Open House and Q&A!

Hello families!

Thank you so much for coming in tonight for Open House :) It's so nice to see how excited our students get when they get to show off their classroom to their families. It means so much to them :)

As I'm sure you're aware, we're still working on getting some stuff up on the walls like student work, paintings, pictures, etc. We will get there! We have to work on routines and expectations before we can get to the good stuff :) Walking down the hall in a straight line with 30 little ones is pretty challenging! They're doing a great job though :) Also, we're still waiting on some furniture and supplies like our art easel before we can get everything up and running.

A lot of you had some great questions tonight, and we noticed many of you had the same questions, so we thought we would address them here so that everyone is in the know :)

How many students are in the class? 

30.

How many Kindergarten classrooms does Gatestone have?

4 - 3 classes of 30 and 1 class of 14. Class sizes are not decided by the Kindergarten team.

Is the class composed of JKs and SKs?

Yes! There are 15 JKs and 15 SKs.

Do you teach the JKs and SKs the same thing?

Yes and no. We do a lot of things together like our lessons and circle time. However, during Guided Reading/Small Group Instruction (which hasn't begun yet), we will pull small groups of students at similar ability levels and do a mini-lesson to teach specific skills.

What does my child have to know by the end of the year? How can I help at home?

Stay tuned to the blog as we will keep you posted on what we're learning in the classroom. If you want, you can take a gander through the Kindergarten curriculum  (http://edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/kindergarten_english_june3.pdf) to read what we teach in Kindergarten. At home, read to or with your child every night, practise letters and sounds, counting, etc. (see http://edu.gov.on.ca/kindergarten/ for more information).

Will the JKs have you as a teacher next year?

We aren't sure yet. That is a decision made by Administration.

When will your Home Reading program begin?

We are aiming for early October. We have to do multiple assessments on each child before we can begin. Parents of children in SK will receive their child's reading score as soon as we finish assessments. JKs don't receive reading assessments until the new year, however, you will be informed  of reading scores and what they mean when home reading begins.

We hope that was of help to you and answered some of the questions you may have had. Check back  tomorrow to see what we were getting up to this week in Room 110.

Have a great night!

~ Miss Pliura & Mrs. Tortola

September Calendar!

Hi families!

Here is a copy of the September calendar in case you lose your paper copy. Information regarding VIP will be going home shortly if your child is VIP in September!!

* Note: Library books will be taken out on September 16th only if the System is up and running

Happy Tuesday Eve!

~ Miss Pliura & Mrs. Tortola

Our First Day!

Hi families!

We had an awesome first day in Room 110 :) Aside from a few tears, students were happy and excited to be in a new classroom with new friends, teachers, and toys :)

Last night before I left, they were installing cubbies in the hallway to make room for all of our new friends in Kindergarten, and when I got there this morning, they were all set up and ready for use. We have 53 in total, which means our class will be able to use around 18 of them. We are planning on using these cubbies starting Tuesday and they will be for our SK friends. JKs will continue to use the hooks in the classroom. We are very fortunate to receive these- they will help out so much!

We started off the day by doing our Morning Jobs (Give me 5!). Our SKs are very familiar with them and our JKs are learning. The 5 jobs students have to do in the morning are:

1) Hang up your backpack and lunch
2) Put your important bag in the basket
3) Vote on the question of the day
4) Sign your name
5) Find your name on the SMARTboard

Here are our names printed from today!

After students finished their jobs, they found a table or carpet activity to play at. We listened to the announcements, sang along to O'Canada, and got back to playing. We then came to the carpet to take attendance (it feels like it goes on forever with 30 kids!). We reviewed our bathroom routine which is:

1) Don't ask or tell; just go!

2) Turn on the light and shut the door

3) Flush the toilet and (if necessary) put the seat down

4) Wash your hands with soap and water

5) Dry your hands and leave the door open

We will be practising this until we get it down pat- don't forget to wash your hands!!

Afterwards, we sat in a circle where we showed them how to put things in their important bag (we are still waiting on a few!). We showed them that it doesn't make sense to put your lunch bag in sideways so you can't close the zipper; start with your important bag, lay it flat along the back of your bag and put your lunch in after the same way. Practising this at home would be great! We want students to be as independent as possible, and if they can't figure out why their backpack isn't closing, they can become frustrated.

We then talked about some rules we have in our classroom such as no running, raising your hand to ask a question or a say a comment, and to keep our hands to ourselves. We will be going over more classroom expectations next week :) Then we showed the JKs where the office was so they knew where to bring the attendance if they are asked to, and the SKs listened to Mrs. Tortola read them a story. The rain started pouring down, and snack time was here! Students are asked to raise their hand if they need help opening something and to stay in their seat until the bell rings, when they can then throw out their garbage. Note: Some things spill really easily- just to keep in the back of your mind :) Also, some students can't finish a juice box during their snack time, so if you put their name on it, we will set it aside until lunch. It was an indoor recess and we watched Franklin's Gloomy day (perfect for the occasion!). 

