Universal Pre—KINDERGARTEN
Mrs. Jamie Eneix
centermcmechen@mail.npheadstart.org
Direct Line 304-230-1182
2011-2012May
April was a fun filled month filled with many exciting activities. We enjoyed dressing up as our future careers on PreK Career Day! Thank you to all who sent in books, dress-up clothes, and props about your child’s future career. We would also like to thank Detective Taylor for showing us all the cool things that a detective can do!
We have continued to work on kindergarten skills, and we encourage you to do so at home.
Kindergarten Transition Activities
Please be sure to call the school to set up an appointment for your child’s kindergarten transition meeting. The meetings will be held on Friday, May 4th, at Center McMechen Elementary. If your child will be attending another school in the fall, a transition meeting will be arranged for you.
Thank You!Thank you to the 2nd grade teachers- Mrs. Wood and Mrs. Magers- for donating 12 caterpillars- 6 per class- for us to observe, predict, and investigate. We have researched the life cycle of butterflies and learned many new vocabulary words. We are waiting anxiously for the arrival of our Painted Lady Butterflies.
Up Coming Dates:
May 4th Kindergarten transition meetings
May 8th-No school
May 17th Last day for PreK- End of the year celebration 1:00-2:00April
Dear Parents and/or Families,
Welcome to the season of spring all! We have a lot of exciting things going on in pre-k and more to come! In this past month the pre-k teachers have been covering various learning themes such as Dr. Seuss literature, the water cycle, the five senses, and the parts of the human body. We are concluding the month of March and the beginning of April with the community helpers learning theme. We went on a community field trip to the local post office in McMechen, across from the school, to learn about the jobs of the mail carrier and post office workers as well as the workings and use of a post office. The children wrote letters, with the teachers’ help, to home or to their pen-pals and got to mail their letters out during their post office field trip that they attended within the final week of March. Also, we will be having CAREER DAY in pre-k on Thursday, April 5th! THE PRE-K STUDENTS WILL NEED TO DRESS UP LIKE THE COMMUNITY HELPER THAT THEY WANT TO BE WHEN THEY GROW UP ON CAREER DAY (THURSDAY, APRIL 5th). Look forward to some great stories from your child about what they are learning about in school!To Show Appreciation:
We want to thank all of the parents and families that participated in our Dr. Seuss activities in the month of March! The activities went off with a hit! WE CAN NOT THANK YOU ENOUGH FOR ALL THAT YOU DO!!!!THANK YOU TO MISS MARY for pulling off The Cat in the Hat role and giving us the fun and educational experience of cooking Green Eggs and Ham!
Some Important Information for upcoming dates and events:
Look forward to hearing about our upcoming end of the year pre-k celebration (date to be announced).We will be having Kindergarten Transitioning on Friday, May 4th. Please schedule your meeting time with the Pre K teachers. We hope to have all parents participate in this important transition meeting. You will have an opportunity to meet with the pre k teachers for 15 minutes. After that meeting you will meet both Kindergarten teachers and have a quick tour of the kindergarten room during Kindergarten instruction so plan to spend 30 to 45 minutes with us on May 4.
Dear Parents and/or Families, Welcome Pre-K Students!
Hello all! We have a lot of exciting activities coming up for CMES Universal Pre-K in February and March. We have finished our learning themes from early and mid January such as lessons about the season of winter and dinosaurs. We are currently carrying over into lessons about winter/polar animals and activities about outer space. February will bring many more engaging activities for our preschoolers that involve you such as “Letters of Love from Home” for “Our Little Darlings”. We will be sending cards home to you to write a love letter to your loved one and send back to school with them. The cards will be read to the children and displayed in the hallway of the school building. We will also ask that you send in a picture of you and your child to display with their cards. We will definitely send home the cards and pictures with your child, for your own keepsake, after being displayed. Early March will include Dr. Seuss activities being that Dr. Seuss’s birthday is March 2nd, 1904. We will be sending home memos in the near future to let you know about the language and literacy lessons planned for the Dr. Seuss learning theme and how you can participate in the activities. There is a Dr. Seuss website, http://www.seussville.com/, which includes interactive games, activities, and resources for educators and parents that you might find interesting. Finally, February is the American Dental Association’s sponsorship of National Children’s Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. Therefore, we will also implement lessons involving dental hygiene. We have a lot in store for February and March! If you have any questions feel free to ask us.
