As you know, our spring break has been extended due to the coronavirus.  While we are gone the district will be going through deep cleaning in every room of every school.  When our kids come back on April 1, we should have very clean schools and classrooms.  If something changes before then and our dates change, you will be informed by the district.

While you are home, please read every day and take time for writing.  Everyone should have sight words at home.  Use those to make sentences and short stories.  You should be able to go on our website to connect to our Tumblebooks website and there is a link on my website for Starfall.  Another one that we have liked in our class is abcya.com.  There is a kindergarten section and there are sections for abc work and math.  Please have them do both.  Yes, tell them Mrs. Frisiras said they CAN do math! :)

At this point, we do not now what will happen with conferences.  As soon as I know, I'll let you know.  Thank you for your understanding and flexibility!

Upcoming Dates

March 16 - 31 - No School - Spring Break

April 1 - School Resumes

April 8 - Early Release @ 12:10

April 13 - 17 - Forest Flyer Week - M-Th - run, F - charms

April 22 - Early Release @ 12:10

May 8 - Field Trip to Children's Theater - Info coming after spring break!

Happy Spring Break!  Be safe!  Wash your hands!  Use hand sanitizer!

Christine

Thank you, everyone, for signing up for conferences!  We are going to have a great couple of days celebrating your children!  I'm looking forward to it!

The Trillium Creek Adult Social was a great time!  It was fun to see so many people coming out to support our students and school!

In Reading Workshop, we are becoming Avid Non-Fiction Readers. This will be easy for us to do with our Frog unit.  We are working on making a Non-Fiction report on frogs in class.  Every student will be choosing a specific frog at home and making a research poster.  We talked about how this is THEIR project.  Please do not do this for them.  You can help them find information but please have them do the writing themselves.  I can't wait to see all the projects!  As your child finishes, they can bring in their project.  All students will share their project with our class.  Make sure they practice reading their facts and talking about their poster at home so they are comfortable sharing in front of our class.

In Math Workshop, we will begin writing and creating our own frog story problems.  We have had some practice working with story problems so I feel they are ready to create their own!  You will get to see them during conferences!

In Writing Workshop, we continue working on easy to read writing.  Frog projects will be a great way to practice non-fiction writing.  Facts should be easy to read.  Start with a capital letter.  End with a period.  Spaces.  Neat writing. Interesting.  I am excited for the projects to start coming in!

Upcoming Dates

March 9 - Book Orders Due 

March 9 - 13 - Forest Flyer Week - M-Th - run, F - charms

March 16 - Frog Posters Due

March 18 - Early Release @ 12:10 - Conferences 1 PM - 7 PM

March 18 - 19 - Student Led Spring Conferences - Wednesday March 18 - 1 - 7 PM, Thursday, March 19 - 9-10 AM and 3-5 PM - Thank you for signing up!  You guys are awesome!

March 20 - No School

March 19 - 29 - No School - Spring Break

March 30 - School Resumes

April 8 - Early Release @ 12:10

April 13 - 17 - Forest Flyer Week - M-Th - run, F - charms

April 22 - Early Release @ 12:10

May 8 - Field Trip to Children's Theater - Info coming after spring break!

Happy Daylight Savings!

Christine

 

Happy March!  If you're available today and want to help beautify our school, there is a pile of gravel that needs to be moved today. I think there is also a pile of bark dust.  It's Community Care Day from 12 - 4!

Conferences sign ups will go live on Monday at 5 PM.  After you sign up for a conference, head down to OMSI for our free OMSI night from 6-8 PM.  Thank you to our PTA for organizing this event!

Back to conferences...  For our spring conferences, we will have Student-Led Conferences.  That means your student needs to come - they are the star of the show!  You will sign up for an hour block.  There will be 3 families signing up for the same hour and each family will be moving around the room.  Part of that time you will be meeting with me.  But most of the time, your child will be sharing their learning with you.  When you meet with me, I will share the progress they have made so far as well as going back over our fall goals to see if we've met them or need to keep working.  If all are met, we'll make new goals.

Finally, have you seen our finished Artist in Residence Mural?  It looks really great!  Thank you again to those that came to help on that day!

