Kindergarten Newsletter

Dear Parents,

This is our last week of school before Thanksgiving! The "Thankful Feathers" project was due last Friday but we will hang up any feathers that are turned in late. Make sure you have filled out the Thanksgiving traditions digital form below. We have only had a few complete it! Remember there is no school from November 20-24 so that you can have some extra time to enjoy those holiday traditions! We look forward to hearing all about their holiday news when they return! We are so thankful for our kindergarten families! Please have a healthy, safe, and happy Thanksgiving!

The K Team

Please take some time to fill out this survey for your teacher! Make sure you add it to your class link below. The information you add to the survey will help our class discuss how different families celebrate traditions in different ways. Please help us by completing this on time so that your child can be a part of the discussion on the day that it is taught. Thanks so much!

• Cubrilo's class
• Hatton's class
  
• Maine's class

Please take some time to look at the coins in your wallet! Coins are not as familiar for this generation with the convenience of credit and debit cards! We will be assessing this skill in the coming weeks! Students have to be able to NAME the quarter, nickel, dime and penny. They need to be familiar with both sides of the coin. They do not have to know the value! A great activity to do with your child is to sort the coins in your wallet or piggy bank by quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies! Reinforce the correct name of the coins! Thanks for your help!

The referral window for elementary students' Gifted and Talented services is from November 27 - December 15, 2023. (This referral window also applies to any current GT LEAD students interested in applying for the ASPIRE Academy). Parents interested in having their students assessed for GT services need to complete the form in Skyward by December 15th. There are directions on how to complete the parent inventory and permission to test form on the GCISD Advanced Academics website: https://bit.ly/GCISDGTinfo. Campus GT specialists will administer any necessary testing from January 4 - 31, 2024. Parents will be notified through Skyward regarding results as soon as the district assessment process is completed.

Dove Elementary is hosting Lunch with a Loved One on Tuesday, December 5, 2023. All visitors that plan to attend Lunch with a Loved One and would like to skip the line at the kiosk, please RSVP by completing the form (one form for each visitor) by SUNDAY, December 3, so that we can create a Fast Pass for you! Please remember your ID when signing in! Please also look closely at lunch times for your student(s) as they may be different than the times your student(s) normally eat lunch.

Also, please make sure that you have completed a volunteer background check and are a cleared volunteer! The steps to become a cleared volunteer can be found HERE ---> https://www.gcisd.net/o/gcisd/page/volunteer-background-check

Additionally, our Book Fair will be open during lunches, if you would like to shop after eating.

By popular demand, Dove PTA is putting together a student directory to help our families and students better connect! All families will have access to the digital version - and PTA members will receive a printed copy!

We are asking that all families complete the form on our website for each child to let us know whether you want to be included! https://www.dovepta.org/student-directory

Thanks for reading at home with your child and returning the reading bags to school each day! Please keep ALL books in the reading bag when you are not reading them. This includes paper books that have been copied. Don't forget to initial on the days that your child practices at home. Please help your child develop a routine of practicing at home every day. The reading homework should only be taking about 15 minutes every day. Please keep the reading bag in your child's backpack when it is not being used. Our books should not be read around food, drinks, pets or little siblings. We want to keep our books in good shape so that they can be enjoyed by many future readers! Please praise your child for the great job they are doing to help build their confidence!

If you would like to eat lunch with your child, you can sign up for a booth at this November Sign Up. We have a limited amount of spots. Students are not allowed to bring a friend to their booth. Please make sure your child does not get easily upset from the separation when lunch is over. If so, you may want to wait until your child is more stable with the routines at school. You are allowed to bring outside food for your child's lunch date.

We can sort, compare and describe rocks using properties (color, size, texture, shape, weight).

We were so happy to have so many kindergarten families at the Dove movie night to watch the "Mario" movie!

Each class has a compliment chart in the hallway and when 30 compliments are given, a reward is voted on as a class!

Writing: We will label with words and work towards writing a sentence about our pictures. We will research and write about turkeys.

Reading: We will begin a new HMH series that focuses on healthy lifestyles. We will read the books, "Germs are Not For Sharing" and "Being Fit." We are learning to read the Irregular (Heart) words: I, can, see, a, the, as, to, do, is, was, you, of, for, from, your, said, all and put. We will read and spell words with a short /u/ sound.