Again, we all want to thank all of you for your involvement in your child’s education within the home and in their school environment. Furthermore, your positive feedback and participation in the recent student led parent teacher conferences was much appreciated. We like to say that we teach to the whole child and you play a large role in that overall picture, because you are much regarded as the most important component of your child’s educational process.
Reminders:
The Kindergarten screening date for the upcoming 2012-2013 school year for Center McMechen Elementary is Tuesday, February 21st and Wednesday, February 29th will be the makeup day due to a possible snow day on the 21st. If your child is already enrolled in Pre-K at Center McMechen they will automatically be enrolled in Center McMechen Elementary’s Kindergarten unless you, the parent(s) and/or guardian(s), state otherwise.CMES Universal Pre-K registration is scheduled for all day on Friday, April 20th. If you know of or have a child who will be the age of 4 by September 1st of 2012 they can register for Universal Pre-K for this upcoming 2012-2013 school year. No school on Monday, February 20th.
Dear Parent(s) and/or Guardians,
Can you believe that we are already nearing the halfway mark of the 2011-2012 school year?! Speaking of this year flying by we are so honored to be able to be the teachers that can educate and witness the growth of your child. The students have already shown massive leaps and bounds of success in development of socialization skills, following a daily structured routine and school rules, and adapting to their school environment. Many, many thanks for all you do to contribute to our Pre-K world at CMES!!!! The following is a summary of information concerning past and upcoming events.
November
Pre-K had many exciting things occur in the school month of November! We had our outstanding Grandparent’s/Special Person’s day performance where the children were able to show how they have been practicing multicultural and diverse principles with learning how to count to 20, learning the days of the week, and singing in Spanish. Thank you to Mrs. Kathy Fox for your help and resources provided to us for this special event! We thank you all for your attendance and participation in this event. It was wonderful to meet you all and we truly hope you enjoyed your visit to the school and the children’s classrooms.
American Education Week went off with a hitch! We want to extend thanks to the following people for making American Education Week a positive and educational experience for our Pre-K students:
Thank you Mr. Zambito and Mr. Allender for reading to our students and making reading so much fun. The children really enjoyed and were engaged with your animated read aloud time. They loved Mr. Zambito’s Donald Duck impersonation!!!! Also, thanks for the healthy fruit snacks you contributed to all of the students.
Thank you Mrs. Huff, or should I say Mother Goose, for being another guest reader for Pre-K. The children just loved listening to your familiar nursery rhymes and serving as active participants in your read aloud.
Thank you too for the nursery rhyme printouts you gave the students to take home.
You are welcome back to visit Pre-K and read to us anytime!!!! Thank you!Our book fair at CMES was a success thanks to Mrs. Livingston. We all know how hard you have worked with the book trust events and organizing the book fair. Thank you so much!
December, January, and February –
We will have a lot of special events coming up within the next few months for Center McMechen Universal Pre-Ks. We will definitely send out memos concerning all events to let you know about important dates and events thereof. One date to keep in mind is December 7th (School Concert). Parent Teacher Conferences will be scheduled throughout the months of December, January, and February. Some important dates where you may be scheduled for a conference are December 22nd (ISE Day), January 19th parent teacher conference night 3:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., and February 17th (ISE Day). These are dates where you may be asked to schedule a parent teacher conference by your child’s Pre-K teacher. These dates may change in the future due to inclement weather and you will be notified if so. We will have student-led conferences where your child will be an active participant in showing and discussing with you what they have learned and their individual portfolios/data binders the teachers are collecting on your child’s development. If you have any questions feel free to ask your child’s teacher.
