Hello Kindergarten Families!
Happy December! We are at the end of Trimester 1. Can you even believe winter and the holidays are right around the corner?
Your children have accomplished so much in the first trimester and we are looking forward to the rest of the school year! We have spent our time together getting to know each other, learning classroom rules and routines, and diving into the kindergarten curriculum.
Here is a brief summary of what we have covered so far in each subject:
Go Math!
Identifying and writing numbers 0-10
Comparing numbers using greater than, less than, and same number
Counting with 1 to 1 correspondence
Introduction to addition
Wonders (ELA program)
Letters and letter sounds: M, A, S, P, T, C, O
High Frequency or Sight Words: I, can, the, we, see, like, a, to, go, you
Identifying the author, illustrator, and details of stories
Learning how to tap out and blend the sounds in new words
Writing short sentences
Writing our first names with appropriate capitalization
Science
Weather Patterns
Five Senses
States of Matter
Social Studies
Being a classroom citizen
All About Me
Veterans Day
Thanksgiving
Please continue to:
Send your child in with one small snack and a water bottle every day
Keep a labeled spare change of clothes in your child’s backpack
The cold weather is upon us, please send your child dressed appropriately (layers are best). We have one 30 minute outdoor recess daily (weather permitting). Please send your child to school each day with a warm coat, gloves, and a hat.
We are looking forward to another great trimester of fun and learning at PAK!
The Kindergarten Team
Hello PAK families!
The special education team would like to thank the Pakachoag students and families for a wonderful start to the school year! Mrs. Kathy King is our special education teacher for the ISN Program and Ms. Alison Simoneau is the special education inclusion teacher. We are both in our second year in Auburn and loving to get to know all of the students more and watching them grow.
In Ms. King’s class, students have been working hard on learning classroom expectations, transitions, and academic skills presented in fun ways. We love to use music as well as our iPads to answer questions in the classroom. We have also been working on learning skills to help us when we are dysregulated - such as elephant and star breathing. We love Fridays because it is Cooking with King in the classroom. The class has become a family and has begun to build some meaningful relationships with both their peers and teachers.
With Ms. Simoneau, students have been working on all of their core academics in a re-structured way, tailored to their individual needs. We work within the student’s homeroom classroom and in small groups in my classroom. I love being able to work with all students in flexible groups! We, especially, love to play learning games that target our objectives! One fun thing we have been doing this year is to choose students, at random, to join Ms. Simoneau for “Snackin with Ms. S” to better build relationships with all students that we interact with throughout the day.
Reminders: Keep reading, working on sight words, and math facts at home to continue to build those skills! Please look to your child’s progress report for their personal growth toward their goals when report cards come out. Your child is growing and learning on their individual path and that is something to celebrate!
Please reach out for support whenever needed, whether your student is on an IEP or not. We are willing to provide suggestions and resources or direct you to the right people. Much of this information is located on the new Auburn K-2 Special Education website.
Alison Simoneau
Kathy King
FALLing into First Grade
Fun and exciting things have been happening in the first grade classrooms! Recently, we learned about Cardinal Direction. Our classes used silly acronyms to help remember the four cardinal directions. Have you heard, “Never Eat Soggy Waffles” to help you remember North, East, South, and West?! The students really enjoyed it. In Science, we are learning about light and how it affects us.
As a STEAM exploration, our classes constructed tables using construction paper, made homemade butter, listened to Thanksgiving stories, and created turkeys using pattern blocks!
In Math, we have begun Chapter 4. The skills that we are focusing on in this chapter are strategies to help subtract. Thank you for reading and keeping your School-Home Letter handy; this provides you with vocabulary and activities that reinforce the concepts we are learning. We continue to encourage you to log in, play games, and review your child’s test scores.
Are you wondering about Wonders? Wonders is our Reading Program. Please remember to read the Peek of the Week letter so that you are updated on our skills, high frequency words, and Spelling list. We appreciate your cooperation and help practicing these with your children.
Thank you for all of your support thus far this school year!
The First Grade Team
The students have settled nicely into the routines of second grade. In reading, some of the strategies we have been focusing on are identifying key details and characters, setting, and events. The genres of the stories we are reading are fantasy, realistic fiction, and narrative non-fiction. Please remember to have your child read for at least 15 minutes each day. Your child could practice reading the decodable books that were previously sent home. Of course, any book from home would suffice!
In our Go Math curriculum, the students have started Chapter 4: 2-Digit Addition. They will be learning how to add 2-digit numbers with and without regrouping. Please remember to have your child practice their math facts daily using the worksheet that is sent home each Monday.
This trimester, students have worked hard on writing personal narratives. They learned things such as use of transition words, adding details, and conventions.
Thank you for attending your child’s parent-teacher conference. As always, please contact your child’s teacher if you have any questions or concerns.
Thank you for your continued support,
The Grade 2 Team
Auburn Youth and Family Services Inc. offers a food pantry for Auburn residents. Auburn Youth and Family Services do not require proof of income, they are here to support and help those in our community. The food pantry is Monday through Thursday, currently only operating at curbside pickup or delivery. If you are interested, please call (508)832-5707 ext. 102, Lisa or Sally will give you a call back to give you a list of food items you can pick from. Auburn Youth and Family Services Inc. also have baby items (diapers and food items), when calling to place your order please ask to add these items on.
Find Food - Worcester County Food Bank
If you are in need of any housing assistance here is the direct link for RCAP in Worcester ~ Community Resources | RCAP Solutions
Please also know that you can confidentially reach out to either Ariella Emmanuel, School Social Worker, or Kristie Deyoe, School Counselor, at any time if you have social/emotional concerns about your child or need support in accessing community resources. Supporting the social/emotional needs of students and families is an integral part of our jobs.
