be sure to put your name on your banner and enjoy working on these at home. We ask that the banners are submitted to your class teacher by Tuesday, September 5.

If you have any questions please ask your class teacher.

Best regards
Mrs. Jackson-Jin
Elementary Principal

Important Reminders!

Snack and Lunch

Thank you to all parents who have supported us in teaching students independence by sending two separate bags for snack and lunch. It is important that meals are packed in a bag that they can easily hang and carry, throughout the day students leave their meals in certain areas for easy transitions, for this reason it is very important that silverware or containers come inside a bag or lunchbox. Please make sure your child has enough food for the day and all utensils they will need to eat their food, such as napkins and spoons/forks.

For lunch, we have sent a small envelope where you can place their lunch card or cash for Monday lunches. Students will be asked to take these lunch envelopes out every morning, your help is much appreciated in making sure they know where their lunch card is!

This Monday the lunch option will be pizza (each week we will post the lunch options in our KG calendar), if you would like your child to eat pizza please make sure you send exact change in the lunch envelope for the amount of slices your child will eat. The cost also includes a juice box and a cookie.

1 slice 20LE
2 slices 25LE
3 slices 30LE

Extra Clothes

If you haven’t done so already, please send a bag with extra clothes for us to keep in our classrooms. Accidents happen and we want to make sure all students have a change of clothes they can wear.

Folders

It is wonderful to see all folders coming back to school every day! Please make sure you keep the lunch envelope in the “Bring back to school” pocket, and that you empty the “Keep at home” pocket each week. Students will start taking books home very soon, and these books will go in their folders!

Counseling Corner

Dear CAC Parents,
Welcome to the new school year!  This year I am fortunate in that I will be meeting with your child’s class once a week.  The first few weeks will be dedicated to “getting to know you” activities.  In a couple of weeks we will begin Second Step guidance lessons.  This is the guidance curriculum that we use in the elementary school K-5th grade. This program is designed to help students think about, develop and practice positive social skills.  Research shows that children who learn and use these skills are more likely to get along with others and do better in school.  Throughout the course of the year, students will learn about skills for learning, empathy and understanding feelings, how to use problem-solving skills, and how to manage strong emotions such as anger or fear.
Throughout the year I will be updating you on general areas of social and emotional learning but also on specific skills that you can help support at home.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Dana Purpura
CAC School Counselor
dpurpura@cacegypt.org

Learning in Kindergarten!

Balanced Literacy

Kindergarteners had a wonderful first full week learning routines for reading and writing workshop. It is important for us as teachers to make sure that all students feel comfortable and confident when starting their reading and writing journey, and for that reason taking the time to teach and practice these routines is essential.

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Reader are learning how to choose books for their book bags by asking themselves these three questions:

  • Is this book interesting?
  • Can I read the pictures?
  • Can I read some words?

They are beginning to see themselves as readers as they learn that there are many ways a book can be read even if they can’t read all words yet. Reading the pictures is a valuable strategy for storytelling and building stamina. During Reading Workshop they all sit with their book bags to read the pictures in each book they’ve chosen. As teachers, we are motivating and praising their efforts every minute! Soon, we will start assessing our young readers to initiate one-on-one and small group instruction.

Writing is so much fun! But it is also hard work!

Kindergarteners started the writing process last week, by learning that all of us have stories to tell and that writers start by thinking of ideas they would like to share with the world. The writing process is something that writers will come to know very well, and we would like to share it with you so that you can support them at home:

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This week they will add more to their writing by learning strategies to add words to their sketches. One of these strategies is “Sound it out” or “Stretch the word”, writers say the word they intend to write and repeat it very slowly, trying to add sounds they hear. This work will be enhanced by the work they will do with beginning sounds during Phonics, handwriting and shared reading.

We will also introduce two sight words from our KG Sight Word list to teach them about patterned sentences and how to include a sentence in their writing. So much learning coming their way!

