Field Day fun and more!

 A look at our learning...

Fundations: the final parent packet of the year is in your child's Friday Folder.  While we want students to rest and relax over the summer, it is also important to work on things over the summer, at least a couple times a week.  Reading is SO important and should occur daily.  Reading to them and having them read to you.  Both are important.  Please continue to practice their spelling words and reinforce correct letter formation, sounding out words, etc. over the summer.  This will help them begin first grade with ease!  

Inside the Friday Folder are also several papers from me with ideas on how to extend their learning throughout the summer in fun ways and math games that only require dice or a deck of playing cards.  I hope you find these helpful and will try some of the activities throughout the summer!  

Spelling Test: on Thursday, we took our final Word Wall spelling test over all 49 words we have learned this year! These tests will come home with report cards next Thursday. If your child missed any words, it is very important to continue practicing and mastering them over the summer. Make it fun by creating flashcards, writing the words in chalk outside, using magnetic letters, or turning practice into a game. A little practice throughout the summer can make a big difference in helping them feel confident and prepared for first grade!

Math: we have completed our final math unit of the year and the final parent packets are in your child's Friday Folder.  

Writing: we are working on special Kindergarten Memory books that will come home next week.  

Field Day: we had a BLAST at Field Day and could not have asked for more perfect weather!  A huge THANK YOU to Coach C, teachers and parent volunteers who helped make this day possible!  BEU does Field Day like no other!  A few pictures are below, but so many more are posted on the class Facebook page. 

Final Week of Kindergarten:  even though next week is our final week of kindergarten, it is still very important that students are at school every day and stay for the entire day. We have many fun, exciting, and memorable activities and final projects planned that we do not want anyone to miss out on, and attendance remains important through the very last day of school. Students will also still need all of their normal school items each day, including their backpack, take-home folder, water bottle, and snack — even on the last day of school.

Year 10 Drone Photo: one of our favorite traditions at BEU is to capture a school-wide drone photo in the shape of the number representing how many years our school has been open. This year marks our 10th anniversary, and we had so much fun taking this photo on Monday.  Look for it to be hanging in the halls next year along with the other numbers! 

Lunch with the Principal:  yay Gwen and Ian!  They were chosen to have Lunch with the Principal for the month of May.  Gwen was our classroom winner and Ian was chosen by Mrs. Trumbower, our media teacher, as specialists also get to pick a student each month!  She chose him out of all students in grades K-5! 

Reading Logs & Sneaky Reading Challenge: May reading logs are due on Wednesday! Our final Sneaky Reading Challenge, which was sent home earlier this month, is to read with a stuffed animal. This should be an easy and cozy one to complete, especially at bedtime! I would love to see photos of all of our students completing the challenge shared on our class Facebook page as we wrap up our final reading challenge of the school year. Thank you to all of the families who have participated in the Sneaky Reading Challenges throughout the year and supported the importance of reading at home. Your encouragement and involvement have truly made a difference!

1st grade visit: on Wednesday, we visited Mrs. Clark’s first grade classroom to get a sneak peek of what next year will look like! The students had the opportunity to ask questions about first grade, learn about some of the exciting things they will do next year, and begin getting excited for what’s to come!

Alphabet Countdown to Summer: this week, we enjoyed an extra morning recess on Monday for R is for Recess Day. Mr. B (a former art teacher and principal) also taught the students about monochromatic art and led them in a fun art project featuring the letter R and the color red, which they brought home earlier this week.

On Tuesday, we enjoyed learning with our stuffed animals for S is for Stuffed Animal Day. Wednesday’s Show & Tell time was a hit, and we loved learning about the special treasures our classmates shared. On Thursday, students had so much fun building forts for U is for Under the Table Day. Finally, on Friday, my class definitely showed up and showed out for V is for Vacation Day! We saw so many great outfits, props, accessories, and creative ideas. They truly understood the assignment!

Next week they will need to wear workout clothes and tennis shoes are a must on Monday for W is for Workout Day!  

