Room 202's News Blog: June 2011

What a week we have had in Weckie-land!! It has been an action packed week as we spent time on Monday and Tuesday preparing for our “Down on the Farm Day” Tuesday afternoon! It was wonderful to have such a large turnout of parents and relatives here to celebrate the hard work that our kids have done this year. Thank you to all who came to celebrate the writing of our kids! When I look back on samples of work from September and compare them to items we have done just this past week, I am truly amazed and in awe of their little minds! We ended our week today with a surprise pizza lunch in 301! The look on the kids’ faces was priceless after we walked to the lunch room today, turned around and promptly went back to the room. They had NO clue what was going on and then couldn’t figure out why many of their lunchboxes were empty!!

So let’s talk about all that is coming up in the next 1 ½ remaining days of school…

First, you may have noticed a BIG change in your child emotionally. The transition from the end of Kindergarten is major, more so than I’ve even seen in 4 years in second grade and 1 year in fourth grade! A lot is happening around them… we’re singing songs about moving to first grade, excitement is building for summer break and kids are crying when talk of leaving Kindergarten even comes up in our room. As one put it, “How will I live without Kindergarten?” Many of the kids have started calling me “Mommy” and are adding “Weckstein” to the end of their name. All of this is truly NORMAL!

Dublin is a very special place filled with dynamite teachers who truly “love” their kids. The kids have grown attached to our 301 family and to their very first school teacher! Let’s be honest, I think I’m just as attached! This being said, if your child is acting out at home… complaining of stomach aches … having some separation issues… it’s all NORMAL. You can talk to them about the change, explain that its’ okay to have “mixed” emotions and also help them to see that before we all know it, we’ll be back at Dublin. You may have even heard that I’ll be moving rooms once more (and hopefully not again for a long time) as I return to second grade. There is now lots of buzz around the, “I hope I have Mrs. Weckstein in 2^nd grade” topic too! All of this being said, Tuesday will be a BIG day in their little lives and in ours as well! I’ll be honest, my eyes well-up at the thought of sending these lil… I should say Big Weckies on to first grade!!

Tuesday is a ½ day of school with students being dismissed at 12:18pm. At 8am at Dublin there will be 5^th grade graduation. This means that the parking lot when you arrive (if you drive to school) will be PACKED. Please plan accordingly (if you can walk, that’s a better option). In the morning we will do our last “Smartboard” calendar routine, have snack and then just have some time alone as a class. I’m asking for this time so we can be together as a unit one last time without the distraction of parents/siblings, etc. Then we will head to an assembly that will begin in the gym promptly at 10:30am. The assembly is an all school Sing-Along that all of the kids will get to sing and reminisce about the year at, and parents/grandparents are invited to join us. This will also be a BUSY event, so if you want to come for the 10:30 sing along, plan accordingly as well for parking. The assembly is lots of fun, but also tends to bring on A LOT of tears!!

I do believe we will also have a short recess after the assembly and then it’ll be time to do some wrap-up activities, pack up the kids one last time and send them out for Summer Break (you are welcome to stay from the assembly until the end of the day). Any child that will be picked up on Tuesday will need to be picked up before 12:18 as I will need to take the bus kids out to the bus this one last time. After all of the bus kids are on the bus it is customary for the teachers to do an “All Staff Wave” as the kids depart one last time. Following this process, we then have a staff meeting to go right into, so I will not be around for awhile.

Shortly after you do depart, please remember that there is a swimming party happening between the Meloche and Michalko families in our class that EVERYONE is invited to!! Even Mrs. Weckstein will make an appearance later on in the afternoon for some food, fun and maybe, just maybe, a dip in the water!

Have a fantastic last weekend… make sure your child gets lots of rest and is ready for a fun-filled last two days at school!! :-) Mrs. Weckstein

P.S. Please continue to send your child with their folder and back pack on Monday and Tuesday as there will be LOTS coming home with them in the next few days.

Summer Work!

Yes, there is work your child can do this summer to help better prepare them for first grade! Here is a link to the district web site filled with things your child can work on this summer!

http://www.wlcsd.org/webpages/cyberss/

Below you will find a list of links to short videos on YouTube (supervision is a must) that will help your child to review Math Concepts this year with songs and raps they’ve come to love!

Counting by 2s and 5s and 10s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTYxfltyPgg

The next info is a document our Speech and Language teacher, Chris Franke, shared with all teachers so that we could pass the ideas onto you!

SIX SUMMER SUGGESTIONS TO PROMOTE CHILDREN'S SCHOOL SUCCESS

By Jim Baetz, LMSW
Counseling Associates

Summer is a time for children to have fun and form memories they can cherish and build upon while maintaining learning experiences.

Children like projects! Here are a few ideas for keeping their minds fresh while outside of the traditional school year.

1. Summer Events Journal: Capturing summer events is a great creative project. Children can use their imaginations and artistic talents, while also honing their organization and writing skills. (I want to give credit to a Learning Center teacher for this suggestion.)

2. Board Games: Children learn socialization skills and gain self-confidence through playing board games. Taking turns, thinking through their actions and being patient are all traits kids can pick up on during such play. Other games teach kids important life lessons, such as interacting appropriately with others, winning and losing and planning ahead.

3. Summer Learning: Plan for continued educational experiences by discussing and agreeing upon a summer school class and/or tutoring. Research indicates continued learning in the summer helps memory retention of material learned during the regular school year. It may be challenging to go against the tradition of taking the summer off, but parental creative thinking and appropriate persuasiveness can nudge children toward having an advantage when school starts in the fall.

4. Summer Reading: Summer is a good time for browsing the library, looking for books and magazines to read. Taking turns reading to each other is an excellent way of enriching a child's language skills, which can lead to positive associations with reading.

5. Special Interests: Children's play is a window into their interests and personality. Letting kids play how they want respects and encourages their individuality. Children's interests unfolding according to their inner direction is a wonderful sight to behold. The more children find, enjoy and recognize their special interests and abilities, the more they master new skills-and increase their self-esteem.

6. Social Skill Development: Summer provides an ideal opportunity to arrange get-togethers with friends, such as sleepovers, picnics and trips to the beach. They also allow parents to watch how their children function in social settings.

Room 202's News Blog

Friday, June 10, 2011

The end is drawing near...