Math and Science –
Here are some great math and science activity ideas and resources for the math and science objectives we implement with your child at school based on the State of West Virginia’s Pre-K Content Standard Objectives (CSO’s) and the Early Learning Standard Framework (ELSF). You are welcome to practice these skills at home to reinforce learning from the school to the home and vice versa:
Counting to and identifying numbers 1-20 and matching quantities. (e.g., As you are folding laundry have your child help you fold your clothing and count each item as they fold and then match amounts of clothing such as, “I folded 10 pairs of socks.”.)http://dltk-teach.com/
This website has great flashcard printables such as numbers and quantities.Sort different items in your household (buttons, coins, etc.) and discuss more, less, fewer, and equal amounts. Also discuss order of numbers such as, “What number comes before 10, what number comes after 14, and which number is between 11 and 13?”
Use household items for your child to practice adding and subtracting parts of a whole up to 10. (e.g., Lay out 10 cups and have your child add and subtract and then say how many left or total amount all together. “You have 5 cups and if I give you five more how many do you have all together? Now, you give me 3 cups of your 10, how many cups do you have left?”)
Measure and weigh different items in your house with your child with a scale, rulers, tape measures, measuring spoons and cups, and string and compare heights, lengths, circumference, weight, width, liquid measurements, etc.
Have your child create and extend various patterns with shapes and colors with various household items. (e.g., color pattern with socks, drawing a shape pattern and reviewing various shapes).Talk about and review positional phrases. Give your child a toy or any household item and ask them to show you up, down, over, under, top, bottom, inside, outside, in front, and behind positions with the item. You could also incorporate opposites into this activity (e.g., opposite of up, down, behind, under, etc.).
Perform an experiment with your child such as melting ice and comparing liquids to solids (e.g., “Ask questions such as, “How do you think we can melt this ice cube? Why do you think that will melt the ice? How did the ice change when it melted? What does it feel like when it is ice and when it is a liquid? etc.).Math and Science Websites:
http://guest.portaportal.com/smartboardfun (a great website that Miss Jamie found that has tons of educational interactive computer games for children in every content area)
http://www.pbs.org/teachers/classroom/prek/science-tech/resources/
http://www.knowledgeadventure.com/preschool-math-games.htm
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/student-activities
These are all great activities to keep your child engaged and occupied during the winter weather too. We all know that those snow days are right around the corner!
That concludes our newsletter for this month. If you have any questions at all we are all willing to answer any question(s) you may have. We will definitely keep you informed of any and all upcoming events. Looking forward to continuing the school year into the New Year! Again, thanks for all that you do. Have a wonderful winter season! UPK 1 and 2
CMES PreK students have really become great friends with each other and have gained skills that enable them to resolve many conflicts on their own. These skills have been enhanced through play and interactions with their peers and adults. Thanks for all you do with your children!
October
PreK had a very busy month! The children learned about the fire station and had the opportunity to walk through the smoke house. The firemen gave us an insight as to what they do and how we can be safe. Thank you to the McMechen Fire Department for giving us this wonderful learning opportunity! We would also like to thank the McMechen Women’s Club for providing us with a yummy snack during our visit!We also had a visit from our dental hygienists. We had the opportunity to listen to story, answer questions, and ask lots of questions about our teeth.
Thanks to Connie Veronis and Charlene Rine!!Finally we would like to extend a special thank you to all who helped us make our 2nd Nursery Rhyme Time a huge success! This event has many language and literacy activities that family members can incorporate into any evening at home. Thanks to all family members, you do a great job!
We also would like to extend a very special thank you to “Little Boy Blue”-Miss Mary T. She is our rock!
November
Some activities to keep in mind for the month…
Grandparent’s Day, November 16
American Education Week, November 14-18
Book Fair, date to be announced.
Also we have exciting news coming in the month of November- our new PreK playground equipment will be installed! Northern Panhandle Head Start, along with the help of Mr. Yoder, applied for a Grant. Thanks to all who helped!
Please look for more information of future activities and events taking place in our rooms! Thanks for all you do!
Dear Parent (s) and/or Guardians,
Pre-K has done an outstanding job settling into the school routine! We are so proud of how well they are following the rules, participating in the classroom, and learning to work together to make for an overall positive environment to come learn and make lasting friendships and cherished memories. This is a great time to discuss your child’s day with him or her daily by asking them what they learned or did in school that day. They love to talk about the friends they are making in school, the daily occurrences of a school day, and what they are learning about. Talking with your child about their day and their feelings is beneficial because doing so further promotes their self esteem and social/emotional development. This is a great way to further extend learning in the home from school.