Upcoming Dates

March 1 - Community Care Day 12 - 4

March 2 - TCPS OMSI Night 6-8

March 4 - Early Release @ 12:10

March 7 - Adult Social - Oregon Hills Winery - Portlandia Theme 7 PM - I'm looking forward to it!

March 8 - Daylight Savings - Spring Ahead - yay for sunshine later in the day!

March 9 - Book Orders Due (book orders will be going home on Monday)

March 9 - 13 - Forest Flyer Week - M-Th - run, F - charms

March 18 - Early Release @ 12:10 - Conferences start at 1 PM

March 18 - 19 - Student Led Spring Conferences - Wednesday March 18 - 1 - 7 PM, Thursday, March 19 - 9-10 AM and 3-5 PM - Thank you in advance for signing up!

March 19 - 29 - No School - Spring Break

March 30 - School Resumes

Happy 1st Day of March!

Christine

We've had a busy month of February and it's not over.  The Friendship Party was fabulous according to all the kids.  Thank you to Natalie Brandon and Katie Spurlock for organizing and to all of the wonderful parent volunteers on that day.  I really appreciate you helping out and making it a great experience for the kids while I was gone.  Thank you for all the kind words and for reaching out to me before and after my trip back home last week.  I truly appreciated it!

In Reading Workshop, we are working on being avid readers.  Ask your child what an avid reader is.  If you see your child being an avid reader at home, please send me a pic via email.  I will print it off and add it to our avid reader wall!

In Math Workshop, we are moving into a new unit on measurement, counting, story problems, and decomposing 10 into different ways.  We've been counting out inventory bags that have more than one type of item in them.  An example of a bag might have 6 glue sticks, 5 paper clips, 2 cubes, and 4 rubber bands.  Students are recording inventories with numbers, words, pictures, and equations and focusing on being accurate by double checking.   They are also working on collecting 20 by rolling a 1-3 die.  Every time they add to their board, they have to think about how many do they have on the board and how many do they need to get to 20.  Playing this game gets them thinking about counting by 5s, 1s, and seeing patterns on the ten frames of combinations of 10 and of 5.  They are getting fast at seeing these combinations.  We've also been looking at coins and relating dimes, nickels, and pennies to our class ten frame during calendar.  For example Friday was the 14th day of school in February.  I asked them what 14 looks like on ten frames and they could tell me it's a whole ten frame and 4 more on another ten frame.  Then another student said it's a dime and 4 pennies.  So now they are looking at numbers and money together.  It's pretty amazing how they are making connections.

In Writing Workshop, we are trying to be avid writers.  It's just like an avid reader, but with writing.  Someone who writes all the time, can write everywhere, always has a pencil in their hand, and their pencil is moving the whole time during writing.  We are increasing our writing stamina.  Kindergarten writers should be able to write about a topic for 30 minutes and be able to write 5 sentences by this time of the year.  Sentences should be easy to read, have spaces, capitals, ending punctuation, sight words, and trickier words should have enough sounds so they can be read.  Writing should be legible.  These are the things we work on every day.  At this point in the year, your child should be filling out their reading log by themselves.   The only parent writing on there should be the signature.  Your child CAN do this - don't let them fool you!

Science projects are starting to come in!  They are due on Monday and will be shared in the classroom.  We've already had one student share his and the kids loved it!  We learned all about WHY cheetahs run so fast.  It was very interesting!  Logan did a great job sharing his research and facts.

Finally Bumblebeelovesyou is coming to Trillium Creek as our Artist in Residence.  We will be learning from him on February 26 and doing some art in his style.  If you would like to help out during our time with him 12:25 - 1:00, let me know!  If you want to see some of his work go to bumblebeelovesyou.com

Upcoming Dates

February 24 - Science projects due & Vision Screening (8 AM)

February 26 - 12:25 Artist in Residence - Is anyone available to volunteer for 35 minutes that day??? Let me know!

February 27 - Trillium Creek Science Fair Open House

March 1 - Community Care Day 12 - 4

March 2 - TCPS OMSI Night 6-8

March 4 - Early Release @ 12:10

March 7 - Adult Social - Oregon Hills Winery - Portlandia Theme 7 PM - I'm looking forward to it!