During handwriting students learned they ways to pick up and hold the pencil. We encourage students to use the tripod grip:

They have also started to learn proper letter formation by sorting letters in groups such as “those that look like capitals” and “the ones that start with Magic C”. This week we will continue practicing those, and teaching new letters.

Sorts and more sorts!

Last week all students learned about sorting pictures and objects in Phonics and Math, that routine was necessary for the first phonics sort that students will engage with this week. We will start with consonants as beginning sounds and students will have picture sorts to learn and practice these sounds, we will be checking for understanding and support students as needed. At the beginning of the school year, all students work on the same sorts, later on and depending on their progress, more differentiated sorts are planned for small groups.

Math

What a fun week we all had with our first Eureka lessons! Students are having a great time engaging with the different parts of the math lesson. This week we will cover lessons 7, 8 and 9. Here’s some information about this topic:

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Mathletics at home!

Please click here to read the parent letter. We will be sending username and password cards this week.

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In our next blog, we will share with you information about Social Studies and Circle Solutions. Thank you all for coming to Parent Day, it was a pleasure to meet all of you and listen to you speak about your children and their goals for Kindergarten. This will be a wonderful year, as we work together to guide, challenge and support all students.

Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter, and as always please email us with any questions, concerns or feedback you may have!

Ms. Ana (KGC) - achavez@cacegypt.org
Mr. Balazs (KGB) - nbalazs@cacegypt.org

Ms. Paola (KGS) - psadek@cacegypt.org

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Week 2. Aug 20 - 24

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Dear KG Families,

Once again, welcome to Kindergarten! We had two very busy first days of school, and we are excited to start a full week of learning with all the students! KGS had their first swimming lesson on Thursday, KGB and KGC will have theirs on Tuesday. Please remember what your child needs to bring on a separate swim bag (one they can carry with them to the pool):
·       An appropriate Swimsuit (no string bikinis),
·       OWN pair of properly fitted goggled (not shared with siblings)
·       Suitably sized towel
·       Long hair tied back off the face or a swim cap (girls and boys)
·       No jewelry, including rubber and string bands, and watches
·       Easy to take on and off clothes and crocs or sandals (no socks)

Last Thursday all KG students got together to learn silent signals to easily communicate with their teachers and enjoy their learning experiences even more. We also had an opportunity to share our favorite memories of the first day of school, thank you Mr. Balazs for leading this activity! Here are a few photos:

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Back To School Night!

We are looking forward to seeing all parents on Back to School Night, August 22nd! This special evening is meant to share with you what Kindergarten is all about and answer your questions. Please be sure that you take some time in advance to review the slideshow we have created, which includes curriculum information and examples as well as important information about the school.


After School Activities!

SIGN UP Starts THIS Monday August 21 - August 27
The Signup link will be located on the NEW ASA Website, available on your dashboard. Click on the labeled blue icon (see arrow). Sign up will be open for one week (including the weekend). Schedules will be sent to parents Tuesday September 5 at the end of the day.
ASA begin from Sunday September 10 - Thursday November 9

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What’s happening in KG?

The best way to stay up to date with all the information from school is subscribing to our blog and receiving an email every time we post or weekly newsletters. Also, we ask that you check our blog calendar regularly as many events and activities are added every week.

Learning in KG!
Language Arts
Children are being introduced to the Writer’s and Reader’s Workshop this week. They will learn the process that goes on in the workshops, and engage in reading books and putting their ideas on paper. We will also start Phonics instruction with four beginning sounds. Every Thursday or Friday, students will bring home a sound/letter worksheet for you to review with them at home. Please look in their folders for this.
Students will have a handwriting/printing lesson everyday. They will start this week by learning how to place the paper in front of them, how to hold the pencil and how letters start at the top. Kindergarten students will begin learning lowercase letter formation, including number formation and capitals review after all lowercase have been taught.
We will also begin our literacy centers this week, in which all students will engage in different language activities, small group instruction and reading.
Math
Each week we will share with you what our students learn in Math. We’ll also include useful information about how you can support them at home and the specific vocabulary we use in each unit and topic.
Please click here to see what our first module is all about!
This week we will start with Topic A, take a look:
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Social Studies
In our first unit, kindergarteners will share with others what makes them special! These three essential questions will lead the conversations in class:
How are we the same and how are we different?
How do my choices affect myself and those around me?
How will I grow and change in kindergarten?


