Announcements
(Beginning of Year)
Public Service Announcement: You now have FIRST GRADERS! :)
Electronic Progress Reports: Electronic Report Reports (EPRs) are available tomorrow through EngagedED. You can go to the DCSD homepage, then Parents/Students, and then Parent Portal (EngagedED). https://engaged.
Teacher Assignments: You will receive an email on July 15th with the name of your first grade teacher. Ms. Mikaela and Ms. Madi are our two first grade teachers for next year, and I cannot say enough wonderful things about both! They popped in on Monday to introduce themselves and read a story. :)
Take Home Items: There is a lot coming home today! Some important items to note are the beloved All About Me books, Buddy Journals, Self Portraits, and artwork that was hanging in our classroom. Other student work includes math books, phonics books, writing from their writing folder, and coloring pages.
On your child's name tag, you will find their Clever QR code, if you would like to access Vooks, iReady reading, or iReady math lessons over the summer.
Download the free Clever app or:
1. Navigate to www.clever.com/badges. If prompted, click Allow to provide Clever access to the device camera.
2. Hold the Badge up to the camera. Once the Badge is scanned, a green checkmark will appear.
3. Students will then be redirected to their Clever Portal.
4. You can click into iReady for reading lessons, math lessons, or math games.
5. Vooks is video books read aloud.
From the Office: Happy Summer! Here is our final News from Our Crews! We will see you all on August 8 to kick off our 2023-24 school year. Have an adventurous summer!
WE ARE CREW!
Summer Hours:
June 9 - July 25: Building Closed
July 26 - August 1: 8am - 1pm
After August 1: 8am - 4pm
Calendar
June 8th: Last Day of Kindergarten! Early Dismissal at 12:45 for kindergarten crews. The rest of the school dismisses at 1pm.
Mid July: First Grade Teacher Assignments will be emailed to you.
August 8th: First Day of First Grade!
Crew Highlights
On Monday, the first grade teachers came into our classroom to introduce themselves and read a story.
Ms. Madi and Ms. Mikaela will be reaching out to you
during the week of July 15th with crew assignments.
Our crew helped me sort books from their book bags. They were incredible helpers!
Happy early birthday Gus!
Our crew wrote letters to 4th grade buddies to say thank you for such a great year together.
It was sweet what they wanted to say in their final words.
Everytime we write, we have a debrief circle to share our hard work.
Final buddy time!
4th grade buddies wrote a final letter in the Buddy Journal, which kindies are bringing home today.
Last 2 days of PE.
A special tradition at Renaissance is to have an All School Drum Circle led by our graduating 6th graders. A few volunteers led us in drumming, and every 6th grader shared an inspiring quote.
This was my second crew of kindergartners. How inspiring to remember when they first learned to drum and then to see them now- confidently leading over 400 students in a drum circle.
Our crew did a great job watching the signals and matching the beat.
Drumming together creates an incredible sense of belonging.
Check out our Kindie Garden! The sunflowers have grown talled than the name stakes. Make sure you check them out in August when they begin to bloom!
Our week was full of wonderful read alouds.
I love reading to our crew.
These moments felt extra precious this week.
One last look at our classroom before we take it down.
We set up the room as a crew, and we will take it down as a crew.
Time to take down the room.
Students signed up for a job of how they wanted to help.
Everyone was SUPER helpful and took their job seriously.
What a brilliant illustration of our class working together as CREW.
By the end of the morning, our walls were bare but our hearts were full.
We talked about how taking down the room is a little sad, but it also brings closure and celebration of what a WONDERFUL year we shared.
Everyone shared something that they loved about being in our crew this year. It was incredibly sweet that most wanted acknowledge their teachers.
Ms. Martha and I were truly touched by the kind hearts of our crew!
We Are Crew!
Everyone signed each other's All About Me book.
I hope you enjoy this special treasure forever. :)
Fun coloring:
Peace Out Kindergarten! Hello Summer!
Ha!
Monkeys Bars have been off limits all year, but TODAY since they are becoming first graders, our crew got to take a turn on them.
Last CREW handshake!
And... TA DA! The Magic!
They are NOW first graders!!!
What a fun way to celebrate!
Thank you to our 4th grade buddies for the clap out and to our fabulous audience of first grade families! :D
And that's a wrap!
It has been such a pleasure working with everyone this year. What an amazing group of families! Thank you for all of your warm acknowledgements and support this year. It was truly a privilege to be part of your child's journey.
My heart is overflowing with joy and pride.
My final two gifts for you are a slideshow of our year together and a video of our crew sharing their Showcase Reflections. Hope you enjoy!
Here is a slideshow of our year TOGETHER!
Here is a slideshow of our year TOGETHER!
I can learn with passion.
I can act with courage.
I can change the world.
WE ARE CREW!
Thank you for a great year!
With love,
~Ms. Lauren
Summer Suggestions: A few families asked for ideas for summer. Here are some ideas.
***With whatever you do, keep it light and fun! We want to keep up a love for these subjects, and not attach any frustration or resentment towards them.
Play. Create. Go outside. Explore. Connect. Do random acts of kindness. Spread Joy!
Have a great summer! :)
Thank you for a great year!
With love,
~Ms. Lauren
Summer Suggestions: A few families asked for ideas for summer. Here are some ideas.
Reading/Writing
-Keep a summer journal.
*Encourage your child to slow down when writing to continue good letter formation habits. Also, when students go too quickly, they miss sounds of words or add extra letters.
-Read/write fiction or nonfiction.
-Parents can type up student writing, print it, have kids illustrate it, and use it as an easy reader.
-Use an alphabet & number chart to check that letters face the correct way.
-Make a calendar with upcoming events.
-Create a "word wall" or "word ring" using index cards of frequently used words (in writing or in reading).
-Go to the local library. They have great little books for emergent readers. The ladies there are wonderful resources for helping your child find a "just right" book.
-Read lots of great books together. Picture books, chapter books, nonfiction books- it is all good! And don't forget to talk about it. What do you predict happens next? Why did that happen? How would you describe this character? What did that character learn at the end of the story? What other stories have this lesson? What connections can you make? What is the most important event? Can you retell the story. These are great conversations! When you read to your child, it is helping your child grow developmentally with reading, so do not feel like your child has to be the one reading in order to benefit.
-Write about what you read.
Math
-Practice counting to 100 (for challenge, count by 5s, 10s, or 2s)
-Estimation & real-world counting: How many steps to the corner? How many toys are on the floor? Grab a handful of legos- how many? First have your child guess to build estimation skills.
-Play board games.
-Count as you set the table.
-Double Compare: With a deck of cards, each person turns over two cards and adds them together. The person with the highest number wins the round. For an extra challenge, try triple compare.
***With whatever you do, keep it light and fun! We want to keep up a love for these subjects, and not attach any frustration or resentment towards them.
Play. Create. Go outside. Explore. Connect. Do random acts of kindness. Spread Joy!
Have a great summer! :)