March 9 - 13 - Forest Flyer Week - M-Th - run, F - charms

March 18 - Early Release @ 12:10

March 18 - 19 - Student Led Spring Conferences - more details to come

March 19 - 29 - No School - Spring Break

Have a great Sunday!

Christine

Happy Groundhog's Day!  What did Punxsutawney Phil predict?  6 more weeks of winter or an early spring?  Help your child find the answer - there is some good footage out there!

In Reading Workshop, we have been looking at endings on our sight words.  Sometimes this disguises our words so that we don't recognize them.  -s, -es, -d, -ed, -ing - These inflected endings can disguise a word that is a sight word.  Look for these endings on words when you are reading this weekend (seeing, looked, goes, liked, etc.)  Point them out and notice them.  Look for the sight word and point out that it's still the same word, just with an ending on it.  Also, practice reading with fluency at home.  The books that come home in the bags are at an independent level.  They are perfect for practicing reading with fluency and expression.

In Writing Workshop, we have been busy writing how-tos and making them easy for readers to follow directions.  We have tested out a few and from doing that, students know where they need to add more detail so that their directions can be followed perfectly.  We ended our polar bear unit with information writing about polar bears.  The kids were able to use our charts in the room to write facts.  Using resources is a good tool when writing information writing.

In Math Workshop, we have moved into our second geometry unit on shapes.  This time we're learning about 3-D shapes and their attributes.  We've been learning important vocabulary including edges, faces, vertices, and footprint.  Ask your child about those words and how they relate to 3-D shapes.  We've been comparing 2-D and 3-D shapes and using different materials to build and construct these shapes.  Thank you for going on a 2-D shape hunt at home.  We've been sharing different shapes each day.

Our bully protection/prevention lessons are going great!  We've learned how to recognize bullying, report bullying, and refuse bullying.  Later this week we will learn what a bystander is and what they can do to stop bullying.  Look for a home connection later in the week.

Upcoming Dates

February 5 - Early Release @ 12:10

February 7 - Book order due

February 10 - You can start sending in valentines this week.

February 10 - 14 - Forest Flyer Week M-Th Run, F Charms 

February 14 - Friendship Party - 12:05 - 12:50 PM   

February 17 - No School - Presidents' Day

February 19 - Early Release @ 12:10

February 24 - Science projects due & Vision Screening

February 27 - Trillium Creek Science Fair Open House

March 1 - Community Care Day 12 - 4

March 2 - TCPS OMSI Night 6-8

March 4 - Early Release @ 12:10

March 7 - Adult Social - Oregon Hills Winery - Portlandia Theme 7 PM

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!  May your team win (if not your team, then your numbers!)

Christine

This week is Forest Flyers.  The kids will run Tuesday through Friday.  Charms will be handed out on the following Monday.  

In Reading Workshop, we've been focusing on looking at words from beginning to end to help solve tricky words.  Not just the first letter but all the way to the end of the word.  We also searched our book for blends and for words that had sight words inside of them.  Looking more closely at the text on the page will help with accuracy when reading.

In Math Workshop, we have been working on decomposing a number into two parts by playing a game called Toss the Chips using two-colored counters.  If we're playing with 6 chips, we could get 3 and 3, 2 and 4, 5 and 1, or 0 and 6.  We've also been decomposing our arrangements into 2 or more parts.  Look for those books to be coming home this week.  Being able to decompose numbers quickly and accurately will be helpful with addition and subtraction later.

In Writing Workshop, we are just starting our unit on How-To Writing.  They are using things they know how to do to write what to do in steps.  Talk about some things that they do at home as a possible How-To.  How to brush your teeth, how to set the table, how to get ready for bed, how to feed the dog or cat, how to tie your shoes.  There are so many possibilities!

This week we will be talking about MLK and what he stands for.  We will be starting to look for 100 acts of kindness in our classroom and at home.  We will try to get 100 acts of kindness before Valentine's Day!  I know we can do it!