It was time for Learning Centres! Students had many Centres to choose from such as Sand, Dramatic Play, Blocks, Books, etc. Next week we will be going through each of these centres to talk about expectations, tidy up, etc. Students then went to the Library with Mrs. Moore and 50 minutes later came back for Lunch! Outdoor recess it was!

It was beautiful outside, so we decided to stay out a little bit longer; we grabbed some books, magnifying glasses, shovels, etc. and explored our new grass pen and did some relaxing while looking through books. Afterwards, we went inside, got a drink, and went back to Learning Centres :) It was finally home time! We handed out important bags, and students got ready to go home.

We had a super fun day and we really hope our students enjoyed themselves :) Starting next week, we will be learning our morning routine (songs, poems, etc.), starting Literacy lessons and Literacy bins, and many other things we have included in our daily schedule :) We have so much planned and we can't wait to begin it all (after all the paperwork is done- holy moly there's a lot!).

Here are a few reminders:

• Please write your last name or child's name in notes- we lose track of which important bag they came from and are still learning your names :)
• Please send in your materials for colours so we can collage them together ASAP and put them up
• Please send in a family photo to add to our Family Tree- we need 28 more!

Thank you so much for an excellent start to the school year :) Have a safe and happy weekend!!

~ Miss Pliura & Mrs. Tortola

"Play is the highest form of research". - Albert Einstein

Update! September 2nd, 2014

Hello families!

We had such a fun time with all of you today during our JK visits! The kids really seemed to enjoy the scavenger hunt, playing at centres, and making new friends :) We'd like to thank all of you for taking the time out of your busy schedules to be with your child on this very special day in their lives.

We hope that everyone is clear on the staggered entry and when their child is supposed to attend school. It's so confusing that we can barely keep track! But starting Friday September 5th, all children will attend school each and every day. If you have any questions, please call the school and ask to speak with one of us outside of teaching hours.

By now, you have all received your package of forms that need to be filled out and returned ASAP. We know there is a lot, but the sooner the better :) Also, please bring in the supplies (craft supplies, courier bag, etc.) as soon as you get the chance. Thank you!

We are still waiting on confirmation of when our pizza days will be, so please expect a monthly calendar to go home at the beginning of next week. This calendar will outline gym days, library days, pizza days, special events, etc.

Thank you for your support!

Miss Pliura & Mrs. Tortola

Our Classroom Transformation

Hello everyone!

Welcome to Kindergarten in Room 110! We are so excited to meet all of you and begin an amazing year together :) We have been working hard over the summer to prepare for a brand new classroom and create fun-filled activities to start the year off with a bang :)

As you know, this is Gatestone's first year having Full-Day Kindergarten (FDK). There are many new changes that come with the new program and we are excited to share those with you! The first and most noticeable change you will see is the classroom environment. We have aimed to create a classroom that is, in our opinion, visually similar to one's home. In order to ease the transition of being at home all day and now coming to school 5 days a week, we wanted the classroom to feel like a second home for students, full of warm and neutral colours, greenery, and natural materials. Not only will this help with the transition, but it will also help students remain calm, self-regulated, and focused. We tried to stay away from bright, primary colours and store-bought posters. Posters bought at Scholar's Choice or the Dollar Store really don't mean anything to children, especially at this age. However, if students look and see their creations on the wall to demonstrate the same things a poster would, it becomes much more meaningful.

We'd like to share with you some pictures of the transition that took place over the summer. Many hours went into creating our new classroom so we hope you like it!

Inspiration

The use of natural materials was a must. We loved the idea of using things we could find in nature. We also loved the idea of using brown kraft paper instead of bright-coloured fadeless paper. The black really pops! The picture frames with student work is also a fantastic idea :) Dollarama here we come!

                           

We loved the idea of having a wooden vase so of course we had to make one of our own! Miss Pliura also saw this decoration on the right at Roots- the whole store was an inspiration, really! 

 Loved this idea for a writing centre. We purchased mini clipboards instead.

How neat is this?! Jars with craft supplies in them is a beautiful way to showcase different colours.

Before

Mrs. Nighswander had a lovely classroom that was functional for her students. We loved the flow of her classroom and the sectioned off areas for different types of play. We wanted to keep this functionality while changing up the colour scheme.

                   

We are so fortunate to have a SMARTboard iRover in our class. We can move it to wherever we want!

