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

ROAR!

ROAR! This week was dinosaur week in our class! We had a fantastic week learning about dinosaurs integrated with reading, writing, and math. We had a blast and so did the kids – especially our dinosaur expert, R.J. Below is a rundown of our week:

In reading, we are learning to read to learn new information. We did this by reading dinosaur books whole group. In small group, children read books about weather (first grade books) and completed a book report listing three important facts they read. You should be so proud, they are becoming independent learners! We also learned the –ot word family and the follow sight words: from, give, going, had, has. Remember to read with your child nightly. Most children are now able to read fluently. We will focus on the –og word family next week and we will continue to our next set of sight words.



In writing, we made two class books! We read a story called, “If Dinosaurs Came to Town.” We then wrote about the same topic and created a book. We also read a story called, “Stormy Weather.” Together, we made a book report listing three important facts. We used that report to write a stormy weather story. Both books are currently on display in our classroom. Way to go amazing writers! Next week is our district writing assessment. Your child will be expected to write five sentences (correctly) with a beginning, middle, and end on one topic. These will be scored and you will know the results as soon as possible. Remember to write, write, write!

In math, the children were introduced to money. This week, we learned how to identify the penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. Children should be able to compare them and identify each coin. Next week, we will learn the value of each and begin solving problems relating to money.

Science was fun! We finished our unit on weather. This week we learned about the four seasons and stormy weather. The children now have a solid foundation about different weather patterns and weather associated with each season. We are beginning an intense unit on living things next week which will last to the end of April. We will be studying frogs, butterflies, and the life cycle of other animals.
Workshops were a blast! Dinosaurs was the theme this week. We did several activities this week that would all be integrated on Friday to create a dinosaur kingdom. Our first station was using noodles and sand to make a fossil. The children loved this and got very creative. The next was making a dinosaur. Another station was making a T-Rex. The last station was painting a shoe box to look like a landscape. On Friday, we added grass, trees, etc… to finish our dinosaur kingdom.





There is no ERD next Wednesday. Next Wednesday is St. Patrick’s Day and we are looking for volunteers to work afternoon workshops the next two weeks. If you are interested, let us know.

If you have not done so, please send in about 8 – prefilled Easter eggs with your child ASAP.

Also, we are in need of the following items:
1 box of lucky charms (need for St .Patrick’s Day)
2 bags of jelly beans
Easter grass
Bottles of white glue
Lunch bags

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