Dear Parents,

May is going to be a very busy month, as you saw from the calendar of events. Last week we had the annual “Fun Run”, which was very successful and on Friday, we went to Portland High School to see “Peter and the Wolf”. The children all enjoyed watching the Portland School of Ballet perform that story.

On Monday, May 12, we will have the ladies from the Altrusa Club visit us. They always bring a new book and stuffed animal for each child and serve a healthy snack. We always enjoy it when they come!

We will continue our study of animals this week with a focus on reptiles and amphibians. (Last Thursday, “Mr. F.” from the Chewonki Foundation brought a live salamander and two turtles for us to observe.)

In addition to everything else we are doing this month, the other kindergarten teachers and I are trying to arrange a field trip to the USM Planetarium sometime during the next few weeks. I will let you know the details, once the trip is organized.

Isn’t it nice to see the flowers finally growing!

Nancy Tryzelaar

Dear Parents,

We hope that on Monday, May 5, we will be able to have the Annual Nathan Clifford “Fun Run” of one mile (even though the kindergarten children will walk that distance on the sidewalk, instead of running in the street as the older children do). If it turns out to be raining that morning, we’ll do it on Tuesday.

We will continue our science unit on Animals. Last week we learned about mammals and birds. This week we finish our study of birds, then focus on reptiles and amphibians.

To go along with this, we are going to be fortunate to have someone from the Chewonki Foundation visit on May 8^th, to talk about “Cold-Blooded Animals”.

On Friday, May 9^th, we will go to Portland High School to see a production of “Peter and the Wolf, put on by the Portland School of Ballet (thanks to the PTO!).

The children will have a chance to listen to the story and the music as they color a book which shows the different characters and the instruments which represents them.

It will be quite a busy and fun week!

Nancy Tryzelaar

Dear Parents,

What a nice vacation week we had! I hope you were able to enjoy the nice weather. Too bad it looks as if it is not going to continue!

It was nice to have so many friends and families come to the Academic and Art Fair on April 17 and see what the children of Nathan Clifford in all grades had been learning about. Our class had worked hard on their books about Community Helpers, and health and safety. The children were very proud of them.

This week we will start a new science unit on Living Things. We will begin with animals. The children will be introduced to the different kinds of animals and what they have in common and what makes them unique. We will first focus on mammals.

We will also begin a new penmanship unit and in reading, we will do many activities that focus on “word families”.

We are all looking forward to the warmer weather and hope that we will soon be seeing the leaves growing on the trees!

Nancy Tryzelaar

Dear Parents,

During this week, we will finish our Social Studies unit on Community Helpers by adding a police officer to our Rescue Center. We will practice calling 911 for pretend emergencies and make a book about doing that. (Last week they made books about Fire Safety.)

In addition to a focus on the work done by those in the medical/dental field, fire fighters and police, the children have been working on a “Community Helpers” book which includes many other jobs people do. Then they will draw pictures that show what they want to be when they grow up.

All of these books and pictures will be on display at the Academic Fair which will be held on Thurs., April 17, from 6:30 – 7:30. During this evening, children, families and friends are invited to go to the different classroom throughout the building and see all the learning being done in our school. Everyone is welcome!

The next week is our April vacation and school will resume Monday, April 28. I hope you will enjoy that week off and are able to do some fun activities.

Happy Vacation!

Nancy Tryzelaar

Dear Parents,

Last Friday, it finally seemed appropriate to make the spring trees to put up on our Four Seasons posters in the hall. We all were so happy to enjoy the warmer weather and spent extra time outside getting in lots of exercise! We hope to do that this week as well.

Later this week, we will add two firefighters and a police officer to our Rescue Center. We will read books and talk about related safety issues, such as wearing helmets and seat belts, not playing with lighters or with matches. The children will also practice crawling low in smoke and “Stop, Drop and Roll.” They will make a Fire Safety book, which will review all the things we have learned.

We will also discuss calling 911 in case of an emergency. Next week we will practice doing that in pretend emergencies. Please make sure your child knows their address and phone number, if they don’t know them already.

I hope you have seen the mini-books the children have been bringing home, which introduce many sight words. If your child practices reading them to you, it will help them remember the words.

Nancy Tryzelaar

SAVE THIS DATE!

The school’s Academic Fair will be on Thursday, April17– I’ll send home more information about that later.

Dear Parents,

I enjoyed talking with many of you last week, sharing the progress the children have made. Some parents had to reschedule and I will look forward to seeing them soon!

This week we will start a new unit on Community Helpers. We will begin with a focus on the people in the medical professions, such as doctors and nurses. We will also discuss related issues of what is needed to keep healthy: good nutrition, exercise, plenty of rest, washing hands, and staying away from harmful things.

Our Housekeeping area will turn into a “Rescue Center” and the children will enjoy dressing up as a nurse, doctor or patient, using the contents in the two medical kits.

In subsequent weeks we will add firefighters and police officers to the Rescue Center and will learn about their related health and safety issues. We’ll be talking about how to call for help (911) and what information they will need to give to an operator, if they ever needed to make such a call.

This means that they must be able to give their full name, address and phone number, so please make sure your child knows all of this. I’ll be asking them to tell me this at the end of this unit and hope that they will all be able to do so!

Nancy Tryzelaar

Dear Parents,

The Talent Show last Friday was very successful. All children had a chance to perform during the afternoon show and got many compliments from the audience. Not everyone was able to return for the evening show, but those that were there did very well. I was so proud of them!

If you were not able to come to either of those shows, you will have another chance to see your child sing when you come to the Music Performance for Kindergarten, First and Second Grade children with Mr. Drobinski, our Music teacher. That will happen on Tuesday, March 25th.

Mrs. Grimard and I are continuing to assess the children one-on-one in preparation for the conferences next week. I am so pleased to see the progress they have been making. (If you have not already returned the sign-up sheet, please do so. Note that I have put an “X” on all of the slots which have already been taken. If no available times are possible for you, let me know and we can make other arrangements.)

The children enjoyed the Tasting Test and the Mystery Smells last week as we talked about those Senses. This week our focus will be on the Sense of Hearing. As part of this, they will be introduced to the four instrument families of the orchestra.

Nancy Tryzelaar