Hello Truman Families,

We hope this newsletter finds you well as we transition into the exciting season of spring! Here are some important updates and reminders from the kindergarten department:

Kindergarten Registration: We are thrilled to announce that kindergarten registration for the upcoming academic year is fast approaching! If you have a child who will be turning five before August 1st, we encourage you to contact the front office to schedule your registration appointment as soon as possible. We look forward to welcoming new faces into our kindergarten family!

If you have a child turning three or four, we are currently making appointments for preschool screening too. Contact the front office and they will help you with the process.

Current kindergarten students going into first grade will receive information regarding school placement for the 2024-2025 school year and dates/times for tours in late spring. Be watching for information sent home from your child's teacher.

For registration/screening for a 3, 4, or 5 year old, contact our front office at 573-701-1370 and we will be happy to help you get started. Our office hours are 7:30 AM to 2:45 PM and 3:20-4:00 PM.

Spring Break: As we approach the much-anticipated spring break, please note that our school will be closed from Monday, March 25th, through Monday, April 1st. School will resume on Tuesday, April 2nd. We hope all our families enjoy this time together and return refreshed and rejuvenated for the remainder of the school year.

Spring Musical: Mark your calendars for our annual spring musical, featuring our talented kindergarten students! Rehearsals are in full swing, and our little stars are eagerly preparing to showcase their talents on stage. The performance will take place on Tuesday, May 7th AND Thursday, May 9th. Check out the specific details below for your day/time. More details will follow closer to the date, but we encourage you to save the date for what promises to be an enchanting evening celebrating the arts and our kindergarten community.

Tuesday, May 7th at 6:00 PM: Hayes, A. Chrisco, Naeger, Propst, and Pigg

Tuesday, May 7th at 7:00 PM: Sitzes, Cheek, Morris, Burr, and Voyles

Thursday, May 9th at 6:00 PM: Mattina, Finch, Stewart, and Gillam

Field Trips: Our classes have some exciting field trips planned for the coming months! These outings provide valuable opportunities for hands-on learning and exploration beyond the classroom. Please ensure that you are checking your student's backpacks and watching for Remind messages for further messages, and don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions about upcoming field trip details.

Thank you for your continued support and partnership in your child's education journey. We are committed to providing a nurturing and enriching environment where every child can thrive.

Warm regards,

Ms. Johnson and Mrs. Vandiver

March 4th - 8th - Read Across America Week

March 13th-14th - Spring Parent Teacher Conferences (Not all students will attend.)

March 15th - No School for Students

March 18th - 22nd - Spring Book Fair

March 22nd- First Baptist Church Easter Egg Hunt

March 25th - April 1st - Spring Break

Our buses are moving! Let's keep the reading going as we enter our 3rd semester. Each kindergarten student has a bus with his/her name on the wall which moves for every 10 books they read.

1. Cold and flu season reminders: Proper Handwashing, do not share cups/utensils with others, get plenty of rest at night, cover your mouth/nose when coughing and sneezing, use hand sanitizer, and keep your hands away from your eyes/nose/mouth areas to prevent the spread of germs!

2. Dry air brings dry skin! Remember to moisturize the skin and apply chapstick for chapped lips!

3. Help prevent head lice! Encourage your children not to share hats, jackets, and other personal items. Please notify the nurse if you discover your child has lice at home.

4. Please see “Should I send my child to school?” flyer…please follow these guidelines to help decrease widespread illness. I need to stay home if...

Helping kids sound out words

When you sound out a word, you say each sound in the word slowly (s…i…t), and then say the sounds together more quickly (sit). The technical term for this process is blending because sounds are blended together to form a word.

When a child can say the sounds of the letters in the order in which they appear, and can then blend those sounds into a recognizable word, they are able to read thousands of phonetically regular words.

Because it unlocks so many words, blending is an important step toward the goal of reading comprehension. In fact, research shows that learning to sound out words has a powerful effect on reading comprehension.

When kids first learn how to decode three-letter words, they have to juggle several cognitive processes simultaneously:

• They must recognize the letters.

• They must retrieve the sounds of those letters.

• They must hold all three sounds in the memory while they sound out the word.

There is a lot going on in their brains! In fact, it is very common for beginning readers to have difficulty with standard blending procedures. Such as looking at the word “map”, they might say each sound separately, /m/ /a/ /p/ and then guess “pan”. By the time the child got to the third letter, they had forgotten the sounds of the first two letters, and then had to resort to guessing. It’s not that kids can’t remember three things in a row—it’s just that there are too many competing processes going on in their heads at once. What can we do to help?

Cumulative blending is quite simple. Start with a simple 3 letter word like “map”

1. Touch one letter at a time and say the sound of each letter. /m/ /a/ /p/

2. Go back to the beginning of the word and blend the first two sounds together. /mmmaaa/

3. Start over at the beginning of the word. Slide your finger under the letters and blend all three sounds together. /mmmaaap/

4. Finally, say the word at a normal pace, as we do when we speak. /map/

Cumulative blending provides the extra support, or “scaffolding,” that beginning readers need. When you feel your child is ready, they can try blending all three letters without this additional step, but don’t try to withdraw the support too soon. These steps and the support they provide help memory issues immensely.