Surprise visitor:  we had a very special surprise visitor on Thursday! Miss Brinkman came back one final time to spend recess, snack, and free choice time with us. Today, she officially graduated from the University of Missouri! Be sure to check out the stole she made with help from the students. Each child added their handprint and name, making it such a meaningful keepsake from her time in kindergarten with us.

More fun at school

Thank you!

A look at our learning...

Fundations: we officially finished Fundations for the school year this week! I am so incredibly proud of the growth the students have made. They started the year learning their letters and sounds, and now they are writing complete sentences with so many important writing skills in place: using an uppercase letter at the beginning, punctuation at the end, spacing between words, correctly spelling word wall words, and tapping out unknown words on their own. Their progress has been amazing to watch, and you should be so proud of them too!

Be sure to check your child’s Friday Folder for their weekly parent packet.

Writing: we have officially wrapped up all of our writing units for the year! The students have worked so hard learning about the three different types of writing: narrative, opinion, and informational writing. It has been incredible to watch their confidence and abilities grow throughout the year.

At the end of the year, along with report cards, you will receive writing samples from each type of writing so you can compare and truly see your child’s growth as a writer. This is similar to the writing pieces I shared during our last parent-teacher conferences, but now you will be able to see growth across all three writing units and the entire school year. I am so excited for you to receive these and see just how much progress your child has made this year!

This week, we also spent time using our writing skills to create special books for all of our specialist teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. The students loved making something meaningful to thank the teachers who help them every week. For the remainder of the school year, we will continue working on special Kindergarten memory books that will be such a fun keepsake from their year in Kindergarten!

Spelling: we took our last regular spelling test of the school year today! It is hard to believe that the students have learned 49 word wall words this year — wow! I am so proud of all the hard work and growth they have shown.

Next week, we will take one final spelling test over all 49 words on Thursday due to Field Day on Friday. While it is a long test, it should not feel too difficult since these are all words the students have practiced and learned throughout the year. Please continue practicing these words between now and then and keep reviewing them over the summer as well through both reading and writing practice.

An updated copy of all 49 word wall words was sent home in your child’s daily take-home folder today, as usual every Friday, to help with practicing at home.

Math: we are in our final math unit of the school year! Please be sure to check the parent packet in your child’s Friday Folder for more information about the skills and concepts we are working on during this last unit.

Friday Craft:  today we made a cute Countdown to First Grade paper chain craft! Your child should pull off one chain each day, starting tomorrow, until the last day of school.  There is also a special Mother's Day project for you.  I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and you are spoiled and can enjoy at least a little time relaxing!

Counselor: we had our final counselor lesson of the year with Mrs. Bernier this week, and the focus was on summer safety. The students discussed many important topics including water and swimming safety, wearing helmets while riding bikes and scooters, and other ways to stay safe while having fun this summer.

The students also have a little “homework” for the summer — learning at least one parent or trusted grown-up’s phone number, their home address, and their parents’ first and last names. When we checked in class, about half of the students already knew a grown-up’s phone number, which was great to see! These are such important things for children to know in case of an emergency, so practicing them over the summer would be wonderful.

Field Day: we are so excited for Field Day next Friday! Please refer to the Kindergarten team newsletter that was sent home on Friday, May 1st for more detailed information about this special day and what your child will need to bring to school.

Coach C is still in need of several parent volunteers to help with the 4th/5th grade portion of Field Day. All volunteer spots for Kindergarten/1st grade and 2nd/3rd grade have been filled, but if you have a child in 4th or 5th grade, we would love for you to consider signing up to help.

Sign up here: https://tinyurl.com/52kmtu4c

Talent Show: We had our school-wide talent show on Thursday, a beloved Beulah tradition! It was such a fun celebration of all the incredible talents our students have. We enjoyed performances from singers, musicians, karate demonstrations, poetry reading, dance, cheer, and so much more!

Not only were our students amazing, but many of the teachers also surprised the kids with a fun little performance of our own!

Be sure to check out the class Facebook page to see the video. Below are photos of just a few of our very talented students from the show! If your family would like to watch the talent show, the family performance is on Tuesday, May 12th at 6:00 p.m. in the gymnasium. 

