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

38 Day Voyage

Posted by Mr. Gibbs on Friday, October 16, 2009


Every morning, we put a bee on our hive. There are now thirty-eight bees representing the number of days we have been in school. Can you believe how far in the year we already are? It feels like yesterday that I was setting up my room getting ready to meet my new children. This is a picture of our current "100 days of learning" wall. By now, we should have already had a conference and you have some insight about your child and how they are doing. If you feel the need to discuss anything, my door is always open.


We had a very fun week again in kindergarten!



Below is a recap of our week!









We celebrated Columbus Day on Monday! This was very fun for the students. The students joined I (Christopher Columbus) on a voyage! We set out to find a quicker way to India but instead, we a route to the new world. We sailed on three ships. We had fun reading books, poems, and sining songs about Columbus. We even did several Columbus activities throughout the week in our afternoon workshops (themed stations). Look for these to go home sometime next week!

Our afternoon workshops this week were:
Columbus Book - students assembled a book about Columbus. Three Ships - students put together a craft on blue paper using the three ships. A poem is on the back. Columbus Puppet - students make a puppet of Christopher Columbus. Columbus Painting -students used watercolor paint and colored our world. We learned that our world is round, like a ball.






Mrs. Riddle came in on Wednesday to help students finish their narration for our first digital storybook. Mrs. Riddle is putting the finishing touches on it. The student's enjoyed the use of technology. "That was AWESOME! I talked into a machine!," said Zane. "It was pretty cool in there," said Olivia. I am so excited to see the finishing touches.





Have you heard about Gibbstown? Gibbstown is our next big project in kindergarten. Gibbstown is a project we are doing in stages. We are learning about neighborhoods. Gibbstown is our neighborhood. Last week, we learned about maps; therefore, we made a map of our neighborhood. This week, we learned about houses. We made houses and put them in Gibbstown this week. Gibbstown has three weeks before its completition. We will be learning about community helpers and buildings next week. Later, we will learn more about transportation. Gibbstown is located near the door. Be sure to check it out!

Speaking of communities, next Thursday is job day! We are finishing our first chapter book and inside of the novel, Junie B. Jones has a job day at school. We are going to do the same. Children will dress up as whomever they would like to be when they grow up. They will wear their outfit to school on Thursday. If students want to be a fireman, they should dress accordingly (etc...) We are very excited about this. I wonder what Mr. Gibbs want's to be when he grows up.... hm..... (Mr. Gibbs always has something up his sleeve!)

Finally, Jeremy was named our Terrific Kid. Jeremy has done an outstanding job and I am so proud of him. Jeremy is coming to school ready to learn and has already shown drastic improvement! Jeremy is an example of a student who is eager to learn and is always willing to help others. Jeremy, I am so proud of you. Jeremy said, "This week we did Columbus things. We made houses. We watched Moby and read the Three Little Pigs. I like school."

Next week, we will be learning Ll and Kk. We will also conclude our Dolch words. After this week, students should be able to name 43 Dolch words. Students have until the end of the month before they are tested on all 43. Remember to always review! TIP: Make a word wall in your home and have your child read the wall nightly. Children love reading the word wall. We do this every morning. It is great and builds their confidence. We have some projects approaching for the end of October. Please see letter sent home about donations. Continue to practice counting to 100, letter recognition to 20, and writing numerals. These are very important concepts. There is no school on Friday and Wednesday is an ERD. Thanks!
Mr. Gibbs had an editoral published in the Daytona Beach News Journal on October 12th. You can read it here: http://www.news-journalonline.com/NewsJournalOnline/Opinion/LettersToTheEditor/letLET101209.htm This is Mr. Gibbs' 4th editoral!
-Mr. Christopher Gibbs

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