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

Happy Halloween!

Posted by Mr. Gibbs on Friday, October 30, 2009
Was your child tired when they got home today? Well, they should be! Your child had a very busy week and I am so excited to share it with you! Before I begin, I would like to extend my appreciation to all of the parents. You are all amazing and I am blessed to have such great parents. You are so caring and helpful. You go above and beyond - for that I am truly grateful. I would also like to say "Thank You" for all the compliments that I continue to get with each new day. "I can't believe my child is reading," said Sandi Wines. Sandi, believe it! Your child is reading! I am constantly getting compliments about the running of my classroom and as I told you at Kindergarten Orientation - I will not disappoint! My expectations are high and will continue to get higher. "Mr. Gibbs you are amazing. This is your calling. This is where you need to be - teaching," said another parent. It is great hearing compliments. Although I love to hear them I must remind you that I am only doing my job.






This week was a special week. This week was pumpkin week and every activity this week was related to pumpkins. Each week we do fun, craft activities. The last hour of every day is dedicated to this fun time. It is a great way to end our day. This week our activities were hands-on fun! The first workshop was creating a pumpkin by ripping orange construction paper. Students glued the orange construction paper on a small paper play to create a pumpkin. Students wrote a Pp in the middle to identify the initial sound of /p/. In the second activity students created a pumpkin booklet with Mrs. Shannon. Students identified words with the initial /p/ and glued them in a pumpkin. In my workshop, students created ghosts (/g/) and Jack-O-Lanterns using construction paper. Students used their fine motor skills to complete this task. Finally, the favorite workshops this week was our pumpkin patch. In this workshop, students wore protective covering made especially by me!








In this workshop, students stuffed lunch bags with newspaper and painted the bag. Students painted the bag orange and green to create a pumpkin. When it was dry, I wrote the letter Pp on each to symolize the initial sound of /p/. This was a favorite because of the bag students got to wear and because it was a chance to get messy! Students were asked not to write their name on the pumpkin. As the week progressed, our pumpkin patch grew. Students would have a chance to choose a pumpkin from our pumpkin patch on Friday.


This is our finished pumpkin patch. Isn't it adorable? There was signs throughout the classroom and arrows on the floor leading students to our pumpkin patch. Each student followed the directions and choose a pumpkin from our patch.













On Tuesday we celebrated Teddy Roosevelt's birthday by bringing in stuffed bears. We had a great time celebrating this with third graders. Third graders came and explained the day to our children and read to them. It was very cute. The children enjoyed listening to the older kids read to them.








On Thursday, Mr. Gibbs carved the classroom pumpkin. "Let's call him Mr. Pumpkin," one student said before we began the process. So, I discussed the procedures and steps to carving a pumpkin. We then proceeded to carve Mr. Pumpkin. After I cut the top off, students had the chance to clean the insides. We found out that there were 325 seeds in Mr. Pumpkin. "You did a great job Mr. Gibbs," said Davis. Thanks Davis!







Friday was the day we have all been waiting for. It was finally the day before Halloween and it was the day of the Storybook Parade. We read the book and watched the movie and now it was time to dress up as characters from the story. It was even more surprising when the children found out that I called Central Florida News 13! Our class was featured on the news on Friday evening. We were given so many compliments and the things sure did impress the school! Below are some pictures which I am sure you will enjoy! Happy Halloween!





Terrific Kid Information and Classroom Update will posted later!

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