Thank you all for your support and the time you have taken to read our newsletter! As always, please send us an email if you have any feedback or questions!
Regards,
Ms. Ana (KGC) - achavez@cacegypt.org
Mr. Balazs (KGB) - nbalazs@cacegypt.org
Ms. Paola (KGS) - psadek@cacegypt.org

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

First Day of School info

Dear Parents,

Today we had a wonderful time with some of our new students during new student orientation. Once again, welcome to Kindergarten!

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We would like to share some information regarding the first day of school.

Drop off and Pick up

Every morning the children will go to the PK/KG playground to play before school starts, and they will place their backpacks in a designated area for KG. We will show the children where this area is, and there will be a poster identifying the spot. The playground is where children will say goodbye to their parents and be ready to go to class!

School starts at 7:55, for this reason we will line up at 7:45 (as soon as the music starts playing!) to walk to the classrooms. If your child arrives after 7:55 or after we have left the playground, please make sure you walk them to their classroom.

Dismissal will be at 3:05, students may be picked up from the classroom by their parents, take the bus or go to the gate to be picked up by a nanny. If your child will take the bus or go to the gate, please email us with the bus number or information about the person in charge of pick up at the gate. We will need a photocopy of the nanny’s passport.

Teachers will dismiss children one by one, if you wish to speak to us we kindly ask that you wait until all students have been dismissed. We truly appreciate your support!

For any changes in your child’s dismissal plans that have been planned ahead of time, please email teachers or send a note in their folder. If you need to make a last minute change in dismissal plans, please call the elementary office at 2755-5202. Please be advised that as we are with students for most of the day, we may not always have time to check our emails for last minute information from parents. We truly appreciate your support.

What children will need to bring to class

Snack and Lunch
Every day students must bring a packed snack and a packed lunch, separately (in two different bags). If your child wishes to eat a hot lunch from the cafeteria, please send a lunch card in their folder.

Clothes
The temperature in the classroom is regulated, however students may feel a bit cold during the day. For this reason we would appreciate if you send a sweater with your child’s name written on it. Every student will also need to send a change of clothes in a labeled bag, this includes a shirt, pants/skirt, underwear and socks. We will keep this change of clothes in our classroom.

Water
All students are encouraged to bring a water bottle every day. Having a water bottle in the classroom allows them to drink water as they need to.

Folders
Starting tomorrow, kindergarteners will take home a folder for school-home communication and lunch card/cash for hot lunches. Once they start taking homework later this fall, it will go back and forth in this folder. You may also send notes to teachers in them. Having a school folder supports independence in the children by reminding themselves to bring it to school every day.

Schedules and important specials to keep in mind

You can access our schedules in this blog by clicking on the Schedule tab:

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Please keep in mind when your child has swimming and library, as they need to bring a swim bag and a library bag on those days.


Room parent info

Parents, if any of you are interested in volunteering for an important classroom role, the room parent, please contact your child’s teacher. The parent who volunteers for this job will help to facilitate communication between the KG teachers and parents, as well as help to some classroom events throughout the year.  Please do let me know if you will be interested in helping out!

We appreciate the time you take to read our weekly newsletters and are looking forward to a wonderful school year!

Please, let us know if you have any questions or feedback, we’d love to hear from you!
Our emails:

Ms. Ana (KGC) - achavez@cacegypt.org
Mr. Balazs (KGB) - nbalazs@cacegypt.org
Ms. Paola (KGS) - psadek@cacegypt.org

Thank you!