Upcoming Dates

January 20 - No School - MLK Day

January 21 - 24 - Forest Flyer Week - T-F Run, M (1/27) charms

January 24 - Science Fair Forms due

January 29 & 30 - MAP Testing - 29th - Reading, 30th - Math - Get plenty of sleep and eat a good breakfast this week!

January 31 - Pizza Bingo - 5:30 - 7:30 - Get your pizza order in ASAP!

February 5 - Early Release @ 12:10

February 10 - 14 - Forest Flyer Week M-Th Run, F Charms

February 14 - Friendship Party - Details to come!  

February 17 - No School - Presidents' Day

February 24 - Science projects due

February 27 - Trillium Creek Science Fair Open House

Enjoy the long weekend!

Christine

"The Time is always right to do what is right." -MLKj

 

 

The first school week of 2020 is under our belts!  We worked hard this week getting right back into the swing of things.  We're kicking off the year with our Polar Bear Unit.  We will learn about non-fiction reading and writing through polar bears.  We will read and write facts and talk about what polar bears need to survive, their habitat and their threats - including climate change and what we can do about that at a kindergarten level.

In Reading Workshop, we've been talking about the relationship between letters and sounds.  We've been using Alphabet books to think about why certain objects are on a page, what else can be on that page, and comparing 2 different alphabet books to play What's the Same?  What's Different?  If you have any alphabet books at home ask your child to play Guess What's Next? with you or talk about what else can be on the page.  By the end of January, all students should be very fluent at their letters and sounds (i.e. not using the sound chant) - including long and short vowel sounds.  

In Math Workshop, we have starting looking at arrangements of 6 tiles and talking about it mathematically.  This coming week we will be making arrangements for 5-10 and breaking them up with number combinations. (EX. A child might see 6 as 3+3 or 2+2+2 or 4+1+1 - depending on the arrangement.)

In Writing Workshop, we took time on Friday to celebrate our writing.  We did a gallery walk and gave each other compliments on the writing we saw.  We will really be focusing on information writing as we learn about polar bears.  As in reading workshop, letter-sound knowledge is crucial in the writing process.  Being fluent in letters and sounds can only help you be a better writer.  

Important Dates

January 14 - Book Orders Due

January 15 - Early Release @ 12:10

January 20 - No School - MLK Day

January 21 - 24 - Forest Flyer Week - T-F Run, M (1/27) charms

January 24 - Science Fair Forms due

January 31 - Pizza Bingo - 5:30 - 7:30 - Get your pizza order in ASAP!

February 5 - Early Release @ 12:10

February 10 - 14 - Forest Flyer Week M-Th Run, F Charms

February 14 - Friendship Party - Details to come!  Party Parents I will email you in January!

February 24 - Science projects due

February 27 - Trillium Creek Science Fair Open House

Will we see snow this week????

Enjoy!

Christine

2019 is coming to a quick close!  Although your child will not be in school for 2 weeks please do not stop reading and writing each day.  20 minutes a day has so many benefits for a Kindergartener including brain development, exposure to new words (vocabulary growth), and making connections to the world around them.  The winter break is a great time for children to write, as well.  They can write about their day, help you with a shopping list, and more importantly, they can write thank you cards to relatives for gifts they may have received.

Thank you so much for sending in all the Gingerbread House materials!  We are in great shape for Friday's house decorating.  Be prepared on Friday afternoon for a beautiful centerpiece for your winter holiday table!

Stay healthy!  There are a lot of germs flying around!  Wash hands often and cover those coughs and sneezes.  We had a couple of kiddos out for multiple days last week and while I missed them, I was happy to not have their germs spreading throughout the classroom.  It's hard to have a sick kiddo at home, but it's better than having 10 kids absent in the class.  So thank you for taking care of them at home!  I, too, had a sick kiddo this weekend at college.  Even with the flu shot, she got the flu.  It was hard to take care of her at home so I did what any mom would do and drove up to Tacoma and made her chicken soup in the dorm kitchen.  Poor thing!  

The kids did so great at Thursday's morning meeting!  I hope you got to see them perform in front of the school!  If not, they were fabulous!  I was proud of them!  Thanks for singing with them at home to prepare!

