A classroom hive for parents and friends to let you know the busy activity going on in Mr. Gibbs' kindergarten classroom at Samsula Academy in New Smyrna Beach.
Welcome to Kindergarten!
There is a wonderful sense of home when you walk through the front doors of Samsula Academy. I deeply believe that your child will find our school to be a warm and friendly place. I am very proud to be a part of the Samsula Academy School family. Once you have opened those doors you are a member of our family too.
I wish to welcome you to Kindergarten. Kindergarten is a new and exciting time for you and your child. It’s a time of change… new beginnings, new friends, new challenges and exciting discoveries! I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation for allowing me to be a part of your child’s life during this precious time of growth and discovery!
This is my honor to welcome you and your child into Kindergarten and into… my life. I will do my best to make this year in Kindergarten enjoyable but also filled with academics. My motto is: “The seeds I plant today will blossom into a flower tomorrow.” It will be my pleasure and privilege to watch your child’s personality and learning abilities blossom and unfold day by day.
I run a very effective classroom which is well structured but allows for fun and growth. I hold high expectations for all my students. Furthermore, I strongly believe in differentiated instruction. Research reveals that all students learn differently. Therefore, I plan my lessons to meet the needs of all students. It will be my honor to expand the growing minds of tomorrow and encourage them to become the great leaders of the new generation.
You will find very useful information on this blog. I will update it with events that are happening in our classroom, student work, and other related events. If you have any questions, you may contact me at cgibbs@readingedgeacademy.org
-Mr. Christopher Gibbs
Field Day was on Wednesday and it was a blast! The kids had a great time! We have been having a very fun week. Next week is the last two days of kindergarten! Remember the kindergarten award ceremony will be held in my classroom on Tuesday - if you are coming to help decorate, please be here roughly at 8:30 AM
In my personal news, we found out were having a boy!
We learned about space this week! We had a blast learning about objects that are in space. We even learned the names of the planets. We visited the moon this week and learned more about it's surface. We also brough back moon rocks and made really neat alien hats!
We had a fantastic field trip last week! We learned a lot!
We have just finished another week in kindergarten. We have only 11 more days of school left! This week, we had our SAT10 testing. We also took this test back in September. Students are expected to have shown some type of academic growth. After recording the results, I am amazed as to how much growth was shown. I am so proud of my class. They have truly met and exceeded my expectations. They truly taught me what children are capable of and that children should not be misunderstood.
We learned about ocean animals this week and had a field trip to the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet on Thursday. We learned about sea turtles, birds, and even went on a jetty walk. We had a blast.
We are heading in the final stretch of kindergarten. Remember to get those forms in ASAP about the party information (see paper in yellow folder). Remember the party will be June 8, 2010 at 10:00 AM in our classroom. We will have lunch in our room and will dismiss afterwards.
Remember to send in your kindergarten scrapbook ASAP! We already got some and they are AMAZING! We will be sharing these at our ceremony and we will remember the fun times we had in kindergarten. It has truly been a GREAT year!
If you would like a final conference and know what you could do to help prepare your child for first grade, let me know ASAP. In my opinion, every child is BEYOND ready for first grade.
Thanks,
Mr. Gibbs
Kindergarten Families,
Tomorrow, I will be sending home the end of the year celebration detailed letter. This letter contians all the information relevant to the last two days of school. We are planning on having an end of the year celebration in our classroom on the last day of school. We are also planning on eating lunch together in the classroom. We will be having pizza (but School Way Cafe will be available as an alternative). We will also be celebration the year by presenting our scrapbooks to our families (kindergarten family project). Keep on the look out for this.
Kindergarten family scrapbook projects are due this Friday. If it is not finished or you would like more time, you can turn it in on Monday. We would like these well in advanced before our last day. This is our last family project and is the most meaningful.
Can you believe school is over in 13 days?! Wow! Where has the time gone?
I know it has been some time since my last posting but a lot of recent changes and events have occured. We are in the process of moving, my wife is expecting (5 months), and I am taking two college courses trying to finish my degree before the end of June. Yes, I am a very busy man - did I fail to mention I am working two jobs? Well, Saturday was a blast! Family Fun Day at Samsula was a huge success! So much money was raised for my dear friend Mr. Sweeney! What a great way to celebrate with family and friends. Oh, did I mention that I had a lot of fun? Not only was I in the "Spalsh Zone," but I also sang a song with two of my students - I didn't do well.
We even went to see Jack Hartmann in April. We love moving and groovin' to his songs! It was a great concert. I even got on stage, oh... We also MADE Mrs. Shannon go! She had to do a crazy chicken dance!
Field trip on Thursday to the science center. SAT 10 testing all week. We have only 15 days left of kindergarten!
Wow. We has a very busy week back in kindergarten! Below is a scope of our week:
In reading, we reviewed the short o word families (-og, -ot, -op). We also reviewed all of the first grade Dolch words. Your child is half way through this list. Remember to review ALL Dolch words nightly with your child. If they can read our word wall by the end of the year (which will contain approx. 172 words, your child will be given a gold metal of excellence! Children are get so excited about this and are practicing them as often as possible in class. We also read several books about frogs this week. Children are begining to read on their own. We are switching from listening comprehension to reading comprehension. Children are now capable of reading a selection and answering questions about what they read. This is a big accomplishment. Way to go!
In math, we learned how to tell time to the hour. We even made our own clock this week and will be using it throughout our unit on time. So many children can tell time to the hour. I was so impressed! Next week, your child will learn how to tell time to the half hour. Please practice these two concepts with your child as often as possible. After all, practice makes perfect!
In science, we read a story about life cycles. We learned what a life cycle was. We also learned about frogs and the life cycle of a frog. Your child could tell you all about living things, frogs, and life cycles now. Next week, we will learn about the life cycle of the Butterfly! The girls are excited about that.
If you haven't noticed, our classroom has become a rainforest! We learned about rainforest animals in afternoon workshops this week. We created our own classroom rainforest this week and learned about all these wonderful animals! Next week, we will add to the rainforest by adding butterflies and rain.
We also had our "Jack in the Beanstalk" performance for the children of Samsula Academy and for the parents. The students did a WONDERFUL job! I will post a video of the performance as soon as I get it! Enjoy the pictures below from the performance.
Greetings! My name is Christopher Gibbs and this is my third year of teaching. I am certified to teach and have a profound interested in literacy. I received my B.S. in Elementary Education and my M.S. at Walden University. I am honored to call Samsula Academy my school of choice. I believe that school is a place for children to play, learn, and grow. I look forward to a new an exciting year.
I know it has been some time since my last posting but a lot of recent changes and events have occured. We are in the process of moving, my wife is expecting (5 months), and I am taking two college courses trying to finish my degree before the end of June. Yes, I am a very busy man - did I fail to mention I am working two jobs? Well, Saturday was a blast! Family Fun Day at Samsula was a huge success! So much money was raised for my dear friend Mr. Sweeney! What a great way to celebrate with family and friends. Oh, did I mention that I had a lot of fun? Not only was I in the "Spalsh Zone," but I also sang a song with two of my students - I didn't do well.
We even went to see Jack Hartmann in April. We love moving and groovin' to his songs! It was a great concert. I even got on stage, oh... We also MADE Mrs. Shannon go! She had to do a crazy chicken dance! 
