March Newsletter

The school year is moving along rapidly & I find it hard to believe your children have completed over 114 days of school! Recently, you may have heard that Mrs. Finotti was gone for "lots" of days. My husband & I traveled to southwest FL last week to spend time visiting with family & soaking up the 70 degree weather. It was a heavenly change from our cold PA weather!!! While at the beach, we collected all kinds of shells to make surprise bags for my kiddos - ask your child to show you their shell bag.

This week we are celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday. Motivating children to read is an important factor in student achievement & creating lifelong successful readers. Research has shown that children who are motivated & spend more time reading do better in school. On Tuesday, we had special Kindergarten readers - thanks to Mr. Dan Williams for stopping by to read some pretty cool stories to our class as well as the other 4 Kindergarten classrooms! On Thursday, we visited the SMILES Center for a "Seuss-irific" Celebration. The children participated in some great science experiments, listened to a story read to them by the Cat in the Hat, spent time in the Seussville Sports Arena & had some quiet time for reading on their own. Thank you SMILES, for a super morning filled with loads of fun activities!!! A great time was had by all!

In a few weeks, we'll have a new student teacher joining our class. Ms. Dawn Reddinger from Clarion University will be spending the next 8 weeks learning all about Kindergarten.

The 3rd grading period ends March 31st. Please continue practicing sight word cards attached to your child's folder every night. 4 new word cards will be added to the folder rings next week. Other skills to practice at home: saying first, middle, & last name - recognizing/writing numbers through 20 - counting to 50 - identify ordinal numbers first to fifth place - know your phone number - make sure your child can zip, button, & snap, & finally... please start practicing how to tie shoes.

We'll be celebrating St. Patrick's Day on Wednesday, March 17th. We'll center our day around some "green" activities. I plan on providing a green drink to go along with our snack. Also, on that day, the children may:

• wear the color green
• bring something "green" for Show & Tell
• bring a green treat (green grapes, celery, peppers, broccoli, green sugar-free Jello Jigglers, etc). If you plan to provide a treat, please keep in mind the school's nutrition policy. Also, please send a note to let me know if your child is bringing a Snack treat. (If any type of candy, pop, or baked goods are sent to school, they will be returned with your child.) Treats may be dropped off in the Office on the 17th or may be sent in with your child on that day.

Other dates to keep in mind for this month.......

1. March 10 - parents w/a child entering Kindergarten next Fall will meet at 7PM in the gym
2. March 11 - Gym Show
3. March 14 - Daylight Savings time begins
4. March 16 - Good Touch Bad Touch Program - afternoon
5. March 17 - High School Musical Assembly - time TBA
6. March 23, 24 & 25 - new Kindergarten student registration appointments
7. March 30 - grading period #3 ends
8. March 31 - Make-up Day - yes, school is in session

If you would like to schedule a conference, please contact me. And as always... thanks for all your help & support, everything you do at home helps your child do & be their best in school!