During

We stripped the classroom bare, cleaned it from top to bottom, and began to set it up using new furniture and plenty of new classroom materials. We had a vision in our mind of what we wanted the classroom to look like; neutral tones, lots of greenery, and a minimalistic feel.

We had to decide which furniture to keep and which was still useable. We were also getting some brand new furniture as well, such as a library shelf, work bench, and a storage unit. 

                      

There was bulletin board glued onto the wall and peeled all the paint of with it. We didn't have any green paint left, so a light coloured brown was used instead (that's just the primer!)

                       

  

We aren't too sure how we were denied a new kitchen set, seeing as how the doors to the fridge would barely shut, so Miss Pliura took it home and sanded it down, used a wooden stain, and fixed the hinges (with plenty of help!). You can see on the left all the scuff marks it had. The picture on the right is what it looked like after sanding. You'll see the difference it made soon!

 

We wanted the cork board and the chalk boards to match. Our original plan was to cover it all with kraft paper, like in the inspiration picture above. However, we couldn't keep it from creasing and it just didn't meet our expectations (see picture below) :P We found bulletin board contact paper that matched the original cork board perfectly, so we decided to use that on the chalk board to make it all match. We used white bins to fill up the cubbies you see on the right and used a black border to frame the bulletin boards.

After

We loved the idea of having some home decor as soon as you walk in the door. The tree trunk vase turned out great! Scrapbook pages filled with pictures will soon fill the holder on the left.

Can we just talk about how amazing this kitchen set turned out!? It's beautifully sanded and appealing to the eye. We received some adorable pots and pans that resemble real life cooking tools - We think Dramatic Play will be a big hit!

How great is this workbench? (with a real-life mini vise!) Students can use blocks, tools, and other classroom materials to make anything their little hearts desire :) Blueprints for blocks, anyone?

As you can see, we're still working on putting up our alphabet, but soon these bulletin boards will be filled with words, child's names, etc. In the middle of our bulletin boards we have our animal character Reading Strategies which we will learn about throughout the year. We are also super lucky to have a SMARTboard, which is where all of our Literacy and Math lessons take place. The kids also have the chance to play on it during Learning Centres :) Did you notice the curtains? Not only do they look nice, but they also prevent little hands from touching things on the shelves during our important lessons.

We got these adorable little chairs from IKEA; they are perfect for a comfy Book Nook where kids can sit down and read/browse through some books. We also received an iPod stereo where we will connect our iPod and students can listen to audio MP3s to certain books (the ones with the red stickers!) Lots of cozy stuffed animals and pillows to make them feel at home :)

This is the beginning of our Science centre. We started off with just some small, natural materials along with some mirrors and magnifying glasses!

Who doesn't love sand! The sand table will be lots of fun :) In our long IKEA shelf, we have stored Playdoh and our train set. In our storage unit, we have plenty of fun manipulatives for students to use.

And last but not least, our Creative centre. Here, students can make beautiful pictures, write a letter, or build a crazy creation using all of our craft supplies (thanks, parents!). We are still waiting on our Art easel, and when that arrives, students will be able to paint here :)

We hope you enjoyed this LONG post about our classroom transformation. We are so very proud of our classroom and can't wait to begin using it to learn, explore, and play.

Have a great night!

~ Miss Pliura & Mrs. Tortola :)

Literacy Support Package

At the beginning of September, each family will be receiving a package I created called "Helping Your Child Learn to Read". It is a package I have created over the past year as a Literacy Support Teacher that I hope will help you support your child with their reading. Please download your advanced electronic copy here!

Happy reading!

- Miss Pliura

Download Here!

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to the blog of Miss Pliura and Mrs. Tortola's Kindergarten class! We are so excited to be teaching your son or daughter this year :) This is the first year for Gatestone using the new Full-Day Kindergarten (FDK) program, and we have been doing a lot of preparation to make this a great year.

We hope that by now, all new JKs have received a post card in the mail informing them on their observation day and first day of school. Here is a breakdown of what the first week of school will look like:

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2014: All JKs attend the classroom with a parent/guardian for an hour visit. The time of arrival was specified on your postcard.

Wednesday, September 3rd, 2014: All SKs attend and half of JKs attend. This is the official first day of school for some JKs. This would have been specified on your postcard.

Thursday, September 4th, 2014:  All SKs attend and the other half of JKs attend. This is the official first day of school for some JKs. This would have been specified on your postcard.

Friday, September 5th, 2014: All JKs and SKs attend!

Please keep checking our blog for further updates regarding the first few days of school. We hope you are having a safe and fun-filled summer!

- Miss Pliura & Mrs. Tortola