Upcoming Dates

December 16 - Charm Day

December 20 - 8:00 - All School Sing Along AND Gingerbread House decorating

December 23 - January 6 - No School - Winter Break

January 7 - School Resumes, Kindergarten registration packets will be available to pick up for 2020-2021 school year

January 15 - Early Release @ 12:10

January 20 - No School - MLK Day

January 21 - 24 - Forest Flyer Week - T-F Run, M (1/27) charms

January 31 - Pizza Bingo - 5:30 - 7:30

February 5 - Early Release @ 12:10

February 10 - 14 - Forest Flyer Week M-Th Run, F Charms

February 14 - Friendship Party - Details to come!  Party Parents I will email you in January!

Enjoy your Sunday!

Christine

If you've been to our Kindergarten neighborhood lately, then you have been to Gingerbread Lane.  Kindergarten classrooms have transformed into awesome Gingerbread houses. Throughout the week we have been reading many different versions of the Gingerbread Man.  Ask your child which books we read this week.  We have been talking about the characters, setting, refrain, and the ending of each of the books.  We've compared the stories and made connections between the books.  We've also been gathering opinions on which books the kids like better.  Ask your child about their favorite story so far.  We will continue with more Gingerbread stories this week.  We will also be writing our own Gingerbread stories.  Our Gingerbread unit will wrap up on Friday, December 20.  We will be making our Gingerbread houses.  Thank you for sending in the supplies we will be using for the houses.  I think we are good on candy and graham crackers.  If you haven't sent anything in and would like to, we could use sugar cones, green or white frosting, oval Chinet plates, or mini glue sticks for a hot glue gun.  The last 2 things are new and I didn't get them in the letter.  Thank you again for all you've sent in so far!  I appreciate it and the kids will, too!

Report Cards are going home on Friday, December 13.  A few notes to understand the Report Card.  An NY (Not Yet) indicates that a particular skill/concept has not been taught yet - it is the same meaning as the slash (/).  The skills that are on the report card are what your child should be able to do by the end of the year.  If they get a 2, then they are where they need to be for this time of the year.  If they receive a 1 in an area, I will write a comment that addresses why.  If they get a 3, they have mastered the skill for the end of the year.  You will also be getting a letter from the principal, Ms. Donegan, that explains the report card, as well.

Upcoming Dates

December 9 - 13 - Forest Flyer Week - M-Th run, F charms

December 11 - Gingerbread house items due please

December 13 - Report Cards go home AND Winter Craft Fair - 6 PM 

December 20 - Gingerbread House decorating

December 23 - January 6 - No School - Winter Break

January 7 - School Resumes, Kindergarten registration packets will be available to pick up for 2020-2021 school year

January 15 - Early Release @ 12:10

January 20 - No School - MLK Day

January 21 - 24 - Forest Flyer Week - T-F fun, M (1/27) charms

January 31 - Pizza Bingo - 5:30 - 7:30

Only 10 more school days in 2019!!!  That went fast!!!

Christine

This past week we talked about all the things we were thankful for.  We read The Thankful Book by Todd Parr and then we wrote about what each of us were thankful for.  We also met with our buddies and made Gratitude Chains.  The students were thankful for so many important things: their families, their friends, their buddies, their school, their pets, their hands, and so much more.  I am thankful for all of you... for the time you take to read with your child each night, for the time you take to come to our class and read with all the students, for the things you do at home to help our class, and for being a special part of our classroom!  Thank you for all you do!  I appreciate each of you!

Upcoming Events

November 25 - 29 - No School - Teacher Work Days (M & T) and Thanksgiving Holiday

December 4 - Early Release @ 12:10

December 9 - 13 - Forest Flyer Week - M-Th run, F charms

December 13 - Winter Craft Fair - 6 PM 

December 23 - January 6 - No School - Winter Break

January 7 - School Resumes, Kindergarten registration begins for 2020-2021 school year

January 15 - Early Release @ 12:10

January 20 - No School - MLK Day

January 21 - 24 - Forest Flyer Week - T-F fun, M (1/27) charms

January 31 - Pizza Bingo - 5:30

Enjoy your time with your family this Thanksgiving!

Christine