Math: We will continue working on problem solving. We will be counting, comparing, sorting, and identifying coins (quarter, dime, nickel, and penny).

Science: In Science we will investigate water and describe it using properties. We will observe water clarity and talk about how water is useful. **Please do some SCIENCE at home and have your child "play" with water in the tub or the sink. Which things float, how does it feel (wet, cold, hot, etc...), change the shape of water with different containers, etc...

Social Studies: We will focus on how families celebrate the Thanksgiving holidays and compare traditions. We will make a Thanksgiving bracelet that tells a story about the first Thanksgiving.

November 20-24: NO SCHOOL/Thanksgiving Break

December 1: AttenDANCE Celebrating Perfect Attendance in November

December 4-8: Dove Book Fair

December 5: Lunch with a Loved One (RSVP for a Fast Pass)

December 12: GMS Band Holiday Tour Concert

December 14: Polar Express Day (wear Pajamas)

December 15: School Holiday Sing Along

December 15: Christmas Parties 9:30-10:30 (approved background checks required)

December 15: Early Dismissal at 11:45

December 18- Jan 3: Christmas Break/No School

January 4: Students return to school

1. Practice lunch codes at home. They will need to memorize and practice identifying these numbers on a keypad at home.

2. Please label all backpacks, jackets, sweatshirts, lunch boxes and thermos.

3. Bring a spill proof water bottle daily - WATER ONLY!

4. Return the BLUE Daily Folders each day! Initial behavior chart daily and remove papers!

5. Bring your PINK dismissal card EVERY day when you pick up. This is a safety precaution and helps the process be more efficient!

6. Please call the office (817)251-5700 if you have a change in dismissal!

7. Money needs to be in a labeled baggie/envelope with the name and purpose.

When you send money to school please make sure it is labeled in a baggie or envelope with your child's name and the purpose of the money (ex Spirit Shop, lunch, etc...) Many are already doing that but we have received a few that we weren't sure about. Thank you so much!

We rolled out "Breakfast Bunch" in kindergarten this last week! If you communicated with your teacher that your child wanted to be in the "Breakfast Bunch," then your teacher sends your child to the cafeteria to pick up a breakfast each morning. Classroom doors open at 7:20 for students needing to eat breakfast. Students need to be at school as close to 7:20 as possible to allow time for the transition in the hall to get a breakfast and to have time to eat it before we clean up at 7:50. If your child has an older sibling at school, it is a big help to us for older siblings to take the kinder sibling to the cafeteria line when they first arrive before going to the room to drop off backpacks. We also have some 5th grade buddies helping to walk with kindergarten students. Students arriving at 7:30 will miss their opportunity to pick up a breakfast because the line closes at 7:35.

Please send your child with a spill proof water bottle. If it tips over while it is open, it should not spill if it is spill proof. Please make sure their name is labeled on it. Thanks for having a water bottle that is filled and ready to start every day.

Kindergarteners are allowed to bring an afternoon snack to school. Please feel free to add ONE small dry snack that is easy to open and consume quickly. Please just drop it in their backpack. This snack will be optional and must be provided by the parents. Water is the only approved drink for the classroom so no other drinks are necessary. If a student brings something that is messy or requires a spoon, we will reserve the right to have them save it for home. An example of a dry snack could be: Cheezits, Animal Crackers, Pretzels, Goldfish, etc...

7:20-7:40 Breakfast/unpack backpacks/morning work

7:40-7:50 KDOV Announcements/Circle Up

7:50-8:25 Structured Literacy (Phonics, Phonemic Awareness...)

8:25-9:10 SPECIALS (P.E., Music, McLAE)

9:15-11:00 Humanities (Reading and Writing)

11:05-11:35 Lunch

11:35-12:05 Recess

12:05-12:50 Dolphin Time

12:50-1:45 Social Studies/Science

1:45-2:55 Math

3:00 Dismissal

Bojana Cubrilo- Bojana.cubrilo@gcisd.net

Keari Hatton - Keari.Hatton@gcisd.net

India Maine - India.Maine@gcisd.net