August 2006

 

Parents;

 

          I hope you are having a glorious summer with your children.  I can’t believe that it is already August! It won’t be long before school begins.  The first day is Tuesday, September 5th. 

 

          I am really excited about this year’s two/three multiage.   I think it will be a wonderful year and it looks like it will be a great group!   The parents of the new students to multiage should have gotten some information from me in June about multiage.  Let me know if you did not receive that.  Information is always available on my webpage at http://staff.msad71.net/nnaimey/index.htm and once school begins, I will have weekly postings to my blog at http://www.kport.org/Naimey/.  There is a spot on the right to subscribe which asks for your email address.  This will send you an email when I post an update to the blog so feel free to fill that out without worries, it is not used for any other purposes.

 

          I have used collections pictures in years past to help students with writing ideas and I would like to do that again.  What were most helpful were pictures of things that your child did so they could write about that experience or a funny story that went with a picture to give them an idea to write about or maybe a picture of something that your child knows a lot about so they could use that to start a story.  Children are more motivated to write when they are interested and when it is personal to them.  So start collecting and the more you have in there the better.  These will stay in your child’s writing folder throughout the year and they can add to them at any time.

 

They should also make a collage about themselves for the first day. This should be two sided as we will share them in the beginning of the year as an ice breaker and then we will suspend them from the ceiling so your child will be comfortable in the classroom and it will immediately feel more like their “home”. After that it will go into their writing folders. Feel free to let them get creative drawing parts of the collage or including three dimensional objects, magazine cut outs or photos.

 

Also, we always do a lot of work with real money in math.  Please send this money in a large one gallon freezer bag.  This way they can maneuver the money within the bag without taking it out of the bag and losing it.  At the end of the year, that bag will be returned to you and by using a freezer bag, it is a little stronger.   Please send this amount of money in the freezer bag labeled with your child’s name:

          25-30 pennies

          6-10 nickels

          6-10 dimes

          4-6 quarters

          One dollar bill

          Any other coin that you may have:  half-dollar or dollar coins

         

          These are some other items your child will need for the beginning of school.

For NEW students to the multiage class ONLY:  A 2 or 3inch three ring binder with a clear plastic overlay on the front to use as your child’s portfolio. Other students already have their portfolio in the classroom from last year.

 

The rest of this list is for ALL students:

 

·        A check for $4.30 made out to Time for Kids

·        Sharpened pencils (no mechanical pencils and no distracting pencils, please)

·        A small pencil sharpener with a compartment for holding the pencil shavings (again this should be a simple hand held sharpener, nothing distracting)

·        An eraser with your child’s name on it

·        A small pencil box for all these items that will stay in their desk all year

·        A wooden coat hanger for your child to use throughout the year to hang their coat (We will paint it on one of the first days to personalize it)

·        Two black composition books (they can be any color but when I write black people understand what I mean) for various writing journals.

·        A box of crayons

·        A box of colored pencils

·        A box of markers

·        A box of tissues

 

Well, I think that is it for the list.   If you want to drop off these before school begins.  You are welcome to bring them to the classroom, just make sure they are labeled.  I am in and out of the classroom often.  If your child wants to see the classroom or me before school begins, just email me and we can arrange a time.  Sometimes, children feel more at ease in this way. If you have any questions, you can also email me at nnaimey@msad71.net.  

  

Parent night for the multiage will be on September 7th.  Please keep that date open.

 

I have enclosed a postcard to your child. Enjoy the rest of the summer.  Please help your child find the time to keep reading and writing over the summer and I will see you soon.                        . 

                                               

 

Nancy Salvetti Naimey