First Day of School

Welcome Letter

August, 20, 2012

A little about me

Firstly, welcome to Pre Kindergarten!  This is going to be a very enjoyable and exciting year for you and your child.  My name is Braedon Sharp and I am from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.  This is my third year teaching at HIS. I have also taught in India, Toronto and Taipei. 

INFORMATION OVELOAD!

I understand that this is a busy time for you as parents.  There will be a lot of information coming home from the administration as well as from classroom teachers. If you have more than one child attending school, it must be quite a task to sift through all of the information.  I do need to stress, however, that there will be some important details coming home so please check your child’s backpack every day for paperwork that requires your attention.  If you have any special notes for me you can put them in their backpack or even better hand them to me directly at the beginning or end of the day. 

Another great way to receive information about what is occurring inside the Pre-K classroom is through my blog hisprek.blogspot.com.  I will update it every Friday and post pictures and other notices throughout the week.  Please try to check it regularly as I now send most information this way.  Contact me if you have any questions or concerns about any of the information that is being sent home or on the blog!

CONTACTING ME

One of the great things about Kindergarten is the regular (and very necessary) contact with parents and caregivers.  I will be using a communication book that will get sent home in your child’s bag daily, if you have any questions or concerns you can write it inside the book.  I check my email frequently and you can email me at bsharp.his@gmail.com.  Please email me with any questions or concerns you have.  We can always make appointments to meet in person if necessary at a time that works for all of us.  I have included information below that will give you some valuable information about our year together.

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL

School starts at 8:20am with play activity in the morning.  Sharing time will begin at 8:45am.  At 3:10 students will be dismissed from the classroom.  Parents/caregivers are asked to wait outside the doors for non bus-children and I will dismiss your child as I see you.  Your child’s safety is very important so they will be released only to adults/siblings that are on the dismissal list.  If someone else will pick up your child could you please let the office and me know ahead of time.   It is important to be waiting for your child at 3:10 as they often panic if you are not there waiting for them.

ABSENCE

 Please call the school and inform the office if your child is going to be absent.   If you are aware of an absence in advance (i.e. appointment, trip) please call the school or inform me.  

CLOTHING AT SCHOOL

Some Kindergarten activities are messy!  Your child will be involved in sand, water, glue, paint, play dough, and outdoor play.  It is important for your child to be dressed in comfortable play clothes and running shoes.  Accidents occasionally happen, so please put a bag of extra clothes (with your child’s name on it) into their backpack.  I will take it out and keep it in their cubby and if an accident occurs and you find extra clothes in your child’s bag please remember to bring them back the following day.  Also, please remember to put your child’s name on everything that comes to school (especially shoes, outdoor clothing and food containers).

Supplies

There are some items that each child will be required to use in the class to use on a daily basis.  To promote the concept of sharing all supplies will be communal. Could you please bring the following to school.  Since the Pre-K numbers have grown this year could you please try to send your son or daughter to school with a smaller book bag/backpack. 

 Could you please bring the following to school:

1.      1 package of wax crayons (twistable kind is ideal)

2.      1 package of pencil crayons

3.      1 package of markers (a package12 is ideal)

4.      a package of erasers

5.      a package of thick easy grip pencils and regular pencils

6.      a pair of scissors

7.      2 glue sticks (UHU stic brand is ideal)

8.      a sleeping bag

9.       water bottle

TREASURE BAG

I will be sending home our Treasure Bag with a student every night (beginning in late September).  This is our version of show and tell.  Please enjoy helping your child pick out something special to share with the class and help them prepare for the clues that they will give their classmates.  This is your child’s chance to share that special toy that they really want to bring to school as we ask that they do not bring their own toys in on the other school days.  Instructions will also be sent home inside the treasure bag in both English and Chinese.

COMMUNICATION FOLDER

Each student will have their own plastic folder that will go home when there are letters, books etc that need to be taken home.  Please check it nightly and return it every morning.  If you are sending money, please place it in an envelope clearly marked with your child’s name, the amount enclosed and the reason for the payment. 

LIBRARY

Soon your child will begin to bring home a library book.   Our class will be going to the library a once a week.  More information will follow regarding library procedures. 

**Please send in 2 recent photos of your child to be used in a class activity (they will not be returned). Also if available could you send in a photo of something your family did during their summer holidays.

If you have any questions regarding any of this information, please come visit me or email me at bsharp.his@gmail.com.  I am looking forward to a terrific year with you and your children.

Braedon Sharp J

“All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten!”- R.Fulgham

Pre-K Class Schedule

Friday, June 8 2012

Things are starting to wind down and we are now only 10 in the class.  Freesia has headed back to Singapore but she will be returning to HIS in September.  We finished our insects unit and have begun to do an end of the year review.  In math we are still investigating measurement, estimation and addition but will start our end of the year review next week. 

Next Wednesday afternoon we will be having a picnic with our buddies to celebrate the end of the year.  It will take place on school property or the public school beside HIS.  Therefore, next Wednesday could you please pack a treat/snack that could be shared with a few other students.

There are always many birthdays that fall over the summer holidays and therefore many students are unable to celebrate with the class their special day.  Next week if any parent would like to celebrate their childs birthday please let me know and we can make the necessary arrangements.

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Phonics review and short vowel introduction

2.      Butterfly art activity.

3.      Computer story “Diary of a Bug,” “Diary of a Worm and “Diary of a Spider.”

4.      Listen and colour butterfly game.

Math Centres

1.      Adding board game

2.      Investigating insects with magnify glasses

3.      Computer adding and subtracting games

4.      Water estimation and sand scales.

Student of the Week

The student of the week is Natasha.  She is always thinking of others and is willing to help.  Over the week she consistently helped Ms. Vicky and I clean up or do anything we asked of her.  Super job Natasha!!!!

Reminders and Notices

1.      June 13^th End of the year picnic with our buddies

2.      June 18^th End of the year assembly.

3.      June 19^th Last Day of School Dismissal at 1:00pm

Like always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

Silkworm Farm

Friday, June 1 2012

I cannot believe that it is June already and in just a few weeks we will be off on our summer vacations.  This was another very exciting week in the Pre-K class as we were very busy with our insect and measurement unit, watching the graduation and the art show.   We also had the opportunity to visit the silkworm farm.  I want to thank Eva Lee for coming along and giving us a hand.  The students were able to see first hand how silk is made and all of the life stages of a silkworm.

We had a sadder day on Wednesday when we had the going away party for Daphne.   We had a great time eating pizza and celebrating her time with us. We wish her the best back home in Singapore; don’t forget your friends back in Taiwan at HIS!

There will be no homework packet for June. 

What we did in our centres this week.

Literacy Centres

1.      Phonics review and short vowel introduction

2.      Pull CVC game.

3.      Computer story “Diary of a Bug” and “Diary of a Worm.”

4.      Listen and colour insect game.

Math Centres

1.      Adding board game

2.      Investigating insects with magnify glasses

3.      Computer subtraction games

4.      Water estimation.

Student of the Week

The student of the week is Bryan.  Ms.Vicky and I have seen a lot of improvement with his speaking abilities.  He is now always sharing stories from home and loves to add to group discussions.  We are very proud of you Bryan!

Reminders and Notices

1.      June 18^th End of the year assembly

2.      June 19^th Last Day of School Dismissal at 1:00pm

Like always, if you have any questions or concern you can always write me an email at bsharp.his@gmail.com or come by and speak to me in person.

Cheers

Vicky and Braedon

Daphne's going party and Graduation