Christmas with Patriot Pals

The children will be getting together with their Patriot Pals on Tuesday, Dec. 17th (tentative date) during our P.E. time. They will be doing a Christmas activity and this will be the only time for exchanging gifts with them due to Srs. taking semester tests next week. If you choose to send a gift for your child's Patriot Pal, please do so by Tuesday morning so the children can deliver gifts themselves. Gifts are optional, your choice. The children are very excited each time they get to spend time with their buddies! Always a fun time for ALL involved!!! :)

BE SURE TO REFER TO PREVIOUS POSTS FOR OTHER IMPORTANT DECEMBER DATES!!!!

Report cards will be sent home the week we return from Christmas holidays. I will be spending the next couple of weeks evaluating children on the following skills: Basic colors/words, shapes, patterns, 0-20 recognition, #order 0-20, number words zero-twenty, letters/sounds, rhyming words. Please continue to review at home!

PTO Christmas Store

December 11th-12th - PTO Christmas Store - Hours for Wed. are 7:30-3:00 and Thurs. 7:30-1:00. Gifts range from $1-$10. This is always a good time to let your little ones shop for parents and siblings. If you want your child to shop, please send money in a Ziploc and label who they are shopping for and how much you want them to spend. Gifts will be sent home with your child all wrapped and ready to place under the tree! Volunteers are needed to help work the store (helping children shop and wrapping gifts). Please notify PTO officers if you can help them out.Thanks!

December Dates

Refer to the email I sent for more information about each of these important dates.

December 11th-12th PTO Christmas Store

December 13th Stephen Fite Field Trip money is due

December 16th Christmas Ornament money is due & have gifts for Christmas party to school by this day

December 18th Polar Express and Christmas Party

December 20th Early Dismissal

***Please practice sight words every night at home. We do them every day at school, but some are still struggling with them. There is a list of the words on the right side of the page. I add to the list each time we learn a new word. Also, the decodable books are beginning to get more difficult. If you see your child needs more time to practice feel free to keep the book more than one night. Just be sure to return it when you are finished.

We had a terrific time celebrating Thanksgiving today! The children made their Indian vests, headbands, necklaces, and tom toms! We had yummy soup and fruit for lunch. Most of kids enjoyed it! We even had an Indian Pow Wow outside! Check out the "Look At Us" tab for pictures from our fun day! I am truly thankful I get to do what I love everyday! I get to spend my days with a really sweet group of kiddos! Have a great Thanksgiving!

Iron Bowl Day

We will show our support for our teams in the Iron Bowl Friday, November 22nd. The children are to wear their Alabama / Auburn attire. If they aren't for either team, show your Pike spirit!

Don't forget we will have early dismissal Friday. Early birds will be out front at 11:40 and late birds at 11:50. Every child should be picked up no later than 12:00. There will not be after-school care.

Please send a morning snack on Friday since we will not have lunch at school that day. Thanks!!!

Novemberr 12th-15th

Donuts with Daddy will be held this Friday morning at 7:15 in the cafetorium for grades K4-4th. Cost is $5.00 per family.

Movie Under the Stars is this Thursday, Nov.14th. T-shirts are available for $10. These will be sold tomorrow morning in school foyer from 7:15-9:15. Concessions will be available during movie time. For more details, refer to the announcements page under Pikelib.com. This will be a fun night!!!

 The SGA Can-a-thon will last until Jan. 29th. Each student is encouraged to participate!

Field trip money ($16.00) is due no later then Friday, Nov. 15th. Make checks payable to PLAS. Money has to be sent in to hold our seats. Thanks!

Please send a standard size pillowcase and empty coffee can by this Friday. The soup items can be sent in by next Wednesday. All fresh fruit needs to be sent Thursday morning, the day of our feast.

The Patriot Marketplace is Friday, Nov. 22nd and Saturday, Nov. 23rd.

We will dismiss Friday, Nov. 22nd at 12:00. There will not be afterschool that day. Every student must be picked up no later than 12:00. Thanksgiving holidays are Nov. 25th - 29th.

November News

Nov. 6th - School pictures due. Please return proofs even if you do not place an order. These are used  for the yearbook.

Nov. 8th - Veteran's breakfast

Nov. 11th - Veteran's Day Holiday - No School

Nov. 14th - Family movie night

Nov. 15th - Field trip money is due. Cost is $16.00. Make checks payable to PLAS.