Library books due:  we had our last library checkout of the school year this past Thursday.  ALL library books from ALL students, grades K-5 are due back on Monday, May 11th.  

JMS Zoo: we had such a fun trip to the Jefferson Middle School “Zoo,” run by middle school “zoologists”! The students learned all about different animals and were even able to hold and pet many of them.

Some of the animals included boa constrictors and corn snakes, rabbits, mice, hamsters, fish, birds, and more! It was an amazing hands-on learning experience for everyone.

Be sure to check the class Facebook page for lots of photos from our trip! 

Alphabet Countdown to Summer:  our Alphabet Countdown to Summer has been so much fun! I can’t believe it’s almost over!  This week we enjoyed M is for Movie Day on Monday and watched The Smurfs, laughed at our silly new names on Tuesday for N is for New Name Day, and were thrilled that the weather turned out beautiful for our O is for Outside Day on Wednesday. We got to learn outside and even went on a nature walk instead of the rainy day we were expecting! On Thursday, we cozied up in our pajamas for P is for Pajama Day, and today was extra peaceful for Q is for Quiet Day. We spent the day whispering and enjoying special reading time with some of our favorite books.

Next week will be just as fun! On Tuesday, students should bring a favorite stuffed animal. On Wednesday, they may bring a special treasure for Show and Tell. On Thursday, we will be building forts, so students should bring pillows, blankets, sheets, etc. for Under the Table Day. On Friday, we will celebrate V is for Vacation Day, and students should dress in vacation attire (I will share ideas next week, but Pinterest and online resources are great for inspiration!).

On Friday, students will need to wear shorts, a t-shirt or tank top, and tennis shoes (a must) to school for our morning Field Day fun. Please make sure your child is dressed appropriately for outdoor activities and movement, and that their “vacation” items are packed in a separate bag to change into after Field Day activities are finished. For more detailed information, please refer to the May 1st Kindergarten team newsletter that was sent home in that week’s Friday Folder.

Thank you: I want to send a big thank you to all of the families who showed their appreciation to me and all of their children’s teachers throughout the week! While we most certainly don’t go into this career for the treats and gifts, the thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated, and we are so grateful. Miss Brinkman and I felt so loved, spoiled, and appreciated this week! We are also incredibly thankful to everyone who contributed to Miss Brinkman’s group gift. Your generosity is helping her begin preparing for her very first first grade classroom next year, which is such a meaningful and thoughtful gift.

While the extra love during Teacher Appreciation Week is so kind, I also want you to know how much I truly appreciate the support, encouragement, and kindness our families have shown throughout the entire school year. Having supportive families makes such a difference, and it never goes unnoticed. Thank you for partnering with us and helping make this such a wonderful year.

I also made sure the students thought of the specials teachers as well (art, music, P.E., media, and library). They are amazing teachers, and although they may not have their own classroom or set group of students, they impact so many children’s lives every single day! We made a special book for each specialist we see to let them know how thankful we are for them. Many shared that it brought tears to their eyes to know they were thought of and to read the students’ kind words. If you included the specialists in your giving this week, they also send their thanks and shared how much it meant to them! I told them I would be sure to pass that along.

Miss Brinkman: Thursday was Miss Brinkman’s last day with our class, as she graduates from Mizzou next weekend. She has been such an amazing student teacher, and I know she is going to be an even more wonderful teacher in her very own classroom!  We are so sad to see her go, but also so excited for her as she begins her teaching career next year as a first grade teacher back in her hometown of Springfield.

The love and support you have shown her throughout this trimester, during Teacher Appreciation Week, and with the thoughtful gift basket(s) on her last day has been absolutely incredible. Your kindness and generosity meant so much to both of us, and I know Miss Brinkman will never forget how welcomed, appreciated, and supported she felt during her time in our classroom. She truly loves your children dearly, just as I do, and it has been such a gift to watch her build relationships with them.

We will all miss her so much, but we are so proud of her and excited as she begins her next chapter.

More fun at school