Social Emotional
Social/emotional development is a crucial part of learning within the Pre-K Curriculum. The children are learning how to work together cooperatively with others in large groups, socialize and make friends, make the right kinds of choices, and most of all self regulate and be able to appropriately express their own feelings and emotions in a positive manner. They are also learning how to problem solve when conflicts arise with their peers or other environmental factors.
One of the strategies we are using in the classroom for the children to solve problems, negotiate during conflict, and use healthy self expression is by using the “Peace Table”. It is a designated table in our classroom that the children are directed to use when they need to discuss their feelings and sort out a problem with their fellow peer (s) (e.g., someone is not sharing or not taking turns, someone said or did something that hurt my feelings, etc.). The “Peace Table” is a great way to teach children how to independently work together and solve problems without always relying on an adult to solve the problem for them. It also teaches them how to express their feelings in a healthy way and feel proud of themselves for playing a part in solving the problem. Perhaps, trying a “Peace Table” at home could prove beneficial with sibling conflicts or any other problem that could be solved through negotiation.
Learning Themes
We are wrapping up the current learning themes in both Pre-Ks and moving on to some new learning activities of the children’s interest for the month of October. Fall is here! We are going to start learning about what happens during the season of fall such as how the weather and environment is changing and how different clothing is being worn for the changing season. Also, we will be having a “Nursery Rhyme Parent Afternoon” on Thursday, October the 20th where your attendance and participation is strongly encouraged! We will send home memos to give you the details regarding information about the “Nursery Rhyme Parent Afternoon” and what special learning activities are scheduled and being implemented for this upcoming month. We are looking forward to the activities we will be participating in for the month of October!
Just a Reminder- I ask that you please arrive at 1:55/ 2:00 to pick up your child. The side door of the building, where you enter the school, will not be unlocked until it is close to the time for you to pick up your child. This will allow for the hallway to be clear in case the building has to be evacuated for any safety reason (e.g., fire drill, emergency evacuation, etc.) and will also avoid any distractions for students while they are still in their classrooms learning. Also, no pets are permitted in the school building due to policy and safety reasons. We thank you all for being so punctual in picking up your child and following school policy. It is an honor to be able to play a part in molding your child’s great mind and being your child’s educator during their first school experience. Thank you for the important roles you all play in continuing learning at home!!!!
Sincerely, Mrs. Nicole Majewski and Mrs. Jamie Eneix
and the rest of the Pre-K Staff too!!!!
Welcome to a new year full of language/literacy and discovery.
PreK had a wonderful week of getting to know new friends and learning the routine. This is why it is very important for parents/guardians to set up a good routine at home. This may include-sit down dinners, bath, and then bedtime- keeping this set at the same time every evening will help your child with their routine at school. This is also a perfect time to ask your child questions- about their day/ their favorite food. This is a great language literacy activity that is easy and anyone can do.
Gross Motor
This is the perfect time of year to provide your child with various opportunities for physical activity, both for good health and for skill-building. At this age, kids are busy developing gross motor skills—learning to use the large muscles in their legs, arms, and trunk to run, jump, throw, catch, and kick. They are also working on fine motor skills, although those develop a bit later than gross motor skills. Still, you'll want to provide your preschooler with plenty of time to work all his/her muscles, big and small. Here is a simple activity to use at home:
Walking around the house, neighborhood, or park. For variety, add in marching, jogging, skipping, hopping, or even musical instruments to form a parade. As you walk, count, or play games tell stories.We have some new friends to get to know better, so we start the month with the theme of “I Am Special”/ “All about Me”. We’ll learn about what makes us unique, talk about feelings, and see what special things each of us can do! If you have not done so, please send in a family photo and a baby picture of your child. All About Me
Mrs. Nicole Majewski- We are very excited about our new PreK-1 teacher, Mrs. Majewski. CMES staff and Prek’s, would like to take this opportunity to extend our warmest welcome, we look forward to all her new and creative ideas. Welcome Mrs. Majewski!