Nov.22-23 - Patriot Marketplace (Fri. Hours-9:00-7:00, Sat. Hours - 8:00-3:00)

Nov. 25-29 - Thanksgiving Holidays

We will have our Thanksgiving Feast/Indian Pow Wow on Thursday, Nov. 21st. Please send a standard sized pillow case in a solid color (tan or white) for us to use to make Indian vests/dresses. Please send in a Ziploc labeled with child's name on the outside. Your child will also need and empty coffee can for tom toms. Please send these items no later than Nov. 15th. I will also be sending a list home of ingredients needed for our Thanksgiving soup and fruit salad. These items can be sent the week of our Thanksgiving feast. Thank you and have a great week!

Report cards will be sent home in folders today. This report is on social skills only. Please look over it and discuss any areas that need improvement with your child. You will see where your child can receive E for excellent, S for satisfactory, N for needs improvement, and U for unsatisfactory. Please keep in mind when looking over the first report card that I do not give E on the first evaluation of any skill. I always leave room for improvement.  You may also find that I will begin using these same scores for daily papers, so you are able to see areas that need improvement and so you know my expectations. Also, look over the new nine week's expectations on the report card so you are aware of what's being evaluated next time. Academic skills are on the next report. Please sign and return the report card in the blue envelope by next Wednesday.

We have completed our alphabet introduction. We have also started addition in math. We have learned the 0 rule - any number plus 0 equals the same number, and the 1 rule - any number plus 1 equals the very next number. Helpful hint: Give the number a birthday by adding 1! We have been going over this in class and always do lots of problems verbally before completing our work pages. Some are having a little more difficulty with adding 1. If you see on your child's paper where they have missed several, please reinforce this at home. I have also shown them how to draw dots out beside the numbers and add them together.  Practice makes perfect!!! Overall, I am very proud of the progress we have made in all areas so far.


I still don't have anyone signed up to help with the Fall Festival on Tuesday, Oct. 29th. The K5 classes are responsible for the Teddy Bear Walk. Each class will need two volunteers to work 30 minute shifts. Please email and let me know which shift you can help with:
6:00-6:30:
6:30-7:00:
7:00-7:30:
7:30-8:00:
Thank you so much for your help!!!

Items for our Operation Christmas Child boxes are due Monday, October 28th. Please send a $1.00 per child to cover postage on our boxes. Thank you for your help with this!

Check out the Look At Us section for new pictures!

October 7th-11th

Our pumpkin patch field trip is on Thursday! Please check your email for important information about the trip.

Friday is the end of the first nine weeks. Our first report card will be sent home in folders next Friday, Oct. 18th. This report is an assessment of social skills. Please look over it with your child and sign and return the following week. Be sure to look over skills coming up for the next nine weeks, so you will know expectations and can reinforce skills at home.

We will be taking items for our Operation Christmas Child box until October 28th. Please refer to the assigned items sent home to you last week. Remember, additional items can be sent, but it must fit in our shoe box. The children are very excited about helping with this worthy cause! I need each child to send $1.00 to cover postage for both of our boxes. Thank you!

The Fall Festival is Tuesday, Oct. 29th. The K5 classes are responsible for the Teddy Bear Walk. Any donations of new or gently used stuffed animals are greatly appreciated! Also each class will need two volunteers to work 30 minute shifts. Please let me know which shift you can help with:

 6:00-6:30:
 6:30-7:00:
7:00-7:30:
7:30-8:00:
Thank you so much for your help!!!

FALL BREAK IS NEXT MONDAY - WEDNESDAY. ENJOY!!!! We will have school Thursday and Friday.

All BBQ tickets and money are due Friday, Oct. 4th. All money raised will go toward technology for the classrooms.

Monday, Oct. 7th is a teacher in-service day. The students are out of school for the day.

Our trip to Dream Field Farm's Pumpkin Patch is Thursday, Oct. 10th. All children have paid and adults will pay upon arrival. Cost for adults is $5.00. I sent home a form for you to return letting me know if you plan to go with us, so I can make arrangements for transporting children there and back to school. We will leave that morning as soon as roll has been checked. Please have your child to school and ready to leave promptly by 8:00. Our Pumpkin Patch tour begins and 9:00 sharp. We will wear our PTO field trip t-shirts. The children will need to wear tennis shoes. The children will carry picnic lunches. Please make sure everything is disposable, so they will not be responsible for keeping up with items. Also, be sure to label lunches. Please send an extra water bottle with your child's name on it. They tend to get be very tired and thirsty at the end of our time at the Pumpkin Patch. I will need someone to bring a large cooler of ice for drinks and lunches. Please let me know if you can furnish this. Parents can bring lunch as well or may order from the concessions available. Children will not order lunch. Everyone planning to drive on field trips must have a copy of driver's license and insurance information on file in this office. Please send this information if you haven't already done so. Files will be checked before we go on the trip. Thanks!!!

