Ms. Madorsky’s Classroom Newsletter

To my kindergarten students WELCOME TO SCHOOL! To my first grade students WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL! That’s right, kindergarten and first grade students.

This year, the school is departmentalized all the way down to kindergarten. This means, that your student will be seeing two different during the day; one for math and one for English language arts (ELA). I will be your students’ ELA teacher this year. This means, I will be teaching them everything they need to know in order to be successful readers and writers!

I will send home a newsletter every Monday. This way, you will know what your student will be learning in my class during the week. Also, I will give suggestions of what to practice at home. It is my hope that you practice at home with your student, and I will do everything I can to support you with that.

In addition to the newsletter, I also have a classroom website. On the website you will find the stories we are reading the in the class, questions to ask that go along with the stories, sight words homework resources, information about the rules, rewards, and consequences in the my classroom, school information, and copies of the newsletter. This will be a great way for me to keep you all updated and for you to stay informed.

I am looking forward to a GREAT year. If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me. This year, Bradwell’s theme is “Education is a team sport” and that’s really true. Without all of you and your support, the things that are taught in the classroom would not be as meaningful. I really hope we can all work together to make this school year wonderful.

Classroom News

Bradwell School of Excellence

Chicago, IL

September 8 , 2014Volume 3 , Issue 1

BACK TO

SCHOOL!

This week, although it is the first week of school, we are hitting the ground running. We are jumping right into Literacy content. We will be reading four different nursery rhymes this week. Students will be finding words that rhyme, identifying characters in a nursery rhyme, identifying things that are similar and different, and also analyzing phrases such as “it’s raining cats and dogs.”

Students will also learn about independent reading. They will practice sitting quietly and focusing on reading a book every day. Although some students may not know not how to read yet, this practice is for when we start small groups and some students are working independently. After the first 20 days of school, students will independently read at least twice a week if not more. Practice, practice, practice!

Just like kindergarten, first grade students will also be jumping right into literacy content. This week, students will be reading the fables The Boy Who Cried Wolf and The Maid and the Milk Pail. For both fables, students will be retelling the plot (beginning, middle, and end) of the fable. Students will also have to identify the characters and settings in both fables. Characters are the people, animals, or creatures in a story. The setting is where and when a story takes place. A setting could be a park, a house, at night, 12:00, dinnertime, September, summer, etc…It is very important that when you read any story with your student you have them identify the character(s), setting(s), and plot. These skills will come up repeatedly throughout the year, so the more practice students get at home the better!

Kindergarten ELA News

First Grade ELA News

SIGHT WORDS

Every week students will learn five sight words. Sight words are the most common words in books, and the ability to recognize, spell, and write them quickly will make your student a better reader and writer. We will practice these words in the classroom, but practice at home is important too. In your student’s folder is a list a list of all the sight words your student will be learning this year. I cannot stress the importance of practicing sight words at home enough. Have students read them, write them and spell them. The more practice the better!

Kindergarten sight words this week are: the, of, and, a, and to.

First grade sight words this week are: over, new, sound, take, and only.

Ms. Madorsky’s Classroom Newsletter Page 2

Supplies If you can send any school supplies (Kleenex, hand sanitizer, pencils, dry erase markers, crayons, glue sticks, folders etc…) that would be greatly appreciated! Thank you in advance for your help!

Reminders!School starts at 8:45. We leave the cafeteria at 8:45, so if that is when your student is arriving they are NOT eating breakfast. Please get them to school by 8:30 so that they have time to eat.

Please make sure that your child is wearing the appropriate uniform every day when they come to school.

Homework will be sent home every Monday and the packet is due the following Monday. Homework counts for a grade so if they do not return it they will receive a 0 until it is turned in.

Contact information: lnmadorsky@cps.edu or 224-406-0488

The rules in Room 123 are: Follow directions the first time they are given.Level 0 Voice (no talking) when the teacher is talking.Raise your hand to speak and wait to be called on. Stay in your area (do not get out of seat, up from the carpet, move from the line, etc…)Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself. Please make sure that you review these rules with your student so that they understand the expectations. Students that do not follow the rules will be given a consequence. Students that follow directions will receive rewards. A behavior chart will be located in your student’s folder. Every day I will mark your child’s behavior. Please ensure that you check it every night. Students that end the day on green (good day) will receive a sticker for their sticker chart. Once they get to numbers 13 and 26 on the sticker chart they will get to go to the prize box. Students on yellow, orange, or red will not get a sticker. If your child ends the day on one of those colors please make sure that you talk to them about their behavior so that it can be corrected for the next school day.

Classroom Rules