Snow Day Make-Up Schedule Revised

(This is a press release from VBCPS)

After carefully considering feedback from the community, Virginia Beach City Public Schools has revised its plans to make up instructional time lost due to the school closure for snow on February 10.

April 8 will now be an instructional day for students. The day was originally scheduled as a staff day with schools closed for students. As a result of the change, the school division no longer plans to temporarily add 20 minutes to the school day as previously announced.

Communications to parents will include an AlertNow message to be sent this evening to all households of children enrolled in Virginia Beach schools. In addition, an updated calendar is posted on the school division website, vbschools.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Eileen Cox
Date: 03/09/11 Phone: 757.263.1949
News Release No. 046 Fax: 757.263.1010
Email: eileen.cox@vbschools.com

Science Games

Are you interested in online science games and modules? Check out
http://www.fossweb.com/

New Sight Words

We have new sight words! Flashcards will be sent home this week for students who need extra practice. Please begin to review the words with your child. Thanks!

up, we, what, yellow, yes, you, where, cat, do, dog, go, get, have, here, little, not

Parenting Class

February 17~The Secret Of Parenting: From Toddlers to Preteens (For Parents)
Parent Connection, in partnership with CHKD and Kohl’s Cares Family Forum, presents this free workshop on the secret of parenting. Learn an easy but powerful technique that offers specific solutions for all of the most difficult problems of parenting- tantrums, backtalk, getting kids to bed at night, getting them off to school, sibling fighting and much more. Dr. Wolf’s method of parenting will dramatically reduce the fussing that takes the pleasure out of parenting. Call 263-1936 to register.
Time: 7-9 p.m.
Cost: FREE
Location: Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters
601 Children's Lane
Brickhouse Auditorium, 2nd floor
Norfolk , VA

Valentine's Day

Dear Parents,
Valentine’s Day is almost here and we are getting very excited. Please send in your child’s valentines without names on the envelopes. We have 21 students in the morning class and 17 students in the afternoon class. Thanks!

Free Parent Classes

Do you have questions? I have answers:)

Parent Connection Workshop

Mark Your Calendar!
Make plans to attend the Virginia Beach City Public Schools’ Parent Connection conference on Saturday, January 29 from 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at Landstown High School. The event is free and open to all parents and families in Virginia Beach. Parents will gain valuable insight and advice on a variety of parenting topics from some of the area’s most prominent doctors, financial counselors, child and family development experts, and educators. Please bring a “non-perishable food item for the Foodbank!

Among the “can’t miss” sessions are:

101 Ways to Stay Connected to Your Child (A Guide to Positive Discipline)
Dr. Katherine Kersey, Old Dominion University Professor of Early Childhood Education

Financial Literacy for Families
Karen Munden, Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Educator
Virginia Cooperative Extension/ VA Tech – VA State

Moving Forward After the Diagnosis of Autism
Dr. John Harrington, Division Director of General Academic Pediatrics - Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters

Less Stress (More Fun) for Your Family
Molly Brown, Parent Educator - Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters

Surfing the Internet Safely for Family-Friendly Fun!
Janene Gorham, Instructional Technology Coordinator, Virginia Beach City Public Schools

Registration is not required for this family-friendly event. For additional information about Parent Connection, visit vbschools.com or contact Melissa McQuarrie, Director of Community Relations, at 263.1936.

Parents Please Help Us to Go Green!

Hi Parents- we are having a great year and things are running so smoothly. I just have one little favor- have you signed up for emails about school news? I have 42 students in my class and 18 of our families have signed up to receive JBD school information electronically via email. It would be so fantastic, amazing, super, awesome, exciting, thrilling etc if all of my parents with an email address could sign up to receive information electronically. Sending home information in the FFO folders uses a lot of paper and it is very expensive for our school and our school system, not to meantion creating more waste for our Earth. Please consider receiving information electronically- you will be saving the precious time of our our staff and volunteers, saving precious resources, and saving money for our schools that could be used in another way. Thank you!
Please click here to sign up for electronic information.

Fitness Night is Tonight!

Don't forget fitness night tonight at 6:30. Come climb the rock wall, learn about martial arts, yoga, and play 4 square!

Learning to Visualize and Make Mental Images

We have begun our unit on visualizing. Visualizing is important for reading comprehension and for reading strategies. Below is a newsletter about how you can help your child practice at home. I did not write this beautiful newsletter- it was written by Jennifer Jones at www.hellofirstgrade.org. Teacher Note: I did have to convert the adobe file to a jpeg file at zamzar.com. Thanks!


These are the books we will be reading to practice visualizing in our classroom.

Scholastic Online Ordering

Sign up at www.scholastic.com/bookclubs. On the parent page, click the "register" button in the "first time here?" section. Register for your own user name and password. When prompted, enter the one-time Class activiation code shown below. This unique code ensures that your order is sent to Mrs. Rose.

Online Ordering Information
Web address: scholastic.com/bookclubs
Class Activation Code: GNXHK

Want More Information?

Do you like our kindergarten website? Don't forget to check out www.vbschools.com - our school system website for more information, updates, goals, and school news!

Teacher Note:
Do you like the picture above? I just downloaded a new program "jing" that will take a screenshot of whatever is on your computer and put it on a website. Love it! It is in my top five most useful website/blog tools. Below are the other things I use each year on my blog:

1.Voicethread
incorporate pictures and voice for free www.voicethread.com
2. Zamzar
convert any file to another type of file for free www.zamzar.com
3. Google Docs
upload documents and have other edit them (no more email!) www.google.com
4. Picasso
organizes all of my school pictures, creates slideshows instantly www.google.com

Parent Connection Workshop

Parent Workshop

SMART DISCIPLINE
PROGRAM for PARENTS
Do you want to learn effective ways to help your children behave at home and at school? You are invited to attend this nationally acclaimed workshop which will provide you with ways to get your kids to listen the first time, cooperate with others, and build self-esteem in all of them. The program is presented by Burt Segal and it is known as America’s most well-attended seminar!!

WHO: Parents interested in gaining insight to maintain a happy, healthy, respectful family
WHAT: The most popular parenting program in America~~
SMART DISCIPLINE PROGRAM for PARENTS
WHEN: Thursday, November 18, 2010 6:30pm-8pm
WHERE: John B. Dey Elementary School Cafeteria

We will provide child care with games and activities for school-aged children during the presentation. Please mark your calendar, and plan to attend this fabulous workshop brought to you by our JBD guidance department. An RSVP opportunity will be coming soon!! We hope to see you there!

Our November and December Reading Log

This letter will be sent home on Monday explaining our new reading log.

Teacher Note: If you are a teacher and want to post this letter on your website, I would suggest to save the pdf file off of the scholastic website and then have zamzar (www.zamzar.com) convert the file into a jpeg. Once the file is converted (zamzar will email it to you) then you can upload the new format up on the website like you would upload a picture.

Picture Day!

Don't forget! Tomorrow (Friday) is picture day- bring your smile

Pastries For Parents!

Next Thursday, October 14th the PTA will be sponsoring "pastries for parents" for kindergarten parents at 7AM. Come and join the fun:)

Happy Fall!

Happy Fall! Don't forget we have a half day this Wednesday, October 6, 2010.
Morning kindergarten will be from 8-10 and afternoon kindergarten 10-12.
We will have snack and we will still have music!

October Newsletter

This will be sent home on Thursday, but here it is in electronic form.