The Fall Festival is Tuesday, Oct. 29th. The K5 classes are responsible for the Teddy Bear Walk. Any donations of new or gently used stuffed animals are greatly appreciated! Also each class will need two volunteers to work 30 minute shifts. Please let me know which shift you can help with:
6:00-6:30:
6:30-7:00:
7:00-7:30:
7:30-8:00:
Thank you so much for your help!!!

There will be a pep rally this Friday. Be sure to send tattoo money by Thursday morning if you plan to order this week.

The cheerleaders are selling chances to be a cheerleader for a quarter at the game Friday night. Each chance cost $1. Four girls will be chosen from grades K4-6th grade. There will be one girl chosen for each quarter. They will also be recognized at half-time. If your girl would like to buy a chance please send money in a labeled Ziploc bag.

Have a great week!!!

September 23rd-27th

We will learn letters Rr-Tt this week. We are practicing sight words daily. Please continue to practice at home as well. Our thematic unit this week is Apples. Please send an apple to school labeled with your child's name by Tuesday. We will use these for various activities when celebrating Johnny Appleseed's birthday.

The children are doing great learning our poem and song for Grandparent's Day. Grandparents Day is Friday at 10:00 in the cafetorium. Grandparents will need to go directly to the cafetorium and be seated. Visitation to the classrooms will follow the program. The children are to wear "nice dress clothes" for the program. Please send the check-out note for Grandparent's Day back to me as soon as possible. I have to know who each child is leaving with following our program. There will also be a sign out sheet in the classroom. Grandparents will need to sign your child out before leaving on Friday. Please remind them of this.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

 



Monday, October 7th - AISA Professional Development Day for teachers - NO SCHOOL FOR STUDENTS!

Thursday, October 10th - Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Monday, October 14th -Wednesday, October 16th Fall Break

September 16th-20th

We will review letters Nn-Qq and continue number review 0-20 this week. We are reviewing sight words daily. Please make flashcards and practice at home! We will add new words quickly, so be sure to reinforce these at home. New word today: had. There is a pre-decodable book in backpacks today. Please listen to your child read it and return tomorrow.

MUFFINS WITH MOM is Friday morning before school. Please see that your child is to class by 7:55. Enjoy!

We will not have a pep rally this week. The Patriots will play Lakeside in Eufaula at 7:00. Go Pike!!

Grandparents' Day is Friday, Sept. 27th for grades K4-6th. There will be a special program for K4-4th grades beginning at 10:00 in the cafetorium. Each grade will present a song or poem for the Grandparents. Due to limited space and seating, we set aside this day for Grandparents only. We ask that Grandparents remain seated for the entire program. After the program, the Grandparents will be dismissed to visit the classrooms.  The 5th/6th grade program will follow at 11:00. Please be sure to remind Grandparents that plan to attend. Grandparents are welcome to check your child out for the remainder of the day, but they must sign out through the classroom teacher. I will be sending a check out note home closer to time. Please fill out and return by the deadline.  Thank you for allowing us to share in a special Grandparents' Day with your family.

Mark Your Calendars!!! Monday, Oct. 7th is a Teacher In-service Day. Teachers will be attending AISA meeting in Montgomery. NO SCHOOL for students!  Thursday, Oct. 10th is our Pumpkin Patch Trip. More details to come. I have heard from some that will be driving/chaperoning. Please let me know if you plan to go with your child. All children have paid and money has been mailed in. Adults will pay upon arrival. Thanks!

Homecoming Week (September 9th-13th)

Next week is HOMECOMING week! This will be a hectic but fun week.  Remember, only dress your child in things they can handle, especially in the restroom alone, and remember to wear tennis shoes each day.

Monday: Disco
Tuesday: Rock & Roll
Wednesday: Country
Thursday: Homecoming t-shirt or another PLA shirt
Friday: Cheerleader outfits, jerseys, or red, white, and blue

Parade: K5 theme is Toy Story- "You've Got a Friend in Me"
Characters: Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Rex, Mr. Potato Head, Aliens, Barbie, Army Soldiers, Etc.


The parade will be on Thursday, September 12th. Parade participation is optional for K5. If you have not already, let me know if your child will/will not participate . The children will decorate a banner for the parade and the K5 classes will walk together. The parade will begin behind the hospital and go around the front of the school buildings ending behind the cafeteria. Everyone needs to be here and lined up by 5:15. It will begin at 5:30. You will need to pick up your child behind the lunchroom as soon as the parade is over.

The Friday pep rally will be held on the football field at 11:15. If your child doesn't like pep rallies or the heat, you can check them out through the office around 10:45 or so. School will dismiss following the pep rally. We will be out front for pick up at 11:45. Please have your child picked up no later than 12:00. There will be no after-school care.

We have been busy in K5! I have introduced letters Aa-Gg. We have listened for the sounds, brainstormed words that begin with each letter, practiced writing them, and completed a fun letter activity with each one. We are reviewing color words, number words to ten daily, and we added a and the to our stack today. You should have found a little pre-decodable book in your child's folder. Please have your child sit down and read these to you when they come home and return them to school the following day. They start out very simple using only the introduced words along with pictures for harder words. As we progress, they will get more difficult. For extra reinforcement, I recommend making word cards as new words are introduced. You will see our entire K5 word list to the right side of my blog (starting from the bottom up). Our reading curriculum workbooks haven't come in yet, so you will see I am copying workbook pages. As soon as workbooks come in, we will work from them and lessons will be sent home a unit at the time. In reading we have assessments that I will stamp for you to sign and return. These are evaluations on stories and whole group discussions in class. In math, we have been practicing writing numbers one through three and counting up to ten. I continue to stress the importance of doing your best and working neatly. Coloring helps us to improve our fine motor skills. I am constantly reminding the children to outline when coloring to help them stay inside the lines and to color in all the "peek-a-boos". Please encourage your children at home as well. They really try hard when they hear that positive feedback. I am very pleased with the progress we have made so far! They all seem eager to learn! If you have questions or concerns about your child's progress or about something we are learning at school, do not hesitate to email me at kstewart@pikelib.com

Field Trip money (Pumpkin Patch) is due TODAY. Please send that ASAP if you have not already.

School Pictures

School pictures will be taken next week. This is a head shot only (shoulders up), so your child will still need to wear tennis shoes to school. Dates are : K4-2nd grades - Tues., Sept. 3rd, 3rd-6th grades - Wed., 4th, and 7th-11th grades - Thurs., 5th. Make-up day will be Friday, Sept. 6th.

Reminder!!! Monday is a school holiday! :)

We are off to a great start in KINDERGARTEN! Last week we learned about letters Aa, Bb, & Cc. This week we will be learning about letters Dd, Ee, Ff, & Gf. Please look over all papers that come home and practice, practice, practice. Practice makes perfect! :) Also, continue to review letters, sounds, numbers, shapes, colors, and color words.

You received a letter about our first field trip which is to the pumpkin patch. We will let you know more specific info. closer to time. Please send me a note if you plan to go and how many children you can transport, so I can make arrangements for transporting all children. You can send money in a labeled Ziploc any time between now and Sept. 3rd. Costs is $12 for students. Adults will pay upon arrival.

Homecoming information was sent home today. Homecoming festivities are different this year. The parade will be held on Thursday afternoon before Homecoming at 5:30 this year. All grades will participate in the parade. Parade participation for K5 is optional. We will have a banner and walk in the parade. I do need to know in advance if your child will be participating or not. The parade will be followed by the glow-in-the-dark pep rally at the gym. You will need to pick your child up at the end of the parade route. Teachers will not be responsible for children after the parade. Refer to the letter sent home today for more info.

Friday was an exciting day for the kindergartners! They got to meet their Patriot Pals for this year! The seniors went all out meeting and greeting the children with posters and smiles! There are many new friendships already forming. I don't know who was more excited, the kindergartners or the seniors!  We will try to plan one day each month to get the pals together for some fun, usually around the holidays. I will keep you informed of upcoming activities we have with our pals. Click on the "Look At Us" tab to see pictures of your child with their Patriot Pal!

HOMECOMING T-SHIRTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR $15. FORMS AND PAYMENT ARE DUE MONDAY (8/26).

First Day

We had a wonderful first day of KINDERGARTEN! We made name necklaces and name plates to go in our cars. We also read the book First Day Jitters. The best part of the day was playing in centers and on the playground! I am looking forward to an awesome year with a great group of kiddos!

KINDERGARTEN SUPPLY LIST

#2 pencils - "Ticonderoga" brand (Regular size, not large)
Glue sticks (4 pack)
Fiskars scissors (Blunt-tip)
Erasers - Pink Papermate Pearl
Crayons - 16 or 24 count Crayola (No larger boxes please) Leave in box please!
Basic watercolor paint set - Crayola
Washable markers - Crayola 8 count - Leave in box please!
2 Sturdy pocket folders (Bottom pockets)
Small plastic busy box (No zip closures please.)
Nap mat (Easy to manage and fasten - no sleeping bag types)
Lunch box
Backpack - (Large enough for a folder - No rolling backpacks)
Clorox Cleaning Wipes
Baby Wipes
Paper Towels

 *** BE SURE TO LABEL ALL PERSONAL SCHOOL SUPPLIES***


***Additional classroom items will be requested at K5 Open House by your child's assigned teacher.  Thanks!!!